India diplomatic relations worsened further after the Indian government invited Bangladeshi deputy high commissioner Nural Islam on 13 January following the Bangladeshi foreign secretary’s criticism of India’s border-fencing operations along the border with Bangladesh. This comes after Dhaka complained to New Delhi that India has started putting up barbed wire fences at five sensitive points along the 4156-kilometre border.
Foreign Policy: Kelpers’ Exchanges on Border Fencing
On January 12, Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry called Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma to address the issue. We also discussed the meeting with the Bangladesh’s foreign secretary Mr. Md Jashim Uddin when he informed us about recent activities of India’s Border Security Force (BSF) as a concern of the government of Bangladesh. Dhaka asked New Delhi not to take provocative action that could further complicate the ties between the two neighboring countries.
Bangladesh’s foreign ministry published a statement to object the fencing at few places and also requested New Delhi to respect the ground realities of bi lateral treaties. Dhaka further alleges that the said fencing schemes are violation of previous agreements that Bangladesh and India vowed to remain a friendly neighboring country.
Areas of Contention
The Government of Peoples Republic of Bangladesh as its Home affairs Adviser Lt Gen (Retd.) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury for example listed five disputed areas: Chapainawabganj, Naogaon, Lalmonirhat and the Tin Bigha Corridor – a piece of land in north-western Bangladesh. He accused the previous Bangladeshi government of signing asymmetrical agreements with India which, in his view, led to new disputes over fencing 160 sites between 2010 and 2023.
It is for this reason that Lt Gen Chowdhury said that the unresolved issues have stemmed from the fact that the agreements themselves have been ambiguous and certain borderline areas remain susceptible to such disagreements and oneself actions. He pointed out that only in case of settlement of these problems it is possible to follow the results of the agreements’ analysis and improve the cooperation of both countries.
India’s Response and Diplomatic Outreach
Indian High Commissioner of Dhaka has said citing that BSF and the BGB have already been before with a view to sort out border related problems being faced by it. Verma remained hopeful that the two forces would maintain more discussions making it easier for them to jointly address security challenges and fight cross border crimes.
The Ministry of External Affairs of India also clarified the same emphasizing that all the constructions of the fences is to increase the security along the border and to ‘send out a message to militants and anti social elements that there is no Florida for them to sneak across the border and indulge in smuggling and other unlawful activities’. The ministry noted that it has assured the intension of the fencing projects are being done inside Indian territory and in accordance to the set international standards.
Political Context and Rising Tensions
The current tensions emerge in the backdrop of major political transformational processes that have taken place in Bangladesh. The ouster of Sheikh Hasina’s government through anti-government protests on August 5, 2024 has left a power void in Dhaka. Her absence has also resulted in shifts in the management of border policies, and increased awareness over the actions by India.
Since the new government has come to power, the Indian government has also been reported to have stepped up the process of erecting fencing on un-fenced parts of the border. The BSF has defended all these actions as being in the interest of securing the country’s security and check cross border incursion. However, these moves are seen in Bangladesh as provocative and a value of contracts violation.
Why Build Walls
The physical border between India and Bangladesh is highly interrogated where cross violation is easily commuted through business such as smuggling, trafficking, and migration across border. This is an awareness both nations have to admit that the two can only fix the above problems through a better approach to border control.
The installation of barbed wire fences by India is intended to increase observation and the power to control border areas. However, the projects have been opposed by Bangladesh which views such actions as capable of creating social vices like the destabilization of the operations of cross border communities and power struggles.
The Path Forward
While both nations are trying to handle this matter, diplomacy is still fundamental in trying to solve this matter. Evidently, periodic meetings between the BSF and BGB are effective in identifying and solving particular problems and coordinating the measures to strengthen border security.
Further, the key diplomatic discussions between New Delhi and Dhaka will also be instrumental to curb it further. Both countries need to make efforts towards revisiting the treaties to solve the issues of lack of clear policies on the management of the borders.
Conclusion
Such exchange of the diplomatic summons is manifestation of the fact that it is not always easy to conduct diplomatic relationship between two neighboring countries, especially when they have had common borders for a long time and have been having lot of problems in this border. Despite this, the fencing projects’ objectives are to strengthen the security of a nation, the projects can only be conducted with full understanding by the two nations to avoid interferences with diplomatic relations.
Regarding this problem, only constant communication and cooperation, confidence-building and common commitment to the peaceful settlement of conflicts will be helpful. As for both India and Bangladesh, the prospects of the regions are closely tied to their maintaining correspondent communication to avoid the further escalation of conflicts and to deepen cooperation in all spheres of mutual interest.
