New Delhi
19 October 2006
New Delhi has said it would be willing to give Dhaka greater stake in
India's economic prosperity in order to make migrants from Bangladesh less vulnerable
to exploitation by "enemies" who seek to incite terrorism in India. New Delhi has
accordingly proposed "cooperative engagement" to Dhaka with the caveat that its
national security strategy could warrant modifying the "behaviour of the states where
terrorists find safe haven, sanctuary and material sustenance."
The terse message from India comes ahead of the Bangladesh parliamentary elections
early next year. Incidentally, the concerns expressed by New Delhi are reflected partly
in a report released on Tuesday by the the United States Commission on International
Religious Freedom. It said Bangladesh could be a model for other emerging
democracies with majority Muslim populations but that model was in jeopardy. It
expressed concern over growing Islamist militancy in Bangladesh too.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday said at the annual Combined
Commanders Conference, "The economic pull on migrants from Bangladesh of the Indian
market offers opportunities to our enemies who seek to incite terrorism in India. [We]
should find a pattern of cooperative engagement [to] improve welfare for people on both
sides of the border. This will change the economic imbalance, which is causing some of
the difficulties that we face with Bangladesh."
When contacted, Bangladesh High Commissioner to India Liaquat Ali Choudhury said it
would not be proper for him to comment. It is estimated that there are about two crore
illegal Bangladeshi citizens in India. According to analysts, this demographic invasion
has not only changed the socio-cultural composition of the population but also caused
economic and environmental pressures and become a political and security
predicament.
Five of the 11 Pakistan-based terrorists responsible for the July 11 Mumbai train blasts
are believed to have come into India from Bangladesh. The Mumbai Police on
September 30 said 11 Pakistani nationals were directly involved in the blasts and the
conspirators came from Pakistan in groups crossing over from Nepal, Bangladesh and
the porous border in Gujarat. Almost 200 people were killed and another 700 odd
persons injured in the serial blasts.
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