<i>Unfolding corridor consequences</i>
OUR closest neighbour India has been trying to have multiple corridors crisscrossing Bangladesh for a long time. A group of people views this as a threat to our national security. Well, perception varies from individual to individual. As for India, it can always ask this favour from its neighbour as long as the level of confidence permits such a venture and there is a potential win-win situation for both parties. Strategists of both countries need to sit with unveiled intent and committed candour. It is unfortunate that issues like Bhutan, water sharing and border demarcation between the two countries depict an obscure scenario in bi-lateral relations. Regular killing of Bangladeshis by BSF only adds to the bruised confidence. We need to consider the 60 years of sub-continental history before venturing into such a major undertaking.
From the outset, we need to make an honest approach and be clear about our pre-existing productive and counter-productive potentials. We must weigh the economic advantages against strategic or geo-political consequences. Since liberation, we could not drive a successful wedge inside our corrupt psyche, which has created products like the extortion-based terrorism (EBT). With the declaration of global war on terror, some of our peace loving citizens are also surreptitiously turning into faith-based terrorists (FBT), suicide bombers, etc.
The question is if we agree to provide corridor facility to India, who will provide security of their transports? Can we indeed do that on the ground physically? If the reply is "yes", then we need to explain. If "No" then what is the consequential impact of that? Our leadership is very much aware that we do score very badly in solving our chronic national problems. History shows that our preference for personal interest in most cases is greater than national interest. The fundamental cause of stalemate in solving any national problem is prioritising wrong issues: the difference between a developed and a permanently developing country lies herein.
Irrespective of intergovernmental allegiance, seven sisters (freedom fighter/terrorist?) will find sufficient sympathizers inside Bangladesh, as they provided food and shelter to us during 1971. Arrest of some leaders and handing them over to the Indian authority has really outraged them to motivate them to take revenge against Bangladesh. The corridor through Bangladesh may be taken as Delhi's easy access to eastern India for better control of those states. Such a scenario may draw additional burden on our law enforcing agencies to tackle. Trans-border movement with the help of local sympathizers will be difficult to seal. Besides, we cannot kill human beings on regular basis like BSF whenever someone is detected close to the zero line. Not only the JMB or LET, but all the fighting elements of seven sisters may join the easy game of roadside bombing and that playground could be unfortunately deep inside our own territory.
World Bank or ADB, as usual may be all out to provide us easy loan for multi-dimensional corridors but what we need the most is building up of infrastructure by improving the law and order situation of our country. It will technically be almost suicidal to allow corridor to any foreign nation when we are under serious terrorism threat. If we fail to prioritize our national interest now, the situation may not be different than that of most terrorism plagued Islamic countries of the world. Combination of FBT and corridor may give birth to a fatal pressure on our hard-earned sovereignty, the way the combination of FBT and nuclear power is creating on the sovereignty of Pakistan.
The author is a freelancer.
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