[mukto-mona] Re: Transit to India

I was tempted to make a response to the mail that illustrates 7 reasons for giving transit to India. Here's what I thought after reading each reasons:  

 

1. Bangladeshis are first and foremost mainstream Indian remember, once upon a time Bengal was cultural, educational, financial center of India. If we can revive that role, bangladeshis will be better off.

 

I don't see the relevance. These are subjective judgment.  In the current context it might be the other way round. Please take a statistics of how many Bangladeshis go to India for higher studies and vice versa.

 

2. It will allow access to a more resourceful country.

 

Where are those more resourceful countries? How is it more advantageous compared to getting access through Myanmar to South East Asia (resourceful countries like China, Japan, Malaysia)?  I guess the point is entirely one sided.

 

3. It will open-up our society and breakdown sectarian narrow grip of politicians on people"

 

It would be too naive to think that India does not have `sectarian narrow grip of politicians on people". I guess Norendro Modi stands out a good example. Surly India's political culture is much matured. However our `context' is different and I think (my personal opinion) that religious harmony in Bangladesh is much better.

 

 

4. It will compromise the jamatis/fundamentalists, who are now becomming  powerful in closed bangladeshi ghettoes.

 

I guess the point is little mixed up here.  Jamatis/ fundamentalist are becoming powerful not because we did not give transit to India but for the lack of a consensus amongst the political parties in Bangladesh to abandon them and as some Bangladeshis are voting for them in election. Giving transit cannot be an answer to fight against the jamatis. This is has to do with the education and preference of the people and politicians of Bangladesh.

 

5. Business opportunities will improve.

 

Yes this is a valid point but 'improve' for whom and by what magnitude? I haven't come across any empirically unbiased research on this issue yet. Some World Bank working paper   found a weak case for pursuing a bilateral FTA  between Bangladesh and India and suggested unilateral trade liberalization by both countries  as more benefiting (Bangladesh Development Series Paper No: 13 by World Bank).

 

6. It will facilitate pooja and eid marketing. What could be better for us!

 

Ah! Here we go… A number of things could be 'better' for us. We could rather restrict our Pooja and Eid marketing within our country and thereby help develop our small and cottage industries (just the way India used to do decades ago). We could give the breathing time to our growing industries so that they are able to compete with the outside good (just the way the Indians used to do ).  

 

7. Overall, general public will be happier and the social health will improve.

 

"Happiness" is a relative term and I guess we rank quite high in this context. About "social heath",  consider the rate and number of HIV affected people of both the countries and multiply that with the mobility offered by transit, you may have a different picture. Yes, we will be able to travel to India for medical need much easily, but for that we already have a train service and it is running in loss due to shortage of passengers!

 

The distress and calamities of present day bangladeshis are due to their philosophical and cultural imprisonment. They cherish to merge into the unique, great indian melting pot of modern era. Nobody can stop it!

 

If anything, the `distress' here is not of the people of Bangladesh but of the logics of the writer and the prism through which he is seeing this issue. We may be more reasonable before passing any judgment on such important issue and blaming others of being parochial when our own logics doesn't stand the test of reality.

 

One more thing, the concept of "melting pot" have been proven wrong /created backlash  in many countries and the social scientist these days prefer "Salad Bowel" where each entity can live with their own distinctive identity.

 

Take care and take it easy.

Cheers

ZIK

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