Sunday, 13 Oct, 2024
By: Yash Gupte
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina arrived in New Delhi on Monday for a four day official visit to discuss variety of measures which can strengthen the bilateral relations between New Delhi and Dhaka.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina arrived in New Delhi on Monday for a four day official visit to discuss variety of measures which can strengthen the bilateral relations between New Delhi and Dhaka. She signed at least seven bilateral agreements in areas like science and technology, water management, border security, information & broadcasting and railways with her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi during her visit.
PM Sheikh Hasina's visit to India is her first since 2019. Her delegation includes Foreign Minister Dr. A. K. Abdul Momen, Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi, Railways Minister Md Nurul Islam Sujan, Liberation War Minister A. K. M. Mozammel Haq, and Prime Minister's Economic Affairs Advisor Mashiur A. K. M. Rahman. According to the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi, the visit would further strengthen the two nations' comprehensive relationship, which is grounded on strong historical and cultural links as well as mutual trust and understanding.
According to sources, Sheikh Hasina paid a visit to the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar within hours of her arrival and discussed matters of bilateral interest and importance. S Jaishankar tweeted soon after his meeting with the PM of Bangladesh, “Delighted to call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh this evening. The warmth and frequency of our leadership level contacts is a testimony to our close neighborly partnership.” In a joint press conference with his Bangladeshi counterpart, PM Modi said that India would be soon beginning talks with Bangladesh on Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and also both the countries will be expanding their cooperation in sectors like IT, space and nuclear energy. The long pending bilateral issue of the Teesta river water sharing issue also found mention in the statement issued by Sheikh Hasina as she said that India and Bangladesh will be able to address and resolve all the outstanding bilateral issues including the Teesta water sharing treaty.
One of the other significant steps taken by Sheikh Hasina to boost the bilateral relations between New Delhi and Dhaka is the launch of Mujib Scholarship for direct descendants of Indian troops killed in action or severely injured during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. The prize is named after Hasina's father, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. According to sources, the fellowship will be awarded to 200 family members of Indian Army officers.
Considering the visit of Sheikh Hasina to India in order to resolve the outstanding issues between the two countries and strengthen bilateral relations, TEAM CVOTER- INDIA TRACKER conducted a nation-wide survey in which the participants were posed with the question ‘Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina is on a four-day visit to India. In your opinion, can Bangladesh be a trustworthy ally and partner of India?’ Varying responses were recorded from people belonging to different gender, age groups, ethnicities, locations and voting opinions.
Source: Team Cvoter- India Tracker
Majority (63%) of the respondents believe that Bangladesh can be a trustworthy ally of India while 37% are of the opinion that India cannot trust Bangladesh as a trustworthy partner. Large majority of Scheduled Tribes and Muslims support the notion as they feel that Dhaka can be a trustworthy partner while all the Christian respondents (100%) believe that Bangladesh cannot be a trustworthy ally of India.
Source: Team Cvoter- India Tracker
Among all, 100% of the Christian respondents are of the opinion that Bangladesh cannot be a trusted partner of India. Half of the Sikhs are in favor of the notion while half of them are against it. In case of the Scheduled Tribes, majority of them (78.4%) strongly believe that Bangladesh cab be a trustworthy ally of India. Also, majority of the Muslim respondents voiced their opinion positively as 72.6% are in support of the notion. In case of the opposition voters and the NDA voters, more opposition voters believe that Dhaka can be a trustworthy partner of New Delhi as compared to the NDA voters. Around 70% of the senior citizens support the notion and in the case of youth, 68.3% of them favor the notion.
The survey clearly shows that majority of the Indians believe that Bangladesh can be a trustworthy ally of India.
