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From
Tehelka Magazine, Vol 9, Issue 04 Dated 28 Jan 2012 |
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A power Boost to Past ties
Forty years after Tripura played a key role in the birth of Bangladesh, PM Sheikh Hasina renews the bond. Ratnadip Choudhury reports
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Almost home Sheikh Hasina greeted at the airport by Tripura CM Manik Sarkar and HRD Minister Kapil Sibal
Photo: Papan Das |
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BANGLADESH PRIME Minister Sheikh Hasina’s January visit to Northeast India’s frontier state of Tripura was high on pitch at many levels. At one level, it marked an emotional high for both countries, as they re-lived a chapter of history where one neighbouring country helped another fight a war of liberation. At another, it also provided the right plank to build ties of trade and commerce. All said, it was a diplomatic success, at least for India’s eastern neighbour.
The visit was long due. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the first prime minister of Bangladesh and father of Hasina, wanted to visit Tripura to thank the people for their help during the 1971 war of liberation, a wish that remained unfulfilled. On 15 August 1975, Rahman was assassinated along with 18 members of his family. Forty years later, his daughter has fulfilled that wish. Accompanied by younger sister Sheikh Rehana, the Bangladesh PM came to Tripura University to receive an honorary D Litt.
The emotional connect could be felt in state capital Agartala. Waving to a crowd of thousands, on 11 January, Hasina’s entourage drove first to the State Guest House and then on 12 January another 13 km to the campus at Suryamaninagar. Amplifiers along the road blared speeches made by her father. At the university, Vice- President Hamid Ansari did the honours in the presence of Union HRD Minister Kapil Sibal. The honorary degree was in recognition of her “great contribution to the protection of multicultural democracy and peace” in her country and in the Indian sub-continent.
“This visit to Tripura is a pilgrimage for me,” said a visibly moved Hasina in her acceptance speech. During the 1971 war, Suryamaninagar was a training base of the Bangladesh Mukti Joddhas (Liberation Warriors) under sector one commander Captain Rafiq. “Today, such a huge campus has come up here. Many Bangladeshi students come here to study. This land is pious for us,” she added.
The land-locked state was also the unofficial headquarters of the Liberation War, besides housing nearly 17 lakh refugees. It was in December 1967 that the Pakistan government led by Field Marshal Ayub Khan accused 35 Bengalis, including Awami League leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, of engaging in a conspiracy to make the then East Pakistan ‘independent’ with Indian assistance. The case, made popular by the media as the Agartala Conspiracy, was allegedly ‘hatched’ in Agartala. It was later dropped in February 1969 in the face of rising agitation and Rahman was freed. Hundreds of Tripura youth helped the Mukti Bahini (Liberation Army).
“Bangladesh is indebted to India, particularly Tripura. We came in as refugees, but you treated us as guests, gave us food and medicine, fought for our cause and in this visit the love you have given us has only increased the debt,” said Hasina in her address to the gathering at the Tripura University campus. “India gave us shelter, I thank Indira Gandhi for this.” When her father and 18 members of her family were killed on 15 August 1975, she and her sister were not in Bangladesh.
Under her watch, Bangladesh has shown its sincerity to help India curb the problem of extremism along its Northeast — notably, the handing over of top ULFA leaders to Indian authorities in 2009 and chargesheeting Paresh Barua in the Chittagong arms haul case in 2011. “India faced problems for the shipment of huge and heavy equipment for power projects in the Northeast, particularly Tripura. We decided to cooperate by giving access to our ports for easy transport of equipment. We urge India to provide us power from these projects, since we have a power crisis,” she said.
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Power is Hasina’s answer to her arch rival Khaleda Zia’s allegations that she has been giving too many concessions to India |
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AFTER THE Teesta water-sharing deal fell through when West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee vehemently opposed the idea, Hasina seems to be keen on getting power from India as a takeaway from her visit. During Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Dhaka in September 2011, a power purchase agreement was signed between the two nations. The Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) and the National Thermal Power Corporation of India (NTPC) signed an MoU for the purchase of 250 MWof power from India by Bangladesh. In addition, BPDB and NTPC had also inked a deal to set up a 1,320 MWcoal-based power plant in Bangladesh’s Bagerhat as a joint venture. India is also helping Bangladesh lay a 400 KV high-voltage power transmission line between Berhampur in West Bengal and Bheramara in Bangladesh, expected to be complete by 2013.
The Tripura government has already decided to give Bangladesh 100 MWof power from its share of 196 MW from the 726 MWgas-based power project coming up at Palatana in south Tripura. The equipment for the project is being brought through the Chittagong Port in Bangladesh, since the port city is only 72 km away from Subroom, the southern border town of Tripura. “Tripura has an old relation with Bangladesh right from the time the neighbouring nation was born. Now, for both the countries it will be a huge boost if we come closer in varied sectors, power being a crucial one,” says Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar.
Back home, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) led by Hasina’s arch rival Begum Khaleda Zia has alleged that the Awami League government has been giving concessions to India without considering the interests of its own country. This power feeler is Hasina’s answer.
On its part, India also gets access to the Chittagong and Mongla ports, the rail link between Agartala and Akhurah, the nearest Bangladeshi town to Tripura, four border markets to boost cross border trade and a land custom station in south Tripura, bordering Bangladesh. Dhaka is coming closer to the Northeast and Tripura could be the launchpad for this new diplomatic and cultural push. Hasina seems convinced that emotions could hold the key.
Ratnadip Choudhury is a Principal Correspondent with Tehelka.
ratnadip@tehelka.com
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