Nation enters dangerous crossroads
M. Shahidul Islam
Bangladesh now stands at a very critical juncture of history amidst gradually-built anti-Indian feelings reaching the extreme point, while the Government's passive, meek and subservient attitudes towards 'Indian wish lists' are making things even worse.
Not only policies must be changed to save the nation from an impending spasm, the evolving geopolitical snapshots must be viewed from historical perspectives to unearth the plausible reasons of why so much of Indian influence is pervading into our national affairs.
As Delhi strives desperately to anchor its destiny on geographic hegemony, gaining an upper hand on water resources is the course India is set to pursue to optimize its gains. The Tipaimukh dam construction project is one of such major steps.
In the ancient world, water despotism was established in the fertile river valleys of Egypt, China, and Mesopotamia. In China, during the so-called Warring- States- Era, the Qin State created the Chengkuo Canal for geopolitical advantage over its local rivals. In Eurasia, successor state hegemonies were established in the Middle East by using the Sea -- successively or simultaneously -- by the Greek, Persian and Ottoman powers.
Later, Portugal, Spain, France, and Britain established their hegemonic centres around the Atlantic Ocean to shape global history and civilization by controlling geography. Yet, despite geography having determined the long and short term objectives of hegemony since time immemorial, collective human spirit managed to overcome subservience and brought end to such dominations of one particular nation or group by the other. The demise of ancient China's Pax Sinica and Europe's Pax Romana are no different than the termination of Pax Britania and Pax Americana in modern times. Regionally, the power wielded by the Mongol Empire and Japan's Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere too ended tragically.
Like human beings, all hegemony is mortal and transient.
Hegemony and subservience
One of the most discernible symptoms of hegemony is the naked subservience of the sub-cultural entities, or their representatives. It is, therefore, is of little surprise that our Water Resources Minister, Ramesh Chandra Sen, said on July 6 that the 'Tipaimukh Dam will be beneficial for Bangladesh.' Surprising it may not, but it does provoke our angst and makes us more concerned about the nation's present and future.
Ironically, during the same briefing, the concerned Minister said he did not see the information reportedly handed over to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by Indian authorities. That too he need not; none knows better than him that it's a fait accompli.
Power hungry nations do not abide by law, more often than not. For decades, Delhi had pursued a nuclear policy without showing any regard for international conventions relating to the matter. Likewise, defying international laws has become official Indian policies in many fields.
For example, in a letter on February 1, 2001, (Letter No.2/WCD/2001/DT (PR) Vol.-III) prepared by Indian Water Resource Ministry in response to the final report of the World Commission on Dams (WCD), the Ministry informed the WCD, "The guidelines for development suggested by WCD in the Final report are wholly incompatible with our development imperatives. Having made impressive strides since independence in developing our water resources, India proposes to continue with its programme of dam construction."
Order from without
That is why we feel disgusted that the sycophancy of Awami League (AL) government's Water Resource Minister Ramesh Sen has dwarfed the puppetry of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, or his cabinet colleagues. Even the fractured Afghan nation and its puppet regime do not dare to vouch for the USA as doggedly as did Bangladesh's Water Resource Minister Sen for India. For politicians, public interest is what matters.
Interestingly, not only did the Water Resource Minister fail to study the technical papers and information to reach at such a definitive conclusion about the impact of the Tipaimukh Dam on our people, he has also blatantly gathered audacity to pull the heavy Indian cart by saying in public that the Dam will be beneficial for Bangladesh. This proves that our ministers have no qualm left for what in politics is known as 'concern for vote bank.'
Police attack
It's not also a coincidence that the minister's comments came within hours of a grisly attack on peaceful demonstrators in front of the Indian High Commission. There is intense synchronization of actions in many fronts to render such an assertion invalid. Had that not been the case, why then, in that peaceful student demonstration of July 5, our own police force unleashed one of the most ferocious attacks on them and injured dozens.Lest one thinks that was an act to preempt any perceived malign intent of the students against foreign diplomats, it was not.
The true intent of our police force got exposed when two Indian High Commission officials lurched themselves out of the mission's compound onto the street, called police officials on duty, and ordered them in the Hindi language to disperse the protestors immediately by any means.
Thus the second phase of the attack started, at the behest of Indian officials, which led to over 100 injuries -- 5 seriously -- and two arrests. Worst still, the concerned judge refused to grant bail to the detainees.
Heightened concerns
These developments prove few things incontrovertibly while our concerns intensify further due to such occurrences transcending the border of tolerance and civility; both at the diplomatic and human levels.
Our first concern is about our own Minister speaking for India, not for us. Not an expert of hydrology or seismology by any account - or of any other allied disciplines - the water resource Minister should not make definitive assertion about the Tipaimukh Dam being good for our country; that to, by his own admission, without bothering to study with minute detail the technical data provided by the Indian authorities, let alone after having them examined scrupulously by experts who should have briefed him on the matter in a competent and professional manner before his, so to speak, pronunciation of public support for India.
Our second concern is about police taking orders from Indian officials. The demonstrators were at safe distance from the diplomatic premise; did not cause any untowardly or embarrassing incidents by throwing stones at the embassy; did not carry any weapons or weapon-like substances to provoke any security alarm. Yet, they were beaten once by our police to affect dispersion, and, a brutal offensive was conducted against them for the second time at the behest of Indian High Commission officials.
Orders from diplomats
While we must empathize that our police have a responsibility to protect diplomats, their missions and materials - which they have been doing well so far - we must also be mindful that they have no mandate whatsoever to take orders from foreign diplomats.
In the same vein, our Ministers are oath-bound to protect and preserve our national interests. Yet, defying a myriad of expert opinions -- including opinions from Indian experts -- our own Minister shall not venture into vouching for India; that too without even being familiar first with whatever technical data have reportedly been provided by the Indian Government to our foreign office mandarins.
Our third concern is about the lack of coordination between various organs of the Government. If the Foreign Ministry had received technical data from the Indian Government on the Tipaimukh project -- which Foreign Minister Dipu Moni claimed to have received over four weeks ago -- why copy of that has not yet reached the Water Resource Ministry and the other concerned segments of the state apparatuses?
Gone wild?
Now look at things from a different prism which is comparable to a bull entering a china shop. Indian High Commissioner Pinak Ranjan Chakroborty has been behaving in quite an unruly manner in recent weeks.
On July 3, he had disparagingly termed Bangladeshi water resources specialists as "so-called experts" at a seminar on regional connectivity in which our Foreign Minister ensconced herself on the stage beside the Indian envoy. We wonder what took our Foreign Minister three long weeks to say, "Maybe the Indian High Commissioner crossed the diplomatic limits."
Before that, while addressing the issue of Bangladesh's concern over the Tipaimukh dam construction, Indian Water Resource Minister said in late May, "After Construction of the dam, we will decide what to do." All these indicate Delhi gives a damn to Bangladesh's concerns.
Choice for people
Now that we know India would not stop building the Tipaimukh dam unless legal actions are initiated sooner, Dhaka has little time to act. And, coming following the BDR rebellion and the consequent fallout within the national security establishments of the nation, all these dangers are posing like hungry vultures over the sovereignty of our nation.
That is why our main concern is about the priority of the Government with respect to the issues in hand. A content analysis of various cabinet meetings indicates those priorities being in the spheres of personal agenda, not the national and regional exigencies per se.
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