Bangladesh the new gateway to the east
Indrani Bagchi India’s Look/Act East policy is growing a new gateway. Conventional wisdom had Myanmar as India’s lean-in platform for Asia. Bangladesh may be hijacking that role. While India remains locked in a 1947 relationship with Pakistan and a 1950s one with Nepal, Bangladesh seems to have broken out and India and Bangladesh are taking simple but significant steps towards a new neighbourhood paradigm. The relationship is not problem-free by any stretch of the imagination, probably never will be, but dawn is breaking. A big reason for this is a settled land and maritime boundary. The virtually seamless implementation of the land boundary agreement (LBA) on both sides, including movement of people, resettlement, rehabilitation, etc was an enormous confidence booster. India in 2014 accepted the verdict of the international tribunal on the maritime boundary, giving Bangladesh a big chunk of the sea. Sheikh Hasina has invested in India as well – rolling up many extrem...