Some actions to political figures in India are detrimental to the consolidation of cordial bilateral ties. The Chief Minister of Delhi last month warned the Union government about a new strain of the novel coronavirus that has been observed in Singapore that was said to be extremely perilous for children and could visit India as part of a third wave. This triggered a strong denial from the authorities in Singapore that there was any Singapore variant and they reserved the right to invoke against the Chief Minister a domestic law, the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act, against the online circulation of fake news. During the excessive over-reaction to comment by the Chief Minister, India’s External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar declared that irresponsible comments from those who should know better can damage long-standing partnerships. A wise and pertinent observation. Inappropriate statements It is improbable, however, that Mr. Jaishankar similarly cautioned his cabinate collegue, the Home Minister, against the latter’s many derogatory statements with reference to Bangladesh prior to and during the Bharatiya Janta Party’s unsuccessful campaign in the election for the West Bengal Legislative Assembly. The Home Minister had described illegal Bangladeshi immigrants as vermin that he would push into the Bay of Bengal, and then implied that poor people in Bangladesh were starving, which drew a stinging public rebuke from the Bangladesh foreign Minister. In this year, the 50 anniversary of Banglades’s liberation and the birth centenary of the father of the nation Sheikj Munibur Rahman, irresponsible comments from those who should know better are profoundly inappropriate. Diplomacy with Bangladesh India’s relations with Bandladesh, one of the most populous Muslim countries in the world, are acutely sensitive. As a neighbor nearly surrounded on all territorial sides by India, there are the inevitable bilateral problems of long duration, including a perennially favorable balance of trade for India, drought and flood in the 54 trans boundary rivers flowing from India to Banglades, and the smuggling of goods and vulnerable human beings across the approximately 4,100 kilometer land border. The turbulent history of Partitions; East Bengal that became East Pakistan and then Bangladesh, attended by enormous bloodshed and the abuse of human rights has left emotional wounds that will take many generations to heal. There are those in Bangladesh who believe that separation from Hindu India in 1947 was more significant than the break with Pakistan, and there is the presence of militant Islamist groups such as Harkat-Ul-ihad-al-islami, that have linkages and support from outside Bangladesh. In contrast to these circles, who take confrontation with India as part of their basic credo are those who regard their Bengali roots and tradition’s as being of equal validity as their religious affiliation, and treasure the linguistic and cultural ties with adjacent India. It will take time for these inherent fractures in Bangladeshi society to be resolved, and it is for India to show patience and sympathy to this entirely internal process of healing. A As quid pro quo for Indi’s benign attentions and support, New Delhi’s expectations are that a neighbor will keep Indi’s concerns in mind when devising and pursuing its policies, and this understanding is implemented with severity or laxity depending on the regime in New Delhi. Favorable steps A After decades of pro-Pakistani military and civilian governments following 1975, Mujibur Rahman’s daughter Sehikh Hasina, elected for a third consecutive term since 2008, has consolidated her position as unquestioned leader in Bangladesh. She has maintained vigilant supervision over Muslim fundamentalist terrorists as well as on Northeast militant movements sheltering in Bangladesh, with the result that the pacification of Indi’s Northeast has been greatly facilitated. She has permitted a considerable degree of connectivity between India and its Northeast by land, river and the use of Bangladeshi ports, and Indian investment in Bangladesh have been encourages. There are at least 100,000 India nationals now living and working in that country. To Completer the ties of economic integrations, the day will come when, along with free movement of commerce and capital the movement of persons on the lines of Nepal and Bhutan will have to considered. For India to note As the leading mid-wife of Bangladesh’s liberation struggle and its sole economic supporter in that nations early years of independence, New Delhi should law with satisfaction Bangladesh’s coming graduations in 2026 from least developed to developing country status, its steady progress as one of South Asia’s leading performers in Human development indicators. Its eventual membership of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Regional comprehensive Economic Partnership cannot be ruled out To a certain degree both India and Bangladesh depend on each other of security and stability. Responsible individuals on both sides of the border, whether in government or the opposition, must be actively discouraged from words and actions detrimental to the consolidation for the existing cordiality. This is where Mr. Jaishankar’s dictum is applicable to members of his own party as well as Opposition. What is sauce for the good is equally sauce for gender.