Bonhomie of India-Bangladesh Relations in the Post-2008 Period

Abstract

The relations between India and Bangladesh are embedded in their shared history, geographical proximity, economic interdependency, and cultural affinity, as well as their positioning within the geopolitical conditions of the South Asian region. Since 1971, the year when Bangladesh became an independent nation, its bilateral relationships have frequently fluctuated. From the period of amity born from the partnership in Bangladesh’s War of Liberation, to the long spell of apathy during the post-Mujib era, and from the mutual suspicions following the restoration of democracy in Bangladesh in 1991, to the challenging forging of a development partnership through strategic cooperation by the present Bangladesh Awami League government, the bilateral relationship between India and Bangladesh has never been stable. The contemporary epoch has witnessed certain fundamental changes in the outlook and attitudes of both countries towards each other, however, that have collectively led towards a paradigm shift in their relationship. What are these new changes, and how permanent are they? How and where is this relationship heading? These are some of the questions that this article investigates. The focus of this enquiry is primarily upon the post-2008 politico-domestic construct of Bangladesh at the macro, meso and micro levels as well its implications for the India-Bangladesh bilateral relations.