INDIA BANGLADESH BILATERAL RELATIONS: A STUDY OF KUSHIYARA RIVER AGREEMENT

Author Name: Madan Mohan Gupta

Volume/Issue: 03/04

Country: India

DOI NO.: 08.2020-25662434 DOI Link: https://www.doi-ds.org/doilink/10.2022-68199145/UIJIR

Affiliation:

Research Scholar, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi,110067, India

ABSTRACT

India is the most important and closest neighbour for Bangladesh. Bangladesh-India bilateral relations are known to be a role-model for neighbourhood diplomacy. The first such deal since the 1996 signing of the Ganga water treaty, India and Bangladesh reached an interim agreement on water sharing for the Kushiyara river on September 8,2022. PM Modi and PM Sheikh Hasina signed a memorandum of understanding on sharing of waters of the Kushiyara river, a contract that will benefit residents of southern Assam and the Sylhet division of Bangladesh, in an effort to divide up the resources of the river that flows through both nations. The two Prime Ministers also discussed nuclear energy collaborations, terrorism, and flood mitigation. India and Bangladesh had a warm and cordial beginning, with India being one of the first countries to recognise the independence of Bangladesh from Pakistan in 1971. Over the years that followed, India and Bangladesh made significant progress in furthering bilateral ties. It has not been a straight and upward trajectory all throughout, however. For a long time, the relationship was mired in mistrust and suspicion, but the political will displayed by the top leadership of both countries helped in resolving some long-standing issues; other important issues remain unaddressed. In this paper, we will discuss the reasons behind the Kushiyara River Agreement and its impact on India Bangladesh relations.

Key words: Agriculture, Border Security, Boro, Drainage System, Ethnic Violence, Migration, Infiltration, Public Diplomacy, Rahim Canal, River Commission, River Disputes, Sylhet.