That relations between India and Bangladesh have hit the rock-bottom is evident from the simple fact that Khalida Zia’s visit beginning today is the first since she was elected prime minister at the end of 2001.

In these four and a half years the Indian prime minister found time to get to Dhaka only once, a few months ago to attend the annual South Asian summit. So much for being neighbours.

Few other countries are so condemned to coexist in peace and interdependence than India and Bangladesh. New Delhi is virtually the only neighbour to Dhaka, ignoring for a moment the small border between Bangladesh and Myanmar.

Yet the two countries have found so many different ways to be nasty to each other. Nothing short of a perverse genius was required to push this relationship into a crisis. New Delhi and Dhaka have managed the impossible.

The need to introspect and strategise in New Delhi, however, has been replaced by a tendency to blame Dhaka for the mess the two nations stare at today. The Indian public discourse on Bangladesh has not helped either.

A series of simplistic assessments on our eastern neighbour have begun to cloud our judgement. “Bangladesh is turning towards Islamic radicalism and is headed down the road of Talibanisation. Its current leadership, led by Khalida Zia, is pro-Pakistan and is a hostage to religious extremism at home.”

“It is impossible to negotiate with Dhaka, which is completely insensitive to India’s security concerns. Forget being nice to India. Bangladesh does not even recognise its own self-interest in not avoiding more intensive economic engagement with India.”

... contd.