Like all political myths, this litany of charges against Bangladesh, too, might have a grain of truth. But only a grain. When you begin to paint your neighbour black on the basis of a few strands of truth, the perspective begins to suffer.

In a self-fulfilling prophecy, India has allowed frustration and prejudice to cloud the potential for problem-solving with Bangladesh and allowed the worst-case scenario to develop by default.

By putting out positive signals on his commitment to sort out problems with Bangladesh, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has taken the first step forward. What he now needs is a five-fold approach to his talks with Khalida Zia.

The first is to separate, in India’s own mind, the engagement with Bangladesh from its domestic politics. With yet another bloody election round the corner in Dhaka, the Khalida Zia visit is already coloured by domestic politics.

Is Khalida Zia seeking India’s support in a bid to marginalise her rival Sheikh Hasina? Should not India hold back on the deliverables to Bangladesh to be dispensed later to a more secular regime led by Sheikh Hasina?

India’s problem has only partly to do with the unending political confrontation between the Khalida Zia and her rival Sheikh Hasina, which has turned deadly and debilitating.

Our real problem is the larger-than-life image of India’s role in Bangladesh’s domestic politics. The perceptions across the political divide in Bangladesh about India’s political preferences have acquired a life of their own and have prevented New Delhi from an effective engagement with Dhaka.

... contd.