Hub in the east

Bangladeshs Supreme Court has set up an interesting phase in the countrys constitutional life. This month the court lifted a four-year stay on a ban on the abuse of religion for political purposes,and now efforts could be on to restore the word secularism to its constitution. Since 1972,Bangladesh politics has been as much a contest of visions for the countrys founding principles as it has been personal. It is,however,not just the expectations of a clash of ideas set up by the apex court that marks it as significant; it is also that the development comes upon a few years of amazing change in the countrys governance and economy. The December 2008 elections,in which Sheikh Hasina of the Awami League won power,and their aftermath,have revealed a remarkable deepening of democracy. In addition,Bangladesh has continued to spring its so-called development surprise,a phase of high economic growth driven by garment exports and the informal sector. It is with the confidence of diverse changes that Prime Minister Hasina will arrive in New Delhi next week and an opportunity is at hand to reconfigure a bilateral relationship that has,all too often inexplicably,been defined by drift and even neglect.

Among the deliverables during the visit is expected to be Delhis announcement of a $500 million line of credit to build infrastructure and connectivity to Bhutan and Nepal cutting through India. It is to India and Bangladeshs mutual interest to economically integrate the eastern reaches of the subcontinent. Both acknowledge the potential benefits of connectivity through each others territory. That the potential has been far from realised shows how elusive mutual cooperation and trust have been. Of late,however,both countries have made substantial moves to assure each other on key concerns. The Hasina government has ramped up offers on counter-terrorism (addressing Delhis concern about refuge for militants active in the Northeast) and on power trading on the border. While incremental moves by India on tariffs on trade from Bangladesh can be expected,the need now is to reload the bilateral relationship.

Bangladeshs challenges,even after its good years,are by no means insubstantial challenges of poverty,fragile institutional democracy,security,political polarisation,migration,ecology which India had deep concerns about. It is therefore Delhis challenge to reassure and strengthen its key eastern neighbour and to do so in a way that builds the largest possible political consensus in that country for mutual trust.