New Delhi:Â Â In a triumph of soft power over the vagaries of diplomacy, around 100 young Bangladeshis are currently visiting India to build bridges of understanding between the two neighbours, whose ties have been dramatically transformed over the last two years, but still remain mired in perception-deficit.
It’s a motley lot: young entrepreneurs, doctors, professionals and journalists, and many of them are visiting India for the first time, a country with which they feel culturally intertwined and admire as an emerging power.
An initiative of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, the eight-day tour by Bangladeshi youth, which includes trips to Delhi, Agra and Kolkata, has been designed to expose the new generation of Bangladeshis, unburdened by history, to myriad facets of Indian life and culture. Like India, Bangladesh is a predominantly young society, with more than half its population under 35 years.
They have been here just three days, but as Mohammad Ashrafuzzman, a Dhaka-based 30-year-old doctor, said they already feel more connected with India.
“It’s good to be here. People-to-people contacts always help build better relations. We should bring young people of India and Bangladesh together,” he said.
Political differences should not come in the way of youths of both countries coming together, he added.
“Most of us have our roots here. And we are surrounded by Indian culture. Indian TV dramas and films are very popular,” said Amit Mallick, a student.
In a similar vein, Elizabeth Rumi D. Costa, a student of television and film studies in Dhaka, says she is excited about visiting India and wants more collaboration in areas of film-making.
“Bollywood is extremely popular. We should have more tie-ups in film-making,” she said.
Samia Mubin from Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University said she was looking for active collaboration in areas of medical research.
Mahadai Hasan Talukder, a journalist with a Dhaka-based daily, is enthusiastic about building stronger relations with India, but has some questions which often get tossed in the Bangladesh press and point to a serious perception-deficit that sometimes clouds bilateral relations.
“India is a brother and close neighbour, but there is a perception in some sections in Bangladesh that India is not fulfilling all its promises,” he said, echoing a sense of frustration among various sections in Bangladesh about India for not delivering on the Teesta pact and the land boundary agreement.
During the visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Dhaka last year, a pact on the Teesta river sharing was expected to be signed, but had to be stalled at the last moment due to opposition by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
However, with the exit of Banerjee from the ruling coalition, the chances of signing such a pact have brightened. The land boundary pact is awaiting ratification from the Indian parliament.
The delay in signing of the Teesta pact has provided a handle to some politicians in Bangladesh to whip up anti-India sentiments. There is also a feeling that India has been slow in implementing some key projects under the $1 billion line of credit New Delhi had pledged to Dhaka during the historic visit of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to India in 2010.
Indian officials, who wish to remain unnamed, have, however, denied any delay and said that since most of the projects involve long-term gestation, they will take time to get off the ground.