Bangabandhu – Friendship between the India and Bangladesh is Inscribed into hearts, to Ms. Gandhi - Friendship based on Full Equality and Mutual Benefits – So Why the Ganges and Teesta water does not flow ?
Abstract
Following the independence of Pakistan and India in 1947, these countries were never friend to each other. The separation of India and Pakistan was strategically wrong with two states of Pakistan are nearly 2000 kilometres apart called East Pakistan and West Pakistan. The peoples of East and West Pakistan’s are complete strangers to each other, their cultures and languages are different and even within few years the West Pakistani ruling classes began to refuge Bengali as the state language of East Pakistan. May be the West Pakistan had a hidden agenda of domination, while get all the revenues that comes from East Pakistan, with that revenue they began to build a prosperous West Pakistan. Very soon prominent leaders under the leadership of Bangabandhu demanded a fair share the revenues. That make the West Pakistani leaders furious. Bangabandhu’s “Bangladesh Awami League†had a landslide victory in 1970 Election and West Pakistan denies the democratic right of East Pakistan and instead carried out a genocide. Bangabandhu declares the independence. With the help if India within 9 months, a new country was born called Bangladesh. The social sacrifice and the economic risk India undertook for Bangladesh was beyond imagination. For that role our country will remain grateful to India forever.
Bangabandhu explained the friendship with India is “Devine and long-lasting as it is inscribed between two heartsâ€, Similarly the Indira Gandhi replied “Friendship between our two countries are based on full equality and mutual benefit of two free and sovereign nationsâ€. Mrs. Gandhi also added “I should like to emphasise that the treaty embodies the will of the two governments to pursue common policies in matters of interest of both countries and solemnizes the close ties of friendship between out of two countries and peoples cemented through blood and sacrificeâ€.
Similarly, the river network of Ganges delta and cultural heritage made the West Bengal and Bangladesh is inseparable. The network of rivers are like the veins and arteries of the heart, If you want to operate one organ it affects the rests, like the human body. All together we have 54 transboundary river that we must share. Nearly 70 years is gone we could not even solve two river treaties (Ganges rivers and Teesta rivers), a long way to go.
About 43% of the total irrigated area of the country is also on the Ganges basin. Percentage of total arable land covered by the Teesta Floodplain is about 14%. The Ganges and the Teesta floodplain constitutes about 57% of very fertile land that will be denied by surface water irrigation facilities, due to the shortage of surface water flow. The Padma-Ganges is the central part of the Deltaic rive system with hundreds of rivers. The total drainage area of Ganges is about 990,400 sq. km. of which only 38,880 sq. km. lie in Bangladesh. We ask Ms. Mamata Banerjee, to become realistic and come back to the discussion table with an open mind, be transparent, and negotiate, until it becomes a win-win situation for every party. Until a long-lasting solution is found, none of us can survive, as our life and death are encircled with rivers and water.
