Saree diplomacy between India and Bangladesh
It is time for saree diplomacy in the South Asian region. What started of as a one –off affair a month ago between India and Pakistan, has now reached Dhaka marking the first stand alone foreign visit of Sushma Swaraj, the Indian External Affairs Minister.
Former premier Khaleda Zia presented two Jamdani sarees to Swaraj at her 30-minute meeting (one of the sarees was a gift for the visiting minister’s daughter) on Friday. The Indian officials have described the Zia-Swaraj meeting as Delhi’s effort to reach out to all sections of Bangladesh society. .
On Thursday the Indian minister met Prime Minister Sheik Hasina and presented a cream-coloured saree. In return Hasina gifted her famous Bangladeshi Jamdani saree.
BD’s foreign, domestic policies influenced by India: US
While appreciating Bangladesh’s counterterrorism efforts as there had been no major terrorist incidents in 2013, the United States in its ‘Country Reports on Terrorism 2013’ says the country’s foreign and domestic policies are heavily influenced by the region’s major powers, particularly India.
“In past years, the India-Bangladesh relationship has provided openings for transnational threats, but the current government has demonstrated its interest in regional cooperation on counterterrorism” says the report released on Wednesday.
Lauding its counterterrorism measures, the report says, “The (Bangladesh) government’s ongoing counterterrorism efforts have made it more difficult for transnational terrorists to operate in or use Bangladesh territory.”
Poll unrest deals economic blow
The country’s economy lost Tk. 108.5 billion ($1.4 billion) during the violent run-up to the January 5th general election, according to the World Bank.
The service sector represented 86% of losses, followed by 11% in industry and the rest in agriculture, due to the political turmoil and uncertainty during 2013’s last quarter, the bank reported in its “Bangladesh Development Update”, released April 9th.
The loss equals nearly half the total estimated cost of Tk. 226 billion ($2.92 billion) to build the ...
The loss equals nearly half the total estimated cost of Tk. 226 billion ($2.92 billion) to build the ...
Why Bangladesh feared Indian invasion after 1975 coup
B. Z. Khasru
When Gen. Ziaur Rahman became Bangladesh’s virtual ruler following several bloody military coups in 1975, he told the United States that India intended to invade its small neighbor to install a puppet regime. So intense was Zia’s fear of an Indian invasion that on 7 November 1975 he made a call on the radio for national unity to face the attack. His call triggered more processions in Dhaka, initially sparked by the news of his release from detention by the officers who had mounted a failed coup earlier. The processions were laced with anti-Indian slogans. This public mood in Dhaka reflected a total reversal of the sentiment at the end of the Bangladesh war in 1971 when the sentiment was explicitly anti-Pakistani and...Stability at risk without political inclusion: US
The US continues to press for greater political inclusion in Bangladesh without which the Asian country’s stability will be at risk, a top Obama Administration official has said.
“In Bangladesh, we continue to press for greater political inclusion, without which, a more stable and prosperous future is put at risk,” Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, Nisha Desai Biswal, said in her address at the prestigious Harvard University.
At the same time, she praised Bangladesh for its achievement in the socio ...
At the same time, she praised Bangladesh for its achievement in the socio ...
Bangladeshi influx into Assam to be Indian poll issue
The anti-Congress wave across India will also affect the Lok Sabha polls in the northeast, and influx from Bangladesh into Assam will be a major election issue for the BJP, party leader Venkaiah Naidu said here Wednesday.
The BJP leader targeted the Congress-led government and said the Aadhaar scheme was an attempt to make illegal migrants citizens of the country.
In the state to review the Bharatiya Janata Party’s poll preparations, Naidu said the Food Security Act was b...
In the state to review the Bharatiya Janata Party’s poll preparations, Naidu said the Food Security Act was b...
