On the face of it, the BSF-BGB shootout seems to be over smuggling but we cannot let it escalate for strategic reasons

Cross-border firing is something we associate with Pakistan from across the Line of Control (LoC). So when such a flare-up happens on our eastern borders, considering that the 4,000 km-long India-Bangladesh boundary has largely been peaceful for two decades, then it is a matter of concern. As it turns out, the Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) opened fire at the Border Security Force (BSF) personnel, who had gone for a flag meeting to discuss the arrest of an Indian fisherman.  A BSF head constable died while another trooper got wounded. Though the authorities on both sides were quick to intervene and neutralise the situation, describing it as a one-off aberration, it did remind us of the 2001 armed conflict between the BSF and the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) that led to the deaths of 15 of our jawans and three of theirs. Coming as it does in the wake of the just-concluded meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladesh counterpart, Sheikh Hasina, during which the two countries struck crucial deals to further strengthen bilateral relations, and which has been largely cordial, questions arise if this was motivated. Speculations are rife if this was done to undercut the success of the recent trip where both sides smoothened some creases that had crept into the relationship in recent times. Truth be told, Dhaka has been a valuable ally in helping India build bridges with the Islamic world. Sheikh Hasina has largely been responsible for reining in militant groups operating along fluid border stretches. She has also negotiated the tricky binary between India and China by calling our ties organic and the latter economic. It is in acknowledgement that India has not only embarked on a new phase of economic cooperation with Hasina but has also promised that no immigrant, who doesn’t make the cut in the National Register for Citizens (NRC), will be repatriated to Bangladesh. Perhaps, this incident was intended to tarnish her “win-win” sheen. The Opposition BNP (Bangladesh Nationalist Party) has been demonising her latest visit to India and the deals as “anti-state” and a “sellout.”

This incident has also shed light on the larger issue of border management, which remains a challenge due to smuggling of fish, narcotics, cross-border human trafficking, cattle thefts and gun-running by cartels on both sides. Though cooperation on this has taken off with both sides conducting meetings biennially, they need to adopt a more humanitarian and interactive approach. The current shootout should not be allowed to aggravate and propel hostilities in a relationship which will get complex in a multi-polar world.