India–Bangladesh and India–Myanmar Relations

India–Bangladesh: shared history

India played a decisive role in Bangladesh's Liberation War of 1971. It sheltered about ten million refugees, and Indian and Mukti Bahini forces defeated Pakistan's army, which surrendered in Dhaka on 16 December 1971 (Vijay Diwas). India and Bangladesh share India's longest international border, about 4,096 km, touching West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram. They also share 54 rivers.

Achievements in the relationship

• Land Boundary Agreement (LBA): the 1974 Indira–Mujib agreement was implemented through the 100th Constitutional Amendment (2015). India transferred 111 enclaves to Bangladesh and received 51, ending a long-standing statelessness problem for enclave residents.
• Maritime boundary: settled by an arbitral tribunal under UNCLOS in 2014, which awarded Bangladesh about four-fifths of the disputed area. India accepted the award.
• Ganga Water Treaty (1996): a 30-year agreement on sharing the Ganga's dry-season flows at Farakka. It expires in 2026, so its renewal is a current issue.
• Connectivity:
• Restored rail links (Maitree Express, Bandhan Express, Mitali Express).
• The Akhaura–Agartala rail link (2023).
• The Maitri Setu bridge over the Feni river (2021), linking Tripura to Chittagong port.
• Agreements allowing India to use Chattogram and Mongla ports for transit to the north-east.
• The Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade.
• Energy: India exports electricity to Bangladesh. Projects include the Maitree super thermal power plant (Rampal) and the India–Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline (Siliguri–Parbatipur, 2023) for diesel.
• Trade: Bangladesh is India's largest trading partner in South Asia. A comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) was being negotiated.
• Security: Bangladesh acted against north-east insurgent groups operating from its soil from around 2009, which helped peace in the north-east.

Persistent issues

• Teesta river water sharing: a draft agreement was ready in 2011 but stalled over West Bengal's objections. China has offered support for a Teesta development project.
• Illegal migration and border management: fencing, border killings and smuggling (cattle, drugs, counterfeit currency). The NRC process in Assam and citizenship debates have caused concern in Bangladesh.
• Rohingya refugees: more than a million are in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. India supports their safe return to Myanmar.
• Political change in 2024: after mass protests, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and left for India in August 2024, and an interim government led by Muhammad Yunus took office. Relations became strained over attacks on minorities, Bangladesh's demand for Hasina's extradition, and Dhaka's outreach to Pakistan and China. India has emphasised a people-centric relationship and stability.

India–Myanmar: the land bridge to South-East Asia

Myanmar is India's only ASEAN neighbour by land. It shares a border of about 1,643 km with Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram, and a maritime boundary in the Bay of Bengal. This makes it central to Act East and to security in the north-east. India and Myanmar share ties of Buddhism and history: the last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar, was exiled to Rangoon, and Bal Gangadhar Tilak was jailed in Mandalay.

Connectivity projects:

• Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project: by sea from Kolkata to Sittwe port in Rakhine (built by India; operational from 2023), by river along the Kaladan to Paletwa, and by road to Mizoram. It offers an alternative route to the north-east that avoids the Siliguri Corridor. The road segment has faced delays because of conflict in Rakhine.
• India–Myanmar–Thailand Trilateral Highway: from Moreh (Manipur) to Mae Sot (Thailand). Parts are delayed.
• Free Movement Regime (FMR): people living within a zone along the border could cross without a visa (originally 16 km, reduced to 10 km). In 2024 the government announced it would scrap the FMR and fence the whole border, citing security and the Manipur violence. Mizoram and Nagaland objected because of kinship ties across the border.

Political situation: the military seized power in a coup in February 2021, and an armed conflict followed with the ethnic armed organisations and resistance forces. India has maintained engagement with the junta to protect its security interests and projects, while calling for a return to democracy. In 2025 India launched Operation Brahma after the March earthquake in Myanmar. Refugees from Chin state have entered Mizoram. Insurgent groups from the north-east have used camps in Myanmar. Drug trafficking from the Golden Triangle affects Manipur and Mizoram.

China factor: China has large investments in Myanmar, including the Kyaukphyu deep-sea port and the China–Myanmar Economic Corridor. India's Sittwe port and Kaladan project are partly a response.

Sub-regional frameworks

• BIMSTEC (1997): Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand. Its Charter was adopted in 2022, and its secretariat is in Dhaka.
• BBIN: the Motor Vehicles Agreement of 2015 has not come into force because Bhutan has not ratified it.
• Mekong–Ganga Cooperation (2000): India and the five Mekong countries.

Practice: Mains question

*"Bangladesh and Myanmar are critical for the success of India's Act East policy and development of the North-East." Examine. (250 words)*

The north-east dimension

Relations with both Bangladesh and Myanmar are tied to the development and security of the eight north-eastern states, which are linked to mainland India only by the narrow Siliguri Corridor. Access through Bangladesh would sharply cut distances. Agartala to Kolkata is about 1,600 km via the corridor but only about 450 km through Bangladesh. That is why transit through Chattogram, the inland waterway protocol and rail links matter so much. Similarly, routes through Myanmar connect the north-east to South-East Asian markets. Insurgent groups that once had sanctuaries in both countries hurt the north-east's development. Cooperation from Bangladesh after 2009 and Myanmar's occasional operations against such groups helped India's counter-insurgency efforts.

The Rohingya issue and India's position

The Rohingya are a mainly Muslim minority in Rakhine state. Myanmar does not recognise them as citizens under its 1982 citizenship law. Military operations in 2017 drove around 700,000 to Bangladesh. India's approach is humanitarian: Operation Insaniyat (2017) sent aid to refugee camps in Bangladesh. India also supports their safe, sustainable return and is building prefabricated houses in Rakhine. At home, India treats Rohingya who entered without documents as illegal migrants; India is not a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention. The International Court of Justice case brought by The Gambia against Myanmar under the Genocide Convention (2019) is ongoing.

Bangladesh's development story

Bangladesh's per capita income overtook India's briefly around 2020–21 according to IMF estimates, though the comparison depends on the data used. It achieved strong social indicators in areas such as female labour participation in garments and declining fertility. It is due to graduate from LDC status in 2026. This shows that Bangladesh is now a significant economic partner, not just an aid recipient.

Way forward

• Insulate the relationship from changes of government in Dhaka by investing in people-to-people links: medical visas (Bangladesh is a top source of medical tourists to India), education and culture.
• Settle the Teesta question with state consultation.
• Renew the Ganga Treaty before 2026.
• Manage the border humanely and use non-lethal weapons.
• With Myanmar, engage all stakeholders and protect connectivity projects.