ABOUT THE BOOK

The book probes into the concept of soft power and tries to locate it in India-Bangladesh bilateral relations. This it does by taking three specific issues namely water, border delineation, and the issue of trade and transit. The book, therefore, examines whether soft power as a foreign policy tool was employed in the resolution of these contentious issues, and, whether application of soft power in any way contribute to the resolution of these disputes? Taking inferences from these issues, the book suggests ways and means wherein soft power can be employed for the overall betterment of India-Bangladesh bilateral ties.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Komal Kaushik Baral is currently working as an Assistant Professor at Kaliyaganj College, Uttar Dinajpur, West Bengal. He completed his PhD from the Department of International Relations, Sikkim University in 2017. He has Masters Degree in English, International Relations and Political Science. He is M.A. Gold Medallist (International Relations, Sikkim University), 2011. Apart from few articles, he also has a fiction published under his name.

CONTENTS

Foreword . 9

Preface . 13

Acknowledgements . 15

Abbreviations . 17

I. Introduction . 21
• Background • Framework of Analysis • Hard Power and Soft Power • India’s Soft Power vis-à-vis Bangladesh • Scope of the Study • Survey of Literature
• Research Questions • Methodology, Chapters, and Research Limitations • Notes.

II. India-Bangladesh Relations: Historical Trends and Patterns. 55
• Introduction • Section-I • Post-Partition: Creation of Sub-Nationalism • Factors Leading to the Creation of Bangladesh • Other Determining Factors
• Section II • Sharing of the Ganges waters • The Problem of the Maritime Boundary Demarcation • The Problem of Land boundary Demarcation • Conclusion • Notes.

III. The Issue of Water Sharing between India and Bangladesh . 91
• Section-I • The Origin of Ganges/Farakka Problem • Negotiations on Farakka • Mujib’s Assassination and its Aftermath • Second Phase (1977-82) • Third Phase (1982-90) • The Assassination of Indira Gandhi and its Aftermath • (iv) Fourth Phase (1990-96) • Section- II • Tipaimukh Dam Controversy  • India’s River Linking Project (RLP) • Conclusion • Notes.

IV. Border Issues and the Enclaves: A Contestation . 125
• Section-I • The origin of the Land Boundary Problem • Negotiations on Land Boundary Issue • Second Phase (1996-2015) • The LBA 2011• Third Phase (2015 onwards) • LBA 2015: Soft Power Implications • Effects of the Land Boundary Agreement • Section-II • Fencing of the Border and its Problems
• Conclusion • Notes.

V. The Issue of Trade and Transit between India and Bangladesh . 159
• Section-I • India-Bangladesh Trade Relations Before 1971• India-Bangladesh Trade Relations after the Creation of Bangladesh • Second Phase (1975-2010) • Third Phase (2010-2015) • Fourth Phase (2015 onwards) • Section-II • Trade Deficit • Non-Tariff Barriers (NBTs) • Informal trade • Institutional lacunas • Infrastructural Deficits and Procedural Delays • The Issue of Transit • Conclusion • Notes

VI. Conclusion. 195
• Notes

Annexure . 211

References . 233

Index . 245