Asian Highway: no bliss
The government of Bangladesh must be congratulated for refusing to buckle under the pressure to comply with the interested groups and countries to accept the Asian Highway to enter and exit from India. Any highway that goes only to India will not benefit Bangladesh. In the long run it will create problems which Bangladesh will not be able to handle -- pollution, traffic jam, disease, crime, sabotage, and drug, you name it. On the other hand, absence of such highway will fit Bangladesh just fine - probably will be better for Bangladesh, after all, only a small number of our trucks will be using this highway compared to all other countries of the world. Some are complaining that our refusal to accept the highway will make our friends unhappy, I am sorry it breaks my heart, but countries work in their own interest. Of course they will be unhappy. No sovereign country lives to make other countries happy at its own cost. It has to be for mutual benefits. I have absolutely no doubt that no matter how much they grumble, eventually they will have to accept Bangladesh' s proposal to route the highway through Myanmar - it may take a decade, but they have no other viable alternative. As for transit for India, I would support rail link from Agartola to Kolkata on commercial basis. That will satisfy India's need for transit and Bangladesh railway can make some money.
I must say the political aspect of it should not be ignored. It is essential that Bangladesh strengthens its relations with its neighbours. We must also express our good will for the people of India at the grassroots level, particularly our neighbours of Nagaland, Mizoram, Tripura, West Bengal and Assam. We have taken lots of flak for our support for Myanmar government; there must be some way to remind them of it. Our relationship with the people of Myanmar should also improve.
Difficult time is the time when leadership and sagacity is needed. As a free nation, we must think before we take far-reaching decisions, which will affect us for generations.
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