North East India: A Bangladesh Viewpoint

Date:   Sat Nov 09, 2013 - Sat Nov 09, 2013
Location:   Asian Confluence Centre, Shillong , Hosts:   Asian Confluence

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Asian Confluence organised and hosted a talk where Professor Mesbah Kamal from the Department of History, University of Dhaka, addressed an audience, comprising college and university professors, bureaucrats and civil society representatives of Shillong. The event was organized with an aim to foster people to people interaction across the borders, by way of a constructive dialogue in the context of South Asia.
 
Mesbah Kamal has been a professor at University of Dhaka since 2006, and has associated with the University since 1984. He is also the Chairperson of Research and Development Collective (RDC) and Secretary General of National Coalition for Indigenous Peoples (NCIP). 
 
Prof. Kamal in his talk stressed on the need of a common economic model for South Asia, that will ensure regional stability by preventing countries like Bangladesh from lagging behind. He brought the audience’s attention to the fact that North East India and Bangladesh share a common cultural, social, geographical, and economic space that cannot be separated by territorial boundaries or by writing new histories. Prof. Kamal believes that India and Bangladesh are natural allies and hence need to look at more areas for cooperation to mutually benefit from the relation. “We are all offsprings of the Brahmaputra Valley which is ignored in the history books of India”, Prof. Kamal said. He also reckons that the visa policies need to be relaxed for more exchange of academics between North East India and Bangladesh, and vice-versa.
 
Prof. Kamal’s point in focus throughout the day was to reflect on Bangladesh’s internal and external security issues that could spill over onto neighbouring countries in South Asia. He pointed out the fact that Bangladesh is at the crossroads and that fundamentalist forces were on the rampage on the eve of the national elections scheduled for January 25, 2014. The only way to maintain regional stability, he reckons, was to defeat such forces which have links with Al Qaeda and backing from Middle Eastern countries. He further added that if there was a regime change in Bangladesh, then North East India will yet again be estabilised by insurgent outfits which were pushed out of Bangladesh during the rule of the Awami League under the present Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina. The bloody history would repeat itself in Bangladesh, if such elements were not kept in check.
 
The intense day-long event was greeted by a scintillating musical performance by a noted Bangladeshi Baul singer, Zeenat Firdausi, where she entertained the audience with her melodious voice.

  



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