India-Pakistan-Bangladesh can strengthen Saarc
Opponents of the Bharatiya Janata Party have expectedly pounced on party leader Ram Madhav's comment that he hoped for the unification of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh through mutual consent of the three nations. The remarks were quickly placed by the critics in the backdrop of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's surprise (and much-hailed in both India and Pakistan) stopover at lahore. Mr Madhav has since issued three clarifications: The first is that his comments were made in an interview to a foreign television channel days before Mr Modi's visit to lahore, and that the interview was telecast later. The second is that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has for long held the belief of a ‘larger India', and being a member of the RSS, he personally subscribed to the idea.
The third clarification is that he used the term as meaning a greater cultural cohesion between the three countries. Now, regardless of whether these clarifications are accepted or rejected by the BJP's opponents, the fact is that the ruling party at the Centre does not hold an official position which endorses Mr Madhav's comments. In fact, party leaders were quick to emphasise that they only hoped for a vibrant comprehensive cooperation and mutual exchanges among the three nations. Of course, since Mr Madhav is also a senior office bearer of the BJP, the party's opponents had a stick to beat the party with, especially in the hope that the positivity generated by the Indian Prime Minister's visit to lahore will be dented through criticism in the three nations in question. But that is not going to happen, nor will the charge of hegemony stick to either the BJP or Mr Modi.
Neither Islamabad nor Dhaka will fall for the bait to derail friendly relations — being assiduously sought to be built by the two leaderships in the first case and already concrete in the second. Only extremist elements may use the comments to prop up their relevance, though their effectiveness in damaging the good environment is doubtful. In India, unfortunately, critics of the BJP and Mr Modi use every single remark, regardless of the context it has been made and the stature of the person making it, to ‘expose' the ‘true intent' of the ruling party and its leaders. In the present case, Mr Madhav has given his explanation, and there is no need to keep flogging something that is not just a non-issue but also nowhere on the radar of this Government.
That said, there is no harm in envisaging a day when India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, while being sovereign nations, strike such a close rapport in areas of anti-terrorism, strategic security, trade and commerce, cultural exchanges and people-to-people contact, that they almost seem like one entity. After all, most European countries are bound by one grouping (the European Union) and one currency (the euro). Additionally, there is far greater freedom of people-to-people movement among the member nations. Together, they present a formidable force before the global community. Surely, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, with shared political, social and cultural histories, can strengthen Saarc — a grouping that includes these three and five other nations.This will require a high level of (not fully existing at the moment) trust among the countries involved.