হুমায়ুন আজাদ একবার বলেছিলেন"পাকিস্তানীরা যখন আমার জন্য ফুল নিয়ে আসে আমি তখনও তাদের অবিশ্বাস করি'।অবস্থাদৃষ্টে মনে হচ্ছে এই তালিকায় অতিসত্বর সোকলড একই ভাষা এবং সংস্কৃতির দাবীদার "কলকাতার বন্ধুদেরও" রাখতে হবে।বাংলাদেশের সাম্প্রতিক সংকটে সহমর্মিতার বদলে দাদাগিরির সুযোগ পেয়ে তারা বোধ বেজায় খুশি।সময় নাই তাই কলকাতার ইংরেজী দৈনিক টেলিগ্রাফের সংবাদ কপি-পেষ্ট করে দিলাম।যে কোন আত্মসম্মানবোধ সম্পন্ন নাগরিকের ধৈর্যচ্যুতি ঘটানোর জন্য এমন একটা খবরই যথেষ্ট।

Indian peace mission signal

New Delhi, Feb. 26: India is offering to send a peace mission beyond borders to give security to the Calcutta-Dhaka-Calcutta Moitree Express on an explicit request from Dhaka in the wake of the mutiny by soldiers of the Bangladesh Rifles, highly placed sources in New Delhi have told The Telegraph.

As of today, the Moitree Express that runs between Calcutta and Dhaka is suspended — it runs between the two capitals on Saturdays and Sundays — because of the BDR uprising. Indian and Bangladeshi armies are currently engaged in a first joint training mission in Jalpaiguri for two weeks since February 22.

Yesterday, as two Indian goods trains that make a daily run to Darshana in Bangladesh to transport essential commodities were to enter Bangladesh, there was no one available at the BDR outposts beyond the border pillar to open the massive iron gates that would allow the trains into Bangladesh. The commanding officers of the BDR — actually army officers — had to clang open the gates themselves.

Since Sri Lanka, such a venture to Bangladesh would be the first international bilateral peace mission by India. The Indian Peacekeeping Force of the army to Sri Lanka got embroiled in a tragic war and was aborted at enormous cost to life and limb.

In this instance, India is considering paramilitary forces such as the Central Reserve Police Force, the Railway Protection Force or, if Dhaka agrees, even the Border Security Force, with the exclusive mandate of escorting the trains, protecting passengers and preventing damage to engines and rakes of the goods trains.

The train from Calcutta crosses the border after Gede in Bengal, passes through a metal carriageway, at the entrance for which the gates are opened by the Border Security Force on the Indian side, rolls over the tracks on no-man’s land, still through the metal cage at the end of which huge gates are opened by personnel of the Bangladesh Rifles for the train to enter into Bangladesh.

At this point, the security of the train is handed over from India’s Railway Protection Force to its Bangladeshi counterpart and for the border security to the Bangladesh Rifles.

In the proposal that is now being considered -- because the Bangladesh Army does not trust the Bangladesh Rifles and the Bangladesh Rifles has no confidence in its officers of the Bangladesh Army -- an Indian agency is offering to take over the responsibility.

For the UPA government in New Delhi and Sheikh Hasina’s government in Dhaka, it is a grand statement that local disputes will not be allowed to take bilateral and cultural linkages hostage. Pranab Mukherjee and Sheikh Hasina, personal acquaintances themselves, are understood to be considering the move seriously.

They have concluded it is not worth shutting down the train that has meant so much when it was opened on Poila Boishakh last April.

It also is an eloquent illustration of Manmohan Singh’s message to neighbours that India is willing to give friendly countries a stake in its development. The train is popular with Bangladeshis many of whom visit India for medical care.

Last year, there was a move from a hawkish section of the establishment in New Delhi to stop the train altogether when police alleged the hand of elements of the Harkat ul Jehad Ul Islam, based in Bangladesh, in blasts in Hyderabad. But a determined officer in Dhaka and the ambassador there put up a strong defence of continuing with the service.

Of the 538 km between Calcutta and Dhaka, 418 km is in Bangladesh and 120 km is in Bengal (India) but the symbolism it covers is greater than the distance.

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