Relations between the two South Asian neighbors have been marked by four decades of mutual mistrust. Nevertheless the India-Bangladesh ties have improved since the traditionally India friendly Awami League party swept to power in 2009 polls. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had shown positive gestures by tackling the terrorists creating havoc in the North Eastern states seeking hideouts in Bangladesh since she took over. Singh’s visit was seen as an opportunity to continue the positive momentum gained during Hasina's visit to Delhi in January 2010.

The last prime minister to visit Dhaka was Atal Behari Vajpayee in 1999. Both sides had waited for almost 15 months to sign the Teesta agreement waiting for a new State government to occupy the Writers Building in Kolkata. There was hope because Mamata has personal good equations with Sheik Hasina.

Teesta is a classic example of how the centre should consult states in shaping an international agreement. As future water demands could increase significantly in both countries, water sharing will play a crucial role. The centre could have handled the issue better by persuading Mamata to agree to the agreement rather than cutting a sorry figure when Prime Minister has undertaken a crucial visit to a neighboring country. Already Bangladesh was upset at Singh’s remark during his talks with the five editors recently and the MEA had to step in to smoothen the ruffled feathers.

Why did Mamata pull out of the trip knowing that it could derail an international agreement? Did she not know that it would be a snub to the Prime Minister? For days the newspaper headlines were screaming about the centrality of the Teesta agreement. National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon personally went to Kolkata to brief and persuade Mamata on August 30. Perhaps she had other grievances like being clubbed with other chief ministers including the left ruled Tripura chief minister as well the recent allocation of financial resources. So if Mamata complains she was not aware of the details, the centre should explain. However, Singh is tongue tied because of her 19 MPs supporting the UPA government. Obviously Mamata’s objections pertain to finer details.

A charitable explanation could be that she wants to guard her chair, which she has seized from the Left.

She wants to prove to the people of the state that as a chief minister she would not sacrifice the interests of the state. What better way than to act tough on the Teesta agreement?

Secondly, the problem arose because of the differences in the initial and final draft of the agreement. The West Bengal government had agreed on sharing of up to 25,000 cusecs of water but the final version of the agreement talks of sharing 33,000-50,000 cusecs, which is objected to by Mamata. India and Bangladesh have an arrangement to share 75% of Teesta’s water. It’s the remaining 25% that is creating the problem. The present draft would give a handle to the defeated Left Parties to attack her. Moreover, Trinamool Congress had won a handsome number of seats in the Northern Bengal in the recent elections and the present draft would affect these very northern districts.

The centre should learn a lesson or two in handling the growing women power. Mamata is not the only mercurial chief minister as there are others like UP Chief Minister Mayawati and Tamil Nadu chief Minister Jayalalithaa who have also shown such tempers in the past and will do so in the future. They are all single and have queen size ego. They are more concerned about their local battles than international treaties. Jaya too has had her differences with the centre on Cauvery water disputes and now on Sri Lankan Tamils. Mayawati does not attend most conferences convened by Prime Minister all these years. This could be because these three women chief ministers feel that they exist because of their direct link with the people. However, they will not go beyond a point because they want to be on the right side of the centre while seeking finances for their states.

The centre and Mamata could have avoided a public spat. Some experts feel that the first step should have been setting up a Hydro water survey, as without knowing the water availability how could there be share of waters? There are others who say that India and Bangladesh should undertake appropriate joint initiatives to build reservoirs upstream of the Teesta River in India and to store the excessive water during the rainy season for use in dry season. The other suggestion is to plan an integrated flood management programme.

Bangladesh has taken steps to address India's security concerns and it is time India shows sensitivity to Bangladeshi concerns and come out with a comprehensive assistance and cooperation package for Bangladesh.

Although Teesta treaty had collapsed, there were other agreements signed during the Bangladesh visit. This includes granting citizenship to 20000 people living in 51 Bangladeshi enclaves in Indian Territory and 31,000 living in 111 enclaves in Bangladesh territory. India also announced a major trade sop allowing duty free access to 61 items to Indian markets. A visit that was meant to be a paradigm shift has ended up in disappointment to Bangladesh. If Mamata was upset about the Teesta water sharing agreement, Bangladesh is equally upset about the delay in signing it. The sooner the Teesta agreement is concluded the better. (IPA Service)