ONE cannot thank India for having a hand in drying our rivers across which today ply bullock carts, not by any act of magic but by common logic. Even the other day these were mighty rivers that were traditionally the lifeline of our Bangalee lifestyle. We petitioned you time and again as our larger neighbours to stop indiscriminately building barrages to increase water supply in your river system, not to divert international river water from its natural flow, to please give us our legitimate share of the Teesta, Feni,and etcetera. But, we have been left parched, holding on to hopes that resume prospects at the pace of intravenous drips every time there is a VVIP visitor from across the border.

Despite our two countries liaising well to counter cross-border as well as interior terrorism and being reputedly the largest trading partners in South Asia, you have been unable to adhere to the Watercourse Convention Article 7.1 which states: "Watercourse States shall, in utilising an international watercourse in their territories, take all appropriate measures to prevent the causing of significant harm to other watercourse States."  Have you? Over the decades, significant harm has been caused to our watercourse, and we expected as per the same convention that you shall "take all appropriate measures", in consultation with the affected State (here, Bangladesh) to "eliminate or mitigate such harm and, where appropriate, to discuss the question of compensation". Alas! From this side the rivers look half-empty or less.

India can neither be thanked for being unable to stop blanket killing of our civilians by their Border Security Force (BSF) in the name of security but by brutal force. We have pleaded with you at all levels to please spare people who live in the border areas and close to no man's land, some of them may have wandered to areas that make your troops jittery. The tragic killing of 15-year old Felani hit the world headlines, not because she was brutally murdered, but because her dead body was left hanging on the bizarre barbed wire fence for photographers to fulfil their daily dispatch. Her marriage had been arranged. There have been countless flag meetings at various civil and military ranks, but the very next day after a friendly parley, we have had cause to fly our flag at half-mast, again. Is it so difficult to train your men not to be trigger-happy? What damage can an unarmed member of the public inflict on you? How big a threat can he or she be? It is time we stop asking the questions, and you start answering a few.

On Friday morning, January 7, 2011, when Felani tried to climb over the border fence at Anantapur, Fulbari, her clothes got entangled in the wire, and she started screaming. Hearing her scream, the BSF members started shooting at her. She was asking for water till her death, a mouthful not a river-full.

According to Human Rights Watch, the so-called 'shoot-to-kill' policy of the BSF killed nearly 1,000 Bangladeshis between 2001 and 2011.

We cannot also extend our thanks to India because of the unresolved land disputes, that seem to have been kept alive so that the long-standing give-and-take issues can be part of the perennial agenda whenever there is an exchange of views between the two neighbours. It is so much easier to exchange our eelish with your cow, our jamdani with your silk… We have talked enough. Our people in the enclaves deserve a mainland. Our children living in those areas need access to schools and medical care. The men and women have a right to seek employment in their country, but some unfinished paperwork keeps alive the deliberation while depleting the human spirit, body and mind. Living in such a situation can be torturous and traumatic.

However, we thank India wholeheartedly for their most recent support to Bangladeshis stranded in war-torn Yemen. Headlines such as "India evacuates 272 Bangladesh nationals from Yemen" can but only warm our relations. UNB, Dhaka wrote: Bangladesh has so far evacuated 272 Bangladesh nationals, including five women and five children, with the assistance of an Indian ship. "The final number of Bangladesh nationals evacuated by INS Sumitra from Al Hudaydah is 272, including five women and five children," the Indian High Commission tweeted early Friday. There is no Bangladesh diplomatic mission in Yemen, although according to one approximation of our foreign office, there might be between 1,500 and 3,000 Bangladeshis living in Yemen. Thanks to the captain and crew of INS Sumitra for lending their hand to a people in plight, for whom death may have been the other choice.

Bangladeshis, including women and children, stranded in Yemen rescued by Indian naval ship Sumitra

Two days earlier, Nirapad News reported8 April 2015: A total of 23 Bangladeshis have been evacuated from war-torn Yemen so far with the help of Indian government so far.Two Air India flights and an Indian Navy ship carried them to Djibouti from Sana, capital city of Yemen, and Aden. The Bangladeshis are now staying at a hotel in Djibouti.Bangladesh embassy in Kuwait through Councillor (political) SM Mahbub Alam confirmed the matter.

The State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam was appreciative, "I would like to thank the Government of India for rescuing stranded Bangladeshis in Yemen and our officials who are still in Djibouti." That expression of gratitude did not make the media headlines. Public relations between our two countries have reached such a limbo that expressing thanks publicly seems inappropriate. 

On behalf of the families of the rescued Bangladeshis, and on our behalf, we thank you India for coming to the aid of the distressed. Your assistance is gratefully acknowledged.

We look forward to thanking you soonest for Teesta, Feni, enclaves, land…

The author is a practising Architect at BashaBari Ltd., a Commonwealth Scholar and Fellow, a Baden-Powell Fellow Scout Leader, and a Multiple Paul Harris Fellow Rotarian.