Sampriti Exercise is a bilateral defence cooperation exercise between the armies of India and Bangladesh. It is seen as part of Indo-Bangladesh defence cooperation. The eleventh edition of Sampriti will be held in October 2023 in Meghalaya. About 350 army personnel from India and Bangladesh participated in Exercise Sampriti-XI from October 3 to 17, 2023.
The exercise between India and Bangladesh is intended to assess the effectiveness of the military forces without involving them in combat. The exercise enabled contingents from both Armies to learn about each other’s tactical manoeuvres and operational techniques.
When Hasina landed at an air force base near New Delhi, she was received by none other than Ajit Doval, the head of the Indian security establishment who oversees the external intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), which has been accused of meddling in the internal affairs of Bangladesh and other neighbouring countries.
Hasina resigned after weeks-long protests that killed nearly 300 people. She is reportedly seeking asylum in the West and will likely stay in India for “a while”, according to local Indian media.
Since Hasina’s resignation, there have already been signs of frostiness between the two neighbours. According to local Indian media, non-essential staff from India’s high commission have been withdrawn from Bangladesh following her departure.
The Indian intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) is accused of committing violence in Bangladesh.
On the afternoon of August 5, PM Hasina resigned and fled to India in the face of growing violence in student-led protests. Hours later, around midnight, the media reported that RAW was involved in killing hundreds of people in Bangladesh.
Sampriti exercise, an opportunity for Indian RAW to infiltrate inside Bangladesh military
The military exercise between India and Bangladesh is intended to assess the effectiveness of the military forces without involving them in combat. The exercise enabled contingents from both armies to learn about each other’s tactical manoeuvres and operational techniques. This exercise assisted RAW in infiltrating the Bangladeshi army and bribing Bangladeshi army officers to award contracts to Indian defence companies, for example, Bangladesh purchasing TATA MRAP.
From the Indian perspective, the exercise aimed to achieve interoperability and familiarise participants with joint task forces in subconventional operations.
Sheikh Hasina allowed this exercise, which led to infiltration into the Bangladesh military by Indian RAW. The result of this exercise is that the Bangladesh military purchases third-grade Indian-made military equipment, degrading the Bangladesh military’s capability and making the military a subordinate military of Indian RAW.
In the last 15 years, Hasina has rebuilt roads linking Dhaka with Kolkata and Agartala in India, which were severed after 1947. She has also built bridges, re-established railway links, and facilitated cargo ships’ easy access to the Brahmaputra River and its tributaries, bringing the two countries closer. Security cooperation between India and Bangladesh has increased. Hasina helped India quell rebellion in the northeastern Indian state of Assam by refusing to provide safe refuge to rebels from across the border.
Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant civil works
Infrastructure major Hindustan Construction Company Ltd. (HCC), in a joint venture with Bangladesh construction firm MAX Group, has been awarded a $110 million (₹737 crore) contract by Russia’s State Nuclear Company, JSC Atomstroyexport, for civil works on the turbine island for Unit 1 of Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant.
Port access contract
Bangladesh has given India access to Chattogram and Mongla ports for transit and trans-shipment of cargo vessels. The move will significantly cut the time and cost needed to transport goods to India’s northeastern states and West Bengal and push regional connectivity in the Bay of Bengal.
In October 2018, Bangladesh signed an agreement providing full access to CHITTAGONG Port and MONGLA PORT to India for transit and shipping cargo to India’s Northeastern states. According to an Economic Times report, the first trial of transhipment took place in July 2020.
Fibre optic connection to northeastern states of India
The telecom regulator sought the government’s consent after Summit Communications Ltd applied to use Bangladesh as a transit point to supply bandwidth to the northeastern states of India.
In March last year, the country’s most extensive fibre optic network infrastructure company requested permission from the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC).
The commission is now seeking approval from the telecom ministry since existing laws don’t permit the transit of telecommunication services from Bangladesh to operators outside the country.
Summit Communications, an international terrestrial cable (ITC) operator, plans to supply bandwidth from Singapore via the Akhaura border to the northeastern region of India through Bharti Airtel.
Rail link through Bangladesh to northeastern states of India
For India, the link through Bangladesh offers an alternative route to the Siliguri Corridor—a narrow passage known as Chicken’s Neck, which the two sides utilised as part of a 1980 trade agreement.
Bangladesh, in turn, would gain facilitated access for its products to reach Nepal and Bhutan through the network, which would also have a goods train service.
Discussions about the railway link have been happening for quite some time.
Right before Hasina’s late-June visit to New Delhi, Indian Railways revealed to local news outlet The Telegraph its plans for a new 1,275-kilometer (792-mile) rail track – 861 kilometres (535 miles) across Bangladesh, Nepal (202 kilometres or 125 miles), and northeast India (212 kilometres or 131 miles).
Indian officials confirmed that the operational network will cover these distances, allowing India to transport goods and passengers to its northeastern states and Bangladesh to transport goods and passengers to Nepal via Indian territory.
Tighten counter intelligence
Bangladesh must increase vigilance and ‘counterintelligence’ to protect against Indian, Russian, and Chinese espionage, other intelligence activities, sabotage, or assassinations conducted by or on behalf of foreign governments, foreign organisations, foreign persons, or international terrorist activities.
Bangladesh National Intelligence Agency to detect or recognise some actual or apparent evidence of subversive activity; investigate or find out more about this evidence; and conduct research and analysis, which organises the information so that some use may be made of it.
Why the uproar?
Opposition parties in Bangladesh have raised concerns about allowing Indian Railways, fibre optics, military, and shipment to operate within the country, which they contend could compromise national security.
They also criticise the current arrangement for lacking adequate transit and transhipment fees, arguing that India is the primary beneficiary.
That means you are allowing Indian security personnel to enter Bangladesh regularly.
What does Bangladesh gain by allowing a corridor through its territory instead of India utilising the Chicken’s Neck?
“The entire benefit seems to be India’s.”
Located in a strategic nook in northeastern India, Chicken’s Neck is the narrowest point of the subcontinent. It is nestled between Nepal to the north and Bangladesh to the south, just about 170 kilometres (105 miles) from the border with China.
Alamgir said this link through Bangladesh will help India avoid the hundreds of kilometers of extra distance needed to connect with its seven northeastern states through the Chicken’s Neck.
“What will Bangladesh get in return? Transit and transshipment fees? How much are those? The government never clarifies those.
The campaign was fueled by claims that Hasina’s victory was made possible by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s support. New Delhi helped ease considerable pressure from the West, particularly the US, for Dhaka to hold free, fair, and inclusive elections.
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