Bangladesh seems to have denied its entrance to the four-nation military alliance, the QUAD ( The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue), consisting of the U. S., Japan, Australia, and India. These four countries have, since 2007, been aiming China and have separately conducted naval exercises in the South China Sea, and the Indo-Pacific region.
The Quad is purely an American-sponsored alliance that will ultimately promote and establish the Lilliputian superpower India to supervise, even control Asia entirely. Comprehending the far-reaching adverse effects of The Quad, the Chinese ambassador to Bangladesh alarmed Dhaka by saying that bilateral ties between Bangladesh and China would undergo “substantial damage” if Dhaka joins or backs the Quad.
The Bangladesh Foreign Minister promptly reacted saying that such an assertion is “premature” and that Dhaka didn’t get any invitation to join The Quad. He reiterated that Bangladesh is committed to the principles of the Non-Alignment Movement and akin to its stated foreign policy — amity to all, but enmity to none.
Vested quarters propagate that Bangladesh declined to enter the Quad due to Chinese pressure. Such an assertion is not true. Being a freedom fighter and a researcher, I find so many logical point as to why Bangladesh should deny the Quad.
If the forum had a minimum vision of establishing peace in the Indo-Pacific region, it could have included many other major countries of the concerned regions, particularly China, North and South Korea, New Zealand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Myanmar, Pakistan, Iran, and even South Africa.
How can the Quad, without including the democratic countries of the region, promote one of its visions — democracy? How can a military alliance establish democracy? How can a Quad member, the Lilliputian superpower India, promote democracy or peace, whence India’s democracy became questionable? People’s sentiment and human rights are denied in India. Freedom of speech and the press is suppressed. Sexual assaults and rapes are random. Communal riots and ethnic hatred are officially encouraged. International organizations are no more ready to recognize India as a democratic country. India severely denies democracy to the people of its occupied territories from Kashmir to Nagaland and uses its forces to indiscriminately kill them. India itself suffers extremely from political and social chaos, unrest, uncertainty, and dependency (on others).
India posies itself as the lord of its neighboring countries. To cede its neighbors India infiltrates agents, terrorists, even trained secessionists inside Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal, and even China. It creates disunity, political chaos, social unrest, and subversive activities to keep them economically poor and nationally weak. None of the South Asian countries find India a trusted and safe neighbor. So, how can it boost democracy or peace? Inclusion of such a hegemonic, restive, and semi-dictatorial country with a poor image undermined the status of three other Quad members and made it acceptable to many countries.
Independent observers and military analysts believe, despite having so many differences between the two, the shade of NATO spreads in Asia through Quad, to restrict China’s ever-expanding influence and power in the South China Sea and Indo-pacific region. Chinese leadership feels that Quad works to isolate China to limit its eco-strategic expansion. China may not bend down under such a military and psychological pressure, rather to counter Quad, it may engage its absolute strength, which will create a warlike situation in the region.
The question surfaces as to why the United States, avoiding all other Asian countries, singularly asked Bangladesh to join Quad, though it is neither militarily nor economically an effective country. Even countries like New Zealand, Fiji, East Timor, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Mauritius, Madagascar, Seychelles, Comoros, etc. which are situated inside the Indian or Pacific Ocean, were not invited to join the Quad.
Some experts state that it is perhaps India that persuaded the U.S. to press Bangladesh in becoming an uneven partner of the Quad, as India possesses an ulterior evil design to keep Bangladesh within its orbit.
India historically does not believe in the existence of its neighboring countries, specially Bangladesh and Pakistan. In 1946, Nehru declared in writing that if “India is divided, Bengal and Punjab would have to be divided, so the parts of Bengal and Punjab that would go to Pakistan could merge soon with India.” (Nehru’s letter to Ashraf Uddin Chowdhury, the then President of Tripura, now the Comilla district of Bangladesh.
The Indian National Congress, in a resolution in 1947 stated that it accepts the partition of India for the time being, but that it would work to reunite India. On December 7, 2016 Ram Madhav, a member of the BJP, in an interview with Al Jazeera TV reiterated, “The RSS still believes that one day the parts, which have historical reasons separated only 60 years, will again, through popular goodwill, come together and Akahand Bharat will be created.” Even Nobel Lautarite Amrtya Sen and journalist Kuldip Nayar openly prescribed Bangladesh to the Indian Union.
It terms the combined region based on “Hindu cultural similarities.” (The Indian Express, January 4, 2016).
Military analysts state that India is desperate to keep Bangladesh as its undeclared satellite. Therefore, it wants to bring it to the Quad, so that the Indian army can openly enter Bangladesh, a member country. If that becomes possible, Bangladesh will remain under Indian occupation forever. Thus, Bangladeshis having the minimum sense of patriotism can accept any offer that may harm their motherland.
I want to quote Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who on May 18, 2021 while addressing a meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC), indicated to certain quarters that her government will not accept any suggestion that can harm the country in any way. She joined the meeting through video conference from Gana Bhavan. She recalled, “Once upon a time the country ran on the prescription of others, but I will not do it. Because the country is ours and we know very well what will improve the country and the people.” She advised the concerned officials saying, “You have to think about your country. You don’t have to be empty-faced all the time. The country is ours. We know how to improve the country. But we will take advice. That advice will not be something that will be harmful to the country.”
Let the country be above everything. Let all Bangladeshis raise one voice: No to the QUAD. No to India.
*The writer is a Bangladesh-American journalist and researcher.
May 29, 2021
The viewpoints expressed by the authors do not necessarily reflect the opinions, viewpoints and editorial policies of Aequitas Review.
