India-Bangladesh Relations: 1971, Land Boundary Agreement, Ganga and Teesta Waters, Trade and Connectivity, Border Issues and the Post-2024 Reset (UPSC Notes + PYQs)

A relationship born in 1971

In 1971 the Pakistan Army’s crackdown in East Pakistan sent about ten million refugees into India. India signed a treaty with the Soviet Union in August, trained the Mukti Bahini and went to war in December; Dhaka fell on 16 December 1971, celebrated as Vijay Diwas in India and Bijoy Dibos in Bangladesh. India was the first country to recognise Bangladesh. A 25-year Treaty of Friendship followed in 1972. Relations then swung with Dhaka’s politics: warm under the Awami League, cooler under military rule and BNP governments, when anti-India insurgent groups from the North-East found shelter in Bangladesh. The Sheikh Hasina years (2009-2024) were the closest: Dhaka handed over insurgent leaders, and many old disputes were settled.

Border and the Land Boundary Agreement

The border touches five Indian States: West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram. West Bengal has the longest stretch. Partition left a strange map of enclaves, pockets of one country inside the other, whose people had no schools, police or identity papers. A 1974 agreement to fix this was ratified only after the Constitution (100th Amendment) Act, 2015. India gave Bangladesh 111 enclaves and received 51, and residents chose their citizenship. A 2014 arbitration award on the maritime boundary in the Bay of Bengal, which went largely in Bangladesh’s favour, was accepted by India without protest, settling the sea border too.

Sharing rivers

The two countries share 54 rivers, managed through a Joint Rivers Commission set up in 1972.

• Ganga: the Farakka Barrage (1975) diverts water to the Hooghly to keep Kolkata port alive. The Ganga Water Treaty of December 1996 shares the dry-season flow for 30 years, so it expires in December 2026, and its renewal is the most important water question now.
• Teesta: a deal was ready in 2011 but stalled when the West Bengal government objected, since the river feeds north Bengal’s farms. China’s offer of a Teesta river project has raised the stakes.
• An agreement on the Kushiyara in 2022 was the first water deal since 1996.

Trade, energy and connectivity

Bangladesh is India’s largest trade partner in South Asia, with trade of about USD 13-15 billion a year, and India is among Bangladesh’s largest sources of imports. India has extended lines of credit of about USD 8 billion, its largest to any country. Power flows across the border from Indian plants, and the India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline (2023) carries diesel from Assam. Pre-1965 rail links have been revived, including Akhaura-Agartala (2023), and the Maitri Setu over the Feni river (2021) links Tripura with Chittagong port. Agreements allow Indian goods to use Chittagong and Mongla ports for transit to the North-East, cutting the long route through the “Chicken’s Neck” at Siliguri. Bangladesh is also a member of BIMSTEC and the BBIN motor vehicles framework.

Security and the border

• Illegal migration and the National Register of Citizens in Assam are sensitive in both countries.
• Border killings by the Border Security Force, often of cattle smugglers, anger Bangladeshi opinion; India has adopted a non-lethal weapons policy.
• Smuggling of cattle, drugs and fake currency; parts of the riverine border cannot be fenced.
• Radical groups and the Rohingya refugee crisis, with about a million Rohingya in camps near Cox’s Bazar.
• Defence ties include the army exercise Sampriti, the naval exercise Bongosagar and coordinated patrols. (Mitra Shakti, a common trap, is India-Sri Lanka.)

After August 2024

In August 2024 student-led protests forced Sheikh Hasina from office and she fled to India. An interim government under Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus took charge. Ties became strained: Dhaka sought Hasina’s extradition, especially after a Bangladeshi tribunal sentenced her to death in absentia in November 2025, while India raised attacks on Hindus and other minorities. Trade frictions followed. In April 2025 India withdrew a transshipment facility for Bangladeshi exports through Indian airports and ports, and in May it restricted some imports through land ports. Bangladesh, in turn, moved closer to China and Pakistan. The episode showed the risk of tying the relationship to one party.

Way forward

India’s interests in Bangladesh do not change with governments: a secure North-East, transit and connectivity, a stable eastern flank and a large market. India should engage all political forces and the people of Bangladesh, renew the Ganga treaty on fair terms, work towards a Teesta settlement with West Bengal on board, end border killings, keep trade open, and offer development partnership that competes with China’s on speed and quality.

PYQ trend

Prelims asks about border features, rivers, bridges and joint exercises. Mains GS-II asks neighbourhood policy and its challenges.

India Bangladesh Relations: UPSC angle

India Bangladesh Relations UPSC PYQs (Prelims)

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Image: Jubair Bin Iqbal, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0