It's not only cricket !

JYOTI MALHOTRA
March, 2007

If South Block were to bet on the winner of the World Cup today, and if this was an ideal world, it would put its money on Bangladesh.
Doesn’t matter if there are too many ``ifs’’ in that statement. New Delhi and Dhaka are in such a cinch right now that the Foreign Office is willing to stretch its imagination and restructure a brand new relationship.
The point isn’t anymore whether Habibul Bashar, Bangladesh’s cricket captain, or his men in green are going to send the other big boys of cricket down the same road they did with the much-vaunted Indian team.
So when Bangladesh beat Bermuda, nobody said ``I told you so,’’ but they all admired the daring and the pluck of a nation that has repeatedly risen from nowhere to shock and awe the rest of the world.
In fact, the determination with which Dhaka’s recently installed government led by Chief Advisor Fakhruddin Ahmed has set about cleansing the system at home has been much admired in India – all off the record, of course.
Fakhrudding Ahmed will be in Delhi soon for the SAARC summit on April 3-4, where his bilateral with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will probably be the most watched event over those two days.
Considering Ahmed will be competing for attention with Afghan president Hamid Karzai and Pakistan PM Shaukat Aziz, that is no mean achievement in itself.
Seems Ahmed, Aziz and Manmohan Singh, technocrats all, will have many notes to exchange. All of them have worked with the World Bank and all of them are now heading their respective governments.
In fact, Delhi’s Dhaka enchantment is based on hard-nosed realism. When Tarique Rahman, son of former PM Khaleda Zia, who was allegedly involved in all kinds of anti-Indian activities was arrested recently, New Delhi did a metaphorical jig of joy.
Bangladeshi army chief Moeen U. Ahmed had already been invited to visit India before Tarique’s arrest, but this one action has considerably endeared him to the Indian establishment.
In fact, when Ahmed praised the ``father of the nation,’’ Mujib-ur Rahman, in his independence day speech yesterday – the day Bangladesh convincingly defeated Bermuda – Indian analysts applauded his public courage.
The analysts pointed out that Bangladeshi politics had been so divided that Khaleda Zia’s BNP was even contesting whether Mujib or Zia’s husband, Zia-ur Rahman, was the actual hero of Bangladeshi independence.
In recent weeks, India and Bangladesh have even cooperated on terrorism, via Britain. According to sources, Faisal Nayeem, a terrorist belonging to the Lashkar-e-Toiba and believed to have been involved in the attack on British high commission to Bangladesh Anwar Chaudhury last year, was sent back by Dhaka to Pakistan.
It is believed that India and Britain came together to persuade the Bangladeshi authorities that this would be seen as a good step to curb terrorism.
Dhaka has since reiterated its commitment to curb terrorism, including taking action against Indian insurgent camps in Bangladesh.
Indian analysts agree that cracking down on terrorism isn’t the same as winning in international cricket. But if Bashar’s boys continue to pull off one upset after another, they can be sure of support from at least one, unlikely constituency : The Indian Foreign Office.
ENDS