Trains again tie India and Bangladesh
By Farid Ahmed
DHAKA - It was a trip down memory lane for old timers who traveled from Dhaka
to Kolkata by train on Monday. The last time they could do this was 43 years
ago.
A 70-year-old Sheikh Rasul Haque who was traveling with his two sons from the
Bangladeshi capital Dhaka to Kolkata on the maiden trip of the Moitree
(friendship) Express on Monday recalled making the trip by train to Kolkata in
1962 as a student.
A war in 1965 between India and Pakistan (of which Bangladesh was a part until
1971) stopped the cross border passenger train
service that covers a distance of 538 kilometers - 418 km of it in Bangladesh
and 120 km in India.
"I have so many fond memories of those days when I used to travel with my
father and today I'm happy as I'm travelling with my sons," Haque said.
It was yesterday once more for Momena Begum, 75, and 76-year-old K S Zaman, who
were among the older set of passengers and swept over by nostalgia as
Bangladesh's Foreign Minister Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury whistled off the Moitree
Express at 8:30am from Dhaka's cantonment station with nearly 400 passengers on
board.
Chowdhury's Indian counterpart, Pranab Mukherjee, flagged off the reciprocal
Moitree Express from India's Chitpur station in Kolkata with 65 passengers on
board on Monday, coinciding with the Bangla new year.
Dhaka-based journalist Raheed Ejaz, who was on the "Moitree Express" of the
Bangladesh Railway, told Inter Press Service by phone that it was colorful all
the way and that, as the train entered India through Bangladesh's Darshana
border at about 5pm (Bangladesh Time), hundreds of people thronged the tracks
to wave.
Bangladesh became independent from Pakistan in 1971 following a civil war in
which the Indian army was embroiled. But despite the goodwill for India in the
newly born country, the rail link was never restored and travelers had to be
satisfied with bus and air links.
"All the preparations, including security and immigration measures, have been
completed before the formal launch of the passenger train service," said A T K
M Ismail, a high official in Bangladesh's communications ministry.
Bangladesh and India signed an agreement in 2001 to commission the direct
passenger train service between Dhaka and Kolkata. But it took until April 10
this year before the two countries could sign a supplementary agreement
clearing the way for the cross-border run of trains on the Dhaka-Kolkata route.
West Bengal in India and Bangladesh, previously known as East Pakistan, are
home to Bengali-speaking people. The larger Bengal was partitioned in 1947, on
the basis of religion, as the sub-continent obtained freedom from British
colonial rule.
Before boarding the train, Zaman said he was visiting relatives in Kolkata
where he was born 76 years ago. Zaman and his family migrated to East Pakistan
in the wake of Hindu-Muslim riots during the violent partition.
The journey took over 12 hours, including five hours for customs formalities on
both sides of the border.
Passengers from both India and Bangladesh alleged that the customs and
immigration on both the sides were taking too much time for clearance and many
said it could discourage people from using the train service.
Professor Ataur Rahman, who teaches political science at Dhaka University, told
IPS that bureaucratic short-sightedness in both the countries ought not be
allowed to overtake the spirit of the people. "There are good things about
India-Bangladesh relations ... there are irritants as well," he said.
The revival of the rail service was welcomed by people in both the countries
and must not be given any political color, Rahman said, adding that it should
be taken as a vital link between the people of the two countries. "Connectivity
is a must in the region and Bangladesh and India must be connected and it
should be hassle-free because the people will look for the cost benefit," he
said.
"India should be more generous and Bangladesh should be more liberal for a
functioning relationship ... Bangladesh should not forget India is a power in
the region ... at the same time India should win the hearts of the people,
certainly not by its sheer strength," Rahman said.
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