Bangladesh-India Relations: Perspectives from Civil Society Dialogues

This volume covers the outcome from eight Indo-Bangladesh dialogues which spanned over six years, between 1995 and 2001. The dialogues were jointly organised by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), Dhaka and the Centre for Policy Research (CPR), New Delhi. The present volume on Bangladesh-India Relations: Perspectives from Civil Society Dialogues originates in the reports prepared on these dialogues which concentrated on such vital issues of Bangladesh-India bilateral relations as the use of common resources, trade and investment, political and security concerns and socio-cultural relations. Over the years, these dialogues were participated in by a number of influential political leaders, representatives of civil society and experts with considerable standing in both countries, and their deliberations generated a wealth of knowledge and ideas which furthered mutual understanding and cooperation between these neighbouring countries. The issues that were taken up in the course of these dialogues covered such critically important areas of bilateral cooperation as Economic Relations, Water Resources, Political and Security Relations, and Social and Cultural Issues. As such the dialogue reports will provide the readers with a unique opportunity to inform themselves on the major problems constraining Bangladesh-India relations, how the approach and attitudes to these relevant issues gradually developed and matured, and how the dialogues were able to contribute towards a better understanding of the relevant issues, both at the people to people level and at the inter-governmental levels.