Bangladesh Beckoning Brothers Beyond Borders

Challenges have transcended and opportunities have emerged, the longstanding kinship between India and Bangladesh has seen new frontiers in the recent times – tourism is definitely a key chapter.

- Sudipto Roy

Bangladesh and India have a perpetual bonding for all the good reasons and tourism is definitely a major motivation. While India receives a robust number of Bangladeshis every year, the eastern side of Bengal – now an independent country – with an increasing positive outlook also welcomes Indians to visit and reconnect with the roots. History defeats the logic of exotic holidays and often a mesmerising walk along the boulevards of one’s lost land evokes a pleasure that can’t be compared to multi-starrer holiday packages. Bangladesh’s strongest cultural affiliations are obviously with India, specifically with the state of West Bengal, the inhabitants of which share with Bangladeshis the world’s seventh most spoken native language, Bengali. When India was partitioned in majority Hindu and Muslim states, the border was drawn right through the middle of Bengal, but along religious lines which had existed for ages.

The religious partition wasn’t perfect, though, and today roughly 10 pc of Bangladeshis are Christians, Hindus or Buddhists. This is one of the largest non-Muslim minorities in a Muslim-majority country in the world. Despite issues of radical movements in the country, the government under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has tried to give Bangladesh a pluralistic outlook and prevented an out-and-out Islamic regime. That suffices peace and the chance to prosper for these religious groups living in Bangladesh. Although on the basis of rough figures, we can say that the religious extremism and violence that has plagued so much of the Muslim world has been largely absent in this country.