'Will take all necessary actions': India's stern warning amid reports of Bangladesh reviewing 101 bilateral pacts
Bangladesh's current administration is reported to be reviewing around 101 bilateral agreements and memoranda of understanding signed with India, most dating to the period of the previous Bangladeshi government.
India's Ministry of External Affairs stated it has seen media reports on the review but has not received any official communication from Dhaka on the matter.
The Ministry said India will take all necessary measures to protect its national interests, while noting that established bilateral mechanisms remain available to discuss any concerns.
Water-sharing arrangements, including the Ganges Water Treaty, are among the agreements reported to be under scrutiny, with technical-level discussions between the two countries continuing through existing institutional channels.
Treaty Law: Review, Termination, and Change of Government
Under customary international law, codified in the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT), 1969, a change of government within a state does not, by itself, terminate or invalidate that state's existing treaty obligations — the principle of "continuity of the state" applies regardless of domestic political change. Treaties may be terminated, suspended, or withdrawn from only through mechanisms recognised in the treaty itself or under the VCLT, such as mutual consent, a material breach, or a "fundamental change of circumstances" (Article 62, the doctrine of rebus sic stantibus).
Key Details
- The rebus sic stantibus doctrine under Article 62 VCLT is interpreted narrowly by international tribunals and courts, including the International Court of Justice, and has rarely been successfully invoked to terminate a treaty.
- India is not a party to the VCLT but accepts many of its provisions as reflective of customary international law; Bangladesh acceded to the VCLT.
- A unilateral domestic "review" of agreements by a new government is a preparatory, internal exercise; it does not by itself terminate a treaty in international law unless followed by formal notice of withdrawal or renegotiation under the treaty's own terms.
Bangladesh's internal audit of agreements signed under the previous government is, in legal terms, a review process rather than an automatic termination, meaning the agreements will remain in force unless Bangladesh formally invokes withdrawal or renegotiation clauses and follows through bilaterally with India.
The India-Bangladesh Ganges Water Sharing Treaty, 1996
The Ganges Water Sharing Treaty was signed on 12 December 1996 between India and Bangladesh for a fixed 30-year term, governing the sharing of Ganga (Ganges) river flows measured at the Farakka Barrage during the dry season (1 January to 31 May), divided into fifteen ten-day periods.
Key Details
- The treaty followed decades of dispute after India commissioned the Farakka Barrage in 1975 to improve navigability of the Hooghly river system feeding Kolkata Port.
- A Joint Committee with equal representation from both countries monitors flow data at Farakka and the Hardinge Bridge and reports annually to both governments; broader river cooperation is coordinated through the India-Bangladesh Joint Rivers Commission (JRC), established in 1972.
- The treaty's 30-year term expires in December 2026; both governments had earlier noted the formation of a Joint Technical Committee to begin renewal discussions, though as of early 2026 India's government stated in Parliament that substantive renewal talks had not yet commenced.
The Ganges treaty is reportedly among the pacts under Bangladesh's review, and its imminent, pre-scheduled expiry in December 2026 (a deadline that exists independent of the current review) gives the issue added urgency, since a lapse without renewal would leave dry-season water sharing without a binding bilateral framework.
Institutional Architecture of India–Bangladesh Relations
India and Bangladesh maintain a dense institutional framework of bilateral mechanisms beyond individual treaties, built up since diplomatic relations began in 1971-72, covering water, trade, security, and connectivity.
Key Details
- Key mechanisms include the Joint Rivers Commission (1972), the Joint Consultative Commission (foreign-minister-level, launched 2012), and multiple joint working groups on trade, security, and connectivity.
- A landmark agreement in the bilateral relationship is the Land Boundary Agreement, originally signed in 1974 and finally ratified and implemented in 2015 via the 100th Constitutional Amendment Act, which exchanged enclaves and settled a long-pending boundary dispute.
- Bilateral agreements between the two countries span diverse areas including trade (including the earlier Trade Agreement periodically renewed), transit and connectivity, defence cooperation, and coastal shipping.
The reported review of 101 agreements would touch this entire institutional layer built up over five decades, which is why India has pointed to existing bilateral mechanisms, rather than public statements, as the appropriate channel for addressing any specific Bangladeshi concerns about individual pacts.
- The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties was adopted in 1969; its Article 62 covers termination due to a fundamental change of circumstances.
- The India-Bangladesh Ganges Water Sharing Treaty was signed on 12 December 1996 for a 30-year term, expiring December 2026.
- The India-Bangladesh Joint Rivers Commission was established in 1972.
- The Land Boundary Agreement (signed 1974) was implemented in 2015 through the 100th Constitutional Amendment Act.
- Bangladesh's current review reportedly covers approximately 101 bilateral agreements and MoUs.