Modi, Yunus set aside differences to hold talks on minorities, boundary tensions, and Hasina
The Prime Minister of India and Bangladesh's Chief Adviser held talks covering the safety of minorities, boundary-related tensions, and water-sharing issues
The discussion also touched on matters relating to Bangladesh's former Prime Minister, who has been residing in India since her removal from office
The Ganges Water Treaty and the long-pending Teesta water-sharing arrangement were among the subjects raised
The meeting was reported to have lasted around 40 minutes
The Ganges (Ganga) Water Sharing Treaty, 1996
The India-Bangladesh Ganges Water Treaty was signed in December 1996 to share the flow of the Ganga measured at the Farakka Barrage during the lean/dry season (1 January to 31 May). It replaced a series of short-term ad hoc arrangements that had governed sharing since the 1970s.
Key Details
- Signed: 12 December 1996; established a 30-year sharing framework
- Sharing is computed in 10-day periods based on the river's flow at Farakka, with roughly equal (50:50) sharing when flow is around 70,000-75,000 cusecs, and different formulae at higher or lower flows
- The treaty's 30-year term places its expiry around end-2026, making renewal negotiations time-sensitive
- Farakka Barrage, commissioned in 1975, is the key structure that diverts Ganga water into the Hooghly to flush silt from the Kolkata port, and is central to the water-sharing dispute
With the treaty nearing the end of its 30-year term, discussions between the two governments on renewal are a live bilateral issue, making any high-level meeting between Indian and Bangladeshi leadership an opportunity to signal progress or delay on renegotiation.
The Teesta River Water-Sharing Dispute
The Teesta originates in Sikkim, flows through West Bengal, and joins the Brahmaputra in Bangladesh. Unlike the Ganges, India and Bangladesh have never concluded a binding treaty on sharing Teesta waters, despite decades of negotiation.
Key Details
- A draft 2011 interim arrangement proposed roughly 42.5% of dry-season flow to India and 37.5% to Bangladesh, with the remainder as environmental flow, but it was not signed due to objections from the West Bengal state government
- Water is a State subject under the Constitution's Seventh Schedule (State List, Entry 17), which is why the concurrence of the concerned state government (West Bengal, in this case) has practical significance for inter-country river-sharing agreements even though foreign affairs and treaties fall under the Union List
- The dispute is a recurring irritant in India-Bangladesh relations alongside border management and migration issues
The Teesta issue being raised alongside the Ganges treaty reflects the interlinked nature of India-Bangladesh river diplomacy, where sub-national (state) political and constitutional dynamics directly shape a Union government's foreign policy commitments.
India-Bangladesh Relations Since the 2024 Political Transition
Bangladesh's former Prime Minister left office amid mass protests in 2024 and has since stayed in India, while an interim administration has headed the government in Dhaka. This transition reshaped the bilateral relationship, introducing new friction points around border management, treatment of religious minorities, and extradition requests.
Key Details
- Bangladesh's interim government has sought the former Prime Minister's extradition from India; India and Bangladesh have an Extradition Treaty (2013, amended 2016), though political offence exceptions and procedural questions complicate such requests
- Reports of attacks on religious minorities (including Hindus) in Bangladesh following the transition have been a recurring concern raised by India at bilateral engagements
- Border management between India and Bangladesh is governed by mechanisms such as the Border Security Force-Border Guard Bangladesh (BSF-BGB) coordination framework, distinct from the boundary demarcation settled by the Land Boundary Agreement (2015, 100th Constitutional Amendment)
- The Land Boundary Agreement (2015) resolved decades-old enclave and adverse possession issues along the India-Bangladesh border, exchanging enclaves and formally settling the boundary
The reference to the extradition question and to boundary tensions in the same meeting shows how the post-2024 political transition in Bangladesh has layered new diplomatic and security issues on top of long-pending river-sharing questions.
- Ganges Water Treaty signed: 12 December 1996; 30-year term (expiry around late 2026)
- Farakka Barrage commissioned: 1975
- Draft 2011 Teesta interim sharing formula: approximately 42.5% India, 37.5% Bangladesh (never signed)
- India-Bangladesh Land Boundary Agreement: 2015, enacted via the 100th Constitutional Amendment Act
- Water is a State List subject (Entry 17, Seventh Schedule); treaty-making is a Union List subject (Entry 14)
- Reported duration of the talks: approximately 40 minutes