With the new government at the helm focusing on a neighbourhood-first approach, there is renewed vigour in settling the India-Bangladesh boundary issue. The recent months has seen a strengthening of bilateral ties and greater collaboration, especially on the issue of the shared boundaries and terrorism. Bangladesh’s Sheikh Hasina-led government has been responsive to India’s needs and seeks further cooperation especially in the economic sphere.
On January 8, Gateway House hosted Salil Tripathi, author, well-known journalist and human rights activist, to discuss his recently published book on Bangladesh titled ‘The Colonel Who Would Not Repent: The Bangladesh War and its Unquiet Legacy’. The book is an effort to chronicle as well as understand the blood-soaked history of the creation of Bangladesh and this legacy’s impact on the current political environment.
Tripathi was in conversation with Neelam Deo, Director, Gateway House.
This meeting was the sixth in the Gateway House SAARC Series.
Salil Tripathi studied at New Era School and later Sydenham College, Mumbai and did his MBA at Amos Tuck School, Dartmouth College in the U.S. He has been a correspondent in India, Singapore and Hong Kong and his work has appeared in publications, including the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, New Republic, New Yorker, Guardian, India Today and Far Eastern Economic Review. His writing has won a Bastiat Prize and the Citibank Pan Asia Journalism Award. He is a contributing editor at Mint and Caravan, and lives in London.
During her assignments in the Ministry of External Affairs, Ambassador Neelam Deo was Joint Secretary for Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and the Maldives. A distinguished diplomat, Neelam has been the Indian Ambassador to Denmark and Ivory Coast with concurrent accreditation to several West African countries. She has also served in Indian embassies in Washington D.C., Bangkok and Rome. Her last assignment was as Consul General in New York. Her most challenging mission was liaising with the U.S. congress on strategic issues in Washington DC.
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