Train to Bangladesh

Bangladesh, India to restore train links after four decades

Despite all the recent hooplah about restarting the Delhi-Lahore bus, I did not realize that India & Bangladesh also did not have train services, which were apparently stopped during the1965 war with Pakistan.

So, all those refugees from Bangladesh that some people keep whining about pouring into India come by buses, I guess? For some reasons, I had an image of trains full of refugees arriving at Calcutta station, as told to me by an ex-colleague who was an ex-Calcutta native. Maybe that was the case post-1947 but pre-1965, I now learn this obviously was not the case.

Anyways, surprising that train services were not re-established after 1971 either, despite Indi(r)a's help in the creation of Bangladesh through another war with Pakistan! Amazing that it has taken this long ...

Of course, all this is ironical considering the World cup outcome... but I say that just in jest and know it is a frivolous remark :)

P.S Speaking of Pakistan, read Amit Varma's recent essay, ”General Musharraf’s Incentives.”