Opening Thoughts

One year after the Monsoon Revolution, Bangladesh can come together to celebrate a new vision for its future — one where the vital forces of our rivers, rains, and seas are no longer overlooked in our policy priorities. However, all is not lost in translation! At the anniversary, Professor Muhammad Yunus, the honorable Chief Advisor of the current interim government, reminded the nation that “water is not merely a resource, it is the foundation of life and prosperity in this delta.” That the whole world is our neighbors because of the connection facilitated by the Bay of Bengal, our “third neighbor.”

Just in time, the honorable Chief Advisor echoed that truth with a policy declaration that could reshape our economic future: “We want to build a water-based economy.” To many, it may sound like a bold new idea. To me, it is the long-overdue confirmation of what I — and other students of the marine realm, maritime practitioners, and thinkers — have been urging for years: all our fortunes are in the Bay of Bengal, and that the “Sea is the Key.” But the keys have fine edges to open the locks, and those edges are the keys to the key to unlock the enormous potential of the great bounties offered by Allah Almighty through the Bay of Bengal!

Rewinding the timeline about five decades, the nation's most revered statesman, Shaheed President Zia, was not only a brave freedom fighter and a leader of exceptional vision, but also a genuine maritime pioneer who understood that a country's true prosperity is closely connected to its seas. He realized that for Bangladesh, a nation with its international opening through the Bay of Bengal, the sea was more than just a boundary; it was a source of opportunity, security, and pride.

To inspire patriotism among young people, he arranged for students to go on a voyage aboard the Bangladesh Navy ship Hizbul Bahar, taking them beyond the shoreline into the heart of the Bay. This was more than just a trip—it was an awakening. Standing on the deck, with the sea breeze in their faces and the vast horizon before them, these young minds could feel the pulse of their maritime heritage and the potential it held. President Zia’s initiative planted the seeds of a seafaring mindset, reminding the youth that Bangladesh’s future was deeply connected to the freedom, resources, and strategic importance of its waters. It was a leader’s vision, combining inspiration with action that turned a simple journey into a lifelong call to serve and safeguard the nation’s maritime frontier.

Bangladesh’s future is deeply connected to water. Our rivers serve as the primary channels bringing life from the Himalayas to the sea; the Bay of Bengal is the heart where this life interacts with the broader world. However, for decades, our national policies have focused primarily on land, viewing the maritime domain as less important instead of making it a key part of our economic and strategic future.

The Bay of Bengal: The Economic Powerhouse of the Nation

The Bay of Bengal connects Bangladesh to the Indian Ocean — the world’s busiest maritime route. This shipping corridor carries container ships, energy tankers, and bulk carriers that link Asia’s fastest-growing economies.

Our Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), protected by UNCLOS arbitration, spans a larger area than our land territory. It is rich in fisheries, hydrocarbons, marine biodiversity, and renewable energy sources. Offshore gas, wind, and tidal energy could secure our energy future. Deep-sea fishing, marine biotechnology, and seabed mineral exploration could generate jobs, boost exports, and improve food security. This is not just a distant dream; it is an essential geoeconomic priority.

Sea Power Shapes Destiny

Alfred Thayer Mahan’s 19th-century insight—that maritime nations rise to prominence through control of sea lanes, port development, and a strong merchant and naval presence—remains relevant today. For Bangladesh, sea power is more than just naval strength. It includes secure sea lines of communication (SLOC), efficient ports, a robust merchant fleet, and the ability to influence regional maritime affairs. As the Indo-Pacific Strategy (or an idea) becomes a key area of strategic competition, Bangladesh’s maritime posture will shape its role in the region’s balance of power.

Maritime Culture as a Central Element of National Identity

Maritime awareness should be central to our culture, just like in the Netherlands or Singapore, where the sea is more than a boundary—it's a source of prosperity and security. Bangladesh, as a delta country, should develop a similar identity—where the maritime sector is viewed as a space for opportunities in trade, security, research, and diplomacy.

Insights from history and scholarship

The call for a water-based economy becomes more meaningful when considering the insights of scholars who have studied the Bengal Delta and its relationship with water.

James Novak, in Reflections on Water, argues that in delta societies, water is both “the road and the destination.” This is particularly true in Bangladesh, where rivers and coastal waters have long been the main highways for goods, people, and ideas. The maritime realm is thus not an obstacle but an enabler — a cultural and economic connector.

Willem van Schendel’s research on the Bengal Delta highlights the concept of “fluid frontiers.” While political borders remain fixed, water boundaries are constantly changing, seasonal, and permeable.

Historically, the Bay of Bengal’s tidal cycles and river systems facilitated trade, migration, and cultural exchange across today's national borders. This fluidity suggests that our maritime policies should go beyond rigid national frameworks and foster cross-border cooperation in shipping, fisheries, and disaster response.

The “flattening of the Himalayas” is another profound reminder of our interdependence with the broader region. Himalayan erosion feeds silt into our rivers, replenishing the delta and creating the fertile lands on which millions depend. This process, however, also ties our economic fate to upstream water policies in India, Nepal, Bhutan, and China. Any long-term water-based economy must therefore consider basin-wide governance, not just maritime jurisdiction.

Richard Eaton’s frontier thesis provides another perspective. Eaton noted that Bengal’s history was shaped by the continuous movement of the agricultural and cultural frontier eastward and southward, driven by the shifting courses of rivers and the expansion of cultivation into forested and marshy areas. This “wet frontier” was not fixed — it grew as communities adjusted to new waterways and maritime commerce linked hinterlands to the coast. In this way, the Bay of Bengal has always been the ultimate frontier — the final, open edge where Bengal met the wider world. Eaton’s thesis reminds us that frontiers are not barriers; they are dynamic zones of change. Today, as climate change and geopolitics reshape the Indo-Pacific, we must once again view the maritime frontier as crucial to national renewal.

From Vision to Policy

The honorable Chief Advisor’s call for a water-based economy will stay talk unless it leads to structural reform. Three key strategic shifts are likely necessary:

1. Integrated Maritime Governance. A single maritime authority should oversee fisheries, shipping, offshore energy, environmental protection, and overall maritime security. Fragmented oversight weakens strategic capacity.

2. Strategic Infrastructure Development. Upgrade seaports into transshipment hubs; develop deep-sea fishing fleets; expand shipbuilding, update ship recycling in line with the Hong Kong Convention, and enhance repair facilities; strengthen hinterland connectivity by integrating river and sea transport into a seamless logistics network.

3. Human Capital Investment. Strengthen institutions like Bangladesh Maritime University (BMU), BORI, and BIMRAD to contribute to specialised education and training, and importantly, fund research into the blue economy realm, in oceanography, marine law, climate change, and maritime technology.

Climate Imperatives and Blue Economy Synergy

Our waters are both our greatest strength and our biggest weakness. Rising seas, saltwater intrusion, cyclones, and shifting monsoon patterns threaten our livelihoods. In my naval career, I have seen the Bay of Bengal serve as both a protector and a challenge — safeguarding us through connectivity, yet testing us with natural disasters. A truly water-based economy must be resilient to climate impacts: storm-resistant ports, sustainable offshore energy, well-regulated fisheries, and empowered coastal communities are essential.

The Time to Seize the Tide

We are not just a delta nation holding onto land against the advancing sea. We are a maritime nation located at a vital crossroads of trade, diplomacy, and oceanic wealth. As Richard Eaton and Willem van Schendel remind us, the history of Bengal is a story of adapting to changing waters and shifting frontiers. James Novak’s insights remind us that water is more than just a resource; it is the very medium of our identity and movement. The “flattening of the Himalayas” reminds us that our economic lifelines are connected through a vast, interconnected watershed.

History will not wait. The tides of the Bay of Bengal will keep flowing, with or without our preparedness. Let this moment — inspired by the Monsoon Revolution’s celebration and the Chief Advisor’s declaration — mark the turning point when Bangladesh chose to steer its destiny not just on its land, but on the waters that surround its shores.

Epilogue — Anchoring Our Future in the Sea

[The story of Bangladesh has always been written in water — in the rivers that carve our land, the monsoon rains that nourish our fields, and the tides of the Bay of Bengal that open us to the world. Yet for too long, we have turned our gaze inward, measuring progress only by what happens on land, while overlooking the horizon where our most significant opportunities lie. That mindset must change.

The Monsoon Revolution has given us more than a political milestone; it has given us a moment of clarity. It is a reminder that the vitality of our rivers, the power of our monsoon, and the promise of our seas are inseparably linked — and that this union must shape our national vision. A truly sovereign Bangladesh in the twenty-first century will not be defined solely by the security of its borders, but by mastery of its maritime frontier — by our ability to harness the wealth of our Exclusive Economic Zone, safeguard the sea lanes that carry our trade, and build a resilient, water-based economy that turns geography into destiny.

The wisdom of Mahan, the insights of scholars from Eaton to van Schendel, and the lived history of our delta’s fluid frontiers come together to reveal one truth: our lifeline is maritime. The choice is obvious. We can drift passively, allowing others to shape the future of the Bay of Bengal, or we can take control — unifying maritime governance, investing in strategic infrastructure, preparing our people for the blue economy, and embedding maritime awareness into our national identity.

The tide is rising, and history favors those who ride with it. Bangladesh now stands on the brink of a transformation as significant as any in its past. If we grasp this moment, the legacy of the Monsoon Revolution won't end on land; it will reach across the waters, where our shoreline becomes the starting point of our future. The sea is not our boundary; it is our strength. From that strength must flow the prosperity, security, and dignity for generations to come.

 

Writer: Commodore Syed Misbah Uddin Ahmad, (C), NUP, ndc, afwc, psc, BN (retd), Director General, Bangladesh Institute of Maritime Research and Development (BIMRAD). Email: misbah28686@gmail.com