New Delhi, Friday. Nobody expects Bangladesh to spring into vibrant life overnight. Its officials have only arrived at their desks this morning and the task they face would daunt even the most sophisticated administration. But the question that is nagging at India is just how long, the new infant will have to suck at the teat before it can start to be weaned. At the moment, of course, there is a great wave of national unity led by the Awami League, which won such a sweeping victory in the elections last December. This honeymoon is likely to last for a reasonable period, but there are evidence indicating the strains to come already. It tends to get overlooked in the swirl of recent events that Sheikh Mujibur Rahman - the father of the nation now held in the West Pakistan prison - never sought independence during his political campaign. Admittedly, his Six Points came remarkably near full autonomy but he always drew back from the final break with the Punjabis of the Western wing.

The platform on which he fought his election campaign was a federal constitution (in which the central government would be responsible only for defence and foreign affairs), separate currencies for the two wings, fiscal independence for the two federal elements, separate foreign exchange accounts, and separate militia. He certainly wanted to break the power of the centre, but not the connection with the West. The Sheikh’s actions during tense months between the election and the final suppression of the Bengalis are certainly open to the charge of political naivety, and it is said that he was considerably over-awed by President Yahya Khan at a purely personal level. At the moment he is a great symbolic figure for the Bengalis and his release is certainly regarded is a top priority for the new Government as well as for Mrs. Gandhi. If it is achieved it must then be asked how effectively he can actually hold the reins, and over what period.

And this is the inevitable undertow in the current political scene in Bangladesh. The struggle for independence, after all, has taken place entirely in the Sheikh’s absence. He was arrested by the Pakistan army within hours of having proclaimed the creation of the new State - a proclamation made well after the twelfth hour. What has now emerged is a new band of younger figures who were blooded in the guerrilla campaign which lasted for eight months and are politically well to the left of the Awami League. They may be content to rest quiet for the moment, but it is unlikely that this quiescence will be sustained.

About the last thing that Bangladesh needs at this point is political instability, but it is hard to see how it can be avoided as the difficulties of the new State emerge in concrete form. It has already proclaimed itself as a Socialist Republic, but that can cover a wide range of possibilities. It is an open question whether the present leadership is really going to be as socialistic as the younger elements of the Mukti Bahini would like. So there will be the unavoidable rows about just how much nationalisation needs to be done to get things working again, how the country’s scarce resources are to be apportioned, and whether to accept aid from such countries as the United States (which has dropped hints that it is willing, in a swift volt-face). And the longer the argument goes on, the less will be achieved on the ground.

Bangladesh’s primary difficulty, as with so many emerging nations, is that it is basically a one-crop country. The exports of jute and its related products accounted for the huge proportion of its foreign exchange earnings. The total value of the export crop was about £8,500 millions compared with about £410 millions for hides and skins, and about £70 millions for tea - its next biggest earners. But the jute business is now in chaos. The production has been totally disrupted, the warehouses in which much of the crop was stored have been targets for the guerrilla, and it is not something that can be put right overnight. The tea business was similarly afflicted, producing only about a third of the crop that other countries in the region were getting, and also chronically short of fertilisers and pesticides. All in all, the country has a very long way to go in terms of efficiency.

The industrialisation programme has been virtually non-existent because of the policies followed by successive Pakistan governments. In the 24 years since Independence, for example, cotton textile production has risen from 508 million yards a year to 550 million yards - something like one third of one per cent a year. Electricity generation capacity is about 180,000 kilowatts - a pathetic, figure of about the same order of capacity as the American nuclear carrier, the Enterprise. Investment in steel plant has reached a total of 11 million pounds, which might keep the country in tin mugs, but not much more.

Quite apart from the vast amounts of money which will be needed to sort out all these problems it will also need administrators of high ability and in large numbers. Here again, the Bengalis have suffered from their domination by the West. In the central civil service they held only about one-sixth of the jobs and this pattern was repeated through all the major organs of state. They have now got to build up an administration from scratch: the talent may be there but the experience is not. The Indians have moved in sonic of their own civil servants to get things on the move, but this could be a politically tricky operation if it goes on too long. Bengali nationalism is a flourishing emotion now, and is not likely to greet Indian domination with much warmth. Reasonably enough, Bangladesh wants to stand on its own feet, but its judgement about its ability may not be all that hot.

In the end, of course, it will all come back to cash, and that will be the biggest headache of all. Islamabad has always made certain that the State funds are held firmly in the West and it seems improbable that President Yahya is now going to hand over the East’s share. India will obviously help out at the start, but how long can she keep it up? She has enough problems of her own, as the recent financial statement demonstrated, and again there is the delicate problem of politics. The Bengalis are going to be desperate for funds, which offers a ripe field for monetary imperialism by just all comers. Russia is certainly interested and the Americans are nibbling. Can China be far behind? None of this cash is likely to be offered altruistically unless international morality has undergone a dramatic change in the past 24 hours. Looked at coolly. Sheikh Mujib might be better off as a martyr than as a returning hero.