[🇧🇩] Indo-Bangla Relation: India's Regional Ambition, Geopolitical Reality, and Strategic Options For Bangladesh

[Saif]

Indo-Bangla ties can’t be limited to a single issue

The mutual cooperation between Bangladesh and India is multidimensional and cannot be restricted to a single issue, said Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pranay Kumar Verma.

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Indo-Bangla ties can’t be limited to a single issue
Indian envoy tells session of Bay of Bengal Conversation

Photo: Collected

The mutual cooperation between Bangladesh and India is multidimensional and cannot be restricted to a single issue, said Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pranay Kumar Verma.

He made the remark yesterday addressing the second session of the Bay of Bengal Conversation symposium, organised by the Centre for Governance Studies at the Pan Pacific Sonargaon in Dhaka.

"Our relations can't be restricted to a single agenda or a single issue. The reality of our interdependence and mutual benefit will keep asserting itself over and over again regardless of the change in political will.

"Regardless of how it [the relations] may be characterised, we [India] believe it's a people-centric relationship … India will continue to seek a stable relationship for the sake of the people," he said.

"We issue more visas than any other diplomatic missions here," Verma said, additionallynoting that visa operations arecurrently limited.

He added that Bangladesh's zero tolerance for terrorism and refusal to harbour Indian anti-insurgency elements areimportant to India.

"Bangladesh sits at the intersection of most of India's foreign policy decisions. Our peace, progress, and security are interlinked."

Meanwhile, Dr Sreeradha Datta, professor at the Jindal School of International Affairs at OP Jindal Global University, said, "Integration in South Asia can only happen surrounding the India-Bangladesh caucus. That's how important it is."

The relationship between the two countries has been under pressure after former prime minister Sheikh Hasina sought refuge in India following her ouster on August 5.

Indian Foreign Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told the Rajya Sabha on August 6 that Hasina had sought approval to come to India on a "short notice".

The Indian media had reported that upon crossing the India-Bangladesh border, Hasina's exit flight was escorted by two fighter jets. She is reportedly staying at a safehouse in New Delhi.

The International Crimes Tribunal has asked Interpol to issue a red notice for Hasina's arrest in connection with the deaths of hundreds of protesters during the mass uprising against her in July.

Meanwhile, speakers at the conference also spoke about Indo-Pacific security and prioritising sovereignty.

Responding to a question about how the Chinese-built submarine base in Cox's Bazar's Pekua impacts Indo-Pacific security, the Acting High Commissioner for Australia Nardia Simpson said, "The question isn't about who was involved but about whether [Bangladesh's] sovereignty was prioritised."

She went on to say that Bangladesh must act for itself and not be acted upon.

Simpson added that security for the Indo-Pacific means a position "where a larger country cannot dominate and where all countries' sovereignty is respected."

David Brewster, senior research fellow at the National Security College in Australia, said Bangladesh holds the unique position to stabilise the increasingly fractured relations concerning the Indo-Pacific. "It can check major powers to make sure no one dominates."

He added, "It has long puzzled me why Bangladesh has not been a larger player in the region. Bangladesh has vital interests, but in recent years it has not sought to shape the strategic interests concerning the region in line with its own policy."​

 

[Saif]

Delhi wants stable ties with Dhaka: Indian envoy

The Indian high commissioner to Bangladesh, Pranay Verma, on Sunday said that his country would continue to seek a stable, positive and constructive relationship with...

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Delhi wants stable ties with Dhaka: Indian envoy
Staff Correspondent 17 November, 2024, 21:50

Pranay Verma | Collected photo

The Indian high commissioner to Bangladesh, Pranay Verma, on Sunday said that his country would continue to seek a stable, positive and constructive relationship with Bangladesh with the people of both countries being the main stakeholders.

He described the relations between the two countries as ‘people-centric’ based on mutual trust and respect.

‘India will continue to seek a stable, positive and constructive relationship with Bangladesh in which people of both countries are the main stakeholders,’ said the envoy while speaking on India-Bangladesh relations during the Bay of Bengal Conversation at a hotel in Dhaka.

Highlighting the importance of the relations between the two neighbouring countries, Pranay expressed India’s commitment to working together with the government and people of Bangladesh to fulfill shared aspirations for peace, security and development, and to ensure that the partnership continued to bring benefit to the common people on both sides.

He stressed that India took a long-term view of its relations with Bangladesh and believed that the peace, security, progress and prosperity of the two countries were interlinked.

The high commissioner underlined the continued progress in trade, transport and energy connectivity and people-to-people engagements as a reflection of multifaceted ties, in which the reality of interdependence and mutual benefit would keep reasserting itself, ‘regardless of political changes’.

He mentioned the launch of 40 MW power transmission from Nepal to Bangladesh through the Indian grid, and the augmentation of infrastructure at the Petrapole-Benapole Integrated Check Post, both within this month itself, as examples of continued progress in bilateral exchanges.

He also described India-Bangladesh cooperation as an anchor for regional integration envisaged under architectures such as BIMSTEC.

Pranay underlined the need for constructive and pragmatic engagement, admitting the fact that there were irritants among the two nations.

The three-day geopolitical conference organised by the Centre for Governance Studies, an independent think tank based in Dhaka, will conclude today.​

 

[Saif]

Reflections on India-Bangladesh relations

Our relationship with Bangladesh is long-standing and unique. We are linked by a shared history, a shared geography, in addition to a common language and culture. We both seek, and value, a relationship based on mutual trust and understanding, and mutual respect. There is broad shared empathy

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Reflections on India-Bangladesh relations
Pranay Verma
Published :
Nov 18, 2024 21:47
Updated :
Nov 18, 2024 21:47

Bangladesh Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain and India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on September 24 this year Photo : Agency

Our relationship with Bangladesh is long-standing and unique. We are linked by a shared history, a shared geography, in addition to a common language and culture. We both seek, and value, a relationship based on mutual trust and understanding, and mutual respect. There is broad shared empathy between our people, much of which can be traced back to Bangladesh's Liberation War of 1971. Regardless of how it may be characterised, it is a people-centric relationship. People and public-opinion shape our relations more than we realise.

As a neighbour to whom we take a long-term view of our relations, our ties with Bangladesh derive strength from our belief that our peace, security, progress and prosperity are interlinked. And therefore, we strive to create common stakes in our mutual prosperity through a robust framework of multifaceted cooperation. Both of us are important stakeholders in the peace, security and development of Bay of Bengal. We also share a common biosphere and ecological environment, which makes our collaboration vital to address shared challenges such as environmental sustainability and climate change.

Because of its geographical location, emerging capacities, and growing regional and global ambitions, Bangladesh is not just a pillar of our "Neighbourhood First" Policy, but sits at the intersection of most of India's key foreign policy visions - such as the "Act East Policy", the doctrine of SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in Region), as well as our Indo-Pacific Vision.

We believe ours is a relationship of great consequence, not just for the two of us, but also for our region, given our growing capacities and aspirations to get more integrated by leveraging each other's strengths and complementarities. Bangladesh is uniquely poised to advance the integration agenda under the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), being located at the geographical, political and economic centre of gravity of the region and also as the host of BIMSTEC's headquarters.

Many transformative changes that have taken place in our relations and which unlocked the growth potential of the region, are results of mutual sensitivity we have shown to each other's concerns and aspirations. Bangladesh's "zero-tolerance" to terrorism and its determination of not sheltering insurgencies targeting India, proved vital for our cooperation and prosperity. It will remain an important factor in the future development of our two countries, our region and our relationship.

One of our biggest achievements - the resolution of our maritime and land boundaries, has opened up whole host of avenues for our land and maritime connectivity as well as cooperation in blue economy. Our maritime boundary settlement, by referring the matter to the Permanent Court of Arbitration and then following its ruling in letter and spirit, is a fine example of how the principle of democratic and rules based international order that we strongly believe in, has found reflection in our bilateral conduct.

A key manifestation of the transformation of our multifaceted partnership, that has directly benefitted the people of both our countries, is our growing trade and economic engagement, and our connectivity links.

Today, Bangladesh is our largest trade partner in South Asia and the fifth largest in the world. India under SAFTA has unilaterally given duty-free, quota-free access to Bangladesh for more than a decade now, for all goods, which has enabled greater exports from Bangladesh to India.

We often hear concerns about trade deficit for Bangladesh, but it is important to appreciate that much of India's exports to Bangladesh either constitute critical inputs for a large part of Bangladesh's exports, or are supplies of essential commodities that help Bangladesh deal with inflationary pressures.

Actually, a less appreciated fact is that India is now among the largest export markets for Bangladesh in the entire Asia, with Bangladeshi exports to India consistently hovering around 2-billion-dollar mark over the last few years. And we do want this number to grow.

We strongly believe that connectivity is a major enabler that help our societies, our businesses and our people to closely connect and benefit from each other. And we have made quite some progress.

With a contiguous geography and a long shared-history, in many ways, we are actually trying to reconnect our two countries. We have restored six of the seven pre-1965 railway links for both passengers and goods. A major part of our bilateral trade and people-to-people movement are channelled through thirty-six functioning Land Customs Stations, five of which have been upgraded to the level of Integrated Check Posts. Just earlier this month, we added new infrastructure at Petrapole Integrated Check Post that will significantly enhance cargo movement and passenger convenience.

Today, Bangladesh RMG exporters are using three large Indian airports - Kolkata, Delhi and Bengaluru - as highly cost-effective transshipment hubs for their exports to third countries, making Bangladeshi products much more competitive in western markets. Our deep-sea ports are ready to offer similar advantages to Bangladeshi exporters.

Our connectivity links are not limited to trade and transport. We are also building robust energy connectivity. Some of the examples are - a new cross-border diesel pipeline launched last year bringing high-speed diesel from an Indian refinery to Bangladesh; the cross-border power transmission lines uninterruptedly supplying nearly 1200 MW of power from Indian power grid to Bangladesh; and the first transmission of 40 MW of power from Nepal to Bangladesh through the Indian grid just two days ago. All these are examples of how our energy connectivity and collaboration is augmenting our energy security and contributing to creation of a true regional economy.

In short, our approach to connectivity is a simple one - it is about transforming our geographical proximity into new economic opportunities that benefit people of both our countries and also the entire region.

Our belief that people are the foundation of our relations was evident when COVID-19 struck us when we opened our arms to help each other. It is also evident in our large visa operations in Bangladesh, where despite current limited operations, we issue more visas to Bangladeshi citizens each day than any other diplomatic mission in Dhaka.

As custodians of our future relationship, youth are an important stakeholder in our partnership. This is evident in nearly a thousand scholarships every year that India offers to Bangladeshi youths and young professionals, including from civil society and media, belonging to all regions and affiliations. Just two months ago, more than five hundred highly talented Bangladeshi students left for higher education in some of India's premier educational institutions on our ICCR scholarship. Our Bangladesh Youth Delegation, or the BYD programme as it is popularly known, is another robust platform for our youth outreach that today has a proud, nationwide alumni network.

To sum it all up, India will continue to seek a stable, positive and constructive relationship with Bangladesh in which our people are the main stakeholders. We have and will continue to support a democratic, stable, peaceful and progressive Bangladesh. We remain committed to working together with the government and people of Bangladesh to fulfil the shared aspirations of our peoples for peace, security and development. And we strongly believe that our partnership must benefit the common people on both sides.

Both India and Bangladesh are today far more developed and capable than they were ever before. And we also depend on each other far more today than we ever used to, as our economies and development paths continue to intertwine. We must keep reinforcing our interdependencies.

As two aspirational societies with growing economic capabilities, there is so much we can offer to each other, and create new opportunities if we continue to engage closely, pragmatically and constructively with each other. A strong and prosperous Bangladesh, we believe, is vital for India just as a strong and prosperous India is for Bangladesh.

And, a final reflection. The fact that our trade and economic ties, our transport and energy connectivity, and our people-to-people engagements have sustained a positive momentum, despite the turbulent changes in Bangladesh, shows that our relations are truly multifaceted, and cannot be reduced to a single agenda or issue. There are irritants but they have not restricted the overall forward movement in our relations. As two nations whose progress and prosperity are as inter-linked as our geographies and historical roots, the reality of our interdependence and mutual benefit will keep reasserting itself again and again, regardless of changes in the political wind.

We must shape the course and narrative of this very important relationship, with objectivity and with empathy.

The writer is High Commissioner of India in Dhaka, Bangladesh.​

 

[Saif]

Indo-Bangla high-level meet in Dec

Bangladesh and India’s first high-level official meeting since the fall of the Awami League government is scheduled for December in Dhaka.

www.thedailystar.net

Indo-Bangla high-level meet in Dec
2 foreign secys to lead first talks after Hasina’s fall

Photo: Collected

Bangladesh and India's first high-level official meeting since the fall of the Awami League government is scheduled for December in Dhaka.

According to a foreign ministry official, Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Jashim Uddin and Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri will lead the Foreign Office Consultation.

The foreign ministry is preparing the necessary agenda for the meeting and will hold an inter-ministerial preparatory meeting regarding this at the foreign ministry today, he told this correspondent.

The meeting will discuss the existing agreements and memoranda of understanding and the developments of the decisions taken in the earlier meetings.

Indo-Bangla relations have been strained following the ouster of the Awami League government and the sheltering of the former prime minister Sheikh Hasina in India.

Bangladesh Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus in his address to the nation on November 17, said Dhaka will request New Delhi for Hasina's extradition.

Since the fall of the Awami League government, the Indian High Commission has limited the visas being issued to Bangladeshi tourists.

Besides, many of the projects under the Indian Line of Credit have also remained halted as the Indian contractors have not yet returned to Bangladesh for security concerns.

Prof Sreeradha Datta, a South Asian expert who teaches international affairs at the Hariyana-based OP Jindal Global University

Meanwhile, Foreign Adviser Touhid Hossain earlier told the media that Dhaka will review the agreements and MoUs signed with New Delhi over the last few years.

Indian scholar Prof Sreeradha Datta, who specialises in South Asian affairs, earlier told The Daily Star that a high-level meeting between the two countries should be held at the earliest to ease relations.

Bangladesh Foreign Adviser Touhid Hossain and Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York in late September.

However, Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting there could not be held as their stay in New York then did not overlap.​

 

[Saif]

India’s hubris

Isn’t it time for India to come to terms with the reality about its neighbours, particularly about its most strategically located neighbour, Bangladesh?

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India’s hubris

Visual: Aliza Rahman

"We make our friends; we make our enemies; but God makes our next-door neighbours" - Gilbert K Chesterton

Isn't it time for India to come to terms with the reality about its neighbours, particularly about its most strategically located neighbour, Bangladesh? One wonders whether India realises that until the successful Monsoon Revolution in Bangladesh, the only government in the region that was close to it was that of Sheikh Hasina, whose regime, elected through questionable processes, India had consistently helped to sustain for 15 long years. And with every passing year, as the Hasina regime became more and more autocratic, India was seen as increasingly complicit in the travails and woes caused by the destruction of democracy and abridgement of the basic rights of Bangladeshis. Most saw the prolonged agony that Bangladesh went through as being the result of India's unflinching support for the Awami League (AL) to further its own geostrategic interests.

The degree of commitment of the Indian administration to AL is evident from the fact that some of the top leaders of the ousted regime have been given sanctuary in that country. Skeletons hidden in their closet for so long have only just started to emerge.

Before Bangladesh, it was for the Maldives to show that it had had enough of India. The gumption shown by the then newly elected president, Mohamed Muizzu, to say openly that his country would not be bullied by its big neighbour might have irked India, but that view is fairly representative of the views of citizens in India's many other South Asian neighbours. A new president in Sri Lanka from a party formed on nationalistic platforms must have added to India's worries.

India doesn't like being shown the door, and it showed after Muizzu ordered Indians to leave. And as is the tradition with the Indian establishment and media, it was the Maldives that was painted as the villain. No one bothered to analyse why Muizzu took the stand that he did.

The South Block and the Indian media must delve deep into why public opinion in Bangladesh had turned so vehemently against India over the years. It was guilt by association. Hasina served Indian economic and strategic interests—much at the expense of Bangladesh, we must add—and so India did everything to see that AL continued their hold on power. Anyone reading or watching only the Indian print and electronic media, particularly in the days following the July-August mass revolution, would be led to believe that a most benevolent servant of the people of Bangladesh, elected by overwhelming popular mandate, was illegally pushed out of power and made to flee to India!

The Indian media's lamentation about the death of democracy and collapse of Bangladesh's economy post-Hasina is in stark contrast to its deafening silence on Awami League's 15 years of misrule and wanton looting of national wealth by Hasina, her family, and party members, aided and abetted by a partisan bureaucracy. Largesse was also distributed among state institutions to make them pliant to her plunder and pillage. Nothing of the kind was published in the Indian media. Needless to say, the Indian media's lamentation in unison represents the opinion and position of the South Block.

India continues to play the Hindu card, exaggerating the stray incidents in Bangladesh, quite happily forgetting the unabated persecution of the minorities—particularly of the Muslims—in the last 10 years under the Modi regime.

The contrasting role of the media in the two countries has been very stark and noticeable. The media in Bangladesh has been virtually mum about the plight of the Muslims in India, fearing the oppressive laws that lay down stringent punishment for anyone expressing an opinion that might "harm bilateral relations" with our neighbours. Our mainstream media was scared even to publish the facts. Notice the contrasting role of the Indian media. Not only have exaggerations been resorted to but stories have also been fabricated to run a propaganda campaign about the so-called persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh.

India's diplomatic and intelligence failure in Bangladesh was hard to swallow for its leadership. Hence the venomous invective spewing from their mouth, which, thankfully, has been dismissed as guttural utterances by most world leaders. Such utterances do little to engender good neighbourly feelings, and good feelings are a precondition to a good mutual relationship.

Inevitably, India has predominated the foreign policy posture of Bangladesh since 1971. If one's foreign policy revolves around mainly three concentric circles—immediate neighbours, the region, and the international ambit—Bangladesh's first two circles have been dominated by India only, reminding one of the rueful remarks of a Mexican president, "So far from God, so near to the United States."

Indian leaders had not flinched from betraying their intention to be an "elder brother", if not a "big brother", and one of the foreign ministers is on record saying as much and in as many words. But while the main text has been followed to the letter and spirit, the subtext that it will care for its "younger brother" has been purged from the Indian leaders' mind.

A caring neighbour does not resort to shooting of harmless people on the border, nor does it renege on its commitment to observe the international norms and conventions related to the sharing of common resources. Nor would it take for a caring neighbour 41 long years to ratify an agreement. An administration that believes in dealings on the basis of sovereign equality with neighbours would try to remove the disparaging and irresponsible comments that have been coming out of the mouths of very senior Indian leaders, including ministers.

Indian scholars keep on harping on one single issue: anti-Indian activities conducted from inside Bangladesh. The same narrative has again been regurgitated by an Indian scholar in a recent interview with a leading Bangladeshi newspaper. What our interviewers failed to ask the Indian scholar was to say when such activities were last recorded.

It is not for India to ask for Bangladesh's assurance. All of India's security concerns have been met fully, and more. Rather, it is for Bangladesh to ask whether India would fulfil its commitments as a responsible neighbour.

We would like to remind our neighbour by repeating what we had said in the past: that there is a thin line between being a big country and being a great one. And that line is often inflated into a chasm by the petty-minded upholders of so-called enlightened self-interest.

It is also a good thought to conclude that Bangladesh would like to see India as neither a big nor an elder brother, but a gracious neighbour.

Brig Gen Shahedul Anam Khan, ndc, psc (retd) is a former associate editor of The Daily Star.​

 

[Saif]

What purpose does the Indian media propaganda about Bangladesh serve?

BJP's media allies demonstrated the lengths to which they would go to mask India's domestic challengers under Modi's leadership.

images.thedailystar.net

What purpose does the Indian media propaganda about Bangladesh serve?
Hindus in Bangladesh themselves called on the Indian media to display facts.

In his Independence Day speech, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasised that 1.4 billion Indians are worried about the safety of Hindu minorities in post-Hasina Bangladesh, in New Delhi, on August 15, 2024. FILE PHOTO: AFP

Since the student-led mass uprising toppled Sheikh Hasina's regime in Bangladesh on August 5, a new reality dawned on the horizon for the nation grappling with uncertainty. But in neighbouring India's media, an alternate reality of what was not seen on the streets of Bangladesh emerged. An incessant flow of misinformation and largely disinformation flooded social media. The attacks on Hindu minorities, which did indeed take place, was put on steroids to detract and distract from the real sentiments of the movement.

There was a clear and apparent campaign by the "Godi media"—a term coined by veteran Ramon Magsaysay award-winning Indian journalist Ravish Kumar to refer to media outlets that share unobjective alliances with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)—to paint Bangladesh's democratic uprising against its former dictator as purely "anti-Indian" (in a roundabout way) and claim it was engineered by everything ranging from religious extremist forces to the US "Deep State." The latter claim came from none other than Republic TV's Arnab Goswami, who was initially reportedly funded by a prominent BJP politician, but he claims the shares have been bought back. Appearing on his channel, Goswami said, "When Rahul Gandhi goes to London and says America must save Indian democracy, this is the intervention he is probably talking about," as he pointed towards videos of Gono Bhaban being ransacked, buses being burnt in Dhaka and so on playing in the background. BJP MP Anurag Thakur called out Congress party's supposed hypocrisy in Lok Sabha by saying, "You spoke about Gaza but not about minorities in Bangladesh." The same sentiments were echoed by Aaj Tak's Sudhir Chaudhary when he compared the attacks against minorities in Bangladesh to the genocide in Gaza. "No country, no community in the world stepped forward to stop this genocide. Like how they did for Rafah," he said.

Hindus in Bangladesh themselves called on the Indian media to display facts. Bipra Prasun Das, a 21-year-old Hindu student from North South University in Dhaka, whose ancestral home was burnt down during the week of Hasina's fall, told Indian media watchdog Newslaundry, "If the Indian media had done its job properly, we would've had an easier time talking about what we are facing." This account itself shows that the endless distortion of the violence against minorities in Bangladesh in the pro-establishment media in India has taken attention away from the real attacks that happened and, in fact, caused more harm. So then, who does this propaganda about Bangladesh serve?

Before Hasina's ousting, writer Aakar Patel in The Wire had written an article, interviewing people in these pro-establishment channels, who said the overt majoritarianism under Narendra Modi has produced a condition where "existent bigotry is given a platform to be amplified." Along with this, this section of the Indian media used the situation in Bangladesh to attack the Congress party and the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (I.N.D.I.A.) and breed further division in India itself.

The necessity of an aggressive stance against the opposition has been clear after the elections where BJP failed to reach a majority on its own, in spite of its slogan, "Abki baar 400 paar," which means, "This time surpassing 400" of the 543 seats in Lok Sabha. BJP did not even reach the magic 272 seats needed to form a government, and had to rely on the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi called the results "a moral and political defeat for Mr Modi." Although Modi did in fact bring home a third term, his grip on the nation seems to be dwindling and the difference between the parties widening, which can be further seen by analysing the contrast in their approaches towards Prof Muhammad Yunus-led interim government in Bangladesh.

For instance, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said it was "natural that we will deal with the government of the day," and that the relationship between the two countries has had its "ups and downs." Jaishankar's comments were stiff, steering clear of any jubilation or adversity, which was in sharp contrast to how Congress leader and former diplomat Shashi Tharoor addressed it. Speaking to NDTV, Tharoor said Prof Yunus taking over was "a very good sign, he is a highly respected figure, he has a reputation that goes beyond politics," elaborating that he is also "a figure that would certainly contribute to stability in Bangladesh" and that "stability is in our [India's] interest." When asked about reports on attacks on minorities, Tharoor said there was indeed anarchy for a couple days, but he also stated, "I have also seen reports of Bengali Muslims protecting Hindu temples and protecting Hindu homes," adding that "we should be telling both sides of the story."

In this context, it's also important to note the BJP's realpolitik foreign policy. Debidatta Mahapatra of the Times of India explained India's current foreign policy as it stood on the sidelines of the Russia-Ukraine war, until Prime Minister Modi's recent historic visit to Ukraine. "As realist prudence demands, India cannot simply undertake a moralist standpoint and ignore the dictates of realpolitik," described Mahapatra. This very use of realpolitik in India's neighbourhood policy—which is understandable as nations do act in their own interests—has bred the anti-India sentiments that we saw in the Maldives earlier this year.

Undoubtedly, the portrayal of India's international strength by the BJP, the hosting of the G20 Summit and its renewed importance on the world stage are all causes for national pride for India. BJP capitalises on it for its own party's incentives, reframing what would have historically been Indian pride into Hindu nationalistic pride. This is a page out of a cultural populist's playbook, the use of "us vs them," as we have seen time and time again by Prime Minister Modi. The "Hindu pride"—which is more to do with politics and little, if none, with religion—is sold to the public because real metrics don't indicate the best picture.

Raghuram Rajan, former governor of India's central bank who resigned two years into BJP taking power, stated that Modi's goals of becoming a developed economy by 2047 is unachievable, citing high dropout rates and lack of high school education in the country of 1.4 billion where more than half are below the age of 30. Youth unemployment stands at 45.4 percent, one of the highest in the world. The Global Hunger Index rated their child wasting rate as the highest in the world—at 18.7 percent—exceeding countries with active conflicts such as Yemen. This makes it imperative for the BJP to hold onto realpolitik policies to sell its position in the world to its people at the cost of fostering antagonistic attitude with its neighbours—which are all a part of what the Hindustan Times calls the "Modi-Doval-Jaishankar" playbook. The playbook can be summarised as "shaping democratic verdicts" when deemed necessary.

Many commentaries have been written to understand the purpose of the Indian media's propaganda, aligned with the ousted Awami League, such as Sajeeb Wazed Joy's recent post on Facebook about controversial journalist Chandan Nandy's report suggesting, without evidence, that "Bangladeshi student movement 'coordinators' met ISI, US handlers in Pakistan, Dubai and Doha between April and September (in) 2023." By painting the democratic uprising as Islamist or anti-Indian and leveraging it to attack the Congress party, the BJP's media allies demonstrated the lengths to which they would go to mask the domestic challenges India is currently facing under the BJP rule. This includes the prevailing communalism and violence in Manipur which the pro-establishment media and BJP politicians have ignored, while Modi recently wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that he discussed the issue of "Hindu minorities" in Bangladesh, with US President Joe Biden.

Irregardless, at the end of the day, Bangladesh and India need to maintain a good relationship. For the pro-establishment media in India to continue pursuing the divisive commentaries and the current brand of unethical journalism will needlessly harvest an anti-India sentiment in Bangladesh and cultivate harmful sentiments between ordinary citizens of the neighbouring countries. And that is the last thing that South Asia needs right now.

Ramisa Rob is in-charge of Geopolitical Insights at The Daily Star.

Mahadev Ghosh is an independent researcher and a columnist for Geopolitical Insights at The Daily Star.​

 

[Krishna with Flute]

What purpose does the Indian media propaganda about Bangladesh serve?

BJP's media allies demonstrated the lengths to which they would go to mask India's domestic challengers under Modi's leadership.

images.thedailystar.net

What purpose does the Indian media propaganda about Bangladesh serve?
Hindus in Bangladesh themselves called on the Indian media to display facts.

View attachment 10764
In his Independence Day speech, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasised that 1.4 billion Indians are worried about the safety of Hindu minorities in post-Hasina Bangladesh, in New Delhi, on August 15, 2024. FILE PHOTO: AFP

Since the student-led mass uprising toppled Sheikh Hasina's regime in Bangladesh on August 5, a new reality dawned on the horizon for the nation grappling with uncertainty. But in neighbouring India's media, an alternate reality of what was not seen on the streets of Bangladesh emerged. An incessant flow of misinformation and largely disinformation flooded social media. The attacks on Hindu minorities, which did indeed take place, was put on steroids to detract and distract from the real sentiments of the movement.

There was a clear and apparent campaign by the "Godi media"—a term coined by veteran Ramon Magsaysay award-winning Indian journalist Ravish Kumar to refer to media outlets that share unobjective alliances with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)—to paint Bangladesh's democratic uprising against its former dictator as purely "anti-Indian" (in a roundabout way) and claim it was engineered by everything ranging from religious extremist forces to the US "Deep State." The latter claim came from none other than Republic TV's Arnab Goswami, who was initially reportedly funded by a prominent BJP politician, but he claims the shares have been bought back. Appearing on his channel, Goswami said, "When Rahul Gandhi goes to London and says America must save Indian democracy, this is the intervention he is probably talking about," as he pointed towards videos of Gono Bhaban being ransacked, buses being burnt in Dhaka and so on playing in the background. BJP MP Anurag Thakur called out Congress party's supposed hypocrisy in Lok Sabha by saying, "You spoke about Gaza but not about minorities in Bangladesh." The same sentiments were echoed by Aaj Tak's Sudhir Chaudhary when he compared the attacks against minorities in Bangladesh to the genocide in Gaza. "No country, no community in the world stepped forward to stop this genocide. Like how they did for Rafah," he said.

Hindus in Bangladesh themselves called on the Indian media to display facts. Bipra Prasun Das, a 21-year-old Hindu student from North South University in Dhaka, whose ancestral home was burnt down during the week of Hasina's fall, told Indian media watchdog Newslaundry, "If the Indian media had done its job properly, we would've had an easier time talking about what we are facing." This account itself shows that the endless distortion of the violence against minorities in Bangladesh in the pro-establishment media in India has taken attention away from the real attacks that happened and, in fact, caused more harm. So then, who does this propaganda about Bangladesh serve?

Before Hasina's ousting, writer Aakar Patel in The Wire had written an article, interviewing people in these pro-establishment channels, who said the overt majoritarianism under Narendra Modi has produced a condition where "existent bigotry is given a platform to be amplified." Along with this, this section of the Indian media used the situation in Bangladesh to attack the Congress party and the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (I.N.D.I.A.) and breed further division in India itself.

The necessity of an aggressive stance against the opposition has been clear after the elections where BJP failed to reach a majority on its own, in spite of its slogan, "Abki baar 400 paar," which means, "This time surpassing 400" of the 543 seats in Lok Sabha. BJP did not even reach the magic 272 seats needed to form a government, and had to rely on the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi called the results "a moral and political defeat for Mr Modi." Although Modi did in fact bring home a third term, his grip on the nation seems to be dwindling and the difference between the parties widening, which can be further seen by analysing the contrast in their approaches towards Prof Muhammad Yunus-led interim government in Bangladesh.

For instance, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said it was "natural that we will deal with the government of the day," and that the relationship between the two countries has had its "ups and downs." Jaishankar's comments were stiff, steering clear of any jubilation or adversity, which was in sharp contrast to how Congress leader and former diplomat Shashi Tharoor addressed it. Speaking to NDTV, Tharoor said Prof Yunus taking over was "a very good sign, he is a highly respected figure, he has a reputation that goes beyond politics," elaborating that he is also "a figure that would certainly contribute to stability in Bangladesh" and that "stability is in our [India's] interest." When asked about reports on attacks on minorities, Tharoor said there was indeed anarchy for a couple days, but he also stated, "I have also seen reports of Bengali Muslims protecting Hindu temples and protecting Hindu homes," adding that "we should be telling both sides of the story."

In this context, it's also important to note the BJP's realpolitik foreign policy. Debidatta Mahapatra of the Times of India explained India's current foreign policy as it stood on the sidelines of the Russia-Ukraine war, until Prime Minister Modi's recent historic visit to Ukraine. "As realist prudence demands, India cannot simply undertake a moralist standpoint and ignore the dictates of realpolitik," described Mahapatra. This very use of realpolitik in India's neighbourhood policy—which is understandable as nations do act in their own interests—has bred the anti-India sentiments that we saw in the Maldives earlier this year.

Undoubtedly, the portrayal of India's international strength by the BJP, the hosting of the G20 Summit and its renewed importance on the world stage are all causes for national pride for India. BJP capitalises on it for its own party's incentives, reframing what would have historically been Indian pride into Hindu nationalistic pride. This is a page out of a cultural populist's playbook, the use of "us vs them," as we have seen time and time again by Prime Minister Modi. The "Hindu pride"—which is more to do with politics and little, if none, with religion—is sold to the public because real metrics don't indicate the best picture.

Raghuram Rajan, former governor of India's central bank who resigned two years into BJP taking power, stated that Modi's goals of becoming a developed economy by 2047 is unachievable, citing high dropout rates and lack of high school education in the country of 1.4 billion where more than half are below the age of 30. Youth unemployment stands at 45.4 percent, one of the highest in the world. The Global Hunger Index rated their child wasting rate as the highest in the world—at 18.7 percent—exceeding countries with active conflicts such as Yemen. This makes it imperative for the BJP to hold onto realpolitik policies to sell its position in the world to its people at the cost of fostering antagonistic attitude with its neighbours—which are all a part of what the Hindustan Times calls the "Modi-Doval-Jaishankar" playbook. The playbook can be summarised as "shaping democratic verdicts" when deemed necessary.

Many commentaries have been written to understand the purpose of the Indian media's propaganda, aligned with the ousted Awami League, such as Sajeeb Wazed Joy's recent post on Facebook about controversial journalist Chandan Nandy's report suggesting, without evidence, that "Bangladeshi student movement 'coordinators' met ISI, US handlers in Pakistan, Dubai and Doha between April and September (in) 2023." By painting the democratic uprising as Islamist or anti-Indian and leveraging it to attack the Congress party, the BJP's media allies demonstrated the lengths to which they would go to mask the domestic challenges India is currently facing under the BJP rule. This includes the prevailing communalism and violence in Manipur which the pro-establishment media and BJP politicians have ignored, while Modi recently wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that he discussed the issue of "Hindu minorities" in Bangladesh, with US President Joe Biden.

Irregardless, at the end of the day, Bangladesh and India need to maintain a good relationship. For the pro-establishment media in India to continue pursuing the divisive commentaries and the current brand of unethical journalism will needlessly harvest an anti-India sentiment in Bangladesh and cultivate harmful sentiments between ordinary citizens of the neighbouring countries. And that is the last thing that South Asia needs right now.

Ramisa Rob is in-charge of Geopolitical Insights at The Daily Star.

Mahadev Ghosh is an independent researcher and a columnist for Geopolitical Insights at The Daily Star.​

BD can hide isolated attacks on Hindus but can not lie about the temples being attacked whose videos are there in Public forum. ISKCON temple vandalization and demand to declare ISKCON a terrorist organization. Tulsi Gabard has taken the charge of Intelligence head of Trump Government. She is a Staunch Devotee of ISKCON. No gimmick shall work.

 

[Saif]

BD can hide isolated attacks on Hindus but can not lie about the temples being attacked whose videos are there in Public forum. ISKCON temple vandalization and demand to declare ISKCON a terrorist organization. Tulsi Gabard has taken the charge of Intelligence head of Trump Government. She is a Staunch Devotee of ISKCON. No gimmick shall work.

Don't put too much faith in Tulsi. She is not a power over Bangladesh. We are a sovereign nation and preserve the right to kick any organization out from Bangladesh if it deems to have deleterious effect on our political and social stability.

 

[Krishna with Flute]

Don't put too much faith in Tulsi. She is not a power over Bangladesh. We are a sovereign nation and preserve the right to kick any organization out from Bangladesh if it deems to have deleterious effect on our political and social stability.

Good in spirit not in reality. Pakistanis used to say same thing but ended up in more dependance on other nation who have pledged everything to get few USD for survival. You need to be self-reliant on so many things which requires a relentless effort in right direction for many decades along with so many other things.

 

[Saif]

Good in spirit not in reality.

Did Rishi Sunak do any favor to India or Hindus? Tulsi won't either. She will serve the US interest not India.