Indian media is often giving wrong message about Bangladesh. Due to this, there is a kind of misunderstanding between the people of both the countries. Therefore, educationists, journalists and intellectuals have emphasized on building interaction and understanding between the people of Bangladesh and India. They stressed this importance in a seminar on Friday.
The speakers said, ‘The understanding of the Indian common people on the Bangladesh issue is very important. Because public perception of issues affects media portrayals. Therefore, we need to develop more communication and engagement with members of Indian civil society, bureaucrats and common people.’
They said these things in a seminar titled ‘Portrait of July Uprising in Indian Media: A Review’ organized by ‘July Assembly’ at Sirajul Islam Lecture Hall of Dhaka University campus on Friday afternoon.
Academicians and intellectuals at the seminar emphasized the need to develop new and effective Bangladeshi narratives and counter-flows of information against Indian narratives centered on mass uprisings and minority issues in the country.
Associate Professor of Mass Communication and Journalism Department of Dhaka University. Khorshed Alam said, ‘Indian state policies, Awami League policies and Indian media policies alike are working to develop narratives and thus, we need to develop Bangladeshi narratives and discourses to counter those narratives.’
Sarwar Tushar presented the paper at the beginning of the discussion. He said that the mass uprising in Bangladesh is being presented in the Indian media as a ‘pro-Islamist’ or Jamaat-e-Islami movement. After the fall of Hasina, the argument is being presented that Hindus and minorities will be in danger. Without the Awami League, the Hindu community will be in danger or has already fallen – there is a lot of talk in the Indian media. As Bangladesh is presented as a ‘fundamentalist’ country in this narrative, Awami League is presented as a ‘savior’ or friend of the Hindu community.
Political analyst and media personality Zaheed Ur Rahman said, Bangladeshi Hindus are in dire straits, Indian media wants to create such a narrative. They have long term plans for Bangladesh. We are at risk enough. Let’s not underestimate India’s soft power. India’s civil society needs to increase our connectivity with the people. We need to work on creating a counter-narrative.
Media theorist Suman Rahman said, when India and Pakistan play cricket, when a Bangladeshi supports Pakistan, Indians comment – ‘I gave you a country. Yet you are so ungrateful.’ I think the media here in India also has this idea. They have to come out of this thinking.
AFP fact-checker Kadruddin Shishir said, Indian media is thickly disinformative. For example, this movement is of Islamists. Such is the narrative being promoted. There are ways to solve them. We do not have good communication with Indian journalists. What is there is Awami communication.
