“Bangladesh-India relationship is multifaceted and expansive, it cannot be confined to a single issue,” definitely one of the constructive comments Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma made to address the keen audience as he was summoned by the Foreign Ministry of Bangladesh earlier this month over the issue of mob vandalism of Agartala assistant high commission of Bangladesh by Hindutva mob.
Pranay Verma was summoned to the Foreign Ministry to explain why an Indian rightwing mob attacked Bangladesh’s mission in Agartala, a North-East Indian state bordering Bangladesh. The mob unprecedently vandalized Bangladesh’s mission and took down the national flag while the local police did not take any action to stop the angry crowd. Earlier on 2nd December, Bangladesh’s mission in Kolkata witnessed an angry Indian mob burning the Bangladeshi flag in front of the mission. These events are continuing as a reaction to how Indian propaganda narratives are being spread against the reconstruction and integrity of Bangladesh after the fall of Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League Government.
The arrest of Chinmoy Krishna Das was one of the focal issues that changed the recent course of events in Bangladesh-India relations, where India is playing its “minority” card and misrepresenting Bangladesh’s internal affairs of political governance. As it is clear Chinmoy was not arrested on his faith, but rather on a sedition charge where he allegedly disrespected the Bangladeshi flag. Nevertheless, in India, this issue has become a hot topic, with his arrest being portrayed as an attack by Bangladesh on its minority Hindu population. Furthermore, rumours have spread rapidly, often misrepresenting Bangladesh on various platforms including X (formerly Twitter), to spread false allegations against Bangladesh internationally.
Rumour Scanner, a fact-checking media organization found that 49 Indian media outlets have been sharing almost 13 fake news reports on Bangladesh since the fall of the oppressive Sheikh Hasina regime. However, these rumors have created a significant diversion, forcing Bangladesh to address a surge of propaganda, rather than focusing solely on its primary nation-building goals and other reforms within the country. For instance, a false report claimed that Interim Chief Adviser Dr. Muhammad Yunus was admitted to the ICU, which is entirely baseless. Besides, reports have surfaced alleging the lifting of bans on militant organizations in Bangladesh-where no such things have happened and can easily be recognized as outright lies.
Loss of businesses in India could affect the politics of vote in India, potentially influencing the politics of grievance and the election of responsible candidates.
Facts also reveal the fabrication of news, such as the claim that Chinmoy’s lawyer was attacked when no such incident occurred. Instead, it was followers of Chinmoy who killed a lawyer Saiful Islam Alif outside the Chattogram court premises. Ironically, the act is being portrayed in Indian media as if it were committed by Bangladeshi Muslims.
If this is the case that India is busy playing the minority card by propagating misinformation on Bangladesh regularly through its media outlets, doesn’t Pranay Verma’s statement about Bangladesh-India relations stand contradictory with reality? Earlier on a meeting arranged by the Centre for Governance Studies (CGS) on 17 November at the Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka, Verma noted the same phrases, “cooperation between Bangladesh and India is multi-dimensional and cannot be confined to a single agenda”, underlining continued progress in trade, transport and energy connectivity and people-to-people engagements to indicate these multifaceted ties. But whether or not Indian media establishments are hovering over one issue only and from the very beginning it is a minority issue.
Apart from this, Bangladesh holds a large trade deficit with India where Bangladesh imports around $10 billion of goods and services from India, exporting only around $2 billion of products. Bangladesh imports items like machinery, refined petroleum, electrical equipment, food grain, and others from India. It exports products like non-knit wear, vegetable oils, and textile scraps to India. But there are possibilities of enhanced trade between the two countries as they share common borders and severe opportunities.
India’s second largest trading partner Bangladesh, having a trade deficit of almost 8 billion dollars with India is a serious stagnation for the country. Meanwhile, Indian businesses are on a large scale dependent on Bangladeshi customers. For example, Bangladesh is India’s 4th largest source of remittance, where almost 1 million Indians are working in different sectors of Bangladesh.
While the Indian Ambassador highlighted progress in trade, and other areas, including people-to-people engagements, the recent restrictions on visas for Bangladeshi travelers, including those seeking medical treatment in India, have raised concerns. Bangladeshi citizens play a significant role in India’s medical and tourism sectors, with at least 2.5 million Bangladeshis travelling to India annually for healthcare.
As India has recently taken measures to curb visas for Bangladeshi nationals, the impact of this does not bode well for the two countries’ relations according to Pranay Verma’s saying. For example, the aviation business has been ruined in India because of the cancellation on Bangladeshi visas; the tourism sector has also declined drastically. Private hospitals in Kolkata lose 12-21 lakh weekly, while doctors remain committed to helping Bangladeshi patients, offering online consultations. Moreover, middle-class Bangladeshi patients find it difficult to go to countries like Malaysia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Turkey for treatment. Although medical facilities in these countries are of high quality, they are expensive, and not everyone in Bangladesh can afford them. Tourist markets in places like Kolkata are now empty, as Bangladeshi visitors, who once made up a large portion of the clientele, can no longer travel there due to visa restrictions.
Loss of businesses in India could affect the politics of vote in India, potentially influencing the politics of grievance and the election of responsible candidates. This could also impact the overall political scenario in the country. Therefore, Bangladesh and India must consider these issues and prioritize their diplomatic relations that help people-to-people engagements which are more necessary than solely making propaganda on one issue regularly.
The medical industry is of a prominent concern for Bangladesh, as it seeks to repair the sector as well as to improve the treatment to meet international standards. Until then, both countries need each other for greater benefit. Business and trade make “friendly” and stable relations possible, which had been a buzzword for Indo-Bangla relations for a long time.
Back to Pranay Verma’s quote as he describes a multifaceted relationship between the two countries to grow, the questions arise: Will India stop spreading propaganda through its media outlets, or will it strengthen efforts to bolster trade relations, so that both countries in South Asia can prosper in the right direction? India also greatly depends on Bangladesh, as seen recently, with the country’s desire to secure a bandwidth connection to its Northeast region through Bangladesh. This is not possible without good and friendly relations as Bangladesh wants mutual benefits from every project between the two countries. Therefore, India needs to move beyond focusing solely on the alleged minority issue, so that the two countries can address a range of multidimensional concerns. It would be a positive initiative if India worked toward fostering not only multifaceted but also constructive relationships between the two countries. As the Chief Adviser once stated, if Bangladesh becomes unstable, it will impact also India’s Northeast regions.
The writer is a freelance columnist.