Bangladesh’s interim government’s Foreign Affairs Advisor, Md. Touhid Hossain, has remarked that Indian media is very unhappy about the mass uprising in Bangladesh. He stated that Indian media is trying to portray that minorities in Bangladesh are being persecuted and that a Taliban-like government is about to take power. Such propaganda, he added, will not bring any good for either country.
This was mentioned by the Foreign Affairs Advisor this Sunday afternoon during a special address at an event organized by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) at BRAC Centre Inn in Dhaka’s Mohakhali. The event was held to celebrate the 30th anniversary of CPD, a private research organization.
Touhid Hossain said that following the mass uprising, there was a brief period of instability and unrest, but the current government quickly brought the situation under control. This was initially achieved through students without police intervention. Once the police arrived, the students left the streets. After regaining control of the situation, the government has made significant progress over the past three and a half months.
The Foreign Affairs Advisor further commented, “The media, especially Indian media, is very unhappy about the mass uprising. Not just in India, but globally, organized propaganda is being spread. Indian media is attempting to prove that Bangladesh’s minorities are being persecuted and that a Taliban-style government is emerging, which is extremely unjust.”
Highlighting public sentiment in Bangladesh, he said people feel they are being unfairly victimized despite doing nothing wrong. He cautioned that such actions will have negative consequences for all sides involved. “This will not bring anything good for Bangladesh, nor will it benefit India,” he added.
Referring to CPD’s connections outside South Asia, Touhid Hossain suggested that CPD could leverage its networks to present the true situation within Bangladesh and highlight the country’s achievements.
Farooq Sobhan, an Honorary Fellow and Board Member of the Bangladesh Enterprise Institute, observed that South Asia is currently going through a very challenging period in terms of regional cooperation. He mentioned the BBIN initiative (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal), which connects these four countries, and noted that even this bilateral framework is facing challenges.
Other speakers at the event included CPD Senior Research Fellow Towfiqul Islam Khan, and virtual participants such as Dirk Willem te Velde, Director of the International Economic Development Group, Ren Jia, former president of the Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences, Sachin Chaturvedi, Director General of the Research and Information System for Developing Countries (India), and Sridhar Khatri, former Executive Director of the South Asia Centre for Policy Studies. The session was moderated by CPD’s Honorary Fellow, Mustafizur Rahman.
