Minorities shouldn't be treated differently: Speakers

Speakers at a seminar on Friday emphasised the need to act on addressing the treatment of minorities in Bangladesh. 

To move beyond “India's treatment of Bangladesh’, it is imperative to overcome the way minorities are treated here, they told the seminar titled ‘The Style of Presentation of the July Mass Uprising in the Indian Media: A Review’, organised by the ‘July Gonoporishor’ at the Sirajul Islam Lecture Hall of Dhaka University on Friday afternoon.

Author and activist Sarwar Tushar presented the keynote paper at the seminar.

In his presentation, Mr Sarwar Tushar said, "We must move away from treating minorities differently. We cannot ask them whether they support the revolution or not. There was a mass uprising—if someone is not actively opposing it now, you cannot judge them.

“Bangladesh must be a state for everyone. If someone is not actively conspiring against Bangladesh, then they are a citizen, and we cannot question their stance on the July coup. Such questions are harmful."

Dhaka University Mass Communication and Journalism Department teacher Khorshed Alam, journalist and fact-checker Qadaruddin Shishir, Navin Murshid, private university teacher Sumon Rahman, and political analyst Zaheed ur Rahman also spoke.

Mr Qadaruddin Shishir noted, "For the past fifteen years, Indian media has been spreading disinformation about Bangladesh, particularly since the July uprising. In fact, even before the uprising, most Indian media outlets were spreading misinformation about Bangladesh during significant events."

He added, "Western media has reported extensively on disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and corruption in Bangladesh over the last fifteen years, but the Indian media has not covered these issues. It is as though the Indian media has not reported any of the wrongdoings of the Bangladeshi government in the last fifteen years."

Mr Khorshed Alam remarked, "The state policy of India, the policy of the Bangladesh Awami League, and the stance of the Indian media seem to be aligned. In response, we must create our own Bangladeshi narrative. Bangladeshis need to develop a counter-narrative to challenge the one they are trying to impose on us. I believe we need to work on this."

Mr Rahman said, "The entire state of Bangladesh is under scrutiny. Why isn’t India's role in the liberation war mentioned in this movement? India played a significant role in the liberation war, which is important to them. The narrative they create is what they showcase in their media. However, we are not doing our job effectively. We need to do more from our side."

Ms Navin Murshid highlighted that women have been subjected to various attacks and hateful remarks recently.

She said, "We are also hearing a lot of negative comments about the three female advisers of the interim government. We need to be careful about these things because protecting women from radicalism is a major objective for the West.

“They use this to legitimise military rule. Perhaps these things are being provoked to set the stage for something larger. We must be cautious so that the revolution does not spiral out of control. The issue isn’t just media trials, but what happens after these trials."

Mr Zahid Ur Rahman said, "We need to be more engaged with Indian bureaucrats, civil society, and the general public."

shakibtahmid05@gmail