DHAKA, Oct 11, 2024 (BSS) - Academics, journalists and intellectuals at a seminar today underscored the need for developing people-to-people interaction and understanding between Bangladesh and India to make up for the miscommunication being taken place through media campaigns.
 
"In terms of media portrayal of events, the perception of Indian common people on Bangladeshi issues is very crucial as people's perception on issues have influence in media portrayal. So, we should develop more contacts and engagements with Indian civil society members, bureaucrats and common people," said the speakers.
 
They were addressing a seminar titled 'The way of portraying the July Mass Uprising in the Indian Media outlets: A Review', organized by the 'July Gonoporishor' at the Sirajul Islam Lecture Hall on Dhaka University campus this afternoon.
 
In the seminar, the academics and intellectuals also stressed the need for developing new and effective Bangladeshi narratives and counter flow of information against the Indian narratives centering the mass-upsurge and the country's minority issues.
 
"Indian state policies, Awami League policies and Indian media policies have been working in the same way to develop narratives and thus, we have to develop or own Bangladeshi narratives and discourses to counter those narratives", said Dr Khorshed Alam, Associate Professor of DU Mass Communication and Journalism Department.
 
Effective narratives and counter flow of information should be developed in multiple languages to spread worldwide against the narratives being developed by some Indian media outlets centering the mass-uprising and country's minority issues, Alam added.
 
Author and activist Sarwar Tushar presented the keynote paper at the seminar which was also addressed by Journalist and fact checker Qadaruddin Shishir, private university teacher Dr Sumon Rahman, author Dr. Navine Murshid and political analyst Zaheed-Ur-Rahman.
 
Political analyst Zaheed-Ur-Rahman said the way some Indian media outlets portrayed the July revolution and post revolution events is the reflection of its continued practice of spreading disinformation about Bangladesh in the last 15 years.
 
 
Journalist and fact checker Qadaruddin Shishir said even before the student-led mass upsurge, there have been cases that maximum of Indian media outlets were spreading misinformation and disinformation over some significant events of Bangladesh.
 
There has been significant number of news reports in western media criticizing the ousted Awami League government's crimes including extrajudicial killing, forced disappearance and corruption, Shishir said, adding that "But there have been no reports in Indian media on such misdeeds of Awami League in the last 15 years."
 
 Navine Murshid called upon to be more vigilant regarding the hate speeches being spread in recent times against women as the third party might find it as an opportunity to serve their interest.
 
 In the guise of protecting women, the western world can legitimize anything including military law, she said adding, "The problem is not martial law but anything can come out through the media trail."