Architect of disinformation: Unmasking the anti-Bangladeshi narrative

On 17 February 2025, Bangladeshi Adviser for Foreign Affairs Md. Touhid Hossain stated in an interview with Indian daily The Hindu, “Unfortunately, just after 5th of August, there has been a really, almost unexplainable frenzy in the Indian media about this issue, mostly based on falsehood.” While the Foreign Adviser was speaking about the Indian media’s almost apocalyptic portrayal of the conditions of minorities in Bangladesh, this rings true about the portrayal of almost every issue relating to Bangladesh in the Indian media. The persistent negative portrayal of Bangladesh in the Indian media, particularly after the change of government on 5 August 2024, is a reflection of the deteriorating relations between the two South Asian states.

Building an Anti-Bangladeshi Narrative

Since the establishment of the Bangladeshi state, Bangladesh and India have shared complex relations. All governments in Dhaka have pursued one of these two policies vis-à-vis India: balancing and bandwagoning. Among Bangladesh’s principal political actors, the Bangladesh Awami League (AL) has been a proponent of bandwagoning with India, and the AL-led government had developed close political, economic, security, and cultural ties with India between 2009 and 2024. Accordingly, New Delhi viewed the fall of the AL-led government in August 2024 unfavourably. It should be noted that even when the AL administered Bangladesh, the Indian media occasionally portrayed Bangladesh unfavourably. However, after the political transformation of August 2024, Indian print, televised, and online media almost instantaneously initiated an unprecedented disinformation campaign against Bangladesh.

This avalanche of disinformation focuses on a wide range of topics: the treatment of minorities, particularly the Hindus, in Bangladesh; the treatment of AL elements; policy towards militancy; Bangladesh’s relations with external actors, particularly the United States (US), China, and Pakistan; Bangladesh’s internal politics, economy, and law and order; and even Bangladesh’s border security. Their techniques include the dissemination of both direct false disinformation and the misleading presentation of correct information. Meanwhile, hawkish elements within the Indian political, security, and media establishments advocate undertaking drastic actions against Bangladesh to further Indian “national interests.”

On 18 January 2025, Rumor Scanner Bangladesh, a Dhaka-based fact-checking organization, reported that Indian media outlets and social media accounts disseminated disinformation against Bangladesh on at least 136 instances between 5 August and 31 December, and at least 72 Indian media outlets have participated in this massive disinformation campaign. These media outlets include print media, such as Hindustan Times, The Indian Express, India Today, The Economic Times, The New Indian Express, The Times of India, The Hindu, and Anandabazar Patrika, as well as television channels, such as Republic Bangla, Zee 24 Ghanta, NDTV, Republic World, Zee News, Aaj Tak, and Kalinga TV. Moreover, online-based media outlets, such as Mint, Firstpost, The Print, OpIndia, and Kolkata24×7, and hundreds of X, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram accounts have participated in this campaign.

The predominant focus of this disinformation campaign has been on the alleged persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh. They claimed that Hindus have been subjected to numerous crimes, including massacres, murders, rapes, destruction/defilement of places of worship, arsons, robberies, and torture, after 5 August. However, the overwhelming majority of these claims have been proven to be fake news. These false reports have been deliberately disseminated to tarnish the image of Bangladesh before the international community.

Moreover, the Indian media spread considerable amount of false information about Bangladesh’s security policy and external relations. For instance, Indian media outlets claimed that a Pakistani ship anchoring at Chattogram was carrying weapons, while in reality the ship was carrying raw materials and food items. In another instance, Indian social media accounts made a claim that Pakistan had deployed troops to Bangladesh, which was, of course, false information. Similarly, Indian media outlets strangely claimed that the Arakan Army had captured Bangladesh’s Teknaf Sub-district and Saint Martin’s Island, which proved to be absolutely untrue.

Another theme of Indian disinformation against Bangladesh is centered on the migration of Bangladeshi citizens to India. Indian politicians and media outlets have repeatedly claimed that some 20 million Bangladeshis, representing almost 11.76% of the country’s total population, live ‘illegally’ in India. However, neither the Indian government nor the Indian media has ever provided any proofs to substantiate their claims. Still, this claim is repeated time and again in the Indian media, fostering anti-immigrant and anti-Bangladeshi sentiment among the Indian people and tarnishing the image of Bangladesh.

For example, the Organiser Weekly, the mouthpiece of the Hindu nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), published at least six editorials and opinion pieces on illegal immigration, and in each of these, Bangladeshi “illegal” immigrants to India have been vilified. In particular, an op-ed published on 2 February in the newspaper, which called for the deportation of Bangladeshi immigrants as a measure to “nip the evil in the bud,” included a number of inflammatory and factually incorrect information. The article mentioned that at least 10 million Bangladeshis “illegally” entered India during the Bangladeshi War of Independence, conveniently omitting the fact that only 60,000 of those refugees had remained in India by April 1972. Also, the article incorrectly mentioned that Bangladesh has 370 electoral constituencies, while the real number is 300. However, the article further argues that Bangladesh is “culturally larger Bharat’s territory,” and calls for regime change in Bangladesh and annexation of Bangladesh into India. These statements are not only outrageous but also violations of core principles of international law. Furthermore, these statements indicate an imperialist, supremacist, racist, and dehumanizing attitude towards Bangladesh and Bangladeshis on the part of elements of the Indian media establishment.

Finding the Way Forward

While the disinformation-based anti-Bangladeshi narrative of the Indian media is a serious irritant in Indo–Bangladeshi ties, it should be understood on both sides that hostility would not serve the interests of either. In fact, India should deal with post-AL Bangladesh in the manner Russia is dealing with post-Assad Syria. For more than five decades, Moscow maintained close relations with Syria’s ruling al-Assad family. Russia protected Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for nine long years through direct military intervention, and sheltered him after the fall of the Syrian government in December 2024. Yet, Russia was quick to engage with the new Syrian government controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), against whom they have fought for years. Recently, Russian President Vladimir Putin held his first phone call with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, and Russia is currently negotiating with Syria over the preservation of Russian strategic interests in the country.

India’s delicately balanced foreign policy, demonstrated in its policies with regard to the US–Russian, US–Chinese, Israeli–Iranian, and Israeli–Palestinian conflicts, indicates that the South Block operates on the basis of pragmatism and sheer calculation, not ideology or emotions. Therefore, India should pragmatically take a leaf out of Russia’s playbook in Syria, refrain from developing anti-Bangladeshi narratives, and develop a constructive and fruitful Indo–Bangladeshi partnership.

Source: Policy Watcher.