Bangladesh quota protest highlighted in Indian media

It is not known when Indian newspapers and mass media ever gave such coverage of Bangladesh issues in this manner. It is also a matter of research as to when social media platforms were so active over this issue. This is perhaps for the first time that all India media covered the Bangladesh quota issue for 10 days at a stretch.

However, such coverage hardly bodes well for the politics, society and economy of Bangladesh. No country would want such coverage of rampant destruction, suicidal clashes, suspicion and mistrust. This is also not warranted in India.

Considering the recent incidents in Bangladesh in context of its sensitive relations with India, the country's close friend and neighbour with the longest shared border, India is highly aware of recent challenges of the country. So India has not made any comment about the events in Bangladesh except saying "the recent incidents are internal issues of Bangladesh." Additionally it said, India hopes the situation will become normal soon.

All India media gives only a fraction of coverage of Bangladesh as compared to the media of West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya or Tripura due to geographical closeness. All India media always shows interest in China and Pakistan. Bangladesh is given little importance by the Indian media as compared to that given to these two countries. But this time all India media has given coverage to Bangladesh due to the killing of so many people, the extensive destruction and hostilities. The coverage of the incidents by India media continues.

Except for the news media of India's eastern regions, all India media kept silent till 16 July. All India media had interest in prime minister Sheikh Hasina's visit to China till then. The main reason behind that was the visit of Sheikh Hasina to India and new negotiation between two countries over Teesta. China also kept an eye on the matter.

India kept a close eye on Sheikh Hasina's 14 July press conference regarding the China visit. It had not been imagined that a comment by Sheikh Hasina at the press conference would incur the wrath of the students. Then all newspapers covered that news on 17 July.

Of course Bangla media gave coverage, but so did all India media including English and Hindi media, report deaths of six, of how the peaceful protest turned violent. According to the headlines of Anandabazar Patrika, 'Moitree (Express) halted, six killed in student protest'. This included a Reuters picture of the clashes between two sides on Dhaka streets. Other media outlets including Indian Express, Times of India ran the same news.

On the next day, a picture of Abu Sayeed standing with his arms outspread in front of police bullets also went viral in the Indian media. Along with pictures sent by AFP and Reuters, opinions of different people and analysts and reports of the newspapers' own correspondents were published.

The Times of India on 18 July made headlines 'Bangladesh Freedom Fighters at the receiving end of quota backlash'. Indian Express had a three-column headline, 'Bangladesh shuts universities as protests over job quota turn violent.' The report along with a photo of the gathering of Dhaka University students sent by AP was published. The photo of symbolic janaza (funeral prayers) of quota protesting students in front of six coffins of the deceased was also published.

Newspapers in West Bengal on 19 July covered the Bangladesh issue on the first page. More stories were covered in all India media. The coverage was given for five days at a stretch. Anandabazar made the lead in five columns 'Student-police clash, proposal for discussion rejected, internet shut'. The main heading was '32 killed in Bangladesh'. There was the human story in five columns, with a mother lamenting before the dead body of a boy at a Dhaka morgue, 'Don't give jobs if you don't want, but why did you kill my boy?'

On the same day, an editorial was published in Anandabazar with the heading 'Wrath'. It was written '...whatever difference is removed, if two sides resort to hostilities and that crosses the limit, there is no end of suffering of the people. ...so it needs to return to non-violent protest against the administration considering the welfare of the people. The administration also has to tackle the protest in a non-violent manner'. It is also written in the editorial, '...it is also urgent to understand the instigation for which the anger burst out.'

Sangbad Pratidin in its editorial wrote, "Many are finding similarity between the 'anti-Mandal commission protests' of 1990 with this protest. But the ruling party did not adopt the counter attack as a political strategy to thwart the protest. But in this case, it has become a boomerang for the Awami League using Chhatra League to resist the peaceful movement."

On 19 July Hindustan Times covered Bangladesh in one-fourth of its foreign pages. There were pictures, articles and graphics. There was a heading 'state TV headquarters set on fire as death toll rises to 32.' In graphics, why students are on the path of demonstration.

On 20 July, Indian Express covered quota analysis in half of the 'explained' section. The long report included the background of Bangladesh quota issue, the court order, constitutional legality and political decisions at different times over quota, the economic condition of the country and the employment crisis. At the end of the report, there is an explanation of 'razakar'.

On 20, 21 and 22 July, Bangladesh occupied the first page of  newspapers of all languages. The reports include death toll rises to 75 from 32, then 123, deployment of army, curfew, shooting on sight and rescue of Indian students and others. Bangla newspapers reported horrific tales from rescued people and those who fled.

The front pages of Hindustan Times, Times of India, Indian Express published pictures of clashes between the protesters the and police, patrolling of the army and the rescue of stranded Indian citizens.

Till date, India hasn't made any comment. Not once has India expressed concern over the number of killings. Naturally, questions were raised at the weekly briefing of the foreign ministry. Foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal gave only one answer, saying that what is happening in Bangladesh is their internal affair.

It is clear that India is extra cautious due to various reasons. Despite 'golden relations' between two countries, India is perturbed by the anti-Indian slogans of the quota protestors and an increase of anti-Indian sentiment in Bangladesh. This is the reason for the extra caution.

The situation started to come under control since the Supreme Court decided to bring down the quota to 7 per cent. The first page of all newspapers covered that news on 22 July.

Professor Sanjay K Bhardwaj of Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University in a post-editorial wrote, "The Sheikh Hasina government sees these protests as an effort to dislodge it from power. But unemployment is a major concern in Bangladesh. However, the acceptance of violence as a means to express political disagreement will profoundly affect the country’s stability. Hasina’s fourth consecutive victory has provided comparative political security to Bangladesh and this has yielded dividends for the economy. Bangladesh is set to graduate from being a Least Developed Country by 2026. As it does so, the issue of unemployment needs to be tackled carefully. What the country needs is to cultivate a culture of greater dialogue as it seeks reforms."

On the same day, the Indian Express's editorial headline was 'Dhaka's grim test'. It was written that Bangladesh’s Supreme Court scaled down the quota in government jobs for descendants of freedom fighters from 30 per cent to 5 per cent. The decision will hopefully restore calm in the country after nearly a month of unrest.

But the Sheikh Hasina government, which has accused the opposition of fomenting protests, cannot afford to ignore the political and economic fault lines that have widened in recent years — in particular the discontent among students.

Terming the reservation for families of martyrs 'contentious' the editorial says, "The Hasina government’s handling of the situation aggravated matters. Bangladesh is amongst Asia’s fastest-growing economies.

However, progress has not translated into jobs. Allegations of corruption and Hasina’s autocratic ways have stoked resentments. Particularly worrying from Delhi’s standpoint are reports of the presence of Islamists amongst the protestors. Anti-Indian sentiments are not a new feature in Bangladesh politics. But they have rarely gone beyond the margins. In the coming days and weeks, the Narendra Modi government should tap into the goodwill it enjoys with Dhaka to ensure the turmoil does not spill over into India’s Northeast."

On 22 July, Times of India wrote an editorial on Bangladesh. The title was 'Disturbing in Dhaka'. India must think beyond Hasina. What Bangladesh is witnessing today is a lethal combination of quota politics, lack of opposition space, and a government increasingly given to authoritarian ways.

Describing the situation it was written in the editorial, "It was not appropriate to compare the protesters with razakars. India is not unfamiliar with violent quota agitations. But things haven’t degenerated to the extent in Bangladesh. The latter is in this spot today because it is failing to tick the basic check-boxes of democracy – a viable opposition, elections seen to be free and fair, and an independent judiciary.'

It also wrote, 'The growing public resentment against Awami League is a risk to India's security. The last thing India needs is a Bangladesh run by a Pakistan-backed dispensation in a post-Awami scenario. New Delhi should change tack and reach out to all segments of Bangladeshi polity to secure its strategic interests.'

The Bangladesh quota movement is teaching Indian media to think in a new way.

*This article, originally published in Prothom Alo online edition, has been rewritten in English by Rabiul Islam