United News of Bangladesh

The interim government on Wednesday said they want to proceed maintaining good relations with all countries and highlighted that Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus’ comment relating to the Northeastern states of India was made with honest intentions, keeping in mind the benefits of regional connectivity. “He made the statement with honest intentions. If different interpretations are provided, we cannot prevent it,” Chief Adviser’s High Representative for the Rohingya issue and other priority Dr Khalilur Rahman said while responding to a question at Foreign Service Academy. Govt working to prevent extremism from flourishing in Bangladesh: Adviser Mahfuj “Seven states of India, eastern part of India, called seven sisters… they are landlocked... landlocked region of India. They have no way to reach out to the ocean,” Dr Yunus said recently in Beijing at a business dialogue. “We are the only guardian of the ocean for all this region. So, this opens up a huge possibility. So, this could be an extension of the Chinese economy. Build things, produce things, market things, bring things to China and bring it out to the whole rest of the world,” Dr Yunus said, inviting Chinese investors to Bangladesh. Prof Yunus also said that Nepal and Bhutan have unlimited hydropower, which is a blessing for the region. “We can bring it to our purpose for setting up factories and so on. From Bangladesh you can go anywhere you want. The ocean is in our backyard. So, this is the opportunity that you want to take,” he said. A number of Indian leaders and scholars have reacted to Prof Yunus’ comment. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, in a statement posted on X on Tuesday, said the remarks by Dr Yunus were "offensive, strongly condemnable and provocative." This remark underscores the persistent vulnerability narrative associated with India’s strategic “Chicken’s Neck” corridor, Sarma said. Asked about Bangladesh’s position on Indian leaders’ reactions, Dr Rahman said the Chief Adviser has not made this comment for the first time. He made similar comments in 2012. He also referred then Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who in 2023 had spoken of a vision of creating an industrial value chain connecting Bangladesh and Northeast India, which was known as BIG-B or the Bay of Bengal Industrial Growth Belt. “I had earlier said connectivity can unleash the potentials of the region, especially for those who find it difficult to have access to the sea. “We will not impose connectivity on anyone. We are not in that position. If anybody accepts, well. What can we do if it is not accepted? We have nothing to do,” said the High Representative. Dr Rahman said the Chief Adviser made the statement with honest intention. “If different interpretations are provided, we cannot prevent it. We can only say that we are willing to provide connectivity for equitable benefit of all.” Khaleda Zia undergoes 'complete health check-up in London Bangladesh eyes a meeting between Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok on April 4. The interim government also does think paying a visit to a particular country (China) will cause damage to a relationship with another country (India). BIMSTEC Sidelines: Yunus, Modi first-ever in-person meeting set for April 4 "It's not a zero-sum game," High Representative to the Chief Adviser Khalilur Rahman told reporters at the Foreign Service Academy on Wednesday. Dr Yunus and PM Modi are scheduled to be in Bangkok on Thursday on a two-day visit.

LGRD Adviser Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuiyan has said the government is moving away from a submissive foreign policy towards India. Instead, the foundation of bilateral relations between Bangladesh and India will now be based on equality and justice, he said at the closing ceremony of a training workshop in Cumilla on Wednesday. 'Tarunner Utsab' aims to rebuild nation and strengthen unity: Asif Mahmud Bangladesh Rural Development Academy (BRDA) organized the workshop titled "Achieving Sustainable Development Goals: Financial Inclusion & Rural Transformation" Saif Uddin Ahmed, director general of BRDA, chaired the closing ceremony. "After the July Uprising, the Interim Government has moved away from a submissive foreign policy with India; the bilateral relations between the two countries will now be built on the basis of equality and justice,” said Asif. Govt committed to ensuring cost-effective, high-quality energy: Rizwana He also expressed strong discontent over the attack at the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission in India’s Agartala, saying that the Interim Government had officially protested over the matter. The adviser reiterated that national development could be achieved through financial inclusion and rural development. He lauded the event by LGRD ministry, BRDA, and the African-Asian Rural Development Organization (ARDO), encouraging more such programs and expressed his optimism that participants would use the knowledge gained to contribute to rural development. Cumilla to be made division soon: Asif Mahmud  

Rumor Scanner, a Bangladeshi fact-checking initiative, found through its investigations that X accounts operated from India and several Indian media outlets played a significant role in spreading propaganda against Bangladesh. It said while many attacks occurred against those with Hindu religious identities due to their ‘political affiliations or grievances’, numerous incidents were falsely propagated as ‘communal attacks’. Rumor Scanner identified false reports published in Indian media Between August 5th and 13th, Rumor Scanner’s investigation unit identified 50 accounts on the microblogging site X (formerly Twitter) that had disseminated various images, videos and information related to the August events in Bangladesh, presenting them in a communal light. Rumor Scanner found evidence of the propagation of communal misinformation and false information in at least one post from each of these accounts. These posts, disseminated between August 5th and 13th, were viewed over 15.4 million times. Rumor Scanner’s investigation unit has found that 72% of the accounts spreading fake and misinformation are located in India. Police on high alert to prevent rumors during Durga Puja Celebrations: IGP Fighting against such a large volume of disinformation in such a short time in August was quite challenging for Rumor Scanner, it said. During this time, false information on various sensitive issues in Bangladesh has also spread beyond social media and reached the Indian media. It said several Indian media outlets claimed in August that bans on several banned extremist organisations had been lifted in Bangladesh which Rumor Scanner verified and found this claim to be false. Over the next few months, the same accounts, as well as many others, continued to spread misinformation related to Bangladesh. Rumor Scanner verified two such claims from Indian X accounts during Durga Puja,the biggest religious festival of Hindus, which have been viewed at least 550,000 times. Indian media, alongside social media, regularly spread false information about the interim government. False claims such as Dr Yunus’s physical illness or D Yunus fleeing to France after Trump’s victory were widely propagated by the Indian media. Besides a false claim circulated on social media, where a man named Abdullah Al Mahfuz, who was arrested in 2019 as a Hizbut Tahrir leader in Chattogram, was falsely claimed to be Adviser Mahfuj. Rumor Scanner confirmed that the two persons are different. On November 10th, when the Awami League announced the commemoration of Shaheed Noor Hossain Day, a claim went viral on numerous X accounts stating that a Hindu woman was raped while participating in this programme. This explosive claim, shared in posts reaching nearly 800,000 people, was proven false, said Rumor Scanner. In November, an Indian television channel named ‘Republic Bangla’ falsely claimed that a Pakistani ship carrying weapons and ammunition had arrived at the Chittagong Port. A renewed wave of disinformation began in late November after the arrest of former ISKCON leader Chinmoy Krishna Das on sedition charges. This led to unrest, including the killing of lawyer Saiful Islam. Indian media and X accounts, including those flagged by Rumor Scanner in August, drove this campaign, spreading posts rapidly due to their large followings. Rumor Scanner’s analysis highlighted patterns in these campaigns: framing incidents involving Hindu victims as communal, misrepresenting political violence, and making unverified claims of extremist takeovers or atrocities against minorities. The Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council (BHBCUC) also contributed to this framing, with exaggerated claims debunked by investigations, including one by Netra News. For example, their report of nine communal killings was refuted as politically or criminally motivated. Between August and December, Rumor Scanner detected 120 pieces of misinformation, with significant spikes in November. Indian media, including 49 outlets, spread 13 false narratives about Bangladesh, aided by figures like BJP politicians Suvendu Adhikari and Agnimitra Pal, ex-cricketer Danish Kaneria, and Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasrin. The misinformation on X alone has been viewed over 200 million times, with one post exceeding 10 million views. While some incidents of communal violence in Bangladesh are genuine, the exaggerated portrayal of Hindu persecution distorts the reality, risking tensions between Bangladesh and India and threatening regional security. Rumor Scanner warned of an increase in such campaigns in the future.

The government of Bangladesh on Monday said it “deeply resents” the “violent demonstration and attack” by a large group of protesters of the Hindu Sangharsh Samity of Agartala on the premises of the Assistant High Commission of Bangladesh in Agartala. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a statement, underlined that this “heinous attack” on a diplomatic mission of Bangladesh and desecration of the national flag of Bangladesh comes in a pattern, further to a similar violent demonstration in Kolkata on 28 November 2024. “This particular act in Agartala stands in violation of the inviolability of diplomatic missions, as the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, 1961, asks for,” the ministry said. BNP demands withdrawal of Mamata's UN peacekeeper statement The government of India, in a separate statement, said they are taking action to step up security arrangements for the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi and their Deputy/Assistant High Commissions in the country. "The incident earlier today of the breach of premises at the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission in Agartala is deeply regrettable," said the Ministry of External Affairs. Security enhanced for Bangladesh missions in India Diplomatic and consular properties should not be targeted under any circumstances, the Indian ministry said. As it is the responsibility of the host government to protect the diplomatic missions from any form of intrusion or damage, the government of Bangladesh called upon the government of India to take immediate action to address this incident, to undertake a thorough investigation into the incident. Bangladesh sought steps to prevent any further acts of violence against the diplomatic missions of Bangladesh in India, including the safety and security of the diplomats and the non-diplomatic members of staff and members of their families. The accounts received conclusively attest that the protesters were allowed to aggress into the premises, by breaking down the main gate of Bangladesh Assistant High Commission in a pre-planned manner, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Indian media spreading propaganda about Bangladesh: Home Affairs Adviser In the process, in the presence of the members of the local law enforcement agencies, they vandalised the flag pole, desecrated the national flag of Bangladesh and also damaged properties inside the Assistant High Commission, the government of Bangladesh said. Regrettably, the ministry said, the local police persons present in charge of protecting the premises were found not to be active in containing the situation from the beginning. Bangladesh wants friendly, normal relations with India: Foreign Affairs Adviser All members of the Assistant High Commission are left with a deep sense of insecurity, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Protesting the latest border killing, the government of Bangladesh on Wednesday called upon the Indian government to put an end to the recurrence of such heinous acts. Bangladesh also urged India to probe all the border killings, identify those responsible and bring them to justice. BSF kills 33-year-old man at Cumilla border The Ministry of Foreign Affairs formally protested the killing of a Bangladeshi national, Md Kamal Hossain, who hailed from Sadar South upazila in Cumilla district. He was shot dead by India’s Border Security Force (BSF) on October 7, 2024. In the protest note sent to the Indian High Commission in Dhaka on Wednesday, Bangladesh expressed serious concern that, despite repeated commitments from the relevant authorities in India to bring down border killings to ‘zero level’, such incidents by the BSF continue to occur. Another Bangladeshi teen shot dead by BSF along Thakurgaon border The government of Bangladesh stressed that such incidents of border killings are undesirable and unwarranted; and such actions are in violation of the provisions of the Joint Indo-Bangladesh Guidelines for Border Authorities, 1975. The BSF has killed 31 Bangladeshis in 2023, with 28 of these fatalities resulting from gunfire, according to Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK), a human rights organisation. It says the total number of Bangladeshis killed by the BSF from 2009 to 2022 stands at 563.

Bangladesh has emphasised signing of interim water sharing agreement of the Teesta River as agreed by Bangladesh and India in 2011.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi Tuesday inaugurated 'Maitri Setu', a bridge built over the Feni river flowing between the two countries.

India has picked up “connectivity” with Bangladesh as a big goal for the years to come that might change the entire logistic and whole geo-economics of the region giving the Bay of Bengal a very different look. 

Deputy Chief Minister of Indian State Meghalaya Prestone Tynsong has appreciated Bangladesh’s leadership for achieving progress in various sectors and laid emphasis on further increasing bilateral trade for the betterment of the two people.

India has said it is committed to taking forward the strong relations with Bangladesh in the next 50 years and beyond focusing on mutual benefits and expanding it to all the sectors, noting that India never shows any ‘big-brother’ attitude towards Bangladesh.