DHAKA, Feb 23, 2021 (BSS) – Awami League Joint General Secretary and Information Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud today urged journalists to be more careful while publishing news over Bangladesh-India relations so that those (news) do not affect it (relations) by wrong and inaccurate information.
“Recently, we saw that some media in Bangladesh and India have published some wrong and untrue news over COVID-19 issue which created anger among the people of the two countries. Later, it was resolved through press conferences by concerned Indian authority,” he said.
The minister stated these while addressing the seminar ‘Bangabandhu: Bangladesh-India Relations’ organised by Indian Media Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (IMCAB) at Jatiya Press Club (JPC) in the city.
Indian High Commissioner Sri Vikram Doraiswami addressed the seminar as special guest with IMCAB president Basudev Dhar in the chair.
Senior journalist Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, JPC president Farida Yeasmin, Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ) former president Manjurul Ahsan Bulbul and Dhaka Union of Journalists (DUJ) president Kuddus Affrad addressed the seminar as guests of honour. Freedom Fighter and senior journalist Harun Habib read out the keynote paper in the seminar while IMCAB general secretary Rafiqul Islam Sabuj gave the welcome address.
Recalling the contribution of India to the Liberation War of Bangladesh, Hasan said India not only cooperated in the great war, but Indian army personnel also fought along with the freedom loving people of the country. India also gave shelter to one crore people of Bangladesh, he added.
Even, the minister said, many families of the neighbouring states of India gave one or two rooms for refugees. The contributions of India, its people and sacrifice of Indian army will be inscribed with golden letters till the existence of Bangladesh.
About Bangladesh-India relations, he said Bangabandhu was in jail during the Liberation War. The then Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had visited 30 countries not only for the causes of Bangladesh’s independence, but also for the release of Bangabandhu.
The information minister said the independence got fulfilled through the release of Bangabandhu. The contribution of India will never be forgotten, he said Hasan.
Hasan said Bangladesh government resolved the enclave’s disputes through the 1974’s Maitree agreement and it was possible due to farsighted leadership of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
The minister said the friendship of the two countries has reached a new height under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi. And the interrelation is on rise, he added.
“I think that it is not sufficient till now. It is needed to increase interrelations, exchanging culture and business. I personally think that we need to gradually move back to the level which was before the Indo-Pakistani war of 1965. Then, people and the economy of the two countries will be benefited,” Hasan said.
Doraiswami, in his speech, hoped that the relations of Bangladesh and India will be an example before the world, saying the foundation of the relations was formed during the time of Bangabandhu.
Bangabandhu, he said, had showed what was needed to be done and “We don’t need any other guidelines”. The hope and demands of the two countries are same and there is no difference, he added.
“We should focus on building the relations at the grassroots to make it sustainable. We should move forward as per the policy –which is good for us, it is good for you . . . which is good for you, it is good for us. There is no place of doubt. We have a long way to go. And media can play a pivotal role to this end,” he pointed out.