As the revolution in Bangladesh continues to unfold next door, it is manifesting itself as an incredible story. The media is being given a ringside view of students and civil society coming together to put a country that has just seen a violent change of guard back on its feet.
After decades of repression and censorship, there is a flavour of openness. Nahid Islam, the 26-year-old student-turned-adviser in the interim government was one of those who started the movement, Students Against Discrimination. He spelt out for an Indian journalist the priorities of the interim government and the agenda for reform that is being drawn up. The families of martyrs have to be rehabilitated and perpetrators of corruption brought to justice. The country also needs a new political settlement as well as reforms for the election commission, administration, law enforcement, judiciary, and the Constitution. He describes how they are going about it thus: “We are getting proposals from different departments, engaging with different stakeholders.”
Muhammad Yunus, the chief adviser to the interim government, told Deutsche Welle that it’s a post-revolution situation in the country. First, they have to bring order, then elections and, before that, electoral reforms. “Because all political parties say we need reform.” He describes the six commissions that have been formed because there is a long list of reforms to be undertaken, including in health and education. “We want a decent election, a beautiful election,” he says, but no one can say how long the reform process will take, especially when a country is seeking to amend its Constitution. “We cannot do anything without consensus.” Later, when Yunus met 20 editors, he asked them how long they thought the reforms are going to take. Two years at least, they suggested.
Some journalists are deeply gratified by the changed circumstances. Mahfuz Anam, editor of The Daily Star wrote in his paper, “For me, it was after 12 years that I could get anywhere close to the highest seat of power, leave alone have an exchange of views. The former prime minister never allowed the largest circulated English daily of the country, its editor or any of its journalists access to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) or to cover any event where she would be present.”
And yet, despite the new openness, there is also a pervasive sense of violence and intimidation which continues to affect different sectors. The atmosphere was far from normal even by the end of last month, even though Yunus told an interviewer that the unruliness of the post-revolution situation was fading.
Businesspeople met a government finance adviser in late August to express deep concern over the security of their factories and trade, worried that a lack of law and order would prompt foreign buyers to shift work orders to other countries. There were also reports of extortion at factories and business establishments having increased alarmingly. Journalists in Dhaka were also reporting in August that Awami League leaders were being falsely implicated in cases of murder. All this, even as reports of attacks on Hindu homes and businesses surfaced.
The media is facing intimidation, even though the repression by Sheikh Hasina Wazed’s regime has ended. Earlier this month, a high school teacher in Chattogram filed a case in a metropolitan magistrate’s court against 109 people, including 28 journalists and a former information minister. The court ordered a police investigation. The teacher, Hasina Mamtaz, told The Daily Star that the journalists had allegedly produced false and fabricated content, concealing the true events during the student movement instead of publishing objective reports. Last week, Dhaka Reporters Unity protested a murder case filed against 25 journalists at the Bhasantek police station in Dhaka. Its statement said that while any journalist found involved in corruption or illegal profit should be investigated, it was necessary to stop filing cases against journalists with malicious intent to ensure an environment of free journalism. Newslaundry, reporting from Bangladesh, spoke to independent journalists about the fallouts of the political upheaval for the media and reported that newsrooms were burned and vandalised because Bangladesh’s ‘godi media’ was under fire for having supported Wazed during her years in power.
Finally, there is the aspect of Bangladesh’s neighbour, India, having to deal with these changed circumstances. This is a question that is always being lobbed at the new government. Young Nahid Islam says tersely that India has always maintained relations with the Awami League rather than with the people of Bangladesh. The relationship should be State-to-State and people-to-people, not with any party. “India created a narrative of support for the Awami League internationally.”
But India cannot be wished away. Muhammad Yunus has said, “India is not our biggest neighbour it is our neighbour. We are surrounded by India on three sides. I don’t think we can go in an opposite direction. Of all the countries in the world, Bangladesh must have the best relation with India.” Neighbours will have problems, he added diplomatically. The facts that India is sheltering Wazed and that some of India’s media outlets are doing their best to fan a narrative of anti-minority attacks in Bangladesh are best left unsaid. In the meantime, Al Jazeera fact-checked some reported incidents and found them to be false. Press TV in the United Kingdom reported that political turmoil in Bangladesh was sparking media misinformation in India.
A student-led overthrow of a despotic regime, with young people giving their lives in the process, is a rare moment in history to be documented closely. In Bangladesh, a nation is being ‘redesigned’, a term that Yunus often uses. But it isn’t a story that is moving India’s people or media enough.
Sevanti Ninan is a media commentator. She also publishes the labour newsletter, Worker Web. https://workerweb.curated.co/issues