The government on Thursday issued a rejoinder in protest against a write-up titled 'India and Bangladesh: Embraceable You', published in the Economist in its July 30-August 5 issue.
'We are disappointed as the report is less the well researched and contains elements of misinformation and misrepresentation of facts. What is more unfortunate is that the writer uses some words and sometimes draws analogies which lack decency and professional ethics,' said the foreign affairs ministry in a rejoinder signed by M Shameem Ahsan, director general of the External Publicity Wing of the ministry, and sent to the editor of the Economist on Thursday.
'Ever since 2008, when the Awami League, helped by bags of Indian cash and advice, triumphed in general elections in Bangladesh, relations with India have blossomed,' said the write-up.
The writer is of the view that the ruling Awami League came to power by using 'bags of Indian cash and advice', said the ministry. 'This is a blatant lie.'
'The new transit project may be about more than just development. Some in Dhaka, including military types, suspect it is intended to create an Indian security corridor,' said the Economist.
The writer's observation that the transit agreement between the two countries is to meet Indian security needs at the expense of the interest of Bangladesh is also misplaced, as both the countries are expected to benefit immensely from it, said the DG.
Referring to Indian National Congress president Sonia Gandhi's visit to Dhaka on July 25, the Economist said, 'Now the dynasts who rule each country are cementing political ties.'
'The head of India's ruling Congress Party heaped praise on her host, notably for helping the poor. A beaming Sheikh Hasina reciprocated with a golden gong, a posthumous award conferred on former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi for sending India's army to help Bangladeshis throw off the brutal Pakistani rule,' said the Economist.
The writer has undermined both the 'Bangalees' struggle' to attain statehood through the glorious War of Liberation as well as the hand of friendship and support extended by India to Bangladesh when he refers to the Freedom Honour as 'a (golden) gong' in a negative manner, said Ahsan.
'For India, however, the risk is that it is betting too heavily on Sheikh Hasina, who is becoming increasingly autocratic. Opposition boycotts of Parliament and general strikes are run-of-the-mill,' said the Economist. This proves the writer's poor knowledge of the numerous initiatives taken by the government to institutionalize democracy in the country, said the DG.
Without giving any research-based statistics, the writer mentions that 'corruption flourishes at levels astonishing even by South Asian standards'. Neither any member of the present prime minister's family nor any Cabinet member bears the stigma of being corrupt though corruption remains a major challenge for the country, said Ahsan.
The allegation of building a 'personality cult around Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman', father of the prime minister, is 'just another example of poor judgment about the role of the great leader in the epic struggle of the country', said the foreign ministry.
As regards the 'vindictive' treatment meted out to Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel Laureate, the write should have known that it was the prime minister herself who played a distinct role in patronizing and thus making micro-credit, Grameen Bank and Professor Yunus familiar globally, said the DG.
A closer look at the write-up will indicate that the writer is carrying out the agendum of a quarter which is out to wage a smear campaign against Bangladesh and its present government led by Sheikh Hasina, said the ministry.
Source : New Age
