In the recent months, German broadcast network Deutsche Welle has turned desperately anti-Bangladesh and anti-India while it has been attempting to give oxygen to Al Qaeda-connected Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)’s notorious propaganda. It also has been making frantic bids in portraying controversial Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus as an angel and trying to project ongoing cases and investigations against Yunus as “false”.
One of the journalists of Deutsche Welle (DW), Arafatul Islam, who is heavily inclined towards Bangladesh Nationalist Party and anti-Awami League forces wrote an article titled ‘India’s influence in Bangladesh: Support or meddling?’ on March 5, 2024. The intro of the DW article says “As Bangladesh faces political turmoil, questions are being raised about India’s influence on its neighbor’s elections. A group of influencers have launched an “India out” campaign to address India’s interference”, where Arafatul made foul bids in giving instigation to “India Out” notoriety while he falsely claimed Bangladesh is currently facing “political turmoil”.
Commenting on “India Out” notoriety, Arafatul Islam wrote:
A group of Bangladeshi influencers and political activists launched an “India out” campaign after the January elections, claiming that the Modi government has not only been ignoring its neighbor’s democratic backsliding but also actively backing Sheikh Hasina to stay in power for its own self-interest.
Pinaki Bhattacharya, an exiled Bangladeshi physician and influential social media activist living in Paris, announced the latest “India out” campaign in mid-January by urging his millions of followers not to buy Indian products in Bangladesh and abroad to protest against “India’s relentless meddling in Bangladesh’s domestic affairs”.
“A striking example of such interference was the mockery of democracy seen in the January 7 elections, where India’s involvement was pivotal in upholding a regime that blatantly favors India’s strategic, political, and economic agendas”, Bhattacharya, a PM Hasina critic, told DW.
The campaign has received support in Bangladesh on social media, with reports suggesting that some people are favoring alternatives to Indian products in Bangladesh and abroad.
…Ali Riaz, a political science professor at Illinois State University, thinks that there is a political message underpinning this campaign that has implications beyond immediate success.
“The campaign reflects the simmering discontent about India’s disregard to the legitimate grievances of Bangladesh and its role in Bangladesh’s domestic politics,” Riaz told DW.
According to the expert, the perception that India has helped Bangladeshi PM Sheikh Hasina remain in power despite her country’s democratic backslide and poor human rights records, which were condemned by the West, is not unfounded.
“This is not the first time that India came to the aid of the Hasina government, during two previous elections in 2014 and 2018, which were marred by massive vote rigging in favor of the ruling party and boycotts, India stood by Hasina”, Riaz added.
Although DW journalist and pro-BNP activist Arafatul Islam quotes cyberterrorist Pinaki Bhattacharya stating, “Pinaki Bhattacharya said that the “India out” campaign harbors ”no animosity towards the people of India”.
“It is a vehement political fight aimed squarely at the governing elite of India, a relentless battle to reclaim the sovereignty and stewardship of our cherished motherland”, he said – in reality Pinaki Bhattacharya has been continuously demonizing India, Indians as well as Hindus in general, thus giving instigation to Bangladesh people to wage war against India and switch to Pakistan for collaboration.
Commenting on Pinaki Bhattacharya’s notoriously anti-Bangladesh, anti-India and anti-Hindu actions, internationally acclaimed multi-award-winning journalist and Blitz editor Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury wrote:
As part of his involvement in ultra-Islamist force’s “India Out” notoriety, Pinaki Bhattacharya has been calling for “boycott of Indian products” (including Indian medical services) while he also is calling upon people to destroy Indian economy, and been passing highly-derogatory comments on Indian nationals and Hindus on a regular basis.
All of such actions are clearly against YouTube’s community standard policies including ‘Hate Speech Policy’, ‘Violent Extremist or Criminal Organizations Policy’, Harassment & Cyberbullying Policies, ‘Misinformation Policies’, ‘Medical Misinformation Policies’, and ‘Vulgar Language Policies’. For violating each of these policies, contents of the accused channel are removed while in the case of Pinaki Bhattacharya, where he has been violating almost all of the community standards and continuing notorious propaganda against India, Hindus and Indian business conglomerates, he should have been permanently banned from the platform. But until now, there has been no action against this individual either by video-sharing platform YouTube as well as social media platforms such as Facebook and X (formerly Twitter). As each of the video contents of Pinaki Bhattacharya on YouTube are against India, Hindus and Indian business conglomerates, by not taking any measures against his channel, YouTube authorities are becoming abettor of his crime, where Indian authorities, Hindu rights groups as well as Indian business conglomerates are lodge civil suit against YouTube demanding hundreds of billions of dollars for attempts of harming image of India, defaming and demonizing Hindus and continuous attempts of causing harm to Indian business conglomerates. In such cases, YouTube authorities cannot ignore or avoid their responsibility as Pinaki Bhattacharya’s activities are no secret because his channel has almost two million subscribers and his dangerous activities through these channels are already reported in Indian and international media outlets.
Few years ago, Pinaki Bhattacharya fled Bangladesh and sought asylum in France under the false claim of being a victim of political persecution. In reality, during his stay in Bangladesh, a “neo-Muslim” Pinaki under the garb of producing life-saving drugs in his pharmaceutical factory, was in reality, producing illicit sexual drugs, counterfeit medicine and ‘Yaba’ tablets – a dangerous drug containing a mixture of methamphetamine and caffeine and distributing these contraband items through underworld crime rackets in Bangladesh.
It is important to note – one of Pinaki Bhattacharya’s primary agendas is to promote the “India Out” campaign, urging Muslims to boycott Indian products and services. He spreads derogatory remarks about Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and other patriotic forces, portraying them as terrorists and portraying India as an evil nation.
YouTube’s inaction against channels like Pinaki Bhattacharya not only violates its own community standards but also makes it complicit in spreading hate speech and inciting violence. By allowing such channels to thrive, YouTube is facilitating the demonization of India and Hindus, contributing to a hostile environment that harms India’s image and economy.
In addition to spreading hate speech, Pinaki Bhattacharya uses his channel to promote false narratives about historical events, such as the demolition of the Babri mosque in Ayodhya. He falsely accuses Hindu organizations like the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) of perpetrating violence against Muslims, ignoring historical facts and evidence.
Pinaki Bhattacharya’s association with extremist organizations and his criminal activities in Bangladesh, including the production and distribution of illicit drugs, raise serious concerns about his credibility and intentions. Yet, YouTube continues to provide him with a platform to spread his toxic ideology, undermining efforts to promote peace and harmony.
Earlier, DW in an interview with controversial Nobel Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus had not only granted him monopoly opportunity of claiming himself as clean and innocent, at the beginning of the interview, Khaled Mohiuddin has even conveyed regards to Yunus on behalf of DW team, including Arafatul Islam. It is well-anticipated that this interview was part of Yunus’ self-propaganda and PR activities.
It may be mentioned here that, German broadcast network Deutsche Welle has been playing the role of propaganda machine of Al Qaeda connected Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) as well as anti-Bangladesh, anti-Sheikh Hasina and anti-India forces.
It may be added here that on March 1, 2024, RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan claimed citing audio leaked by Russian security officials where the 40-minute conversation between high-ranking Bundeswehr officers discussing how to carry out the attack targeting Crimean Bridge, proving German military is involved in attempts of hydro terrorism. From this specific case, as it is well-anticipated that Germany is involved in terrorist and criminal plots, the latest role of Deutsche Welle against Bangladesh and India may ring alarm as this broadcast outlet may have some ulterior agenda behind running vile propaganda with the nefarious motive of destabilizing Bangladesh’s law and order situation. Authorities concerned in Dhaka and New Delhi need to press objection to such heinous acts.
