anti-India online campaign in Bangladesh, coming close on the heels of the Maldives' 'India Out' drive that catapulted President Mohammed Muizzu to power, is driven by leaders and influencers linked to the country's main opposition party and hardline elements.
It is fuelled by hate and misinformation, India Today's Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) team has found.
An in-depth analysis of more than 4000 tweets shows #BoycottIndianProducts along with some other low-volume hashtags like #IndiaOut and #BoycottIndia started gaining traction on social media platforms in Bangladesh a week after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina took oath following controversial elections boycotted by opposition parties.
The hashtag urging people to stop using India-made products was the most prominent and has so far raked up over 3,800 posts on X (formerly Twitter).
Hashtag #BoycottIndianProducts picked up pace when several highly influential accounts followed by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), its media cell, and/or its magazine 'The Road to Democracy' launched what appears to be a coordinated campaign on January 18, a day after BNP's media cell claimed that "opposition to India is increasing in Bangladesh" and that "Bangladesh has suffered the most politically due to the wrong policies of the Indian government."
In its tweet, the party's media wing cited contents of a YouTube video that claimed: "India has openly interfered and influenced Bangladeshi elections for the past 15 years."
The same video made several other unsubstantiated claims that India ignored Sri Lanka's woes during Colombo's economic crisis – conveniently ignoring New Delhi's assistance of a whopping $4 billion, which was appreciated by Sri Lankan leaders.
Though the top BNP leadership has not condoned the boycott call, its low-rung leaders and sympathisers regularly published posts asking people not to buy Indian goods or travel to India for treatment. They have also published photos and videos guiding people on ways to identify Indian products.
Some of the most vocal X voices behind the boycott campaign include France-based activist Pinaki Bhattacharya, BNP youth wing leader Ershad Nabil Khan, BNP's student wing for private universities named Voices For Democracy, London-based activist Rupom Razzaque, and an account named Revolt, which had a different handle and username dedicated to soccer updates in the past.
MISINFORMATION
Many social media handles actively pushing the narrative have often posted fake news and misleading claims during the campaign, prompting concerns that disinformation against India could be at play after a similar trend in the Maldives last year.
For instance, Rupon Razzaque, who makes several anti-India posts daily, shared a screenshot on X that mixed motivated agenda with incorrect facts to claim that India earns USD1 billion a year by charging international flights passing over the Bangladeshi airspace, accusing the Sheikh Hasina government of not installing radars required for tracking aircraft under the Indian "pressure".
It also said that Bangladesh purchased two new age radars for the purpose in 2017, which were still not functional – a wrong claim.
A simple internet search shows Dhaka signed an agreement with a French company for the supply, installation, and maintenance of the radars, among other services, in October 2021.
Reports quoted the country's civil aviation chief saying that the radars were already functional and that works on automation and interlinking were underway.
Notably, a panel of the European Union last month found that online disinformation played a major role in spreading false narratives in the Maldives election, wherein the 'India Out' campaign was a significant factor.
The EU Election Observation Mission (EOM) said that multiple anti-India disinformation campaigns were based on the theme of fears of "Indian influences and anxiety regarding the presence of Indian military personnel inside the country".
RADICALS JOIN ANTI-INDIA CALLS
Many accounts, actively pushing the hashtags, also posted objectionable and derogatory tweets against India, Hindus, and Hinduism, and were found celebrating terrorist acts and the Taliban rule in Afghanistan.
INDIAN YOUTUBERS PROVIDE FODDER
Irresponsible, unverified, and clickbait videos posted by several Indian YouTubers are adding fuel to the fire, helping campaigners get fodder to push their anti-India narrative. For instance, a video titled 'Role of RAW in Bangladesh elections' was widely shared by accounts tweeting #BoycottIndia and #BoycottIndianProducts.
In the video published on January 12, YouTuber Pavneet Singh told his over 3.1 lakh subscribers: "Last year, RAW decided not to engage with BNP and Jamaat (e-Islami) and to make a narrative of free and fair election in Bangladesh.
RAW activated its assets in Bangladesh to make the Jatiya Party contest the polls. RAW officials met Jatiya Party leaders GM Qadir and Mujbul Haq Chunnu and asked Awami League to make Jatiya Party contest elections."
Singh, however, does not reveal the source of his claims. But he is not alone. Many other Indian channels have been posting such boastful content to gain views and revenue.
SELECTIVE TARGETING?
The Bangladeshi campaign carries all hallmarks of the 'India Out' campaign of the Maldives' then-opposition party the People's National Congress, which has now announced many pro-China measures taking the archipelago into Beijing's sphere of influence.
Like the Maldives' PNC, campaigners in Bangladesh also oppose India on the ground – among other things – of violating the sovereignty of the nation of Bengali speakers.
For a few though, India and China are in the same boat – both nations were among the first to welcome Prime Minister Hasina's win in the January 7 elections. Beijing has competed with New Delhi for years to become Dhaka's top trading partner – a goal briefly achieved in mid-2022.
As per official figures released last year, about 7000 Chinese companies are doing business in Bangladesh and its investment has surged to USD1.4 billion.
Beijing has built a submarine base named after PM Hasina, supplied two submarines, and sold 17% of its total arms exports to Dhaka between 2016 and 2020, as per the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). However, there is no negative campaign against China.