Opening of the Padma Bridge and its Reflections by Indian Media

12 August 2022, NIICE Commentary 8180
Dr. Md. Shariful Islam

Indian media plays crucial role in deepening Bangladesh-India relations. However, in the pre-2009 era, the coverage of Indian media about Bangladesh affairs or India’s relations with Bangladesh has been marginal. Many argue that during that time, Indian media mostly covered negative news on Bangladesh. D. Sinha contends that ‘Bangladesh is a marginal entity in the mainstream print and electronic media in India. But when it finds any mention its dominant representations in the Indian national media, both the mainstream print and electronic variety, pertain to its image as a “wasteland” marked by utter poverty, natural disasters like flood, religious bigotry, and fundamentalism, den of anti-Indian forces,…and official sponsorship of infiltration’. Mahfuz Anam observes that ‘As a media person, I have never been able to understand the indifference of the Indian media towards Bangladesh’s issues, especially those affecting bilateral relations.’ However, this picture has changed drastically with the improvement of Bangladesh-India relations in the post-2009 era.

The inauguration of Padma Bridge on 25 June 2022 has been a landmark event in Bangladesh’s history. This write-up focuses on how Indian media covered the issue of Padma Bridge construction and inauguration in Bangladesh.

The Indian Express on 25 June 2022 wrote that ‘The Padma Bridge is the biggest and most challenging infrastructure asset ever created in Bangladesh. By joining the southwest — home to 30 million people — with the capital across the mighty river that cleaves through the country, the bridge is expected to give an unprecedented boost to communications, trade, and the economy of Bangladesh as a whole’.

India Today on same day reported that ‘Bangladesh has come of age as a huge turnaround story with the formal inauguration of the 6.15-km rail-road bridge on the Padma River. This is the country’s biggest infrastructure project since independence from Pakistan, which left Bangladesh bloodied and battered. But in 50 years down the line and with Sheikh Hasina at the helm, this youngest nation in South Asia has excelled to become the bull case for the region’.

The Hindu cited Indian High Commission in Dhaka’s congratulatory press release and quoted from the message that ‘The Padma bridge will not just help the internal connectivity of Bangladesh but will also improve trade and logistics between India and Bangladesh’. On 7 July 2022, the Hindu also published a video on the Padma multipurpose bridge highlighting the importance, funder, and the details of the Bridge which implies the importance that the daily attaches to the Bridge.

The Hindustan Times noted on 24 June 2022 that ‘The bridge is at once an engineering marvel and a symbol of the economic transformation of Bangladesh under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’. In the context of the impacts of the bridge over Bangladesh-India relations, Hindustan Times wrote that ‘Indian and Bangladeshi often describe the current relationship between the two sides as a “shonali odhyay” or golden chapter, but it is greater connectivity and trade between Bangladesh and India’s Northeastern states – as symbolised by projects such as the Padma Bridge and Dhaka’s decision to allow Assam and Tripura to use the Chattogram port – that could fuel the next chapter of economic ties’. Thus, the daily concluded that the Padma railroad bridge will be a crucial connectivity link between the people of Bangladesh and India. The Hindustan Times also published a video on how the Padma Bridge, inaugurated by Hasina, will reduce the Kolkata-Dhaka train journey by half.

Times of India on 25 June 2022 wrote that ‘This is the longest bridge in Bangladesh that will significantly reduce the distance between the capital city of Dhaka to the Mongla sea port, which is important for regional and international trade’.

The Tribune India highlighted the role of the Padma Bridge in Asian Highway. The daily wrote that ‘For India, the inauguration of the new structure on the Padma river means giving real shape to the Asian Highway towards the East’.

Indian electronic media also covered the inauguration of the Padma Bridge. The NDTV, for instance, telecasted the issue with importance.

It can be argued that Indian media both print and electronic covered Padma Bridge inauguration in a positive fashion/manner and highlighted the role of the bridge in deepening Bangladesh-India trade and connectivity which is a reflection of friendship and trust. Indian media can play vital role either in deepening or deteriorating ties between India and Bangladesh because it creates people’s perceptions. Thus, the media in both the countries need to play a constructive role in improving their relations.

Dr. Md. Shariful Islam is an Assistant Professor at Department of International Relations, University of Rajshahi and Research Fellow at the KRF Center for Bangladesh and Global Affairs, Bangladesh.