The Role of Media and NGOs in Bangladesh

A free press is a requirement for equitable development. It is not a luxury. In a modern state, the media is an integral pillar in addition to parliament, government, and the judiciary. In a functioning country ’civil society’ has a space besides government machinery and corporate practice. While the media can monitor the government’s actions, it is also crucial for raising human progress. Civil society organizations (CSOs) work parallel with government and business structures, facilitating development practices.

Ideally, both the media and civil society serve the public by being present, voicing issues, and finding answers; nevertheless, ideal types are known to be speculative. According to estimates, there are approximately 250,000 CSOs registered with various government authorities in Bangladesh. However, it is estimated that fewer than 50,000 organizations are operating. According to data from 2022, Bangladesh has 3,176 registered newspapers and periodicals, 1,279 of which are daily, and approximately 40 television channels, four of which are state-owned.

Thus, to a curious mind, learning about the media environment and the role of civil society in a nation like Bangladesh, where things appear to be spiraling out of control, becomes an urgent question. I spoke with the Bangladeshi-Swedish writer Anisur Rahman to expand on these issues.

Media in Bangladesh

Ashish Singh (A.S.) Please throw a light on the history of Bangladeshi media

Anisur Rahman (A.R.) The media in Bangladesh is a mix of government and privately owned media. News agencies were present in Bangladesh before its independence from Pakistan in 1971. The state-owned Associated Press of Pakistan (AAP) had branches in Dhaka and Chittagong from 1949. After independence, the AAP was replaced by the Bangladesh state-owned news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, or BSS. Two old newspapers, Sangbad and Ittefaq, founded during the Pakistani era, still run.

All newspapers are privately owned. English-language papers can reach urban readers mostly. There are hundreds of “dailies”, “weeklies”, and periodicals in Bangladesh. The country has both state-run and privately owned radio and TV channels. Introduced with bdnews24.com in the early 2000s, the country’s online news media outlets are growing.

A.S.- Has media been ideology-driven or more focused on the commerce aspects of the trade?

A.R.- Once upon a time, Bangladesh media used to be guided by idealogy. Now most media outlets both print and electronic are a result of either political or corporate corruption. When a person invests his illegal money in a news media company, his only motive is to earn profits. The media houses that could uphold their ideology, have been narrowed for example the oldest daily Sangbad. Media mostly do not have any transparent political idealogy. However, they are expected to be pro-Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971.

Some papers even play a role in favor of depoliticizing the country. They are friendly with military-backed administrations and hostile to partisan governments. Among others, Daily Star and Prothom Alo are blamed for this. It seems most media outlets lack ideology but play a role as a weapon in favor of the corporate as well as the political interests of the owners. In most cases, editors play the role of a doll in the hands of the corporate owners.

A.S.- What are the existing laws regarding freedom of speech and expression, and how do they affect the media industry in Bangladeshi?

A.R.- The Constitution of Bangladesh guarantees the right to freedom of speech and expression. However, this freedom is not absolute in practice. It is a subject to reasonable restrictions imposed by the law on several grounds. Most of these laws were made during the colonial era.

The laws are the Special Powers Act of 1974, Official Secrets Act of 1923, Contempt of Court Act 1926, Copyright Act 2000 and the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). There is a history of misusing these acts. Enacted during the British colonial era in 1898, CrPC has a provision for issuing direct arrest warrants against anybody including journalists, writers and publishers of any books or newspapers if they wrote or said anything considered defamatory.

Bangladesh Parliament passed a bill in 2011, scrapping the provision of issuing direct arrest warrants against journalists, writers, and others for writing or saying anything defamatory.
However, it turned out not to be a cause of relief because the Information and Communication Technology Act (ICT) of 2006 was amended in 2013, making offenses under the Act non-bailable and cognizable with a minimum prison sentence of seven years. Under this law, over twenty journalists were sued only in 2017. Additionally, there are some other laws such as special power acts and broadcast laws that are used to disturb professional news media.

Administration as well as law enforcement agencies have a record of harassing journalists by filing criminal charges against them. This ’unconstitutional’ regime led by Muhammad Yunus has filed murder cases against over 25 journalists in less than six weeks.

A.S.- With regime changes, what changes have you seen in the patterns of news coverage in Bangladesh?

A.R.- After the regime change, the media experienced drastic change. Most major media outlets are now featuring a series of propaganda. Visible, invisible, self, and imposed censorship are obvious. The media is expected to expose the truth. But they are now in most cases doing its opposite. People lost their trust in the media in many cases. Media in Bangladesh is now the champion of media trials. Following the regime change, many media houses remove key people from their management without any professional consideration but to draw the goodwill attention of the elements in the new administration. Some were forced to do it, others did it as an outcome of fear of power players having a connection to the new regime. This is the worst in the 50-year history of media. Several media houses have a record of giving undue space to the leaders of banned Islamist forces’ leaders. They do it on their mission to favor this unconstitutional military-Islamist friendship regime.

A.S.- How do you see the Bangladeshi media faring currently?

A.R.- Bangladeshi media does not have a strong professional foundation. There is no job justice and guarantee in the media sector. Professional journalists in most cases do not get their due salaries on time. Job security is a severe problem. Nowadays, I see the absence of ’news sense’. The lack of environment and chances for professional development and proper orientation is alarming. It is a very common and mandatory condition for a news report that requires source checking and a statement from all parties concerned.

Now we see major news media outlets presenting wholesale reports provided by intelligence agencies and administrative sources. This kind of practice is more dangerous than propaganda. Pro-people news reports are not getting proper treatment in most cases. On the other hand, the media is manifesting diverse profiles holding official positions.

There is a difference between an official brochure’ and a new presentation. I am tired of seeing ’protocol journalism’. Editors with very few exceptions are fond of building connections with elements in the powerful corridors that are an obvious barrier to media progress. If a country’s executive boss is hungry for advice from editors, it is wise for him to ensure total freedom of expression for the media. At the same time, the ’unconstitutional’ Yunus regime does need to withdraw the cases against media professionals, editors, writers, artists, and cultural practitioners at the earliest.

Civil Society Organizations in Bangladesh:

A.S.- How is civil society structured in Bangladesh? Do they operate independently or within the governmental organizations?

A.R.- What do we mean by civil society? Civil society is comprised of organizations and associations that serve the public’s needs but operate outside of governmental and corporate spheres. The most recognizable actors in civil society are non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

Civil society in Bangladesh, many argue, functions independently. In practice, in various contexts, they play a role as elements of an evil society. They try to contribute to fulfilling the political agenda in favor of imperial powers. They advocate for agendas set by their fund providers directly or indirectly. In a way, they work as an instrument for depoliticizing the country. This is a sophisticated way of colonization.

Civil society elements take part in regime change. Several NGOs are even playing a role in converting ethnic minorities to Christianity or Islam.  NGOs, in some cases, function as corporate conglomerates also. The country’s largest NGO, BRAC is an example in this regard. Many NGO executives are now holding portfolios in the current ’unconstitutional’ cabinet of Bangladesh.

A.S.- Since 1971, which sectors have civil society organizations focused on?

A.R.- Following the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971, NGO programs were introduced for the rehabilitation of war victims. BRAC is a good example. Initially, NGO programs had a priority on health, food, shelter and social issues. Later on, the micro-credit program was expanded a lot. The fact is that microloans, through various NGOs and Dr. Yunus’ Grameen Bank, in most cases, have turned out to be a scandal. They victimized many poor families in the trap of microcredit. Largely, the profile of civil society agendas in the country features good governance, free expression, environment, education, human rights, migration, ethnic minorities, women empowerment, childcare, climate, etc. .

A.S.- Are civil society organizations primarily religious in nature?

A.R.- Bangladesh has an unusually large number of NGOs. In the early 2000s, it was estimated that around 22000 NGOs were in operation. Some of them are religious and the majority of them are non-religious.

A.S.- What kind of changes have different regimes brought in concerning the functioning of civil society organizations?

A.R.- Over twenty percent of the country’s population is now believed to receive some services – usually credit provision, health, or education services – from an NGO. NGOs began working predominantly in rural areas, but have now expanded their programs to urban areas also. It seems civil society organizations feel comfortable with a non-partisan regime, such as a military or semi-military-backed regime. Then they have more chances to get their voice heard.

Civil society elements are a beneficiary group for promoting drawing-room politics. They use good rhetoric covering poverty eradication, democracy, human rights, and so on. Unfortunately, they play a double-faced role. Sometimes they are identified as people’s foes. They cannot echo the people’s suffering and longing for relief. They are not accountable to the people but the political leaders are.

A.S.- Where do you see their successes and failures throughout the history of the country? Please give examples.

A.R.- There is a long list of successes on their side and you may find huge documentation in this connection. To this contrary, ethnic and religious minorities have decreased, many converted to Christianity or Islam, traditional social harmony has disappeared, social solidarity has been destroyed, and national development structure has been disturbed. The success of NGOs should be recognized as supplementary or complementary to a country’s national program in its respective sector. In no way should NGOs be considered to be an alternative actor to the government or corporate machinery.

A.S.- What role can they play now? And, are they empowered enough to bring positive changes in the lives of the people?

A.R.- If you look into the role of civil society in Europe, the Americas, Japan, Korea, Russia, and even India, you may see how ’evil’ the civil society elements in Bangladesh are.

In the above-mentioned countries, civil society elements do not challenge political power. In Bangladesh, they are doing it. It is a reminder of 1757 in our history¹. Politicians and bureaucracy may be corrupt. It does not mean civil society elements are their alternatives. It is suicidal. Civil society elements are not even free from corruption.

There was even a series of corruption cases against Dr. Muhammad Yunus. Civil society elements are empowered enough to destroy the country’s political structure and make the nation a dysfunctional state. As soon as they are away from political power, the country will get relief. The forest animals look beautiful in a jungle and babies feel comfort in their mothers’ laps. Good or bad, no matter, politics is for politicians not for NGO executives or retired military and civil servants.

1. 1757 was the year when the British East India Company defeated the Nawab of Bengal in the Battle of Plassey. This event made the Company the dominant political power.  ↩︎