Flourish Of Bangladesh Channels In The Houses Of Indian’s Idiot Box & Radio

BANGLADESH TV & RADIO PROGRAMMES FAMOUS IN INDIA

SHIB SHANKAR CHATTERJEE
When the people of India as well as the viewers and listeners of the world eagerly enjoy tuning the
Television (TV) serials and radio programmes of India, the inhabitants of India-Bangladesh International Border
areas like to enjoy tuning the aforesaid programmes of Bangladesh with close concentration and seriously because
of the fact that the television and radio transmission system of Bangladesh are very powerful and catching. This
makes Indians villagers addicted with the Bangladeshi programmes. This has happened in the years between 1980
to 1991.
This is a kind of attack. This attack is not oriented by any military force or so air force or by naval force,
but, by air, through television channels and radio stations. It is done very cleverly and very cautiously to mould
the mind and win the hearts of the international bordering viewers (specially, Religious Muslim minority
populaces) of this particular sector.
This is found, when the people of the aforesaid international boundary areas are eagerly witnessing the
world-cup-matches through this particular channel instead of Indian channels (including Indian Door Darshan
Kendra, commonly known as : DDK). Specially, match between India and Pakistan or Bangladesh.
International Bordering people do this with the help of high power antenna and boosters. Upon enquiry
one of the viewer said, “We are happy for we can avail of the opportunity to witness and enjoy international games
and sports, famous television serials, songs, cinemas, programmes, et cetera through this Bangladeshi channels in
our remote villages, which we can’t dream of with our Indian television and radio channels”.
The viewer of the IBVs further exposed, “The Bangladesh Television (known as – BTV), which was started
its black-and-white transmission or journey on 25th December, 1964, as a pilot project in former Esat Bengal
(popularly known as : Purbo Banga or Purbo Bangla, that is, the then East Pakistan), exhibits pictures of all
kinds very clearly and vividly. In some villages, the peoples unitedly have purchased new TV and Radio sets and
placed in the community halls for enjoying various programmes of both national and international characters
through BTV.
Over and above, all these are enjoyed at free of cost. But, if we do it in our villages with the help of cable
connection, we have to pay huge sum of money, while our International Border Village (IBV) peoples earn
minimum Rs. 20 to maximum Rs. 60, per day, in this 21st century. Moreover, we can’t witness them as clearly as
we do through Bangladesh channel. But, it has evil effect too”, revealed Mohor Ali, a villager of IBV at Vogdohar
village, adjacent to the Indo-Bangla international boundary of Dhubri District of Northeast Indian state, Assam.
The most interesting fact is that the children and immature young generation, who often enjoy BTV, get
acquainted with Bangladeshi order of life. As a result, they can easily and in some cases spontaneously tell the
names of political heads of Bangladesh, when asked. But, in case of their own country, they can’t tell so but, keep
mum. Thus, indirectly BTV through it’s different programmes creating a new class of citizens in Indian territory.
Further, the television serials, cinemas and programmes related to games and sports are staged and
exhibited in a so simple manner and language that even, an illiterate village farmer can understand all their actors
and actresses, what they say or want to say. They can more easily recite and recollect the names of the writers,
actors and actresses of the serials, shows and programmes than they could of their own country.
This becomes clear, when met to Mr. Anwar Hussain, Saheb Ali, Muhammad Nurjamal Sheikh,
Muhammad Aminul Islam and octogenarian Muhammad Abul Hussein Mian, who are resided adjacent to the
India Bangladesh International Border. They’re almost unlearned but, can vividly illustrate all they see and enjoy
from BTV.
“We’re happy for we have opportunity to witness and enjoy all sorts of attractive serials and sports and
programmes through the BTV channel to our own ethnic dialect (Read : Bangla that is, Bengali)”, claimed one of
the septuagenarian viewers of the international border area near Bagmara-Garo Hills of Indian Northeast Indian
State, Meghalaya.
Sexagenarian Noorjahan Bibi, a peasant’s wife, who resides at Purbadighatari village of Coochbehar
District of Northeast Indian State, West Bengal said with laughing, “Though we’re still enjoying everything of the
BTV, but, during the years, 1980-1990, we saw and enjoy serials like Ei Shab Din Ratri, Dhakay Thaki,
Nakkhotrer Raat, Ami Tumi Se, Shakal Sandhya and children’s programme – Esho Gaan Sikhi (that is, famous
mega television serials of BTV), and they offer us immense thrill and helps to do away our monotony, when Indian
TV channel DDK and others cable tv was not launched”.
Supporting the facts, the viewers of small towns adjoining India Bangladesh International Border also
claimed, “Though, today we are enjoying the DDK programmes and the cable tv programmes through Dish Tele
Vision (DTV), which is not affordable for us except the rich peoples in our areas, but we and our children enjoyed
at that period the serials like Cartoon Network – Spiderman, Batman and famous English TV mega serials, like
Dallas, The A Team, Fall Guy, Invisible Man, Knight Rider, Ghost Story, Murder She Wrote, Tarzan, et cetera”.

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 “This happens due to the negligence of the Government of India and as a result, these IBV populaces
living in the remote international border areas show their attachment to Bangladeshi way of life than Indian
mainland peoples. Lacks of infrastructure facilities, good monitoring system, educational and cultural
assimilation, et cetera are at the root of this type detachment. Sometimes, ill feelings and ill dealings of Indian
peoples help the Bangladeshi culture to turn them into renegade”, claimed the observers of the India Bangladesh
International Border areas.
The news and the secret information regarding the high powered transmission system of Bangladesh,
which have set into motion to mould the minds of the India inhabitants now attracted towards their system of life,
the Central Government of India takes an emergent step to set up new high powered television transmission
systems in the above noted international border areas, which touch the Eastern Indian States, Assam, Meghalaya,
Tripura, West Bengal and Mizoram respectively, in order to divert their attention to the Indian side. This is clear
from the speech of the Indian Central minister tabled in Indian Parliamentary meetings. Not only that recently,
the Indian Prasar Bharati of DDK is planning to develop the infrastructure of both All India Radio (AIR) and Door
Darshan (DD) to reach most of the areas of the India Bangladesh international border areas to counter anti-India
Propaganda from across the international boundary. The senior official, who was interacting with the media
before formal launch of Hindi-English daily regional bulletins from AIR on 27th August, 2009, said, “Bangladeshi,
Pakistani and Chinese Television Channels, with their strong transmission powers are available on the Indian side
of the international border, while on the other hand, the Indian television channels, particularly DD, riding on
weak and ageing infrastructure, are not available even within India in parts of those regions. The Government of
India seems to have woken up to this lacunae at last and had decided to spend hundreds of crores of rupees to
augment the hardware in the high-power, medium-power and low-power transmitters along the aforesaid Indian
borders with the above three countries, specially. Channels from across the international border often beam
propagandist and anti India programming into Indian areas, while in many areas along the said international
border, public broadcaster DD’s signals are so weak that they are not available even within Indian areas to counter
the same”.
“It is the high time, to take initiative in this regard, before the Indian peoples are motivated towards the
foreign countries as well as the situation go out of hand”, warned the socio-political observers of the country.

(Author is former BBC, The Statesman, The Times of India & Hindustan Times & The Telegraph, AP, AFP &
PTI Contributor-cum-Photographer of Northeast India/The writer specialises in Northeast Affairs)

References :

1. Bangladesh TV, Radio Programmes Famous in India – by Shib Shankar Chatterjee, News Blaze,
(Newswire Organisation of United States of America [USA]), Dated 24th October, 2009.