Anti-B'desh hysteria in Indian media
Tuesday, 23 September 2008
A week ago I was in Kolkata when a Times of India story caught my eye. The title was "Bangladesh building missile arsenal"! The report said that we were in the process of clinching a deal with a European company to buy surface to air missiles and five launch systems, that those missiles were really scary state-of-the-art stuff capable of carrying a payload 210 kg and hitting targets 180 km away.
The report went on to say that our air force was also negotiating with a Turkish company to buy a short-range air defense system with a 3D air defense radars. Really? That is just great-if we can afford it.
The report further complained that Bangladesh carried out a missile test on May 12, that it was actually an anti-ship radar equipped cruise missile with strong anti-jamming capability and a hit probability of 98% (wow!) but broke protocol when it did not inform India about it.
It took them four months to realise it, imagine; talk about intelligence.
The question is how do we compare with India? All you have to do is look up Jane's military defense magazine (the British Council should have them) and make you own judgement. The fact is the Indian media from time to time become hysterical and foam at the mouth when they take a swipe at us. Everything is stacked against us-from the trade imbalance to the murders at the border to giving sanctuary to our worst of criminals to grabbing our land to tall tales about anti-Indian militants on our territory or our becoming an Afghanistan in a very short time-but just listen to the Indians go completely overboard describing us.
When the Indians exploded 'tennis ball' type nuclear devices, four of them, in 1998 (they did something like this in 1974 as well, perhaps that was a 'ping-pong' type) they did not inform Bangladesh to the best of my knowledge. (They were actually trying to scare Pakistan who responded with five nuclear explosions of their own shortly after the Indian tests! The Indians went into a spin.).
Finally, the Indian report seems highly exaggerated because if a missile costs something in the vicinity of US$ 2-6 million (according to reports) then we can hardly afford them. But if some Indian scribes have scared themselves silly with their own machinations, we can hardly be held responsible.
Rashed Chowdhury
Wari, Dhaka
The report went on to say that our air force was also negotiating with a Turkish company to buy a short-range air defense system with a 3D air defense radars. Really? That is just great-if we can afford it.
The report further complained that Bangladesh carried out a missile test on May 12, that it was actually an anti-ship radar equipped cruise missile with strong anti-jamming capability and a hit probability of 98% (wow!) but broke protocol when it did not inform India about it.
It took them four months to realise it, imagine; talk about intelligence.
The question is how do we compare with India? All you have to do is look up Jane's military defense magazine (the British Council should have them) and make you own judgement. The fact is the Indian media from time to time become hysterical and foam at the mouth when they take a swipe at us. Everything is stacked against us-from the trade imbalance to the murders at the border to giving sanctuary to our worst of criminals to grabbing our land to tall tales about anti-Indian militants on our territory or our becoming an Afghanistan in a very short time-but just listen to the Indians go completely overboard describing us.
When the Indians exploded 'tennis ball' type nuclear devices, four of them, in 1998 (they did something like this in 1974 as well, perhaps that was a 'ping-pong' type) they did not inform Bangladesh to the best of my knowledge. (They were actually trying to scare Pakistan who responded with five nuclear explosions of their own shortly after the Indian tests! The Indians went into a spin.).
Finally, the Indian report seems highly exaggerated because if a missile costs something in the vicinity of US$ 2-6 million (according to reports) then we can hardly afford them. But if some Indian scribes have scared themselves silly with their own machinations, we can hardly be held responsible.
Rashed Chowdhury
Wari, Dhaka