India-Bangladesh cultural ties must deepen Ex-Indian envoy to Dhaka
Kolkata Apr 19 PTI India especially West Bengal could deepen its people-to-people ties with neighbour Bangladesh said Ambassador Riva Ganguly Das former Secretary-East in the Ministry of External Affairs while pointing out that in the official domain collaboration between the two governments had been strengthened significantly in all areas in recent years Ganguly Das in an interaction with PTI on Tuesday suggested that there can be joint theatrical productions and ballets collaborative writing of books and works on Rabindranath Tagore between people who share a common culture and language With a 4096-km-long border it is quite natural that there will be issues between India and Bangladesh But many complicated problems have been resolved Both countries now work together in many sectors including connectivity But there is not much public awareness regarding the collaboration and only issues such as border shoot-outs and illegal immigration are highlighted she told PTI Ganguly Das who served as Indias High Commissioner to Dhaka before taking up her assignment as Secretary-East said that deeper cultural ties will help in removing misconceptions and stereotypes that people of both Bangladesh and India especially West Bengal harbour towards each other An average educated Bangladeshi looks to India and says we are blood brothers He or she acknowledges Indias role in their countrys liberation just as we acknowledge the gallantry shown by Bangladeshs freedom fighters However there will always be discordant notes which can be isolated through frequent cultural exchanges she said One Bangladeshi top Naval officers wife once told me she goes to Kolkata to watch first-day-first-show of almost all movies People come from there for education medical treatment and even to shop as it should be between neighbours Similarly many Indians do business or study medicine in Bangladesh she said However with both parts of Bengal sharing a common history for thousands of years their present-day relationship should be much more vibrant the former diplomat said Ganguly Das said that Bengali-language cinema is one area where there can be massive collaboration between the two countries She pointed out over-the-top OTT platforms net-based movie theatres such as Netflix and Hoi Choi have made it easier for people from both sides of the border to see each others movie offerings India-Bangladesh joint production movies such as Padma Nadir Majhi 1993 Moner Manush 2010 and Shankhachil 2016 were widely popular in both the countries The two countries are now working on a joint production of a bio-pic on Sheikh Mujibbur Rehman the founder of Bangladesh which is being directed by Shyam Benegal There can be joint production of dramas ballets There should be collaborative writing of books Works can be done on Rabindranath Tagoreso many Bangladeshi students come to Santiniketan for studies she said West Bengal and Bangladesh were part of a common homeland of Bengalis which was partitioned in 1947 when Pakistan was carved out of India The western part of Bengal became the Indian state of West Bengal while the eastern half first became East Pakistan and subsequently the independent nation of Bangladesh in 1971 PTI ACD JRC JRC
Kolkata Apr 19 PTI India especially West Bengal could deepen its people-to-people ties with neighbour Bangladesh said Ambassador Riva Ganguly Das former Secretary-East in the Ministry of External Affairs while pointing out that in the official domain collaboration between the two governments had been strengthened significantly in all areas in recent years Ganguly Das in an interaction with PTI on Tuesday suggested that there can be joint theatrical productions and ballets collaborative writing of books and works on Rabindranath Tagore between people who share a common culture and language With a 4096-km-long border it is quite natural that there will be issues between India and Bangladesh But many complicated problems have been resolved Both countries now work together in many sectors including connectivity But there is not much public awareness regarding the collaboration and only issues such as border shoot-outs and illegal immigration are highlighted she told PTI Ganguly Das who served as Indias High Commissioner to Dhaka before taking up her assignment as Secretary-East said that deeper cultural ties will help in removing misconceptions and stereotypes that people of both Bangladesh and India especially West Bengal harbour towards each other An average educated Bangladeshi looks to India and says we are blood brothers He or she acknowledges Indias role in their countrys liberation just as we acknowledge the gallantry shown by Bangladeshs freedom fighters However there will always be discordant notes which can be isolated through frequent cultural exchanges she said One Bangladeshi top Naval officers wife once told me she goes to Kolkata to watch first-day-first-show of almost all movies People come from there for education medical treatment and even to shop as it should be between neighbours Similarly many Indians do business or study medicine in Bangladesh she said However with both parts of Bengal sharing a common history for thousands of years their present-day relationship should be much more vibrant the former diplomat said Ganguly Das said that Bengali-language cinema is one area where there can be massive collaboration between the two countries She pointed out over-the-top OTT platforms net-based movie theatres such as Netflix and Hoi Choi have made it easier for people from both sides of the border to see each others movie offerings India-Bangladesh joint production movies such as Padma Nadir Majhi 1993 Moner Manush 2010 and Shankhachil 2016 were widely popular in both the countries The two countries are now working on a joint production of a bio-pic on Sheikh Mujibbur Rehman the founder of Bangladesh which is being directed by Shyam Benegal There can be joint production of dramas ballets There should be collaborative writing of books Works can be done on Rabindranath Tagoreso many Bangladeshi students come to Santiniketan for studies she said West Bengal and Bangladesh were part of a common homeland of Bengalis which was partitioned in 1947 when Pakistan was carved out of India The western part of Bengal became the Indian state of West Bengal while the eastern half first became East Pakistan and subsequently the independent nation of Bangladesh in 1971 PTI ACD JRC JRC
