India's reaction to Chinese vloggers depicting Dhaka's slums as New Delhi

According to a report by the Aaj Tak news outlet, an official reaction from the Ministry of External Affairs has now emerged over an incident of tarnishing India's image on social media. For the past few months, some Chinese vloggers and livestreamers have been making videos in the slum areas of Bangladesh's capital Dhaka. Surprisingly, in these videos, the streets and settlements of Dhaka are being portrayed as 'Nai Dilli', meaning New Delhi. Not only this, but it has also come to light that objectionable comments were made regarding India's poverty, cleanliness, and standard of living within these videos.

According to the Aaj Tak report, during the regular media briefing of the Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday, 10 November, spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal was asked about this entire matter. In response, he clarified that such attempts to present a false picture of any country are extremely unfortunate. Randhir Jaiswal further stated that this attempt to portray parts of Dhaka as Delhi and spread a false narrative only undermines the credibility of the individuals committing such acts as well as those behind them. He has also appealed to the relevant authorities to take strict action against such people.

Citing Bangladeshi media reports, the report stated that such activities were witnessed in Dhaka's Uttara Sector-12 and the surrounding Tekpara area. Local residents there say that several Chinese nationals were continuously recording videos in this area. According to reports, these vloggers used to keep two mobile phones inside the streets and livestream for hours. In some cases, serious allegations of them entering people's homes and shooting videos have also come to the fore, causing severe resentment among local residents.

Reports have also cited the example of a Chinese woman who, while livestreaming in an area of Dhaka, referred to it as 'Nai Dilli'. In her video, the houses there were shown as dirty and backward, and alongside this, comments raising questions about India's cleanliness and law and order were also made. Apart from this, in another video, tea shops of Dhaka's Tekpara area were shown, and various objectionable claims about India were reportedly made. The content of all these videos was being widely used on various social media platforms in China.

Questions are also being raised as to why these people are going inside Dhaka and making videos in this manner. In a conversation with the Bangladeshi newspaper 'Prothom Alo', a Chinese national claimed that this type of livestreaming was related to product promotion and was being done on WeChat. Meanwhile, a local guide stated that Chinese nationals also post videos on platforms like Douyin to earn financial income. This is the precise reason why serious questions are being raised regarding this entire matter that if its purpose was merely product promotion, then why were these backward areas of Dhaka being falsely portrayed and presented as Delhi.

Local residents have not only objected to showing the wrong location, but some residents have also made serious allegations that these vloggers entered their homes directly and shot footage without any prior permission. Some people have even complained about them taking cameras not just inside the house, but right up to the bathrooms. A local woman from Dhaka, in her statement to the Bangladeshi media, said that when someone suddenly enters a house without any restriction and starts recording, that situation becomes extremely uncomfortable.

This entire sequence of events has sparked a new debate on social media regarding the use of false locations and misleading videos. Displaying the pictures and situations of another country by giving them India's name can create a very false and negative perception about the country among social media viewers. A strict stance has been taken by the Ministry of External Affairs on this matter, and a demand has been made to take official action against those indulging in such acts.