India-bashing in Maldivian media is now commonplace, says Rajeev Sharma
The New Delhi based author said that the India-bashing is sponsored by the government
President Abdulla Yameen with the Indian Foreign Secretary
China has passed on its penchant for India-bashing to the Maldives and President Abdulla Yameen has sponsored it, claims New Delhi author and journalist Rajeev Sharma.
In an article published on The Quint, an Indian news website powered by Bloomberg, Sharma said that the Maldivian government has been using state-operated and funded media outlets to spread anti-Indian sentiments.
“Never before India faced such a hostile Maldivian media as it is facing of late under the regime of President Yameen Abdul Gayoom” Sharma’s article said, adding that the Yameen administration has ‘tilted’ in favour of China.
Sharma goes on to write that most of such sentiments published by government-sponsored media outlets is directly owned by President Yameen, and publicized behind the safety of language barriers.
“But the India-bashing is being done by those outfits which are directly controlled by President Yameen and are published in Dwivehi [sic], the local language” the article says.
Sharma’s article also lists examples from articles published on Vaguthu and Rumaalu, two pro-government organizations.
In an earlier article, the author – who reportedly has over two decades of experience writing about such matters – said that Maldives has made Indian diplomats caged parrots.
READ MORE: Government has made Indian diplomats a caged parrot, says analyst
In his hard-hitting piece, Sharma also said that Indian diplomats, including the ambassador, have been subject to telecommunications monitoring.
