India's Paid Media
The secular Indian media, especially the electronic media, are trying to outgun each other to flaunt their secular credentials in their portrayal of the 2002 riots in Gujarat. Its been ten years since the riots took place. I will not do a post-mortem of who's right and who's wrong.
The self-styled guardians of our secularism - NDTV, TIMES Now, CNN IBN, The Hindu, The Hindustan Times - are busy raking up the ghosts of the Gujarat riots. All they rant is how the Muslims were killed, how Muslim women were raped, how Muslim homes were burnt down.... and on they rant in endless debates, with conscience-keepers of our society - Brinda Karat, Javed Akhtar, Manish Tiwari, Abhishek Singhvi, Suhel Seth, Teesta Setalvad, and other 'secular' folks.
Why don't Barkha Dutt, Prannoy Roy, Rajdeep Sardesai, Sagarika Ghosh, and Arnab Goswami ever raise questions on the
(a) role played by Congress party leaders in the 1984 Sikh Riots in Delhi, which saw the deaths of more than 3000 Sikhs, in the aftermath of Indira Gandhi's assassination by her Sikh bodyguards;
(b) plight of the Hindu Pandits of Kashmir who are living like refugees in their own country after being driven out by Muslim terrorists and hardliners;
(c) ethnic cleansing of Hindus and Christians in Kashmir Valley by Muslim radicals;
(d) evangelical activities carried out by Christian missionaries in several parts of India, especially in large parts of Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, and Kerala;
(e) farmers' suicides in Andhra Pradesh, the so-called 'rice bowl of India', because of the nefarious policies of the Congress government.
Yes, there are several other uncomfortable questions that are never raised on the Newshour, Big Fight, Question Time India, Face the Nation.
Selective amnesia on the part of the Indian media is sowing seeds of hatred between different communities. What the media in India is peddling is half-truths and lies. They act more like spokespersons of the Congress and less like protectors of public interest.
To hell with public interest, as long as I get my kickbacks and paid holidays, seem to be the silent refrain of the secular media houses. So much for 'whatever it takes' to 'experience truth'.