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Friday, March 13, 2009

Is mainstream media victimising Hindus?

Many are seen complaining that mainstream Media is against Hinduism.Many others have the opposite view.They feel Islam is the number one enemy of the Media. Some also feel that media is against Christianity. What is the truth? Let me try to explain my view.

Many Hindus [I think]feel Hinduism is under attack when Sangh Parivar's agenda is attacked by the media.They some how believe in the Sangh propaganda that attacking it is same as attacking Hinduism. Same is true of followers of other religion.When the sordid and murky happenings inside the convents are exposed,some Christians believe that Christianity is attacked. When Jihadi madrassas producing terrorists are attacked by the media many Muslims feel their religion is under attack.



As an organisation, mass Media which includes newspapers,magazines,TV Channels etc are established primarily for 2 reasons. Main aim is to make profit to the owners. At the same time the owners will try to propagate their point of view [politics and or religion]. So no Media is neutral.They basically try to make maximum money by selling the owners politics.Wise owners will try not to push their point of view too much so as not to jeopardise the profits.

As a reader in Kerala the National Newspapers which I follow are The Hindu and The New Indian Express. The Hindu is evidently anti-BJP while the Indian Express is pro-BJP. That is their political view. But they try to convey news in a neutral fashion so that the Circulation is not affected much by their political bias. But no one can say that The Hindu is anti-Hindu or Indian Express is anti- Islam. Religion is usually not attacked in pages of these newspapers.

There are many Malayalam Newspapers. Most popular are Malayala Manorama and Mathrubhoomi. Manorama is a pro-Church and anti-Left newspaper. Mathrubhoomi have multiple owners, most prominent is a Janata Dal leader who is now with Left Front.Many others are close to Nair Service Society. So Mathrubhoomi many a time do not have a fixed bias.
Now let me examine the National TV News Channels that I see namely,NDTV,Time Now,CNN IBN and Headlines Today. All the National News Channels handle the National Parties, BJP and Congress with due respect. But most of the regional Parties are dumbed as corrupt, opportunistic or chauvinist. The same is true for the National Parties but that fact is conveniently forgotten.This respect of the News Channels to Congress and BJP may help them to get some favours from these Parties.
NDTV obviously have a soft corner for Congress.Like wise Headlines Today favours BJP.Times Now and CNN IBN do not seem to have fixed bias.None of the four attack Religion as such.Any way they do not attack Hindu religion.Some times I feel,their anti terror rhetoric turn in to anti-Islam bias.

So there is no logical reason to believe that Mass Media as a whole is against Hinduism. Mass Media represents several political view points which is not against any religion.
Why then there is a cry of victim hood from some Hindus? Such a cry of victim hood is carefully propagated through a whispering campaign orchestrated by the Sangh Parivar.They want all Hindus to believe that attack on Sangh Parivar's divisive policies is an attack on Hinduism.Thus they believe that sufficient pressure can be put on the media to prevent reporting of the truth.
Similarly many Christians and Muslims believe the same when media attack some practises of the Clergy of their religion.
Such unreasonable attack on mainstream media helps only the Communalists.

12 comments:

  1. If there is no bias against Hinduism, why were the Malegoan blasts described as 'Hindu terror' and why were Hindu symbols used while reporting the same?

    -nik

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous - The Malegaoan blasts were caused by Hindu chauvinists...They killed and terrorized ordinary citizens...So, what is wrong in labelling the culprits as Hindu terrorists?I'm sure you have no problem in calling Muslim terrorists as Jihadi or Islamic terrorists?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Bones,

    I am talking about the reporting by the media. Were the blasts carried out by the IM last year described as Islamic terror? Was 26/11 described as Islamic terror?

    Why is the double standard used?

    Whether these incidents should be called Hindu or Islamic terror is a completely different matter.

    -nik

    ReplyDelete
  4. Indeed a good post..

    As you said,I find no reason why people should be annoyed when fanatics are scrutinized..Now that we all have got familiar with branding people, As Bones said I find no harm in Hindu terrorist or muslim terrorist or christian terrorist .

    @Nik, so,you are sad not because of malegeon terrorist being called hindu-terrorists,but that 26/11 one wasn't called as islamic one..So what are you basically cribbing about? For yourself or for not blaming others? People like you are confused with hidden agenda and are set out to poison others mind... Sorry,but i don't intend to engage in a discussion as this is an age-old propaganda..

    People not only want to smell their shit,but also want to make sure that others smell theirs,otherwise,they will start cribbing about 'pseudo secularism'' ** rolls eyes***

    ReplyDelete
  5. Nimmy,

    I am objecting to the double standards used by the media in reporting the Malegaon blasts and the blasts carried out by the IM.

    Do you think the same standards were used in both the cases?

    The unsubstantiated personal attacks in your comments are unfortunate. I hope you will be civil in our future discussions.

    -nik

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thank you Bones and Nimmy.Media is an important part of our democracy.Attempt to pressurise them to toe the communal line should be resisted.
    Nik, If there was double standards in the National media in covering of the Hindutva terror strikes and Islamists terror strike it was only favouring the Sangh Parivar.
    Leaders of the Sangh Parivar were all along denying that Hindus can ever be terrorists.They claimed that it was all Congress conspiracy.They tried their best to malign the name of Late Hemanath Karkare for finding out the hand of Hindutva terrorists in Malegaon blasts. But after the 26/11 Islamist terror strike and loosing of elections in Delhi and Rajasthan[where they made Malegaon blast an issue]Sangh Parivar leaders became silent about Malegaon.
    With that background it was important for the media to highlight the fact that Hindutva terror is a fact not fiction. Media is almost silent about the happenings in Malegaon Case now.Thats why I feel they are favouring the Sangh Parivar.But I will never say they are favouring the Hindus because favouring the Sangh Parivar is against the real interest of the Hindus.

    ReplyDelete
  7. There is a difference between 'Hindu terror' and 'Hindutva terror'. The media called the Malegaon blasts 'Hindu terror' and not the other despite being wise enough to know the difference.

    "With that background it was important for the media to highlight the fact that Hindutva terror is a fact not fiction."

    After almost every arrest of a SIMI or IM member , their families and assorted Muslim ulemas deny that the arrested were involved in any attack and it is a conspiracy to target them. Why does not the media find it important in these cases to highlight that Islamist terror is a fact and not fiction?

    " Media is almost silent about the happenings in Malegaon Case now.Thats why I feel they are favouring the Sangh Parivar"
    The media has no sympathies for the Sangh Parivar. The media has reported on all the happenings of Malegaon blasts as and when they have occured. If there has been no progress on a particular day, what should
    the media report?

    -nik

    ReplyDelete
  8. I agree with you here. The media is not Hindu bashing it is Sangh Parivar Bashing and radical voices bashing.

    And when any wrongs done in the name of any religion are brought out the moderate voices must condemn those acts.

    Brilliant post.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thank you IHM.This attack against mainstream media should be resisted

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hindu terror or Hindutva terror,the name given implies some ppl in the name of Hindu religion indulged in terrorist activities. Islamic terror was and is being used by media.
    Also you should not forget that the intial suspicion by the media was on islamic terror grps even in malegaon blast.
    The denial here was from the main Opposition Party,not from the relatives of the accused.That is the importance of the Malegaon case.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hindu terror and Hindutva terror are not synonyms and they do not imply the same thing.

    The term Islamic terror is not used anymore. If it was, blasts by IM would have been described as the same.

    What difference does it make if the denial was from a opposition party or from the ulemas?

    -nik

    ReplyDelete
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