Is Media Blitz over Mahabodhi bomb blasts one more attempt at pre-election scare-mongering and polarization?

Sunday, July 07, 2013

Letter to the Editor:

Is Media Blitz over Mahabodhi bomb blasts one more attempt at pre-election scare-mongering and polarization?

The news that CNN-IBN flashed about the blast at the site Mahabodhi temple in Bihar, and the way details were injected every few minutes, appears to trained eyes as another dirty tricks by elements in the Congress led UPA trying to match BJP’s communal salvo on disputed Ram Janam bhoomi, with its own tried and trusted tactic of hauling innocent Muslims and supposedly fictitious Indian Mujahedin members, to foment strife and polarization to build up non-Muslim, especially Buddhist vote bank in its favor. These competitive strategies to win elections by demonizing Indian Muslims, has been so overused that it hardly sends any ripples around the country. Only Muslims are rightly distressed that now extremist elements, from possibly both Brahminical political parties, are trying to outdo each other in winning the next parliamentary election, not on the basis of governance, development, corruption and widespread dissatisfaction due to mismanaged economy, but on communal demonization of Muslims. The Muslim votes are supposed to be the marginal votes that make or break any political party in at least over 100 constituencies and the dirty trick is to scare and hound Muslims so that they will flock to their tormentor to seek redress. The harried Muslims have always voted for Congress, on pain of reprisals, before and even after the elections. Before the elections, they are targeted as warning not to attempt to desert Congress or else. After the elections, as revenge in case they had deserted Congress. The entire scenario that is coming out of the Home Ministry is lapped up by subservient and communal media – paid or otherwise, without an inch of integrity or will to investigate or at least place a note of caution to such open and blatant demonizing of the entire Muslim community by planting such disasters on them, as the most reviled terror mongers. The fault-line between Buddhists and Muslims in neighboring Myanmar has come around this time as a handy tool, to divide Indian polity and corner Muslims as terrorists --- now presumably taking revenge on Buddhists. All media should realize their sacred duty to protect Indian citizenry from the machination of political parties to use dirty tricks to divide the country and initiate strategies to win votes through intimidation, fear and demonization. Even Election Commission could form a vigilance group to keep an eye at the manipulation by political parties to win votes by inciting polarization, strife, bogus terror scare, fake arrests of innocent citizens, and the media’s slavish parroting of Government agencies’ handout as gospel truth. Justice Katju, as Press Council head has been virtually silenced for his frank comments on national issues. But this is one issue that could snowball in distorting Indian democracy by means of media propaganda and should not be ignored by him as Press Council Chief. The stakes are too high for the nation for him to remain silent. Muslims too should be prepared to haul media to courts, in case of their irresponsible and widely exaggerated news coverage.

Ghulam Muhammed, Mumbai

<ghulammuhammed3@gmail.com>