Thursday, November 23, 2006
ââ¬ËIndian media blind to atrocities in Kashmirââ¬â¢
By Khalid Hasan
WASHINGTON: A leading Indian writer on Wednesday deplored the otherwise judgemental Indian mediaââ¬â¢s failure to ââ¬Åcarry a single detailed report on the torture and extra judicial killings of hundreds of civilians in Kashmir over the last decadeââ¬Â.
Pankaj Mishra, writing in the New York Times, said, ââ¬ÅPundits in India deplore, often gleefully, American excesses in Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib, and the inadequacies of the American news media in the run-up to the war in Iraq, but the Indian news media has yet to carry a single detailed report on the torture and extra judicial killings of hundreds of civilians in Kashmir over the last decade.ââ¬Â
Commenting on the Chinese presidentââ¬â¢s current visit to India this week, Mishra said that compared with China, ââ¬Åthe gap between image and reality is greater in India, which claims to be the worldââ¬â¢s largest democracy, with an educated middle class and a free news media ââ¬Â¦ and yet fundamental rights to clean water, food and work remain empty abstractions to hundreds of millions of Indians, whose plight rarely impinges on the news mediaââ¬â¢s obsession with celebrity and consumption. The countryââ¬â¢s culture of greed partly explains why a woman is killed by her husband or in-laws every 77 minutes for failing to bring sufficient dowry.ââ¬Â
Mishra called Chinese nationalism a ââ¬Åtamed beastââ¬Â, occasionally unleashed by the communist leadership to stir up mass protests against Japan and America. ââ¬ÅIn India, however, religious nationalists have run wild in the last 10 years, conducting nuclear tests, menacing minorities and threatening Pakistan with all-out war. In 2002, members of a Hindu nationalist government in the state of Gujarat instigated and often organised the killings of as many as 1,600 Muslims.ââ¬Â
Mishra argued that free markets and regular elections alone did not make a civil society. ââ¬ÅThere remains the task of creating and strengthening institutions ââ¬â universities, news media and human rights groups ââ¬â that can focus public attention on the fate of the powerless and oppressed, and spread ideas of human dignity, compassion and generosity. This task is never perfectly realised, but at least in the US, many liberal institutions have vigorously pursued such goals, even as successive governments have made their pacts with various devils around the world.ââ¬Â
He also criticised the Indian government for having prevented Tenzin Tsundue, a famous Tibetan rights figure, from travelling outside Dharamsala, where he lives, so that he should not be able to protest against the Chinese president. ââ¬ÅPre-emptive arrests of and even police assaults on Tibetan protesters are not new in India, but the governmentââ¬â¢s gagging of a well-known writer and activist like Mr Tsundue raises questions about the moral values that India and China, the emerging superpowers of the new century, are likely to embody,ââ¬Â he said.
Mishra was also critical of India and China for their ââ¬Åmollycoddlingââ¬Â of Myanmar in the interest of trade, but unlike India, China at least appeared to be internally consistent while upholding business interests all in its foreign policy, as in its domestic policy. ââ¬ÅHowever tainted in practice, the idea of virtue cannot be discarded in policymaking. By treating it with contempt, the ruling elites of India and China may soon make the world nostalgic for the days when America claimed, deeply hypocritically, its moral leadership,ââ¬Â he wrote.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006\11\23\story_23-11-2006_pg7_55
ââ¬ËIndian media blind to atrocities in Kashmirââ¬â¢
By Khalid Hasan
WASHINGTON: A leading Indian writer on Wednesday deplored the otherwise judgemental Indian mediaââ¬â¢s failure to ââ¬Åcarry a single detailed report on the torture and extra judicial killings of hundreds of civilians in Kashmir over the last decadeââ¬Â.
Pankaj Mishra, writing in the New York Times, said, ââ¬ÅPundits in India deplore, often gleefully, American excesses in Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib, and the inadequacies of the American news media in the run-up to the war in Iraq, but the Indian news media has yet to carry a single detailed report on the torture and extra judicial killings of hundreds of civilians in Kashmir over the last decade.ââ¬Â
Commenting on the Chinese presidentââ¬â¢s current visit to India this week, Mishra said that compared with China, ââ¬Åthe gap between image and reality is greater in India, which claims to be the worldââ¬â¢s largest democracy, with an educated middle class and a free news media ââ¬Â¦ and yet fundamental rights to clean water, food and work remain empty abstractions to hundreds of millions of Indians, whose plight rarely impinges on the news mediaââ¬â¢s obsession with celebrity and consumption. The countryââ¬â¢s culture of greed partly explains why a woman is killed by her husband or in-laws every 77 minutes for failing to bring sufficient dowry.ââ¬Â
Mishra called Chinese nationalism a ââ¬Åtamed beastââ¬Â, occasionally unleashed by the communist leadership to stir up mass protests against Japan and America. ââ¬ÅIn India, however, religious nationalists have run wild in the last 10 years, conducting nuclear tests, menacing minorities and threatening Pakistan with all-out war. In 2002, members of a Hindu nationalist government in the state of Gujarat instigated and often organised the killings of as many as 1,600 Muslims.ââ¬Â
Mishra argued that free markets and regular elections alone did not make a civil society. ââ¬ÅThere remains the task of creating and strengthening institutions ââ¬â universities, news media and human rights groups ââ¬â that can focus public attention on the fate of the powerless and oppressed, and spread ideas of human dignity, compassion and generosity. This task is never perfectly realised, but at least in the US, many liberal institutions have vigorously pursued such goals, even as successive governments have made their pacts with various devils around the world.ââ¬Â
He also criticised the Indian government for having prevented Tenzin Tsundue, a famous Tibetan rights figure, from travelling outside Dharamsala, where he lives, so that he should not be able to protest against the Chinese president. ââ¬ÅPre-emptive arrests of and even police assaults on Tibetan protesters are not new in India, but the governmentââ¬â¢s gagging of a well-known writer and activist like Mr Tsundue raises questions about the moral values that India and China, the emerging superpowers of the new century, are likely to embody,ââ¬Â he said.
Mishra was also critical of India and China for their ââ¬Åmollycoddlingââ¬Â of Myanmar in the interest of trade, but unlike India, China at least appeared to be internally consistent while upholding business interests all in its foreign policy, as in its domestic policy. ââ¬ÅHowever tainted in practice, the idea of virtue cannot be discarded in policymaking. By treating it with contempt, the ruling elites of India and China may soon make the world nostalgic for the days when America claimed, deeply hypocritically, its moral leadership,ââ¬Â he wrote.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006\11\23\story_23-11-2006_pg7_55
