Zibago
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Feeding Falsehood as News
With the valley having been converted into a veritable hell over the past eight weeks, those from outside the geographical confines of the valley watching these developments in Kashmir happen to barely have a tunnelled view of the actual happenings which do not reflect even a fraction of what is actually going on over here. The picture presented to them is of a people who have brought this misery upon themselves and who are an ‘ungrateful lot’ to boot, while being ‘naive’ enough to be used as pawns by the neighbour next door to promote her agenda of ‘bleeding India with a thousand cuts’. This is primarily because vast sections of the national media, both the print as well as its electronic counterpart, present what is at best a distortion of the real picture while conveniently choosing to hold back the other side of the story.
The attempt by certain news channels to mute, muzzle and gag the views of those who happen to have a different line of thinking on the issue is the murkier side of this ‘distortion drama’. The end result of this drama by these sections of the media has been to conjure images of a demon exploiting the naive poor Kashmiris to promote its devious agenda in the minds of those who care to know and who are watching the developments as they unfold in Kashmir through the eyes of the media. For a fact, no attempt has ever been made by these media houses to go to the heart of the problem to bring forth the circumstances in 1947 surrounding the drama that had led to the ‘accession’ of Jammu and Kashmir with India and the craving of its people to a life of peace, honour and dignity. Demonising a particular country on the one hand and denouncing the other for being poster boys of the former while placing the entire blame for the unseemly mess in Kashmir at their doorstep has been the flavour of all seasons in the national media surrounding their coverage of the developments in Kashmir.
Of the most grotesque and unedifying spectacles which are routinely on display on certain news channels is the sheer hypocrisy of the anchors and the ‘experts’ who are seen to rave and rant on issues which are otherwise too inane to merit discussion during discussions and talk shows. A recent one pertains to the ‘ghastly’ sight involving the accidental fire that had resulted in the death of ‘three dogs’ somewhere in MP. Some time back the viewers were treated for days on end to the ‘heart rending’ news of that ‘brave’ horse ‘Shaktiman’ who had succumbed to injuries after he was beaten mercilessly by some BJP leader. Come to think of it, such shows were being aired at a time when Kashmir was, and continues to be, burning and not a word of empathy was heard being expressed- even tolerated - to mourn the death of dozens of innocents who had taken to the streets merely to protest the acts of oppression by the state on its people. On the other hand, over the past few days following aggressive coverage of Balochistan on various Indian news channels - for reasons which are not difficult to fathom - the hypocrisy of these hyperventilating news anchors is apparent in all its nakedness when during such talk shows they are seen to go overboard to elicit such statements from their guests that question the very unity and integrity of Pakistan as a nation state. On the contrary, these very news anchors as ‘conscience keepers’ of the nation do not brook even a passing reference to similar statements like the ‘Kashmir is a disputed issue’ being made about Kashmir! It is worth watching how the guest having made that kind of a statement is made to be on the receiving end of a relentless volley of accusations, insult and humiliation at these talk shows.
For starters, the Kashmir imbroglio is essentially a bequest of the Indian leadership headed by Pt. Nehru at the time of the partition who had his own ‘reasons’ to secure the accession of the J&K state to India which, however, in the light of the modalities of the
ensured through legal and legitimate means. He had thus gleefully resorted to what were undoubtedly far from transparent ways to clinch the issue of accession of the J&K state to India which, by the very logic underlying such devious machinations, had to have a limited shelf life that has since expired as the subsequent developments in the J&K state have demonstrated. After all, a commodity that is no more usable beyond its expiry date has to be thrown away and using the same commodity after fudging its ‘best before’ date can at best be harmful, sometimes even fateful.
The nub of the problem is that apart from its inherent flaws and the scheming ways in which it was effected in 1947, the ‘instrument of accession’ has been followed more in breach than in implementation by the Central Govt. in league with its lackeys in the state Govt. ever since it was brought into effect in the immediate aftermath of the accession. That has further compromised its potency and also accelerated its date of expiry which in any case is long over. In such circumstances, the best option to make the most of whatever is left of that commodity is for all those having anything to do with it, to sit down, innovate and to find ways and means to take a ‘relook’ at the commodity so as to make it useful for its users. In respect of the commodity under reference, that would translate into a recipe for dialogue and discussion amongst all the stakeholders to explore ways how best to get around the ‘commodity’ which in the first place had been conceived under very dubious and shady circumstances. Claiming a birth right over the commodity by any single party while brushing aside the concerns of other contending parties is certainly not going to help.
For those who are at a loss to figure out ‘what the hell is going on in Kashmir’, let it be told to them that apart from what has been said above involving the dubious ways in which the future of Kashmir was insidiously arranged to be ‘sealed’ in favour of India through ‘lustful annexation’- to quote an expression of a columnist in his write-up that had appeared some time back in this newspaper - the much-vaunted democratic space as the most valued gift of ‘liberal democratic India’ which should have naturally followed the de facto accession, was squarely and wilfully denied in Kashmir. As against this, what followed has been a deadly cocktail of belligerence and brinkmanship which has yielded space to a ubiquitous sense of suspicion about Kashmiris in the political establishment, a feeling that has over time percolated down to the common masses in different parts of India as we are now witnessing to our horror in the form of acts of violence against those of them who are working and studying in different parts of the country! Here again, the media has played no small part in perpetuating certain myths about Kashmir and Kashmiri (Muslim)s that have led to such shameful acts against them with no sign of action having been initiated against the perpetrators of these crimes. This can only fuel further resentment and alienation of Kashmiris from the mainstream, paving in its way for many more such bouts of turmoil as are being witnessed right now in the valley.
The reference to Kashmiri Muslims in the previous paragraph - which should ideally have found no mention in this column so as not to present the current situation in the valley as a ‘Muslim versus the rest’ story - is not accidental. For all I have observed over the years of the interaction of Kashmiris with people from the rest of India -whether in Kashmir or elsewhere - I have never ceased to be awestruck by the incredible chemistry between them, never mind the yawning disparity that separates them in terms of their cultures, languages, food habits and most importantly in the shades of faith they happen to follow. Unfortunately, this unique chemistry between individuals coming from diverse cultural, geographical and religious backgrounds in the country is sought to be spoiled by the malicious arithmetic of real politic which happens to be the sole raison d’être of the present day political class. That is why religious and communitarian loyalties which are already so deeply embedded into human psyche, come out calling as soon as an outlet of emotion through other identities is stifled.
Of the most deleterious fallouts of this approach are the many instances of intolerance that have been the order of the day in the country in recent weeks and months. Whether it is Kashmir or cow vigilantism, Dalits or other minorities, a callous indifference towards acts of violence being perpetrated in the name of these issues, combined with an inexplicable unwillingness on the part of the establishment to sternly deal with the perpetrators of these crimes shall only deal a death blow to a culture of egalitarianism of yore which is slowly but surely yielding space to a climate of oligarchy we are witnessing right now in the country. Unless steps are taken to check this fast growing menace right away, there is danger of this tendency to aggravate further and set the stage for authoritarianism which could unleash itself to devastating effect in all its manifestations. That is surely the last thing that India could afford as a nation aspiring to rub shoulders with the high and mighty in the comity of nations.
Prof. M. A. Sofi teaches at Department of Mathematics, Kashmir University
http://m.greaterkashmir.com/news/opinion/story/227175.html
@Areesh @django @The Sandman @Hell hound @WAJsal
With the valley having been converted into a veritable hell over the past eight weeks, those from outside the geographical confines of the valley watching these developments in Kashmir happen to barely have a tunnelled view of the actual happenings which do not reflect even a fraction of what is actually going on over here. The picture presented to them is of a people who have brought this misery upon themselves and who are an ‘ungrateful lot’ to boot, while being ‘naive’ enough to be used as pawns by the neighbour next door to promote her agenda of ‘bleeding India with a thousand cuts’. This is primarily because vast sections of the national media, both the print as well as its electronic counterpart, present what is at best a distortion of the real picture while conveniently choosing to hold back the other side of the story.
The attempt by certain news channels to mute, muzzle and gag the views of those who happen to have a different line of thinking on the issue is the murkier side of this ‘distortion drama’. The end result of this drama by these sections of the media has been to conjure images of a demon exploiting the naive poor Kashmiris to promote its devious agenda in the minds of those who care to know and who are watching the developments as they unfold in Kashmir through the eyes of the media. For a fact, no attempt has ever been made by these media houses to go to the heart of the problem to bring forth the circumstances in 1947 surrounding the drama that had led to the ‘accession’ of Jammu and Kashmir with India and the craving of its people to a life of peace, honour and dignity. Demonising a particular country on the one hand and denouncing the other for being poster boys of the former while placing the entire blame for the unseemly mess in Kashmir at their doorstep has been the flavour of all seasons in the national media surrounding their coverage of the developments in Kashmir.
Of the most grotesque and unedifying spectacles which are routinely on display on certain news channels is the sheer hypocrisy of the anchors and the ‘experts’ who are seen to rave and rant on issues which are otherwise too inane to merit discussion during discussions and talk shows. A recent one pertains to the ‘ghastly’ sight involving the accidental fire that had resulted in the death of ‘three dogs’ somewhere in MP. Some time back the viewers were treated for days on end to the ‘heart rending’ news of that ‘brave’ horse ‘Shaktiman’ who had succumbed to injuries after he was beaten mercilessly by some BJP leader. Come to think of it, such shows were being aired at a time when Kashmir was, and continues to be, burning and not a word of empathy was heard being expressed- even tolerated - to mourn the death of dozens of innocents who had taken to the streets merely to protest the acts of oppression by the state on its people. On the other hand, over the past few days following aggressive coverage of Balochistan on various Indian news channels - for reasons which are not difficult to fathom - the hypocrisy of these hyperventilating news anchors is apparent in all its nakedness when during such talk shows they are seen to go overboard to elicit such statements from their guests that question the very unity and integrity of Pakistan as a nation state. On the contrary, these very news anchors as ‘conscience keepers’ of the nation do not brook even a passing reference to similar statements like the ‘Kashmir is a disputed issue’ being made about Kashmir! It is worth watching how the guest having made that kind of a statement is made to be on the receiving end of a relentless volley of accusations, insult and humiliation at these talk shows.
For starters, the Kashmir imbroglio is essentially a bequest of the Indian leadership headed by Pt. Nehru at the time of the partition who had his own ‘reasons’ to secure the accession of the J&K state to India which, however, in the light of the modalities of the
ensured through legal and legitimate means. He had thus gleefully resorted to what were undoubtedly far from transparent ways to clinch the issue of accession of the J&K state to India which, by the very logic underlying such devious machinations, had to have a limited shelf life that has since expired as the subsequent developments in the J&K state have demonstrated. After all, a commodity that is no more usable beyond its expiry date has to be thrown away and using the same commodity after fudging its ‘best before’ date can at best be harmful, sometimes even fateful.
The nub of the problem is that apart from its inherent flaws and the scheming ways in which it was effected in 1947, the ‘instrument of accession’ has been followed more in breach than in implementation by the Central Govt. in league with its lackeys in the state Govt. ever since it was brought into effect in the immediate aftermath of the accession. That has further compromised its potency and also accelerated its date of expiry which in any case is long over. In such circumstances, the best option to make the most of whatever is left of that commodity is for all those having anything to do with it, to sit down, innovate and to find ways and means to take a ‘relook’ at the commodity so as to make it useful for its users. In respect of the commodity under reference, that would translate into a recipe for dialogue and discussion amongst all the stakeholders to explore ways how best to get around the ‘commodity’ which in the first place had been conceived under very dubious and shady circumstances. Claiming a birth right over the commodity by any single party while brushing aside the concerns of other contending parties is certainly not going to help.
For those who are at a loss to figure out ‘what the hell is going on in Kashmir’, let it be told to them that apart from what has been said above involving the dubious ways in which the future of Kashmir was insidiously arranged to be ‘sealed’ in favour of India through ‘lustful annexation’- to quote an expression of a columnist in his write-up that had appeared some time back in this newspaper - the much-vaunted democratic space as the most valued gift of ‘liberal democratic India’ which should have naturally followed the de facto accession, was squarely and wilfully denied in Kashmir. As against this, what followed has been a deadly cocktail of belligerence and brinkmanship which has yielded space to a ubiquitous sense of suspicion about Kashmiris in the political establishment, a feeling that has over time percolated down to the common masses in different parts of India as we are now witnessing to our horror in the form of acts of violence against those of them who are working and studying in different parts of the country! Here again, the media has played no small part in perpetuating certain myths about Kashmir and Kashmiri (Muslim)s that have led to such shameful acts against them with no sign of action having been initiated against the perpetrators of these crimes. This can only fuel further resentment and alienation of Kashmiris from the mainstream, paving in its way for many more such bouts of turmoil as are being witnessed right now in the valley.
The reference to Kashmiri Muslims in the previous paragraph - which should ideally have found no mention in this column so as not to present the current situation in the valley as a ‘Muslim versus the rest’ story - is not accidental. For all I have observed over the years of the interaction of Kashmiris with people from the rest of India -whether in Kashmir or elsewhere - I have never ceased to be awestruck by the incredible chemistry between them, never mind the yawning disparity that separates them in terms of their cultures, languages, food habits and most importantly in the shades of faith they happen to follow. Unfortunately, this unique chemistry between individuals coming from diverse cultural, geographical and religious backgrounds in the country is sought to be spoiled by the malicious arithmetic of real politic which happens to be the sole raison d’être of the present day political class. That is why religious and communitarian loyalties which are already so deeply embedded into human psyche, come out calling as soon as an outlet of emotion through other identities is stifled.
Of the most deleterious fallouts of this approach are the many instances of intolerance that have been the order of the day in the country in recent weeks and months. Whether it is Kashmir or cow vigilantism, Dalits or other minorities, a callous indifference towards acts of violence being perpetrated in the name of these issues, combined with an inexplicable unwillingness on the part of the establishment to sternly deal with the perpetrators of these crimes shall only deal a death blow to a culture of egalitarianism of yore which is slowly but surely yielding space to a climate of oligarchy we are witnessing right now in the country. Unless steps are taken to check this fast growing menace right away, there is danger of this tendency to aggravate further and set the stage for authoritarianism which could unleash itself to devastating effect in all its manifestations. That is surely the last thing that India could afford as a nation aspiring to rub shoulders with the high and mighty in the comity of nations.
Prof. M. A. Sofi teaches at Department of Mathematics, Kashmir University
http://m.greaterkashmir.com/news/opinion/story/227175.html
@Areesh @django @The Sandman @Hell hound @WAJsal
