Islamophobia in Hindi newspapers: Front page report reveals bigotry under the garb of journalism

How prejudices get reflected into newspapers, a lot is subtle or clever.

On Teacher's day, Hindi paper Dainik Bhaskar interviewed Yuval Noah Harari as Page 1 lead.

Reporter questions him about threat of technology getting into hands of 'Islamic nationalists and terrorists'?

If paper feels that 'nationalism' (or ultra-nationalism) is bad, then it has to be all nationalism, why just 'Islamic nationalism'. And if it is Terror, then do you link it just with one ideology or faith? Trying to push own agenda!

You are well aware of White nationalism, if extremism is concerned, you have the neo-Nazis and racists who are behind most shootings in USA. Even if one person pushes own agenda, Islamophobia, then where is the desk? On front page, a mass circulating Hindi paper, lets anything go

What context? Not the first incident. But must be a test case & for future as well. Serious lapse. Perhaps, when papers don't have diversity in newsrooms, it happens. Lapse. But, there are sub-editor, news editor for this!!!

If you claim to be India's top Hindi paper, at least, have basic understanding. Name all, Jew-Hindu-Islamic-Christian-Sikh-Buddhist-Jain, if you have to name. Or if you want to link it with just one faith and show bigotry, then let us be clear. Wonder if you will explain!

Petition asks Twitter to stop hate peddlers involved in Nazi style propaganda and spreading fake news in India

This petition puts on record the failure of Twitter to act against serial hate peddlers who spread Nazi style propaganda against minorities.

Forget banning or disabling their accounts, Twitter doesn't even remove the tweets, either because they are either 'influential' or support the ruling party in India.

The petition demands that Twitter India must act against these serial offenders who push false stories and repeatedly exposed by police officials, authorities. Yet, Twitter refuses to act against them.

"These handles that have huge followers, constantly indulge in spreading lies, fake news and manufactured information to spread discord. Even though such misinformation is causing mob attacks and lynchings, Twitter fails to even remove the tweet, let alone ban the user", says the petition.

"In the latest incident, activist Saket Gokhale has made a formal complaint to the Delhi police regarding Madhu Kishwar's objectionable tweet. She has been spreading fake news that has the potential to damage communal harmony and social fabric in India".

"Shockingly, people who even give an open call to economically boycott Muslims in India, a statement that is against the law of the land too, and violates constitutional provisions, face no action on Twitter".

"In the past, such propaganda, demonizing minorities and hate has led to Rwanda genocide. In recent years, we saw killings in Myanmar. Yet, Twitter fails to even act despite hundreds of people reporting these tweets."

"Independent fact-checkers have repeatedly exposed the people who are misusing the platform. These tweets make way to people's phones through screenshots, in WhatsApp, and go to rural areas where there is no system to debunk them or find their veracity".

Sign and Support the Petition:

LINK: Twitter must stop supporting hate peddlers who indulge in Nazi style propaganda in India

For more info, do read the background.

Fake News, Propaganda and Hate: Twitter gives them free run

Muslims serving the Hindu pilgrims during Kanwar Yatra in Uttar Pradesh: Communal Harmony Project-46

Is it not a wonderful sight to see Muslims tending to the Hindus who are part of the Kanwar Yatra, a religious journey?

This is a scene from a street in Uttar Pradesh. At this camp, the men who are part of the Yatra and get injured in the long walk, are given medication.

The volunteers provide health assistance, apply medicines and provide first-aid. This is just an example of what happens on the ground.

Unfortunately, this is not reported much and we hardly catch a glimpse of such stories on TV. The headlines will always be about conflict, controversy or communal hatred, inflammatory speeches or divisive politics.

As a result, people get a different perception. Being good or doing good, doesn't make it to the news. If you are a vandal or you break a law, you are on TV. Just because the saying among journalists is, Dog biting Man is not news, Man biting Dog is the news.

However, this is all the more a reason to write about communal harmony and the love-brotherhood in real life. This photograph is from Khudai Khidmatgar camp in Muzaffarnagar. The information about the revival of Khudai Khidmatgar group in India, is available here.

[Harmony exists all around us but is often ignored. Instead, stories of hate, discord and communalism get spread easily.

There are a million examples in our daily lives across India but they don't get promoted, hence, news of hate and discord gets heard more. Let's change it, now.

This is a small attempt to change it through Communal Harmony Project]

For reading similar reports on this blog, Click the link HERE and also find out more about Communal Harmony Project]

#Communalharmony #Communalharmonyproject #India

White Supremacist Terror stuns America: 22 killed in El Paso, 9 shot dead in Dayton

White Supremacist Terrorism has once again come back to haunt United States of America.

In El Paso, a town in Texas in USA, a lone wolf went on a shooting spree that led to 22 deaths.

The initial figure was 20 but later two more people succumbed to injuries.

"Seven Mexican citizens, 13 US citizens, one German citizen and one victim whose nationality could not yet be determined were among the dead in El Paso, authorities confirmed on Monday".

"The 22 victims ranged in age from 15 to 90 years old", reported the Guardian.

The shooter had posted anti-immigrant manifesto before the shooting and had a stone-cold look when he was arrested, reports New York Post, a newspaper known for often giving twist reports in case of white supremacists.

And also for linking it to mental disorder or making them appear as innocents by their focus on their 'good behaviour' elsewhere, that would sound them 'normal' and 'humane', unlike the image of a killer.

The second incident occurred in Dayton in Ohio. Nine persons were shot dead in an attack that came just 13 hours after the El Paso incident, the assailant has so far given no clue to his motivation.

The Dayton police chief, Richard Biehl, confirmed that the victims of gunman Connor Betts include his own sister, 22-year-old Megan Betts", the paper further mentioned.

Connor Betts fired 41 shots in less than 30 seconds, killing nine people. He used a .223 calibre high capacity rifle that had 100 round magazines. Over a dozen people were injured in the attack. He even shot dead his own sister.

Betts was armour-wearing and masked when he fatally shot these people in a bar-cum-restaurant. Described a 'bully' since his schooldays.

Also, he kept a hit list and 'rape list'. In this case, probe is on to find what was the motive and whether he was a supremacist too, but Connor  Betts is a White American.

The newspaper reports again used the terms, 'gunman' and 'shooter', not TERRORIST or the attack as Terror attack.

It has been a long-standing issue in US media that white men who are involved in majority of domestic acts of extremism are not called Terrorists and their acts not termed 'Terrorism'.

LINKS:

1. Terrorism in US: White man is always shooter or gunman, NEVER a terrorist

2. Insane gunman or Temple shooter but NEVER a terrorist: Media must de-link terror from religion

3. When 'White terrorist' kills 10 students in Oregon, US media calls him lone wolf or gunman

4. Florida airport firing: Once name was known, 'terrorist' became 'gunman', headlines diluted

5. Majoritarianism, racism: Why Dylann Roof not called terrorist despite killing people in US?

6. Alexandre Bissonnette attacked mosque, killed people, was fan of extremist right-wing leaders but he was not called terrorist

Shameful role of Hindi newspapers in spreading lawlessness, mob violence and hate crimes: How can goons be termed 'gau rakshak' or gau bhakt'?

Shams Ur Rehman Alavi

Role of newspapers in giving legitimacy to lynchers and goons by calling violent mob as 'rakshak' [protector] or 'gau bhakt', is a common practice in North India.

In fact, this needs to be said clearly and more forcefully now as India has seen rise in hate crimes and mob attacks in recent years. There are circumstances that are created which embolden the members of these self-styled Senas and Dals. And vernacular media plays a significant role in it.

I will give an example. A couple of days ago in a city in MP, goons claimed that they got whiff of 'cattle transporters & meat trafficking', hence they gathered and attacked the transporters, beat them up. Subsequently, the injured persons were handed to the police.

But one of the papers on front page gave a headline that termed them as valiant warriors. This vigilantism and lawlessness was praised and the term 'gaubhakt' was used to make this act sound 'positive' though no police statement was mentioned in the report so that reader could have got the correct facts a bout the incident. 

Yet another Hindi paper that is based in UP, highlighted the vigilantes' excesses but still called them, 'gau bhakts' [See photo]. The 'gau rakshak' is not an honorific or a post for anybody taking law in their hands and committing violence. But newspapers term them 'gau-bhakts'--i.e. those who serve the cows or cow protectors.

A similar incident had occurred in Khandwa recently, when many people were accused of transporting cows. These people were beaten up, tied to a rope and humiliated. Those who committed this insane act are not shown negatively in Hindi media.

In fact, those people who were mistreated, beaten and humiliated, were seen as cow traffickers even though there was no police probe over by then or any proper briefing to media that whether they had documents or not (and whether transportation was an illegal act, at all!).


This was an unfortunate incident. The victims included mostly poor Hindus and a couple of Muslims too. But more than that, it is about human dignity.

Just think of it--Indian citizens were humiliated on their own land. How can anyone can beat them up, round up, force them to chant slogans and tie them up. It is cops' job to act or check papers or this has been outsourced to vigilantes!

However, the character and composition of newsrooms in Hindi media is such that there is always a clear bias and support for right-wing goons.

When Hindi media treats this sort of lawlessness as a positive act--majority of people in newsrooms support these Dals-Senas from their hearts, have power to create false perception, change opinion & such page 1 coverage pushes govt-cops to wall, what's the hope?

They write as if the vigilantes had the right to catch and beat the people. Just see the headlines and the reports, you will realise this sympathy and support, putting the vigilantes on a higher pedestal. Readers get impression that these vigilantes are doing something right. Also, in process the belief in system and police is affected.

Naturally when majority of people who form opinion on the basis of these mass-selling papers, read daily about gaurakshaks and the 'supposed bhakshaks', the biases are strengthened. Media in India can't escape the blame as it is responsible for the situation, for this divide in society, weakening the nation & institutions.