Media working as agent of right-wing: Inter-faith marriages are hailed when groom is Hindu, targeted if groom is Muslim

Shams Ur Rehman Alavi

Media houses that take up active role in case of inter-religious marriages when groom is Muslim & create havoc with inflammatory reports, suddenly turn liberal when a Hindu man marries a Muslim girl & term it 'breaking shackles of religion. 

These are clear double standards. They hail any marriage in which a Muslim girl marries a Hindu man, but if a Muslim man marries a Hindu girl, it is termed 'Love Jihad' and there is not just strong condemnation but law misused to target the couple. 

This is exactly the stand of the far right-wing that was termed 'fringe' till now, as they considered it a sort of 'victory'. However, media houses too follow the same strategy and this is something that needs to be understood.

Above, the news reports show two instances of inter-faith marriages in two states, published in different Hindi papers. In both the cases, Muslim girls married Hindu boys through Hindu rituals. And, the papers praise the act. 

In case, groom is Muslim, papers create so much hatred using the word 'Love Jihad' that not just groom, his family also suffers. Either you support all inter-faith marriages or none. Here, Hindi papers become 'Hindu papers', who write in order to send the message to the society that Hindus should bring Muslim brides and if a Muslim groom gets a Hindu bride, they ought to be punished.

Here, journalists take up the role of agents of right-wing and wear identity and religion on their sleeve. They are not journalists, they are not just some unethical people or involved in false reporting. In fact, they have been preparing the ground for fascists to take over the society, by dividing people. 

It is media, many journalists in these newsrooms who work as mercenaries of hate and spread poison in society. It is they who are responsible for communalism & hate that results in assaults, false cases, lives getting lost.  

And, it doesn't stop at marriages. For decades, they have been injecting this slow poison from newsrooms--injecting communalism, hate, distrust of other community, and doing their job with zealousness & doing it cleverly. In ordinary reports, not easy to spot how twists are given.

They have innumerable ideas, if 'Love Jihad' propaganda gets a bit too much to handle, they will come with another. The problem is this level of indoctrination that makes 'journos' misuse their power to spread hate, put harmony of country at stake, is ignored.

Every story gets twisted, based on these biases. This is the gutter level to which Indian Journalism has fallen into.  They will never share data, statistics, just mislead society.  There was one radio station in Rwanda, but we've innumerable media houses, packed with such people peddling this agenda of hate, under the garb of 'journalism'.

READ: How newspapers, TV channels in India create the bogey of 'Love Jihad' 

Communalism in Indian Media: How Hindi newspapers, regional media created 'Love Jihad' bogey

When a Muslim youth changed his name & embraced Hinduism, the papers praised the act and write--religion no bar, love wins. 

Otherwise, even if there is no conversion & just a girl and boy with different faiths, marry, it's termed 'Love Jihad' & crime & conspiracy. 

More than politicians, it's the local media that is responsible for communalizing, spreading poison & hate. 

Strange it may seem to an outsider, but this entire campaign and propaganda against inter-faith marriages gets real push from media. 

In fact, most of the times, even if politicians want to avoid after a couple of days, the guys with the mike would insist and still ask the same question again & again, coming across the politician at his bungalow, at a meeting, on way to a public event, at Airport, or anywhere else.

If you want to seriously write about inter-faith marriages, you can get annual figures of your district, but no newspaper would even do this much. They will just peddle propaganda, theories and conspiracies. Not information from data regarding marriages under Special Marriage Act, records in the Collectorate. 

But the level of journalism is such that any marriage in which it's a Hindu girl marrying a Muslim boy, it gives heart burns to journos, and they on their own start mentioning that it is a case of 'Love Jihad', though the term has no legal basis.

India's investigating agencies have said it that there is no such concept and even a Union minister made it clear in the Parliament. However, the right-wing agenda continues. A 'Hindu girl going to a Muslim boy' is taken as a case of 'defeat', irrespective of the fact that many Muslim girls too marry Hindu boys.

Just see how without data or statistics, propaganda makes people believe that there are more marriages and 'our girls' are being snatched. And, all such theories, conspiracies get legitimized through newsrooms in regional papers. If you're in a newsroom, you have a responsibility.

In a society, where there are people from diverse sections, there will always be some inter-faith marriages. If you even want to debate it in a secular state, at least, talk on figures. But this is not even mentioned in papers. 

The journalists become representative of not just a religion, they take upon themselves the task to do moral policing, act like right-wing fringe and flag-bearers of majoritarian fascism, blaming Muslims and giving this shameful perception that 'Muslims deliberately lure Hindu girls' or as if 'Hindu girls are eager to go to Muslim boys' (sic).