Atanu Dey On India's Development

The Unbearably Sickening Indian Pseudo-secular Press

December 2, 2010 by Atanu Dey | 10 Comments

The Indian media is much in the news these days. It is becoming increasingly clear that media bigwigs and politicians work hand in glove to defraud the public. That’s not really news since a moment’s reflection reveal why that makes sense. What’s also been amply clear to some is that the media have been the flag bearers of pseudo-secularism. Here’s a fine example from a report published today in Headlines India.

The title of the piece is “Gujarat riots: Apex court slams NGO for writing to UN agency.” The NGO concerned is “Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP).” Relevant excerpts:

New Delhi, Dec 2: The Supreme Court today took strong exception to an NGO and petitioner in the 2002 Gujarat riots cases sending copies of its letters, addressed to the special investigating team (SIT), to a Geneva-based UN human rights organisation.

“We will not allow the outside agency to interfere in the affairs of our court,” said the special apex court . . .

Counsel for NGO Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP), Kamini Jaiswal said that the United Nation Commissioner for Human Rights (UNCHR) was an international body to which the country’s National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) was affiliated. The NGO’s communication with UNCHR were regarding witness protection, she said.
. . .

“We are hearing you and passing orders. What is your grievance?” the court asked Jaiswal.
. . .
The court asked Jaiswal to seek instructions from the CJP on its action related to forwarding the communications to the UNCHR.

So far so good. The writer is reporting facts. In the next part, mark the bits I highlighted.

The cases relate to Godhra and post-Godhra riots which engulfed Gujarat in the wake of fire in a coach of the Sabarmati Express at Godhra railway station on Feb 27, 2002, killing 58 people returning from Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh.

On the petition of the wife of a riot victim seeking the transfer of trial in Ahmedabad’s Gulberg Society carnage during the post-Godhra riots, the court said that it would hold hearing on Dec 15.

On Feb 28, 2002, the Gulberg Society faced the fury of Hindu fanatics who killed 69 people, including former Congress MP Ehsan Zafri.

Note how no agency is attributed in Godhra train burning. It is as if the coach spontaneously caught fire. No conspiracy was involved. No gang of hundreds of blood-thirsty Islamic fanatics torched the coach killing innocent people. The coach simply burst into flames, just like that, and the automatic doors just sealed themselves trapping men, women and children. Happens all the time. Perhaps Martians attacked the train. We just don’t know and cannot assign blame to anyone. There’s nothing to see here, folks. Just keep moving.

But in the next bit, there is no hesitation in identifying “Hindu fanatics” who killed people. When it comes to identifying Hindus as fanatics, the press goes ape-shit crazy.

If I were the praying kind, I would hope and pray that the next time the Islamic terrorists attack — we don’t have to wait too long for that to happen — they take with them to the Islamic paradise some ranking members of the pseudo-secular press of India. If they take a few politicians with them as well, it would be icing on the cake.

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  • unbearablysick

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Indian_rail_incidents

    Not the first time that a ‘fire in train’ killed that many people.. Is the real cause of fire not contested? If not the Indian media, from where do you draw your facts?

    Is there is any doubt as to whether people who attacked a mulsim community and murdered people in their own houses during statewide riots are fanatics or hindu? Or do you have to first know what exactly happened in Godhra to make that call? What is the true-secular way of reporting this?

  • http://rexzilla.livejournal.com Rex

    @unbearablysick – Do you really mean you cannot tell the difference between an accident, and a premeditated act of murder? The people on the Godhra train were Hindus. They were locked in and roasted alive by a mob of Muslims. The repercussions were riots all over Gujarat in an anti Muslim backlash. Let’s not forget what instigated the entire thing however, not that I’m justifying the slaughter of innocent Muslims who had no connection to the Godhra incident.

    If it’s ok to point out that ‘Hindu fanatics’ killed Ehsan Jafri, why is not ok to point out that ‘Muslim fanatics’ provoked the whole thing by setting fire to the train in the first place?

    Since you have to ask, here goes:The ‘true secular’ way of reporting this would be to either identify both communities when they massacre each other, or not at all.
    Selectively reporting instances of Hindu mobs attacking Muslims but downplaying the opposite only shows their bias.

  • unbearablysick

    @rex Fair enough. Thanks for your response. Would help if you could direct me to accounts of the Godhra incident which makes you conclude it was premeditated. From those I have read, there was indeed a mob that was stoning the compartment but no clear evidence of arson. Apologies for commenting without finding out first. I do agree with you that both incidents were unfortunate and the victims innocent.

  • Pranav

    Unbearablysick,
    In context of what you write, the media has proven the Mark Twain’s famous quote.
    ” A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes. “

  • Beenu

    Anyone sees the difference between a Mob and a state sponsored pogrom of which there is enough evidence?

    • http://www.deeshaa.org Atanu Dey

      Beenu has asked the right question. Anyone can see the difference between a mob (what happened in the post-Godhra riots) and state sponsored pogrom (what happened to 10,000 Sikhs when the Congress party ordered its goons to go out and kill them). There is, as Beenu points out rhetorically, there is overwhelming evidence that the Congress is guilty and how.

      (BTW, I do realize that Beenu is perhaps not arguing what I imply.)

  • RC

    After the brutal burning alive of mostly women and children in Godhra, it is stupid to think that somehow there will be no reaction.
    Those who say that it was spontaneous combustion of a train car are sinister in their motive.

    - The train was slow moving, if there was a fire wouldnt at least one person try to jump out of it. Remember in 9/11 people jumped from 25th floor, not one several of them.

    - After 9/11 there were incidents of random targeting of people who “appeared Arab”. So if a irrational, violent reaction can happen in the US with almost fully literate population and highly advanced tolerant and secular society, then why cant a backlash happen in India. It is almost natural for a backlash to occur, especially in areas of Ahmedabad and Baroda who have history of riots throughout the 80s and most of 90s.
    (I grew up in Gujarat, when we moved to a big city I was surprised to learn that we would get several days off from school because “there are riots in the city”. Happened throughout the 80s. I know many incidents …. ask anyone who lived in Ahmedabad or Baroda)

    - So calling Gujarat riots “state sponsored” is a highly biased, infact almost stupid way of characterization. (Mostly done because of political ideology not for any substantive reasons)

  • Amit

    @Beenu:

    Yes. There is a difference.

    If Gujarat Government indeed sponsored violence against Muslims (for whatever reasons), it is reprehensible. If Modi did it, he should be brought to book and tried like a common criminal. However, so far the real evidence is zilch. Even SIT appointed by Supreme Court did not find any:

    http://breakingnewsonline.net/news/5520-gujarat-riots-sit-gives-clean-chit-to-narendra-modi.html

    Whatever ‘evidence’ has been produced so far is by some self appointed guardians of secularism. The only problem with their ‘evidence’ is that the type of evidence they have gathered will not hold in any court of law – Indian or foreign. If you have something additional up your sleeve, I request you to bring it to the notice of the world. Certainly no criminal should be allowed to go scot-free.

  • Krish

    unbearably sick should have cited the discredited Bannerjee report in the Godhra Train burning incident ordered by the discredited Lalu when he was the Railway Minister,that the fire was a pure accident, the petrol and kerosene was being carried by the Kar-Sevaks,and stone throwers at the Kar-Sevaks were Kar-Sevaks themselves.