People's Democracy

 Media Images Of Terrorism

 Nalini Taneja

THE picture, images, faces and religious identity given to terrorism by the US government and the western media have been completely internalised by our mainstream media. One can understand why the Sangh Parivar and its sympathisers should project the deteriorating relationships between different religious communities in this country, to which they have themselves contributed so crucially, as reflections of a civilisational divide; but our mainstream media as well works with this notion all the time. That these images and framework are global has contributed in no small measure to their success and effectivity.

The Indian media’s definitions of civilisation and barbarism, their sense of good and evil, in fact the entire canvas of the world is painted by them in colours and etchings taken from the most reactionary interpretators of world developments. The link between liberalisation policies and communalism, which is so crucial to the right wing turn in our polity and has the support of a major section of our political leadership, is paralleled by a similar turn in the mainstream Indian media. This turn is manifested not merely in the obvious and unashamed promotion of globalisation policies by the media in this country, but is well illustrated by the promotion of the entire world vision that informs the right wing upsurge.

BIASED MEDIA

And it is not just our local Gujarati and other such language papers that are responsible for this, as some analysts would have us believe.  The best of the Indian dailies and TV channels, even those critical of the Sangh Parivar’s role in the Gujarat pogroms, have played a crucial role in promoting the vision, and imagery that promotes the imperialist and Sangh Parivar’s view of the world. Exceptions with regard to discussions on particular themes only prove the rule.

Today terrorism is automatically defined as bomb blasts, and bomb blasts are synonymous with Muslims, regardless of the factual icorrectness of such assumptions and presumptions: after all no one refers to the LTTE as Hindu militants, and so on. But this hardly matters as we see some very telling images repeated day in and day out on TV, giving shape and specific features to caught terrorists and victims of terror. All covered, with just their eyes showing, and with the camera riveting to scenes of blood and captured ammunition, the perpetrators of horror look unmistakably the same the world over. They not only look ‘Muslim’, but the Muslim image itself has been rendered horrific.

It is an image that makes a poor or small town Muslim in a beard and lungi become the epitome of a Fundamentalist. A dress and demeanour that is ordinary in the extreme, a vocabulary that includes ‘khuda’ and ‘salaam alaikum’, a burqa, have all become images of the ‘Other’ in ways that would not be thought of when people wear dhotis, sport their chutiyas, say pranaam instead of a more ordinary namaste, or walk in a ghungat that reaches their waists—all of which signify ‘Indianness’. This applies to the most sympathetic and the most enlightened of people.

Used cleverly, these images become enemy symbols as well because they are all the time shown alongside images of terrorist killings, with cameras always following the blood image with scenes of ‘sensitive’ areas. And the endless repitition of such images is not coincidence or lack of footage with channels; it is very deliberate and based on studies that show how images influence minds even as we go about our household chores not really ‘watching’ as TVs remain switched on for entire evenings. Our mediapersons know very well the Goebelsian power of repitition of such ‘powerful’ images.

Real statistics may of course reveal the falsity of many prejudices derived from these images: whether the majority of those engaged in making bombs or indulging in gun-running and arms smuggling are Muslims? Whether the underworld gangs discussed in the case of Mumbai, for example, reflect exclusive religious affiliations at all? Whether the links between the underworld and ‘Muslim’ film stars so darkly hinted at through gossip channels is finally just part of the Shiv Sena propaganda? One could go on with such questions.

Let us consider just a few days in the life of Indian media. The way the recent Bombay blasts were handled is a case in point. There was to begin with, great enthusiasm that it was a day of ‘News’. Not just those blasts had taken place, but the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) report was released the same day pointing towards a temple under the layers of earth where the Babri Masjid had stood; and Mayawati had withdrawn support to the BJP government.

PARTISAN ROLE

As expected the TV screens for the next two days and the newspapers for the next five days were monopolised by the Sangh Parivar and its sympathisers. The TV channels managed to reach home minister Advani in minutes, who took even lesser time in concluding that the Bombay blasts were the handiwork of the ISI and similar to those in 1993, and that they were part of the international game plan and network of Muslim terrorists spreading over Kashmir and also responsible for 9/11. That great and creative ‘analysis’ certainly gave its cue to the media and set the tone for how Indian media was going to deal with this news.

The opinions of Muslim scholars were as usual sought in live discussions to showcase, ostensibly, that not all Muslims support terrorism, but actually to make them squirm and put them on the defensive in a way that NOT ONE OF THEM could actually have the courage to forthrightly say that media must not air conclusions even before evidence has been gathered, or that there is a need to look at how Muslims are being pushed to the wall, and that the Gujarat genocide was not merely an episode; Muslims are still in terror there. One national channel actually went to the extent of asking viewers on the day of the blasts to send SMS messages on who they thought was responsible for the bomb blasts.

While Advani was found within minutes to give his opinion on the Bombay event, the contents of the ASI report regarding the temple were merely quoted as they were, as if no expert comments were required on that. For three days there was no indication in the mainstream visual media that there were experts, historians and archaeologists, who question not merely the conclusions of the ASI report but also its intentions. They did not even need to go out of Delhi to contact these experts; there are enough experts in Delhi itself. The RSS version of the story was allowed to sink in and hammered to the nation’s TV audiences and newspaper readers for three whole days before two ‘opposing’ ‘historical interpretations’ were given ‘equal’ space for just a day or two. The ‘debate’ over, since then the Sangh Parivar leaders continue to be qouted on front pages of dailies EVERYDAY as saying that “science has now proved that Ram temple existed there”, without questions and contradiction from reporters, who think their task is merely to ‘report’ and not to comment in the space of their write up.

Needless to say the very favourable ‘coincidence’ (for the Sangh Parivar that is, or could the report have been released deliberately the same day soon after the event?) of the ASI report and the bomb blasts created enough scope for the images of cruel invaders and destroyers of temples to be made to coalesce in people’s minds with today’s terrorists, and reinforce the religious identity given to ‘enemies’. The picture was made complete on that one day with the BJP being ‘betrayed’ by Mayawati. Hindus are just not being allowed to hold their own it appeared from the media.

ADVANCING HINDUTVA AGENDA

On the obverse side, the Kumbh mela at Nasik and Ganapati festivals were given daily coverage separately and as part of news in totally different media settings. They were being shown as expressions of Hindu religiosity and cultural spectacles, with comments on the “beautiful sight” of Ganesh idols being immersed into the sea by lakhs of people; and the accompanying diyas were shown, indeed creating a wonderful sight. The Kumbh mela coverage daily showed foreigners admiring the grand religiosity of Indians. In such coverages we are never told of the hate campaigns against the minorities by sadhus and leaders of the Sangh Parivar, which have beome routine at these religious mobilisations. The thousands of trishuls seen at these huge gatherings are never linked with the trishul diksha camps where just these trishuls are distributed to avenge the so-called ‘wrongs’ perpetrated by Muslims, and the hundreds of arms training camps that have been organised by the very same organisations.

Clearly Hindu communal organisations are shown as separate from and delinked from Hindu religiosity, while the Muslim terrorists are shown motivated by ‘jehad’. The Sangh Parivar goons are those who have forgotten what religions teach us and are criminals not religious leaders, but the Muslim terrorists are “Muslim fanatics”. Hindu communal organisations use religion, but Muslim terrorists are Islamic fundamentalists, and so on.

Going on to the more regular coverage in the form of news and views, one must take note that the Sangh Parivar goons have never been termed ‘terrorists’ or militants, no matter the scale and variety of forms in which they have been perpetrating violence. Have they not terrorised, and continue to terrorise, by all violent means, an entire body of Indian citizens? Have they not reduced an entire body of citizens to virtual non-citizenship, without any guarantee of civil and individual rights we term as fundamental, and take for granted?

SYMPATHISING FASCISM

And what about Bush who has been continously talking in terms of the fight between the civilised world and barbarism in a language of Christian fundamentalism, reminiscent of the Crusades? After a few write-ups during the Afghan war, the media seems to have forgotten what the US government’s ‘fight against terrorism’ stands for. We are being asked by the media to give up our impractical anti- Americanism of the old era in favour of ‘national interests’. Sell out to imperialist pressure is being depicted as ‘national interest’.

And already there is support in the media, growing steadily by the day, for building on friendly relations between the Israeli government and the Indian government. Ariel Sharon, the worst terrorist of the post war world, a Zionist in the Nazi mould, has been given respectability both by our government and by our media. The Israeli statement saying “killing of Arafat” is a distinct possibility has not caused the outrage it should have, just as Gujarat failed to create even a ripple in the US government’s relations with the Indian government, on whom rests the ultimate responsibility for the pogroms.

The dominant images reflected in the news and views in the mainstream visual and print media across the world reflect ultimately this right wing real politick, in which it suits the Imperialist world to replace the ‘communist evil’ with evil Islam, and the very fashionable and bogus ‘clash of civilisations’ theories. The ownership pattern ensures that the Indian media is very much part of this strategic shift along with the Indian government which has at its helm of affairs those who admire Hitler as well as Ariel Sharon.

Gone are the secular determinants within the media that linked nation building with democracy and anti imperialism. Often one wonders whether it is fighting their battle or that of the third world. Clearly it does not see objectivity as partisanship towards democracy and popular welfare.