Is Modi's Solar Alliance At COP21 The Real Deal

(Image Courtesy: UNFCCC )

Quite recently I heard an eminent academic speak on the need for PM Narendra Modi to improve his relationship with the press. I think it was the economist Jagdish Bhagwati, a known Modi supporter but I could be wrong. Anyway, a recent event did make me think that perhaps he is right, by not directly engaging with the mainstream media, Modi is not only allowing his image being transformed to that of an opaque personality but also some of his real achievements get ignored and completely sidelined in the nation discourse.  But before that I must confess that though I see Modi the politician as a product of the RSS ideology, Modi the Prime Minister seems be too ambitious to be restrained by ideological shackles especially when it conflicts with his attempts to create his own legacy. This twin personas were especially evident when he was on election campaign in Bihar, his rhetoric being aggressive and almost uncouth and then his statesman like oration in the Parliament at onset of the Winter session which was way mature. However what really surprised me was the lack of adequate reportage by media as well as support from his own  supporters on social media on his successful launch of International Solar Alliance of 120 countries along with French President François Hollande during the Paris COP21 climate summit.

Posted By Danish 8:30 AM

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From Aarushi To Sheena : Trial Or Lynching By Media?

Image Courtesy: Youtube 

So the Indian media has latched on to the ghastly and extremely tragic tale of the murder of Sheena Bora with a zeal that falls somewhere between responsible journalism and savagery of a lynch mob screaming for punishment at a medieval trial. The latter part is of course disguised in more civil and self-righteous statements and opinions but criticism by various eminent and less eminent members of citizenry now and then rip off parts of this disguise.  But then there always two sides to a story. It is true that without media coverage, it is highly unlikely that investigation into this crime would been as prompt but the way it has been handled by the media can be described in milder terms as cheap and immature. However some television channels, especially (but not exclusively), vernacular news channels have indeed removed all stops and gone all facetious, dishing out murky details on an hourly basis. After all, this sordid story has more ingredients than a typical Bollywood potboiler and prime time soap operas combined. A mysterious murder in a rich and influential family, a web of lies and deceit and purported evidence of sleazy activities are things these news channels would give anything for and in Sheena Bora murder case, they only have to sacrifice a little journalistic ethics.

Posted By Danish 4:00 PM

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Digressive Rhetoric Dominating Public Discourse In India

Public discourse is essential for the functioning of a progressive democratic society but sometimes too much of it can be counter-productive especially in a society such as ours where politics dominates every sphere of our lives. For a long time public discussion was compered by print media journalists, radio hosts and electronic media,which took and transformed  most  somber debates to desi tamashas. Social media revolution has had a very different impact,while it has thrown numerous thought-leaders who would otherwise have passed away in obscurity or limited success,social media has also brought in partisans,radicals and mischief-makers. I refuse to call them "trolls" which was originally used for Usenet users with single-point agenda,but even they were far more knowledgeable than some of the current twitter celebs :p (note to self: post a short entry to elucidate the point).Anyway, blaming a horde of hare-brained web users can hardly be blamed for hijacking public discussions on national television shows. The fault must lie with the greater part of the debating public.

Posted By Danish 6:09 PM

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None Brutus, None

Came across this interesting article in HT by @bdutt on some of the paradoxes of the Indian society. Initially I intended to drop a comment there but decided otherwise looking at the slugfest in progress. The derogatory comments actually vindicate the writer's opinion that public discourse in India is losing 'complexity of thought that is so crucial to an enlightened democracy.'  The mood of the Indian public seems to oscillate between extremes- ecstatic self-celebration and masochistic self-criticism, hero-worshiping and witch-hunting, living in imagined past and fictional future. Its the typical herd behavior inherited from our primitive ancestors but with subtle differences, it is driven by pseudo-intellectualism and given direction by orators/street anchors with the maximum brownie points.   

Posted By Danish 3:48 AM

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Trial By Social Media

Television Journalism is a funny business indeed, it pays even when you are being burnt at the stake. NDTV might have gained a record TRP tonight as Barkha Dutt hosted a debate on the Radia Tapes controversy in which she herself is at the center and which also explains why it has been dubbed/hashed #barkhagate!

Lately, I have been bit preoccupied to keep track of the latest buzz on the social web. But I must admit to having listened to the audio tapes on Youtube yet being the simpleton that I am, I couldn't see the connection of the conversation with the scam. I presumed there was more and I was simply unaware...may be I am still ignorant because I still don't see the connection. Of course, I don't mean to say that Barkha Dutt is absolutely innocent, but at the same time it would be wrong on my part to go on a condemnation spree simply because everyone else is. I do want to criticize and deride every person who is in that tape but I am also looking for a reason to fully justify it! Despite my best mental efforts I was unable to link these people with the current telecom scam and other cases of corruption.  

Posted By Danish 1:26 AM

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Arnabism : An Emerging Trend In The Media

@venkatananth: RT @priyaramani: Arnab goswami would have been a star in the mccarthy era

As is obvious I found this particular tweet quite interesting but I must also say that it got me thinking if we were being unfair to McCarthy. He was after all an American Senator, a politician of the 1950's when Cold War had just begun and the West lived in mortal fear of being taken over by the commies. He was just taking advantage of this fear and trying score political points. Almost all political parties in India have done something similar at one time or the other and continue to do so unabashedly.

What we are witnessing can perhaps be termed as "arnabism".

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Tharoor, Twitter And Controversies

Oops @ShashiTharoor has done it again! Does he serenade controversies or controversies have ways of seeking him out ?

I believe it is a little bit of both. For over-excited media channels vying with each other for TRPs, a candid Shashi Tharoor on a promiscuously open platform like Twitter, it is a wet dream and there is no way they could miss such golden opportunities to manufacture news. In this instance too the controversy couldn't have started without the media's active contribution. But then those were not verbal statements that were then put in words by a reporter to mean differently,the minister had tweeted them and they are still there for the whole world to see. How could he then have been quoted out of context ?

Well, the media is seldom neutral while reporting news , it tends to be far more judgmental and passionate, even to the point of being untruthful. In almost every instance of news reporting, the facts,allegations are never served in isolation but are packaged with the opinion of the journalist, which again  is influenced by her/his craving for sensationalism. This exactly isn't a secret, media's penchant for sensationalizing even the most drab story is very well-known but in Tharoor's case, Twitter seems to be a recurring factor. Twitter is just another platform, if at all Shashi Tharoor's statements were objectionable, they could have been made anywhere! In fact,  it is Tharoor's questioning of the Home Ministry's visa restriction policy that has stirred this controversy, why is "Twitter" emphasized and hyphenated with Tharoor on all news channels and print media ?

 This may be because the media and the government both have issues with a Minister of State airing his views on an open forum. Had he given the same statement to a handful of reporters, these very words might have sounded "refreshing"and the media could have hailed him but to devoid the media agencies from raking the moolahs is not something the latter can forgive or overlook. No wonder, at least one notable journalist, who also heads a television channel has gone on record criticizing the Minister for his twittering ways. Ironically, he himself did it on Twitter.

Apparently the government in general and Shashi Tharoor's boss and the Home Ministry in particular are not at all happy. It is not about going against own government, Tharoor as the Minister of State for External Affairs was merely cautioning against implementation of a stricter visa policy which were not taken well by several important countries. As such he was doing his job but what has annoyed a lot of people is the platform he chose. According to them, governmental policies are too sacrosanct to be even exposed to common folks' perception.



What does a career diplomat like Shashi Tharoor know on foreign policy making ? India is a democracy but that should be restricted to voting only! Once the ballot has been cast and a government is in place the people should go back to their toils leaving things like laws and policies solely in the discretion of the on the ruling elite, of course they can later be used during future electoral campaigns but till then the public have no right to know anything about the policies, at least not from the minister himself ! 

http://twitter.com/ShashiTharoor/status/7064122644

Posted By Danish 4:37 AM

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Has Cattlegate Opened The Floodgate ?

Holy Cow! Shashi Tharoor's single tweet has taken Twitter to every nook and corner of India. Now, even the most obstinate bull squatting in the middle of the vegetable market wants to know what Twitter is all about. Of course the cows let loose by their owners to graze in Indian streets are equally curious even if they are not mooing it. Indeed, a lot of people are signing up on Twitter, a vast number intend to do it in near future. But I am a bit skeptical, if most of the people have an understanding on what Twitter is and how it should be used.

I have posted some of my own experiences here

There some facts and opinions that I should mention before proceeding further. I think all Internet users who are not on Twitter can be broadly categorized into 3 categories. The first category includes people who use the Web minimally, their professional as well as personal agenda doesn't allow them to explore the social aspect of Web. As such the whole social media debate is irrelevant to them, at times they are indistinguishable from machines .

Then there are people who think Twitter is just another way of wasting one's time that could be utilized for creating artificial intelligence or achieve major breakthrough in stem cell research. However, you won't find them doing either, instead, you can find them participating in Orkut. Socialization, interaction, collaboration to them means going through photo-albums of this cute chick they came across in the friend list of another friend's friend. The main activity would include sending persistent add requests, leaving flashy images,ASCII art or corny scraps in Hinglish or broken English or do stuff that require little or no intellect. People belonging to this category, who think that the phenomenal growth of twitter userbase, eminent personalities and biggest organizations and almost every website extending tweeting functionality, is because of a social media hype and
who are convinced that Twitter is a waste of time should strictly continue with Orkut, Twitter would be an incompatible medium since the latter requires intellect!

However, there is the third category of users who do not doubt the utility of Twitter but are still not using it because they don't fully understand it or it has not worked for them. Indeed,there is not a single social website that one can join up and start enjoying or get results from day one. How effective social networking sites turn out depends on how well the user has created her network. This is especially true with Twitter since there are no photo albums of users, no social games or "which movie character you are" quizzes (well, there are mechanisms to share images, files etc but they are not integral part of the architecture.) . In other words, your experience on Twitter depends totally upon how you interact with other users (Tweeps). If used properly, it opens a completely new world of options, from real-time news to reaching out to targeting customers/audience and getting the most relevant answer to your questions. The potential is immense! In my follow-up post, I will try to compose a guide for beginners.

Posted By Danish 3:37 AM

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Now, Goons Come Out In Support Of NCW Probe Team

A very peculiar situation is unfolding in the aftermath of the Manglore pub attack as the Shri Ram Sene comes out in support of the member of the National Commission for Women, Ms.Nirmala Venkatesh, who was heading the probe into the highly publicised Manglore pub attack, and whose report has already been rejected by the head of the Commission, Ms.Girija Vyas. The probe team had in its report held the pub authority responsible for the incident. After a public outcry NCW has rejected the report and the ministry has in fact issued a show-cause notice to Ms. Venkatesh. Both the NCW chief and Women and Child Development Minister Renuka Choudhury are justified in taking steps but it needs to be borne in mind the swung into action only after the media had exposed the sham that was being conducted in the name of investigation.

It is really strange why Ms.Venkatesh did not think it proper to meet the victims! Instead, she chose to meet the perpetrators in jail and actually claims to understand them. One of the first things she did was investigate if the pub had license to serve alcohol and the last thing she did is recommend NCW to cancel the license. It is really strange that it never occurred to her that she was neither an excise officer nor a law enforcement officer to question the legality of the pub.

But that's not all. Going by her statements it seems that Ms.Venkatesh may in fact, have more than a wee bit of sympathy for the perpetrators. After all, she does say that she understood the attackers and that their motive was not to beat up women. This fact and her inquiry into the legality of the pub clearly indicates that Ms.Venkatesh had no clue as to what her duties and responsibilities entailed. As a member of the NCW she should be the last person to "understand" the culprits and as member of an advisory body she should refrain from treading into territories which belong to the executive.

However, Ms.Venkatesh is not alone, not long back Orissa's State Commission for Women chief had displayed similar apathy and lack of understanding of her job profile when she carried out raids on parks in Bhubaneswar haunted by young, unmarried couples. Moral policing is usually aimed at protecting/subjugating women, so when functionaries of bodies set up to fight for women's rights themselves become the moral police, the civil society needs to introspect seriously. One of the reasons that the situation has reached this stage is the practice of using the offices of these constitutional and/or statutory bodies as rewards to party loyalists. This trend can be seen in almost every government founded body from those dealing with sports to wakf and national and state commissions. An undesirable consequence of this practice is that being politicians these functionaries are found unwilling to risk annoying their constituents. Shouldn't the process of appointing office-bearers of these bodies be more transparent and competitive to ensure that the posts go to people who deserve it and are ideologically inclined towards the cause they are supposed to further.

The slothful pace at which the campaign for female emancipation and gender equality is being carried out in India and the opposition it faces from different quarters, including the self-appointed guardians of Indian culture, offices in the National and State Women Commissions should not be doled out as political rewards and should instead be entrusted with notable feminists who have shown grit and determination to take on established misogynistic traditions and dogmas.

While Medha Patkar, Kiran Bedi, Sarojini Sahoo and even Shabana Azmi may fit the bill, to me, someone like Rakhi Sawant would be more acceptable as a member of the NCW rather than a more respectable lady politician who ends up sympathizing with male chauvinists and herself assumes the role of moral brigade.

Posted By Danish 12:29 AM

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Is India Inc Ready For Corporate Governance ?

Corporate governance is the new buzzword in the Indian white-collar community coming in the wake of Satyam debacle. Coming from a background that has had nothing to do with commerce, economics or business management, I find it difficult to understand if there is a greater need for corporate governance.

For all I know, more rules, procedures and processes remind me of the good old and inefficient bureaucracy and "the license permit raj" of pre-reforms India. In the Cold War era India's socialistic leanings (more like anti-capitalism) led to rules, processes and governmental control that most Indian corporates were either state controlled or dominated by big business houses. It did not allow the middle-class, traditionally business oriented, to dream big in terms of business.Economic reforms changed all that, private players took over and the result 15 years later is not bad at all. It is not just the big business houses and multinational companies that have been successful, of course they have had an important role but it is the small businesses that have been driving the engine of growth. Lots of energy, determination and innovation are the hallmarks of this epoch. It is also the period when entrepreuners and spirited individuals from rural and small towns of India emerged as key players. Did they know or follow management rules or processes?

I don't think so! Lets take Lalu Yadav as case-study. Lalu was seen by a lot of literati as the perfect example of illiterate, ignorant political leader who doesn't deserve to be in the legislature. While this impression may have weakened with passage of time, it is a fact that he lacks absolutely the sophistication and finese synonymous with corporate leadership. Yet he tranformed railways in a manner none could have imagined. I guess Lalu didn't go much into the established corporate strategies and plans. What he did instead is, apply his own desi business sense and unorthodoxy. The same goes for dabbawalas, Dhoni and scores of middle-class Indians who now lead India. Most of these people who have gone on to become corporate leaders have shown dictatorial traits. Should that be tolerated?

Before answering that question let us take a look at the fact that despite phenomenal economic growth, India is still the home of every third poverty-stricken person in the world. As things stand, this gulf between poor and others is set to increase unless the overall economy grows at a faster pace. History shows that raapid development has been a reality in autocratic states more than in democratic ones. So, as long as corporate leaders act dictatorial within their own organization,on purely professional issues and have no major or direct role in socio-political aspects of society, they can be seen as necessary evil. Of course, the government should ensure that the interests and basic rights of the employees and customers are safe-guarded and the value generated contribute to the society as a whole.

P.S: As I have said before, this is an area I am not knowledgeable in and I may be wrong. But do leave a comment to correct me :)

Posted By Danish 1:52 AM

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The Fourth Estate of India

ANGRY.
Thats the one word that sums up the prevailing mood across India in the aftermath of the horrific terror attacks in Mumbai. Terror attacks have evoked similar sentiments in the past but every time the emotion have died out in a very short period of time, especially after the political parties and the media are done extracting the mojo from it. But the sentiment this time is far more vehement than it has ever been which is quite understandable considering the magnitude of the attack both in terms of devastation as well as audacity. Talk to the common person on the street, 9.9 out of 10 people would hold politicians responsible for the attack on the nation’s sovereignty, and it is not just the politicians in the government that are being blamed, the people have been quite emphatic in holding the entire class of politicians as responsible. This sentiment is quite understandable when we see politicians squabbling among themselves for a share of the pie bought from the hard earned money of the tax-payer. What is worse is the fact that even after coveting the people’s property, politicians do not seem to realize that they have certain duties towards the very people whose money they are squandering away.

The recent terror attacks in Mumbai has actually catalyzed the situation so that the debate now goes beyond this dastardly act to the various commissions and omissions of the ruling class all along at the expense of the welfare and security of the nation. Martyrdom of the Mumbai terror attack like Hemant Karkare, Sandeep Unnikrishanan and others who in many ways represented the middle class Indians served as rude reminders of the fact that unless the common people take the charge, their basic security was at risk.

As the world continues to condense into a thoroughly connected global village, intellectuals, the tax-paying middle class, the students and even journalists have found on the Web and the TV, ways to express their anguish and call for a change. Social software tools like blogs, microblogs, syndicated content, forwarded emails etc and mobile penetration have provided not only a platform to participate in the social and political processes, voice their opinions but also form communities with like minded individuals. This is the Fourth Estate of the Indian state, the child of the information revolution, powered by information and communication technology of the 21st century.
This section of people is more dependable and least susceptible to corruption (in any form) simply because there are no personal gains or losses for them. No wonder, political that "lip-stick wearing, coat tie wearing" Indians should be entitled to political opinions. Naqvi may have belled the cat but he represents the deep-seated resentment that a lot of politicians across party lines have towards educated middle class Indians taking interest in politics. What more evidence do we need? Is it a coincidence that a Leftist CM of Kerala and National Vice President of the BJP, a Rightist, were speaking on the similar lines on the same day? In the past, we have seen all political parties bury differences and come when the question involves a raise or a decrement in salary and other perks granted to elected representatives. Even yesterday i.e. 03/11/08, when asked (by TimesNOW) why such a significant portion of the nation's security asset including the NSG commandos were being deployed for personal security of political leader who apparently had no serious threat to life, politicians from all parties were found to be defending the decision unanimously. Yet, a couple of minutes later, Arnab Goswami of TimesNow was left begging for a consensus between political parties (the Cong and the BJP) on how to deal with this latest terror attack.
There has been at least one positive outcome from this tragedy and that is the galvanizing effect it had on the people, rousing them from slumber and forcing them to stand up and take initiative. Turn on the TV and you could be witnessing a watershed moment, this attack can be taken as a wake up call to rouse a nation from its self-induced slumber.
Prasoon Joshi's poetry, "Is Baar Nahi", TimesNOW's slogan "Action not words", rallies in Mumbai and the chatter across nooks and corners of India indicate the growing assertiveness of a section of Indians. The Fourth Estate of India.

Prasoon Joshi's poem reflecting the sentiment of the aam Indian post Mumbai terror attacks.

Posted By Danish 1:23 AM

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The Advent Of News Entertainment Inc.

The Noida double murder case has sent the media into a frenzy raising a lot of questions, including some legitimate ones. Let us not forget that if at all there has been any break-throughs in the investigation, the credit for it goes to the media. From what is apparent, the police made every effort to abandon investigation and close the case but the media's unblinking gaze on the investigation forced the police to act.
Arushi/Hemraj murder case is one of those very few news items that get equal coverage in both vernacular and English news channels but the difference in the standard of journalism between the two is stark. While the English language news channels have not been able to balancing the issue correctly, one cannot even contemplate Hindi media reporting the case maturely. After all, this case has all the elements that TV reporters can only dream of. It is not surprising to find Hindi news channels focus on the elements of adultery, illicit relationship, mystery and honor killing, these are the elements they sometimes have to invent to make their programmes on crime reporting appear alluring. Coming back to the criticism of the Hindi visual media, especially on crime reporting one need be a regular viewer to write on them, infrequent glimpses during channel surfing are enough to get on the nerves. The quality of journalism can be known from the news bulletins themselves and exclusive but regular programs on crimes and investigation.

One of the first things that catches your attention is most likely to be the reporter/anchor of the show. It requires a fair amount of intelligence (or experience) to realise that the host is not trying to threaten or intimidate the viewers but is actually a failed actor trying to play the difficult role of a compere of a street show-cum- reporter. Like C-grade Bollywood movies, the title of these programs are chosen more to arouse perverse curiosity and promise cheap thrills than report crimes or other news events. Certain news channels have even given up all pretensions of journalism, and unabashedly employ cheap tactics to attract attention. A couple of channels have even begun dressing up their actors/reporters in police costumes to make the show more attractive and realistic (?).

Other programs reporting on exclusive stories employ similar visual effects, exaggerated story lines and dialogues, hysteria-stricken actors/reporters and apocalyptic or euphemistic captions. Most of the times the visual effects/graphics are so grotesquely naive that a 10 year old kid's creation comes across as more professional. The content in programs dedicated to crime reporting typically has to do something with sexual crimes, real or imaginary, dug out from the nondescript alleys of small towns to the glittering world of celebrities and tycoons.

The plot is reconstructed with the help of wannabe actors and every attempt is made to add cheap thrills and sleaze to the story. It is really difficult to decide whether the content is more perverse or the presentation is. Recently there have been two huge natural disasters, in Burma and China, resulting in deaths of more than a hundred thousand and leaving millions more homeless but our media did not consider the event worthy of a 30 seconds coverage while a high profile celebrities wedding or any another functions are aired non-stop the entire period. After celebrities, it is the gangsters, criminals and crooks who figure second in vernacular media's priority list. These gangsters and outlaws thrive on fear of the common people, by according them constant attention the media ends up glamorizing crime and making them more powerful then they already are. All this in the name of fighting crimes !

When talking on crime reporting and sensationalism one cannot ignore the role that sting operations and reality TV play in Hindi news channels. This form of investigative journalism has been in more than one instance used to trap known personalities with the help of honey-pots. Most of the times these sting operations are conducted more to capture clandestine activities on camera rather than highlight a wrong-doing. However, I must mention here that after the infamous sting operation on Delhi school teacher who was later found to having been falsely implicated because of personal enmity, TV channels have become cautious. But media's obsession with video-tape and live feeds continues unabated only the focus has shifted from sting operations to criminal investigation and reality TV. It has in many instances this obsession been used to convert non-issues into national issues and personal tragedies into reality shows. This lust for video-tape also results in Indian news channels promoting voyeurism and invading the privacy of celebrities and common people alike.

For a section of sexually starved population torn between conservative paradigm and forces of globalization these news channels provide the much needed sleaze without any explicit content. Indian conservatism does not allow sexual permissiveness or openness of any sort but it has not shown aversion to liberalization or globalization either. This has created a peculiar situation where we seek titillation and sexual thrill without violating our self-created rules. It is for this reason that an alternative ( magazines and movies) industry has always existed that seeks to repackage sleaze and other taboo subjects with crime and investigation, supernaturalism and stories since explicit sexuality is so looked down upon by our queerly moralistic society. Often, graphic details or dramatisation of sexual crimes are done for the very purpose that they seek to condemn. However, these magazines and movies were available in the market, it was on the individual if s/he wanted to buy it or not. For all purposes these materials were never given any sort of respectability but the same sleaze and cheap thrill are now beamed into our drawing rooms.

I wonder if an article on Hindi media can be complete without a reference to the Great Khali.
This 7-foot professional wrestler from Himachal Pradesh is a great favorite of almost all Hindi news channels. Khali has been transformed to something of a national hero after his successes in WWE, the coverage provided to him can only be equalled by even people like Sachin Tendulkar or Shahrukh Khan.

Well, creating a national hero out of someone who excels in a particular sport is not wrong but is it a sport and are these channels being truthful? WWE stands for World Wrestling Entertainment , it is a sports entertainment company that combines sports with theatrics to make it more glamorous and appealing. The sport is real (or should I say the blood is real) but the matches are scripted. What it essentially means is that the entire show is scripted and rehearsed, right from the pre-match challenges and histrionics to the actual results, everything has been premeditated. When the media reports it as a genuine sport it is misrepresenting facts and spreading lies. It realizes that a section of its population, especially, the lower middle class is in need of heroes and icons and to meet it and in the process raise their own TRPs, these news channels resort to lies and misrepresentation.

Similar factually incorrect and misleading news items have been aired but nothing has worked as well as Khali's exploits in WWE. So the pertinent question here would be what is common between Hindi news channels and WWE? The answer to this question is simple even if elusive. If WWE can be called sports entertainment because of the use of theatrics and glamour then Hindi news channels too can be categorised as pseudo-journalism or news entertainment. When the mainstream media indulges in such pseudo-journalism, it bodes ill for democracy.

Posted By Danish 1:38 AM

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The Great Indian Media Tamasha: Hindi News Channels and Fortune-Telling

Media's penchant for sensationalism is by no means a new phenomenon. Ever since tabloids were first published in the U.K. sensationalizing news events, publishing unverified reports, gossip columns and celebrity news, became a part of the media. However, they never posed a serious threat to mainstream newspaper because the readers were aware of the fact that tabloids had more to do with entertainment than serious journalism. Tabloid journalism never gained a similar foothold in India in the first fifty years of independence, conservative Indian society did not allow the same level of openness and irreverence that is so essential in tabloid journalism. Even in the post- liberalization era tabloid journalism was not successful except for national dailies publishing entertainment news and celebrity gossip in what is now popularly called page 3 news. However, with the advent of satellite television tabloid journalism in India has found a new face in Hindi and vernacular news media especially the visual media. It soon degenerated into something which is yet to be defined.

Before proceeding further, it would pertinent to mention here that I am not absolving English media channels from yellow journalism, but most would agree that their shortcomings are of different nature (not taking into account the journalistic standard of Headline Today, whose content often seem to be English translations of its Hindi language sister channel Aaj Tak) . Among others, TimesNow, a Times Group venture seem to be eyeing at the neocon segment, going by the way it covers issues. At this point I must say that watching its star host Arnab Goswami, does seem entertaining at times. Seems, the poor guy cannot keep his emotions outside the newsdesk. His mannerism, which can be called arnabism, includes talking more than all the guests combined and a self-righteous rage which often take debates far out of context. 

But the damage that Hindi news channels seem to inflict is far mpre dangerous than "arnabism" or any other ism, the former attack  rationality and scientific thought which can be disastrous for the Indian society in the future. In my previous post I wrote on the declining standards of the Hindi news channels, now I intend to elaborate on certain aspects of the issue that I had deliberately omitted for the sake of brevity.

In this post I will write on the growing and potentially harmful trend in the Indian media is glamorization of supernaturalism and occult. The line demarcating superstition from supernaturalism is too fine, if any group of professionals should stay away from this realm then it is undoubtedly the group of tabloid journalists. Predictions based on Sun Signs and Moon Signs are a regular feature in tabloids world over but Indian news channels have taken this trend to a new level. Most channels now feature programs that claim to predict the future based on astrology, numerology, tarot card reading, cartomancy and crystallomancy. The latest addition to the list of occultist disciplines glamorized by the media is the study of mobile phone ringtones' influence in daily lives of the owners (I call it phonomancy). This is not a joke or a spoof, I did come across one program in a news channel last week. If the "experts" are to be believed, religious ringtones influence the cell phone owner's fortunes very much like gem-stones and amulets are supposed to do. Like most occultist devices, these religious ringtones are supposed to impart luck on the owner but before that, an expert in this area should be consulted to find out which particular religious ringtone is compatible with one's zodiac sign. I must confess that this one is one of the best instances of ingenuity, innovation and marketing strategy that I have come across in recent times. This method of fortune-telling is of recent origin and yet to catch up with the TV audience but the more popular format across news channels comprises of making fortune-telling programs based on astrology, numerology and tarot card reading. In these programs too the use of colors and graphics is deliberately loud and grotesque.


If astrology, numerology and other occultist disciplines qualify as sciences or not has been subject of many debates, I do not intend to start another one. But even those who believe astrology to be a science often argue that tabloid columns on astrological prediction harm the discipline's reputation. Indeed, if astrologers on TV and newspapers are to be believed the entire global population's future can be predicted with 12 sets of predictions! Getting a detailed and individual prediction from an astrologer is understandable but a generic horoscope-based predictions and the manner of its presentation one comes across in Hindi and vernacular news channels encourage superstition. The responsibility of news agencies is to collect only verifiable information and present it to readers. A little amount of irreverent and spiced up news item is quite palatable but presenting unverifiable information amounts to fraud.


In the same manner, programs on supernatural events are reconstructed and dramatized more to provide cheap thrills than provide explanations for the anomalies. Informative programmes on supernatural beings with grotesque imagery, over-dramatization and special effects taken straight from C-grade Hindi horror movies are a regular feature on all leading Hindi news channel. These programmes usually try to balance their views out by adding a hint of rationalism before ending but the nature of earlier misinformation is so profoundly grotesque that it makes a much larger impression on the psyche, especially that of a child.

India is being increasingly seen by the rest of the world as a rapidly developing powerhouse of science and technology but most of the popular news channels not only ignore the country’s scientific achievement but also reinforce superstition and regressive mindset. For instance, the recent successful launch of PSLV hardly got any coverage when compared to exclusive programmes on fortune-telling methods. It goes without saying that by glamorizing fortune-telling, occult and superstition these news agencies are in reality doing a great disservice to the nation and are also shirking a fundamental duty incorporated in the Constitution of India which lays down “developing scientific temper” as a fundamental duty of every Indian citizen.

(h) to develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform;
( Part IVA, Fundamental Duties: Indian Constitution)

Posted By Danish 6:21 PM

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The Great Indian Tamasha: Hindi News Channels

In this age of aggressive consumerism a section of the fourth estate of India is out for sale, having transformed itself into a mart of cheap sleaze and thrills, glamour, manufactured reality and superstitions.

The standard of the Indian media especially the Hindi and vernacular media is nose-diving at an alarming speed. Just a few years back, the Indian media was considered as one of the most intelligent and honest media in the world but in the aftermath of the information boom, its credibility stands thoroughly shaken. Manufacturing sensational news items through sting operations, manipulation and even through exaggeration are now passé for the Indian media, the emerging trend in news coverage in India, especially the Hindi media is one of exploiting and cultivating the regressive mindset of a large section of the population.

In the war of TRPs these news channels are more than willing to descend to the basest level of journalism as long as it helps them attract more viewers. Tune into a Hindi news channel any time of the day, you will be at the receiving end of the cheapest and sleaziest news reports that could be conceived of. Gone are the days when Hindi news bulletins consisted of impassionate and almost mundane news content with morbid apathy towards controversies. The new age media loves controversies and serenades voyeurism. Even if one were to overlook the quality of the news contents, the manner of presentation is usually too gross to be overlooked. The formula that most of these news networks rely on is pretty simple, any event or information that promises to break the monotony of real life can be considered a "breaking news" as long as it can be presented with a dash of sensationalism. But then again an oft-occurring incidence can also be presented as breaking news if it can be repackaged with lavish use of adjectives and superlatives, ghastly video, sound bytes from known personalities and everything that have the potential to create sensation around it. It doesn't really matter if the story is that of paramount national interest or of a little known wrestler, Khali, winning a well scripted and well rehearsed wrestling match in WWE, the media would simply opt for the story that can be sensationalized more. Media's penchant for sensationalism is a global phenomenon but Indian vernacular media's glamorization of regressive temperament along with its obsession for sensationalism, makes it singularly perverse.

Even if India's stories of success in the fields of science and technology are being talked world over, our own media prefers programs based on occult (astrology, numerology and tarot card reading) to stories on specific scientific achievements. But even these seem scientific and rational when compared to the "horror shows" that the news channels pass of as regular news programs. If it is unnatural for a news channel to regularly feature content on supernatural events, what the Hindi news channels indulge in is sheer travesty and intellectual blasphemy. Dramatization of unsubstantiated claims and reports with sub-standard audio and visual effects seem more like Bollywood's C-grade horror movies than news content. Vernacular news channels' obsession with the supernatural is not limited to horror shows only, reports on religious mythologies and prevalent superstitious beliefs find equal time slot on the prime time.

With information technology boom the vernacular media has been able to reach out to most of the sections of the society, consequently, its obligation to provide unbiased information and encouraging progressive outlook has only grown stronger, unsubstantiated and unverifiable content, especially information that dwell on the border of rationalism and superstition should be avoided. These content along with sleaze and cheap thrill that the vernacular media specializes adversely affect the mindset of the its viewers and encourage regressive temperament. They also have the potential to seriously damage the psyche of our kids, who are encouraged to follow news bulletins and programs to supplement education In fact, what motivated me to write this one is the fact that I found my 8-year nephew believing in superstitions in a-matter-of-fact manner simply because he had come across the information on a news channel. I am sure he would find it odd if I advice his to restrain from watching particular news channel, after all, haven’t we all been taught that news channels are more about education than entertainment ?

A peculiarity of this trend is the distressing fact that it is only the Hindi and regional languages news channels that broadcast such sub-standard news reports, the English language news channel of the same news network would have a completely different content. The best example that I can think of at the moment is TV Today's Aaj Tak and Headlines Today. The same trend can be seen in every major news network, be it Star, Sahara or IBN (The only exception IMHO is NDTV)

This observation only reinforces the belief that broadcast of sub-standard news content by the Hindi channels is a well planned marketing strategy of the media bosses and not lack of ability on the part of the professionals involved. This also implies that those higher up in the management are least bothered about journalistic ethics or quality journalism, in fact they would prefer bad journalism over quality if that helps them rake in more moolah.
It can be argued that as business organizations these news agencies are justified in taking the approach that is likely to yield more profit. But it should also be borne in mind that as an industry that exists and thrives on the basis of social interaction, it cannot wash its hand off its social responsibility. The civil society grants the press freedom to publish reports, views and opinions independently and without any interference of the State with the belief that the press would publish/broadcast material beneficial to the society. There is an unsaid agreement between the two, the media is under the obligation to abide by it. Then again there can be no question on freedom of the press or censorship, no functional democracy can afford to question it. It is the duty of the media bosses to self-censor and ensure that news contents originating from their concerns are not harmful to the society.

Posted By Danish 6:02 PM

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