By: Anna Zafar 25 November 2023
The rise of media has signalled the beginning of a transformative era, where information dissemination has assumed a central role in moulding the public narrative. In this ongoing “Battle of Narratives,” those who wield influence over the flow of information ultimately dominate. A noteworthy case in point is the BJP government in India, which is gaining an upper hand in this battle for control. From 2014 to the present, the Modi regime has effectively harnessed Indian media, particularly news channels, as a potent instrument to sway public opinion in its favor, secure votes, advance its Hindutva policies, and redirect the focus of the Indian populace away from critical domestic issues.
Since 2014, a distinct pattern has emerged, with media outlets favoring the Modi government strategically employing their platforms to bolster the BJP’s agenda. As the 2024 Lok Sabha elections loom on the horizon, we are witnessing a resurgence of this trend. Indian news channels are once again being employed as instruments of diversion, steering public attention away from pressing issues such as rising Islamophobia concerns, communal violence and ongoing insurgencies in Punjab and northeastern states. An illustrative case of this phenomenon can be observed through the extensive coverage by Indian news channels on Pakistan’s internal affairs, such as the closure of Quaid-i-Azam University in Islamabad due to disputes between the university administration and its students. Likewise, NDTV’s extensive coverage of live talk show fight between Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf’s lawyer Sher Afzal Marwat and Pakistan Muslim league’s senator Afnan Ullah amidst the approaching vidhan Sabha and Lok Sabha elections 2023-2024 is evident measure of this diversion.
In the wake of the BJP’s significant setback in the May 2023 Karnataka legislative assembly elections, Indian media’s diversion tactics have reached unparalleled levels. Rather than critically assessing the Modi government’s performance over the past five years, Indian news channels are fixated on reporting inconsequential events in Pakistan. This fixation often leads to the portrayal of every border escalation and inter-state target killing as a heroic endeavour by the Indian government and security forces in the fight against terrorism. The killing of Shahid Latif and his two associates in Daska district, Pakistan on October 11, 2023, by unknown assailants was labelled as “revenge for the Pathankot attack” by Indian news channels. Likewise, the strained diplomatic relations between Canada and India following the murder of Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjer were also framed by Indian news channels as an alleged manoeuvre by the Pakistani intelligence agency ISI to disrupt relations between the two nations.
In the midst of relentless media coverage that often fixates on external matters, it is imperative to direct our focus to the pressing domestic concerns within India. The proliferation of the Hindutva policy under the BJP government has given rise to a concerning surge in anti-Islamic sentiment, a matter that should not be swept under the rug. The policies and rhetoric emanating from the BJP have contributed to an atmosphere where religious intolerance is on the rise, posing significant challenges to India’s claim to a secular nation. As per the report released by Hindutva Watch, an independent research initiative committed to documenting hate speech and crimes, the first half of 2023 witnessed a disturbing trend. More than 255 instances of anti-Islam hate speech gatherings and rallies, targeting Muslims across 17 states in India, were recorded. A substantial 205 of these incidents occurred in states governed by the BJP. The states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Gujarat had the highest number of such anti-Islam rallies or gatherings. Notably, 4% of these events featured reprehensible sexist speeches explicitly targeting Muslim women. Another important detail unveiled by the report was that 33% of anti-Muslim hate crimes targeted states that are set to have their legislative elections in the latter half of 2023 and 36% of these events occurred in states that have their legislative elections scheduled in 2024. This data underscores the grave extent of religious intolerance in “Modi’s India.” In addition to the escalating Islamophobia during the Modi regime, the persisting insurgencies in regions like Nagaland, Punjab, and Kashmir represent crucial domestic issues that frequently evade the spotlight of Indian news channels. This emphasizes a troubling pattern of neglect that could be motivated by a desire to preserve a politically untarnished image of the Modi regime.
In conclusion, Indian media has shown a knack for advancing a pro-Modi agenda, often by promoting an anti-Pakistan narrative, as witnessed in the lead-up to the General Elections in 2019 following the Pulwama attack. With the significant setback faced by the BJP in the Karnataka Legislative Elections in 2023, the primary goal now appears to be securing victory in the forthcoming 2024 Lok Sabha Elections. This strategy seems to revolve around leveraging anti-Pakistani sentiments among the Indian population for political gains. Indian news channels, known for their influence on the common citizen, are the prime tools in this endeavor. Thus, the question arises: could we be witnessing the potential for another Pulwama-like incident in the near future?