We & They

We & They

Flash Back to 2001:"We the people". A prime time television program on left wing's NDTV. Barkha Dutt, the host, taking a rabble rousing round of question & answers session with the studio audience & targeting Raveena Tandon.

Tandon had just received the prestigious national award. for her role in Daman

Even before Ms Tandon could enjoy her sweet success, she was embroiled into an unwanted controversy. Her only problem being, she was related to someone in the jury of national awards committee who happened to be BJP supporter.

The all confident & I-know-all Barkha Dutt was full of rhetoric that night. "Should national awards be politicized?" "Should politics interfere in fields like arts & cinema awards?" She was going hammer & tongs on a simple question of an award.

Poor Raveena. She must have dreaded the mere mention of national awards ever since.

Comeback to 2005. Anupam Kher ousted. Sonal Mansingh "replaced". Asha Parekh. Who's that ? The UPA's party with politization of arts & culture has just begun. And guess what? NDTV & Barkha Dutt have forgotten all about "interference" & "politicizing".

Call it amnesia or plain blank shameless-ness on part of NDTV & media in general. The media does not even want to mention this blantant politicization of national institutes.

The conservatives (BJP supporters) of the nation have become 'they'. We have become the 'THEY'.

"THEY have 'saffronised' history books." "THEY have 'communalised' the country"."THEY have 'victimised' an innocent Gandhi bahu".Blah Blah Blah.....

For most of the media houses in the nation today, the BJP supporters are the,well, - the THEY of the nation.

Ever since Vajpayee took over the reins of the nation in 1996, the media led by NDTV, took on the 'Sangh Parivar' head on.

The RSS became NDTV's single biggest obsession. The news headlines, the commentaries, the news content - everything revolved around one word. That magical word was "SECULARISM".

By 2000, NDTV had become the de-facto opinion maker of the nation. TOI, Indian Express, The Hindu, Outlook, Hindustan Times joined the "secular" bandwagon & before NDA & BJP could realize, the entire English Media was in Sonia Gandhi's kitty.

NDTV's success was not so much in streaming out lies after lies every night through satellite to the middle class Indian audience .. (the bulk of NDA voters); it was more in making the entire media fall in line with its brand of "secular" lies.

Let's give the devil its due. NDTV's packaging of news was impeccable. It was effective communication with the news-thirsty Indian middle class who had for years consumed the insipid Doordarshan news every day. NDTV's presentation was a welcome change & it complemented with the "globalization" mood set in the country, post-reforms.

The middle class gave the NDTV the much needed sanctity; by its overwhelming viewership in metros.

NDTV was emboldened in its pursuit & much of UPA's victory in 2004 elections should be attributed to NDTV's subtle but persistent campaign against BJP.

What Sonia Gandhi could not have achieved on her own, NDTV did that for Congress.

Let's look at it this way.What NDTV told or stood for, became the voice of not only the English Media but also the vernacular media.

The Domino Effect :

NDTV's more or less negative campaign against Vajpayee had begun way before Godhra & Gujarat. Rajdeep Sardesai, Barkha Dutt & other's from Prannoy Roy's NDTV team were the most visible faces of prime time news in the metros. For the middle class these
newscasters were no less than celebrities. Even if viewership of the English news was less than the readership of vernacular dailies, what the NDTV was able to do was impress its views upon the editors of those vernacular dailies who were in fact NDTV watchers.

For example Arun Tikkekar might be the editor of the marathi 'Loksatta', but as a viewer he was the NDTV news watcher.

This domino effect can be best stated like this. NDTV impresses the vernacular daily's editor, who in turn fall in line with its views & 'spreads the word around'.

An irrelevant & baseless news like some 'attack' on Christian tribals in Dang, Gujarat, became a national news.

How?

Rajdeep Sardesai goes on-site at a small hut in Dang, Gujarat which was allegedly attacked by Hindu 'fanatics'.The news is reported almost verbatim in TOI,IE,Loksatta,Tarun Bharat,Navbharat Times,Gujarat Samachar, etc etc etc....and becomes - BIG

So the news that was meant to be consumed by 1% of English speaking audience became a national news, digested by all Indians of all hue & cry.

The worst part was that, no one actually went & cross-checked the alleged attack. Whether the attack on the hut was "communal" or a result of just plain neighbourhood rivalry?The truth never came out.

I guess that news item was the turning point in electronic media history. NDTV tasted blood that day. It realized that one small piece of news if presented effectively (and specially in English) can put the Vajpayee Government on the back foot.

(I say specially in English, because we Indians are in awe of English speaking "gentleman", 50 years after the "angrez" left us. Somehow news in English is supposed to be more authentic, in India)

NDTV got the winning formula that day.It realised that a small piece of news item could be blown out of proportion and made to stick by repeated assertion.

The "THEY' would now be targeted more frequently & with much more vigour. Whether it would be an isolated incident of attack on nuns in some remote town or burning of
missionary in orissa, or transporting Bangladeshi's back to where they belong, NDTV attacked the "THEY" of the country almost incessantly, spreading one lies after another. And yes, succeeding in sticking those lies in the public memory.

The RSS became the Nation's enemy number 1. The Hindu Nationalist, stood for nothing more than a communal pervert who by virtue of being Hindu was by default the "aggressor". Indian muslims & christians (also called minorities (???)) became by default the "victims".

As a rule of thumb, the fault always lay with the Hindus, whatever may be the circumstances.

The west & missionary backed Human Rights industry got a fillip with NDTV at the helm of national dialogue.

The NDTV's success story had just begun. More programs.More lies.Biased news room "debates" were stage managed in Delhi studios.Various "talk shows" were aired & "intellects" from JNU (a leftist haven) prevailed over the gullible audiences.

(It is not a surprise that Prannoy Roy & CPM's Brinda Karat are related)

In a few years NDTV managed to demonise BJP like no other.

What required "The Hindu" newspaper more than 50 years, it's younger brother "NDTV" achieved in less than a decade.

BJP's demonisation was complete after Gujarat riots. The riots of much less intenstity than 84 Sikh riots, and that which was brought within control in just 3 days, unlike the ghastly Sikh riots which went on for days if not months.

The future of nationalist Hindus:

With the Judiciary, the Parliament & the all important media firmly behind her, its a cake walk for Sonia Manio from here on.Its difficult not to be frustrated under the current conditions.But what's worse is that now a feeling of helplessness has crept in the Hindutva camp.

For all its roar & bark, there's very little bite.

Bal Thackray, Vajpayee, Advani are more or less, spent forces. The "WE" of the nation has successfully alienated the "THEY" of the nation. An entire generation of voters, now basking under the glory of BPO & IT has no time for what's currently happening to the nation. This new generation lies confused & rootless. Shivaji Maharaj & Rana Pratap have been overshadowed by Akbar & Aurangzeb in children's history books.Nehru stands as a symbol of modern India & Savarkar is the villain of Indian independence. All thanks to messrs HKS Surjeet,Arjun Singh,Mani Shankar Iyer et al.

Secularism stands for everything anti-Hindu now.

Imagine the uproar (created by media) if following events had occurred under NDA.

1. Vajpayee's foster son goes on an official visit to Russia & meets Putin & uses private jet.
2. The governor calls a minority party to form the government.(Bihar)
3. An elected assembly is dissolved by means of blatant horse-trading. (GOA)
4. The Shahi Imam of Delhi is taken in custody for illegal enchroachment.
5. Jagdish Tytler,An elected MP of the government is denied US Visa, for his role in 84 riots.
6. A Bangladeshi army officer is killed inside Indian borders, after the Indian army traps him.
7. 5% jobs are reserved for parsis,sikhs,jains each.
8. There's acute power shortage in some states.
9. The Finance Minister imposes a tax on withdrawing money.
10.Like Aligarh university, BHU reserved the right to admission on religion basis.

Sadly its only the "WE" of the nation who have the voice. The Vinod Mehtas, The Kuldeep Nayars, The Praful Bidwais,The Arundati Roys, The Shekhar Guptas, The Amulya Gangulis, The Shabana Azmis, The Javed Akhtars, The Rajdeep Sardesais,The Mahesh Bhatts are the icons of the "WE"s. They are not only most vocal but nauseatingly most visible owing to the love media has for them.

The NDTV today is a great platform for the "WE"s of the nation, not to forget TOI,HINDU,IE,OUTLOOK etc.

The "THEY"s of the nation do not have one, they can call their own.

All the brave army men fighting Islamic terrorism from outside,all the brave policemen fighting the same inside,all those in Bihar suffering under Lalu & his goons everyday of their lives,all those in Kerela helplessly watching the rich Chritian onslaught,all those Hindus in West Bengal & Assam feeling squeezed out in the face of exponential growth of Muslim population,all those Kashmiri pandits who have lost hopes from Indian government & have lost faith in God, all those Hindu nationalist who once were proud of Hinduism,Hindutava & Bharat varsh,all the people who watch in frustration one Italian born waitress rule the nation as queen & prepare her dumbo son to take on as next Prime Minister, all of these have now become the 'THEY' of the nation.

The "WE"s have shrewedly but surely won this round.If you love pakistan,if you suck up to China,if you happen to be a human rights activist & file a case against the police for "falsely implicating" a muslim terrorist, if your heart goes for Gujarati muslims but does not give a damn for Kashmiri Hindus or Sikh riot victims, if you feel ill-treating the highest spiritual leader of the Hindus was right, well you are in luck.
Because you belong to the "WE" camp of India.