Most on the social media have probably witnessed the seemingly antagonistic view that "right wingers" carry for the Mainstream Media. This short-of-intolerance is particularly prevalent in the younger generation of Gujarat. Ever wondered why?
The state came into existence in 1960. I am not old enough nor do I have the avenues to investigate if the earlier generations too had this grudge with the media, but then that is beside the point. What I know is that in the 80s and 90s Gujaratis were not anti-media, otr at least I never saw that feeling around. Yes, there were differences but by and large there was no animosity per se.
No, the angst of Gujaratis against the media was not a result of 2002 riots as many tend to think. The seeds were sown after the devastating earthquake of 26th Jan 2001. Thousands of people died, lakhs lost homes and livelihood and it was a picture of gloom. At a time when all that people would look for is some solace, encouragement and support from various quarters - government, NGOs, religious institutions, corporate and media - the 1 group that failed was Media.
>> The electronic media kept on showing the same scenes of destruction and gory day in and day out, as if an earthquake stuck every hour
>> There were repeated requests from the Government, Intellectuals, Psychiatrists, Civil society to stop reminding people every minute on what has struck their brethren
>> The vernacular press went the notch down - they would report of astrologers predicting earthquakes every few days. As happens after any massive earthquake, there were aftershocks all the time - some that people felt and some that they did not - so more or less the astrologers’' predictions were "true". Another cause of worry!
>> I've seen people sleeping with their shoes on in case there was a quake as they were terrified with what they had experienced and were reminded constantly
This madness went on for months. And there was a lot of political color also added as time went by.
A year later - Godhra happened - am not going into details on what happened as probably rims of newsprint and hours of airtime has already been spent on it. When Godhra happened, the electronic media kept on showing the dead bodies, the newspapers kept talking of it. When riots broke out each and every news channel worth its salt had its cameramen out there. In the garb of reporting "truth from the ground" they in fact ended stoking the flames to a large extent. It is a known fact that when a situation is fluid, rumors become truth, anything you say and show hits someone in the mind and heart - a few grieve while a few act their own way.
At this point I can't stress enough that what happened was wrong and a blot on Gujarat. I do not believe that the root cause was the media reporting. Those who rioted have wronged and must be punished.
There was a media onslaught - everyone started lambasting the riots but crossed the fine line where the Indians in Gujarat started to feel that they were being attacked personally. It was as if all Gujaratis are bloodthirsty bigots who do not want the minorities to survive. All along they kept ignoring the fact that since independence there have been umpteen communal riots and the Majority has suffered the most in those. There were areas in Amdavad where a Hindu cannot even dare think of entering - and all this before Godhra and even before Ramjanmbhoomi andolan.
All these years there would not be a single Rathyatra that would pass peacefully.
Cutting the long story short, listed below are a few points that as a Gujarati makes me "anti-media"
1. Judging every Gujarati from what media perceives are the Gandhian principles. All my life I have heard media talking on how Gujarat has moved away from Gandhian thoughts and that prohibition is just tokenism!
Why? Who are you to judge us? Yes, there are points where I do not agree with Gandhiji but that is the beauty of it. When you want to criticize Gujarat you say "Gujarat has moved away from Gandhi's ideology" but when it comes to riots you say "Muslims suffer in Gujarat" Are Muslims not Gujaratis? Do you talk of the 100s of riots where Hindus suffered? No! Because there you report "Gujarat has a history of disturbances"
2. Gujarat today adores and follows Sardar Patel more than Gandhi. What is this supposed to mean? Was Sardar Patel a crook? He followed Gandhi's principles all his life. You may agree and disagree with both. Gandhi and Sardar to me are like Ram and Krishna - the former being bound to his principles in letter and spirit, whatever the situation be, while the latter following the same principles in spirit and in a more practical way!
3. Finding faults in the Gujarati Asmita. Why? Why would you see Gujarati Asmita from the political lens? I don't need a Narendra Modi to tell me how proud I am of being an Indian and a Gujarati. But yes, it took a Narendra Modi to awaken that dormant feeling. Did he use that to his advantage? Hell yes, he did! He is a politician after all!
4. Calling Gujarat the laboratory of the Hindu radicals! By saying this you kept hammering us for years that we are radicals. A meek, docile, family and business oriented Gujarati was actually a blood thirsty political laboratory of a few radical Hindus! That I take umbrage to! Just because I do not trust the leftist, socialist ideology I become a radical! How convenient!
5. Pointing out Ghettoism of Muslims. Did this happen after 2002? NO! Juhapura exists for more than 3 decades now, so did Jamalpur, Dariapur, Astodia, Kalupur etc. And as in all major cities in the country a few groups always live in ghettos. So why blame us for that?
6. Keep pointing out year after year about 2002. The moment I feel proud of some achievement of Gujarat, I am told to shut up and look at a Juhapura to get convinced that I am wrong. Forget Narendra Modi, even if a private citizen achieves something you view it with a communal lens. Irfan and Yusuf Pathan helped win world cup and they are Muslims in communal Gujarat. Why?
7. Allegation that Modi talks of Gujarat as if it was another country! You know what, don't care what Modi thinks, I think the same. Modi might have political objectives but I don't. But when I hear Media talking of Gujarat separately from India I am hurt. When journalists write articles lambasting Gujarat's achievements, I am hurt. When Media pitches Gujarat against rest of India I am devastated.
There are hundreds of more instances. All I say is come to us, talk to us - we are not monsters. But come to us without the political lens. Yes, keep a watch on us, point out where we go wrong but without the political lens. And this is true across the spectrum - whether they are "right wingers", "left wingers", intellectuals etc. All complain that Media doesn't see anything without an agenda!
Media is the mirror of the society but do not paint it with 1 picture - see the beauty of the mirror when it goes from person to person - but for that you have to let it be...a mirror, not a portrait!
Grow up, throw out the myopic political lens - upgrade to bifocal and then you will see it is not just the food, even we Gujaratis are sweet!!
