Thursday, June 19, 2008
Thursday, June 19, 2008
TIMES OF INDIA DOES IT AGAIN – IV
On the day, when India's foremost fascist politician, the 80+ aging Shiv Sena Supremo, Bal Thackeray, called on 'Hindus' to produce suicide bombers to confront the Muslim suicide bombers, Times of India has chosen to publish a four column size colour photo of the rabble-rouser, that shows him without his current growth of unkempt craggy beard and looking much younger than his years. It is anybody's guess, what is Time of India trying to project by publishing such a publicity oriented file photo with the story about how people have adversely reacted to Thackeray's new fascist salvo. The gesture takes out all the sincerity of the supposed condemnation of Thackeray's virulent communal outpouring that any law abiding entity from any walk of life, should have for Thackeray's brand of open terrorism call. This reflects Thackeray's own deep frustration over the democratic process that has failed to back his brand of fascist ideological underpinning of his political ambitions.
Times of India, as a primer opinion maker of India, should have forcefully come out for the law of the land and roundly condemned any such threat to India's internal and external security, its communal harmony and the national integrity. Times of India, seems to be running with the hares and hunting with the hounds. This brinkmanship is harmful not only for the credibility of a widely circulated mainstream national newspaper, but would spread the contagion of doublespeak to further polarize the nation on communal lines.
In fact, it should better be noted that all the communal clap-trap and propaganda against Muslims is fake and contrived to counter the fissiparous tendencies due to caste divisions in Hindu society. The fraudulent and fake nature of communal propaganda that is essentially criminal in nature, should be exposed by the media, if India has to enjoy peace within its borders and beyond. There is every possibility that the communal propaganda against Muslims may entangle our country to some international interventions of unsavoury kind. It is therefore incumbent on media to size up its responsibility not only towards its owners and investors, but its readers as well as the community at large.
Ghulam Muhammed, Mumbai
ghulammuhammed3@gmail.com
www.ghulammuhammed.wordpress.com
