News Gap Columin

In a secular democracy, media turns a zealous fundraiser for Ram Temple 

  In a secular democracy, the mainstream media has become a zealous fundraiser for the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. While it has often opposed the appearance of any religious symbol belonging to minority communities in the public sphere, it has never restrained itself from campaigning for the Hindutva forces. A recent example is the ongoing fundraising campaign[Read More...]

How media’s narrative of ‘Lawlessness-in- Bengal’ aims at helping BJP

  As the assembly elections near in West Bengal, the media is busy constructing and spreading a new narrative that the TMC Government under Mamta Banerjee has failed to maintain law and order in the state. The recent incident of the alleged hurling of stones at convoy of the BJP National President J P Nadda not only became the big[Read More...]

Media continues to malign Farmers’ Protests

  Instead of listening to the grievances of the farmers and objectively reporting the concerns raised during more than half a month-long farmers’ demonstrations being held around the areas in and around the national capital Delhi, the media is busy maligning them. The pages of newspapers are filled with the negative stories and anti-farmers opinion pieces. The farmers continue to[Read More...]

Hindi Press demonizes farmers’ protest, brands them Khalistani terrorists

While the farmers continue to hold demonstrations near the national capital against the recently-enacted Farm Laws that have facilitated the entry of big corporate players in the agricultural sector, several Hindi newspapers are busy demonizing the movement and linking it to the Khalistani terrorists. Several narratives are being constructed by the media to portray the Farmers’ Protests as unruly, violent,[Read More...]

Hindi Press popularizes anti-woman & anti-Muslim narrative of “Love-Jihad”

  Several leading Hindi newspapers have brazenly mouthed the Hindutva narrative of anti-woman and anti-Muslim “Love-Jihad” conspiracy theory and justified the proposal of the BJP ruled state to come out with a strong law against it. “Love-Jihad” is a conspiracy theory designed and propagated by the Hindutva forces to demonize the Muslim men for feigning love for the Hindu women.[Read More...]

Caste prejudice: Media claims voters’ memory of “Jungle Raj” cost RJD Bihar Polls 2020 

The mainstream media has again shown its upper-caste character in analyzing the result of the Bihar Assembly Elections 2020. While it has hailed “the Modi magic” for helping the NDA win the state assembly elections, it has blamed the collective memory of Jungle Raj for the defeat of RJD-led Mahagathbandhan. The term ‘Jungle Raj’ means a collapse of law and[Read More...]

Muslims, terrorism, Pakistan – not development – were key issues for BJP in Bihar Polls 2020

The BJP leaders have failed to make development an electoral plank in the recently held Bihar Assembly Elections 2020. The Hindutva leaders, instead, have invoked Muslims, terrorism, and Pakistan in their electoral speeches. Last week the elections for the second (94 seats) and the third phase (78 seats) were held for 243-member Bihar Legislative Assembly. During this period, the top[Read More...]

Bihar Assembly Elections 2020: Media shows bias towards BJP

Several leading newspapers published from Patna appear biased in favour of BJP. In their coverage, they are giving a large share of space to the BJP. Their major focus is the speech of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Several reports have come, singing praises for him. In return, the newspapers are rewarded with big advertisements. For example, several newspapers carried a[Read More...]

TRP racket: How media is reluctant to talk about its own corruption        

  The media, which holds the flag of uprightness, is now reluctant to talk about the dirt defacing its own image. The immediate context is the claim of Mumbai Police that news channels including the Republic TV have indulged in the malpractices of boosting TRP (Television Rating Points). A day after the police allegation, The Telegraph (Kolkata, October 9, 2020, p. 5)[Read More...]

Babri demolition case: Media, upholding court verdict, chants ‘Jai Sri Ram’   

Lord Rama, one of the major deities of Hinduism, was born at the very place of the Babri Mosque in Ayodhya. The mosque was built after the “Muslim invaders” had demolished the Ram Temple. With these historically unsubstantiated narratives, the Hindutva forces, led by the top leaders of the BJP, the VHP and the RSS created frenzied mobs, culminating in[Read More...]