By Ranjona Banerji
I spend much of my time on social media and even among my family and friends defending journalism and the behaviour of journalists. I take pains to explain that there is no such thing as “the media†in the sense that this is one entity that thinks and works alike and in tandem.
But there are times when I fail completely and sadly, these times are usually when television news anchors dominate the discourse. So where are we now? Ever since the attack on Uri by Pakistani terrorists, either state or non-state actors, our esteemed TV news anchors have been frothing at the mouth, calling for war and more. If I was a Pakistani, I would be laughing my head off because I could see the biggest thorn in my side revealing its weaknesses and its ideas. In my limited understanding of both “the mediaâ€, geopolitics, diplomacy and even warfare, this nightly media warmongering does not seem like a wise policy. Irresponsible is the word that comes to mind.
You would perhaps have thought that moustachioed retired army bigwigs would know better than to give away ideas and their emotions on national television or perhaps that phrase means nothing because satellite television combined with the internet means almost nothing is merely “national†any more.
You might even imagine that TV news anchors would know better than to ask “What should our strategy against Pakistan be?†You would of course be wrong. “Our strategy†is only and only to have the loudest and most “patriotic†screaming match possible. I heard part of a long editorial comment from Rahul Shivshankar of NewsX the other night. His main target it seemed was not Pakistan or the terrorists it has nurtured. His main anger was directed at what he called “peaceniksâ€, a phrase I have not heard since the 1960s and 1970s when hippies ruled pop culture. I doubt that Shivshankar was either born or sentient at the time.
It seems that in this sort of a mindset, when war has to be decided on new channels, the question du jour is: how dare anyone conceive of peace? How dare anyone decide that diplomacy had a place in international relations, how dare a “peacenik†even exist and not have his or bloodied disembodied head placed on a stake in the middle of the town square for all to be warned of the dangers of counselling against war? Why should medieval psychopaths in Game of Thrones have all the fun, eh?
Yet, the role of Pakistan is apparently less important than that of “peaceniksâ€. Go figure. I mention Shivshankar but life has not been much different on any other news channel at night, including Times Now, the most patriotic of them all with due apologies to India Today TV. The aspects of the Uri attack that would conventionally call for journalism have barely been tackled on television but been left to newspapers. And in newspapers, strangely, there is Other News! How anti-national of them!
I am unaware if these news anchors are indeed “patriots†or anything else. I question their understanding of war and of international relations. I question their understanding of “covert†operations, given the way they talk about it so easily. I question their judgment calls. I question their knowledge about nuclear warfare. I question their ability to read, assimilate and assess.
So far, thanks to news television, we have informed Pakistan that war is imminent, that diplomacy is wrong, that we are going to get involved in “covert†operations and “hybrid†warfare. In fact, I would reckon we have walked straight into Pakistan’s trap. If you look at it the other way, it suits someone high up in the Indian government to have this noise and distraction from whatever’s happening within India. Either way, then, news television is both the prey and the pawn.
As I finish writing this, I hear someone on India Today TV say and through all this, “No one knows what is on Prime Minister Modi’s mindâ€!
Although, you might suspect if you were me, it is the job of the journalist to find out what is on Prime Minister Modi’s mind. This is an admission then perhaps, of someone who is not a journalist? I only ask the question.
And dare I use the word “irresponsible†again?