By Ranjona Banerji
The Indian media as ever has covered itself in nationalistic glory in its coverage of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
Every angle has been explored in all possible ways to present India and its most patriotic government led by the greatest leader ever, Narendra Modi, in the best light ever.
Has there been a better war that India has not fought?
No!
Has there been a better rescue of Indians from a war zone by a most patriotic government?
No!
Has a former chief of army staff done a better job as a traffic warden on a cargo plane?
NO! NO! NO!
Have Union ministers been better humiliated by mayors in foreign nations?
Emphatically no!
Have Indians ever been as ungrateful for not being rescued in time?
Definitely no!
Has India ever shown in such spectacular displays of pusillanimity its inability to take a stand on the world stage?
Absolutely no!
It is thus conclusively proved that India is the best and the greatest.
Meanwhile. In Times Now-land, the chief target in the Ukraine invasion is NATO. The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. And thus, India’s best known geopolitical and strategic analyst Rahul Shivshankar, has ushered in, in his own words, “the Age of Bharat”, by consistently attacking NATO and also the United States of America.
India at this, its best moment, is caught somewhere between the left and the right. Sometimes our TV people love the USA and hate Russia. Sometimes it’s the other way around. It all depends on the mood of their great leader and adviser.
After this long-winded build up, we reach one of the best moments in Indian TV entertainment. Provided by Shivshankar. Someone told me he’s editor in chief of Times Now. Is this true?
Anyway, in fine TV tradition and also in contention for an award for worst journalistic impersonation by a non-journalist and also best example of TV anchoring as India understands it, Shivshankar provided his loyal bunch of brainless Times Now watchers as well as global social media, an absolute gem. It is not possible to describe the humour, the expressions, the hysterical grandstanding, the enormous effort to abuse and attack your own invited guests, and then, the denouement.
Priceless. I revise this whole para. Best moment in TV.
https://twitter.com/skbozphd/status/1499298691156705282
You have to watch it until the end.
The best of TV anchoring: no idea who your guests are, misidentifying one guest for another, going off on a massive rant aimed at the wrong person, endless grandstanding, showing off your knowledge of slightly not current teenage slang… the examples are endless.
I understand that in TV some anchors just dress up and yap on air, and the ground work is done by others. But where my ignorance shows is here: what stops these stars from doing even five minutes of pre-show homework to familiarise themselves with their studio “guests”?
I guess I will never understand TV. And why I separate TV from all other forms of journalism.
Meanwhile, Mr McAdams has become world famous for just saying his own name. But watch to the end, please.
**
The glory of the Indian TV media does not end here. Across most channels, we have the fabulously entertaining spectacle of students stranded in Ukraine upending the Modi government line on rescue and evacuation operations to the considerable distress of our TV reporters. Much as our reporters and a few anchors followed their hourly list of instructions from the PMO: praise Modi every few seconds, get the students to praise Modi, these students refused to comply and toe the toady line. Please say something nice begged the TV people. Angry angry angry at government incompetence went the students.
You understand now why the Modi government has hated students from Day 1.
This show for The Wire, by independent journalist, Saahil Murli Meghani, who also brought us the farmers protests, lets the students have their say. And exposes a few of the Modi government’s lies.
Somewhere, there are people dying, there is a chance of further disaster, there is a world crisis. But if you follow Indian TV, basically there’s Modi singlehandedly doing everything in the Universe.
Wow.
Ranjona Banerji is a senior journalist and commentator. She writes on MxMIndia on Tuesdays and Fridays. Her views here are personal