THE GREAT INDIAN MEDIA

the contemporary culture of a country is framed by many factors including the media it consumes , so thanks to the media we Indians have become sensation hungry  “at your face ” kind of people who even in presence of dignitaries like the president or the prime minister boo the one we think have brought shame to the country . Isn’t booing in front of so many  foreign dignitaries a national shame , more embarrassing than the  crores of rupees slashed down the drain by these corrupt officials ? .  we have become so insensitive that we actually follow -  tv shows like emotional atyachaar  , news channels like times now which thrives on plain speculation or serials where women are treated not more than slaves . how have we,one of the oldest and greatest civilisations  came to be  the long-lost  twin of  the Yankees? , how come a country as diverse as ours came to be so homogeneous in its tastes ? – the answer to these two questions is  – the great indian media .

the run up to the commonwealth games have shown the news channels and news papers stooping so low that BBC and its Indian reporting came to be more  palatable . the media thrashed the countries’ image into pieces that the foreign media started to speculate whether the games were ever going to happen . TIMES NOW – the mother of sensational news in india  was in the forefront , HEADLINES TODAY – the cheap cousin of the times group flagship channel followed the suit . so we were bombarded with filthy toilet stories , mosquitoes and dengue . have they been not living in India ? these are basic realities here . I bet even arnab goswami must have been bitten by mosquito, at least once . they just blew things out of proportion that it was made into a national issue . in a country where millions  die of malnutrition these stories dominated the airspace for weeks .and finally when the D day came the opening ceremony went smooth  . so WHY did they make such a lot of noise about the games – was it just for the country to be ridiculed by a country like New Zealand whose population is  smaller than many districts in India or Australia which is barely the size of mumbai? . i guess so , as we will never get the answers – the critics have become admirers of the games, and asking questions to a patriot about the treason he did is treason in itself .

the youth channels have become places were the human emotions or dignity are alien concepts . u have shows like ROADIES where people line up to be insulted to the extent that the average viewer’s heart goes out  for his whole extended family . the reality shows which pit people against each other and manipulate their reactions are so inhuman that in front of those producers Stalin would look a better person .

commenting on the TV serials is more pathetic than they actually are.

there were talks of the government bringing in new regulations to make the media more responsible as of now this has not happened . but such a watch dog is a necessity or else we will turn into a society so driven by these manipulating thugs that we will have our own Iraq invasions and we will never respond to that.

UNITED BY FEAR

just a day after the naxals killed 80 CRPF jawans we saw one of those instances of rare unity between the ruling party and the opposition . there were media “speculations ” about the home minister quitting his post, taking moral responsibility for the incident , to this  bjp came up with a statement that the H.M must not resign as it would be a moral victory for the perpetrators of this heinous violence . this was quiet a shocking statement from a party whose leaders  wanted shiv raj patel out right the next second after the Mumbai attacks. why did the opposition react that way?.lets find out the answer.

the various entities that form india is more diverse than the E.U which cannot even stand eye to eye in rescuing Greece . the common thread connecting these thousands of small entities  is the de facto religion of hinduism and many of its cultural extensions . we hindus  may call ourselves secular but beneath this thin membrane of pseudo secularism is the anxiety about our existence . the fear of going back to servitude and falling back to the nearly thousand years of  foreign rule . this fear of extermination which brought us together is still keeping us united.

in this respect india is more like isreal , but not as aggressive in defending its identity . since we are nearly a billion hindus vs a few million jews we could  be complacent , but the indian government still tries to defend its  identity . it knows how to keep this billion under control , so it utilizes tragedies like the above mentioned ones to keep this fear of unity alive . they not only make us fear the minorities(external forces) but make us assert our power on minorities like the many riots till gujrat to make us feel how much safe we are under them. through not punishing the guilty they give us assurance that we will never have to face any forced conversions or loose our gods under their guardianship. we all complain of hindu chauvinism but it is not bjp or rss  that is keeping it alive but the ruling class that always reminds us of our imminent peril whether in the hands of pakistan or the godless chinese.

the Mumbai attacks could be taken as the best example -  we had islamic terrorists bringing india’s business capital to a standstill (the best case scenario) this tragedy was taken up as an opportunity by the pseudo secular forces and their allies in the media  to derail the ongoing india – pakistan peace talks .  the normalisation of  relations would  mean enemy no 1 would be enemy no more . though pakistan is a major nuclear power ,the constant comparison and the fear in the indian psyche is just exaggerated . what can a country the size of uttar pradesh do, other than the proxy war it does , a direct confrontation means the complete annihilation of our smaller neighbor . we may also face casualties but will still survive . this is the worst case, will the international community allow such a confrontation in  the first place?. so the threat posed by pakistan is more on paper than in reality , whose existence is essential for our existence .

the naxalism is another of the “threats” facing us , the ruling class will never take action to suppress them nor will they stop making fables about their ability to overthrow the indian union .here the anxiety  is not about getting converted but loosing gods en mass . more over the socialist ideology is projected as the threat to the free economic system that shows 8% growth figures , the liberal media funded by these vested forces will never try to see the other 75% of india who suffers  . so we will have  arnab goswami questioning the patriotism  of  socialist thinkers  and never questioning  why naxalism is spreading through the jungles at this pace. it is a fact that naxals could never overthrow the indian union , but the capitalist lobby is taking extra mileage of this situation , they care less about the poor whether it be the widows of the dead soldiers or it be tribals caught in the cross fire.

these forces would take undue benefit of our fear if we never believe in the stability and longevity of this great conglomerate . so lets all try to make sense of reality than get guided by fear.

NRI’S CAN VOTE

while addressing the  pravasi Bharatiya divas prime minister manmohan Singh hinted about allowing the non-residential indians to vote in the next general elections. this is a very ambitious plan which is certain to have its ripples felt in the political corridors of Kerala.

malayalis are known to be politically aware whether he be a residential or non residential.the first thing a malayali does is to glance through the day’s newspaper (which are nothing more than tabloids) , then discuss the days politics at work or street corners(whether employed/not) and in the evening fight with his wife and kids to watch some news channel.though he is unaware about things happening outside the state he would be a phd in state politics.

nris make up about 3.6% of the population of the state mainly men in their prime.though politically aware and active they could not vote as they were outside the state. if they are allowed to vote the election they will be a significant force who may decide the outcome like a swing vote bank. this will be more profound in the Malabar. in districts like kannur and kasargode .

demographically speaking muslims constitute the biggest chunk of the nrks from malabar, if they are allowed voting rights their vote is expected to  go the udf way. but the twist in this tale is the fact that irrespective of the religion a person returning from gulf will be having a right-wing mentality.my observation may be controversial but if you take a sample survey among the nris in the gulf majority of the hindus would be discontent due to the curtailment of their religious rights and the muslims , due to the interactions with the brethren from else where would have adopted the hijab way.so a hindu is more likely to swing towards the bjp and a muslim – away from the iuml.this muslim votes may go to pdp or other right wing parties . so bjp and pdp will have the final bargaining power.they may switch allegences.as bjp is not in a place to win in kerala its vote will be a deciding factor in districts like kannur,thrissur and palakkad. the pdp factor will be more visible in malappuram,kozhikode and kasargode which as of now will go to the cpm.

but we all know the politics of kerala. by the next LS elections congress will be in power, there must have been some scandal before the election and there will be a pro ldf wave that will bring the udf tally back to single digits. but if the regular cycle gets interrupted by any chance and the nris are allowed to vote the bjp and pdp factors must be king makers.

MEDIA JUSTICE

the problem with the  indian english language media is that if it gets a news it feeds on it for weeks. this time the  media have re discovered its passion long forgotten since the jessica lal case – “fighting for justice for the north indian urban upper middle class”.

the ruchika murder/suicide and the following cover up was one of the shameful incidents done in the confines  of our system, which boasts of equal rights for all. its pity that the police officer who is said to have molested the girl got a minisculest verdict that he deserved . it’s the duty of the media to fight for justice and we must all fight against such inherent problems in our system and try to make it perfect.

my point here is that the so-called third eye of the society fights its battles only for a particular strata . the criterion are -

1.the victim be  from the punjabi north or  goa( tourist or catholic native). who can fluently speak english.

2. from upper middle class , that is who can tweet,use face book et al.

3.the perpetuator from a powerful background.if  politician the best. so that they can chant all the anti politician slogans.

4.the family/friends of the victim able to conduct rang de basanti type candle light vigils.

some of you who chance up on this article must  have gotten hyper by now so for them I like to give an example for the injustice of media justice.

in kerala there were two such cases involving rape(even serial rape) and murder . that too of girls of the same age as ruchika’s. one of them anakha- a brahmin girl from poor background was raped by people who were having connections with many prominent politicians in kerala. the girl and her family committed suicide that is how the whole story came out in open. the malayalam media was very active in finding the truth but their smaller reach meant smaller effect. the story slowly died down , no one except some scape goats were arrested.the other case is  of shari ,with some of the same people involved.

had anakha or shari be born to some rich punjabi family their justice would have been done by now. in anakha’s case the culprits killed a whole family,is anakha’s justice less important than ruchika’s , why isnt the english media taking up its arms for the victim? or asking the home minister of the country(that too for a state matter) the all important “questions”. the answer can be found in the above mentioned criteria.

there are many unheard anakhas or sharis in other parts of the country the culprits in their cases may not be big guns , they may be a zamindar or a petty police constable. so the media must widen its area of vision to incorporate all of india, not just focussing on one core group. the middle class anger against the system must be also be diverted to the fight for justice of these poor lads too .

the ctn I started must be taken up urgently or we as people will fail these hundreds of unknown ruchikas .

ODIYAN

our valluvanad was one of the final frontiers of western civilization.a land of immense beauty lived upon by mysterious people with strange  traditions and practices . where kalari was a way of life for the menfolk and their women the most liberated of their contemporaries . that world which existed till forty years ago now lives in the stories that grand mothers tell kids , many of them renegated as fables.

odiyans were the assassins of the time. they were hired by the nairs of rival families , mainly hailing from panar,pulayar and choklear communities, were feared for their extreme physical stamina and powers which could be matched only by mantrikans(powerful magicians).

the powers

the odiyans used to apply an oil obtained from the a killed human fetus  on their ear and assume shapes that they desired. they never changed into that object but the person seeing them had such a perception. they would assume shapes of bulls , cats , even rocks and when their victim approaches he would be killed instantly. but here there was a problem, if they took the shape of an animal like a bull ,the bull  appeared three-legged or tailless so that a person who is careful could understand what he was seeing and act accordingly. there is a story about a mantrikan who once returning home at night saw two bulls,he soon realized the trap and tied the two together and took them to a riverine and washed their ears  . the next second he saw two naked men standing in front of him.

the oil

the oil the odiyans used was made from unborn fetuses. their targets were women in their first pregnancy.during the day they would give some signs while working in the houses of their victims and in the night these women would walk unconscious in their sleep to the odiyans , who would split them open with sharpened knifes made of bamboo and took the fetus out. the women walked back home as  nothing happened only to die in their bed. in the morning everyone would assume the cause of death to be natural as the wounds in the belly would have gone by then. the fetus was hung from a pole so that a special fluid would be drained from it.the amount was so small that it would last only for a handfull of odi tricks.

what happened to them

with the modern education, the western lifestyle and more importantly the emancipation of panars and pulayars there were no takers for this tradition.so it died out without revealing many of its secrets like many other Indian traditions.

RE EVALUATING INDIAN HISTORY

sixty years have passed since india gained independence . a lot is changed now , we as people are more united than ever before , as a country we are starting to assert ourself in the world stage and more importantly we are deciding our history for the first time in centuries . but as a people we still find it  hard to accept our history or even to see it in a fresh light.

history gives identity to people . it has the power to drive millions at will , hence a nuclear bomb in dangerous hands . we as people have thrived for millenia , from times when every other country except a few were still far away from civilisation. even today a newborn indian inherits many practises which could be traced to that period. indians never saw history as a distinct branch of academia here it was always mixed with fables and super natural to be made into something that was far from real. the arab invasion brought historical recording to india , but it was restricted more to the ruling elite of the time and they never found interest in the history of the years before them . during the islamic rule it was always the us and them view. the rulers being muslims were least  interested in the idolatry populace and the populace were suspicious of their rulers . this period saw the indian civilisation coming of age , till then mostly an indigenous culture it started adopting things from the outsiders whom they despised for centuries.we as a country became cosmopolitan .

then came the british rule . the white man saw india as an exotic land – the land of superlatives . the renaissance  injected a sense of  superiority in their mind which made them to view others through those glasses .

the problem with indian history is that written text of non religious content is minimal and  archaeologically the remains are few . so we have no pyramids or Colosseum to tell our tale. this made the british to frame the indian history with respect to that of the other regions. one of the mistakes they did was to conclude that all the indian scriptures were fables, so our history came to be based on what others told about us rather than what we knew about us. these foreign authors knew little about the people or the culture of the time and never cared to take it seriously , so we have megasthenese who speak of strange humans and animals , the chinese records which were purely buddhist .  they talked only about the Buddhists and Buddha who by the way never became a large majority here.

constructing our history in this manner made large holes in some cases of many centuries which remain dark. so there are Mauryans and guptans and a patchy history in between.similarly we are taught about Vedic people worshipping Indra and then suddenly were hear Asoka being a Saivite or Vedic people suddenly becoming vegetarian by early centuries of christian era.

then there is the chronological mess. no one really knows when Asoka lived or is he really the piyadassi told in the edicts. the Alexander’s brief  stint into india acts as an anchor in this context. the small greek enclave in Gandhara was told to be expelled by a sandrakodos who came to be called Chandragupta Maurya . so piyadassi becomes Asoka, here comes the problem we have two historical figures similar in nature to the piyadassi -  vikramaditya and Asoka. both were great warriors, both of them united india and both became preachers of non violence later. so why can’t sandrakkodos be Chandra Gupta – the first Gupta king.

then comes the Shankaracharya question and the revival of hinduism. the date given is around 1000 AD .this process must not have completed itself in a single century or so when Islam knocked on our doors.

these descripencies are always overlooked , it is high time that we review our history and find it our own without being interpreted by overlords from across the sea,

CLIMATE CHANGE AND INDIA

some hackers who hacked into the university of east Anglia have brought forth emails which shows that the theory  human made climate change is fake.the emails reveal that scientists tried to suppress data showing the reversal of trends in global climate pattern,and that earth was actually cooling.this new revelations have cast doubt on the legitimacy of the Copenhagen talks.

whatever the truth behind the emails may be ,we indians must go forward with the development of alternate fuel sources.this can make us less dependent on the volatile gulf sates and the us oil mafia. we must switch over to solar and wind power and rely less on diesel and coal, we must produce more of  hybrid and electric  cars .this way india can be a world power in the field of renewable energy. being a huge country with billion plus population the emphasis we give on public transport must remain in place so that the roads become less crowded, a clean and efficient public transport system can ensure the development of people of all strata.

so lets just don’t care about what happens in Copenhagen and move forward with our plans on self-reliance in energy.

NATIONAL LANGUAGE

the topic of national language have always been a raging topic especially here in south for the past century or so.the imposition of an alien language or a culture is always detested by those on whom it is imposed . the world outside the hindi heart land is no exception. hindi which is our national language is spoken by 40% of the population,which again is of different dialects and sub languages.hindi in its present form is one of the youngest languages and in literary content one of the least developed,but many of the regional languages like Tamil or Bengali is rich both historically and in language.even the youngest of the regional languages – Malayalam had evolved into its standard form centuries before Devanagari was adopted for Urdu. the imposition of such a language over these well established ones was one of the greatest mistakes done by the post independent india.hindi after splitting from Urdu started to adopt words from Sanskrit so that it can mask its persianness .but the hindi used in daily life was more or less same as Urdu which is alien to most parts of the country.

english on the other hand is the language of the world.every one needs to study that to succeed in life,its like the modern persian. but the adoption of english as the national language will affect india’s future position as a global power. our use of english as a medium can only make us inferior to the Anglo saxon power block. their  attitude towards india is more evident in the british media and legalization of english can only legitimize their colonial mentality.

in this scenario i would like to propose the use of Sanskrit as the link language between the indian populace .it is the bed rock of all languages including the three of the four southern languages.moreover every one need to learn a second language and there will be a level playing field for all.even tamil have 20-30% of its words from Sanskrit.the use of an indigenous language can act as an advantage when india develops and can act as its soft power as english is doing for america.the use of sanskrit can decrease the fear of extinction or inferiority that may languages face as they can flourish in their own ways.

the religious tone of Sanskrit is the main disadvantage of the language. this can be overcome by developing the language in the secular front , new secular literature can be written in Sanskrit or many of the best secular literature of other languages could be translated to it. this can give an added advantage as people in different parts of the country can get to know about each other. think about this – parts of thirukural being studied in a school in Punjab  or geetanjali taught in Kerala, that too  in Sanskrit.

there will be oppositions to my view but adoption of english can only make us colonial puppets and that of hindi will be a crime done to other  languages which have a huge literary history.

TIMES NOW-LETS MAKE IT RESPONSIBLE

TIMES NOW represents what is wrong with the urban middle class India today-the new post liberalization world where morality and integrity have been sacrificed for wealth and power.

times now started late but soon came to the fore front by a simple trick ‘sensationalism’.the channel is known to see everything with suspicion.even the minutest detail how irrelevant is scrutinized and made into a big issue of mammoth proportion.the anti Pakistan rhetoric  that is visible all the time is the major example for its sensational nature.though mumbai attacks were tragic, a war with Pakistan would have been many times a disaster.all the anti china war cry so often heard in it was actually responsible for creating anxiety among Indians in the past few months.

so today on 3rd dec 2009 lets start ‘CLEAN UP TIMES NOW’ (CTN)movement.this is not a movement against times now but against the modern indian mindset.lets all take an effort to bring back the indianness that we have lost.

OBAMA-MANMOHAN SINGH STATE DINNER

one following cnn for the past week will be dazzled to note the number of times they mentioned india.i think the total number of times india was said in the past week will be twice it was said in the last six months.  sadly it was not to mention the blooming indo us relationship or the joint resolutions on afghanistan but it was for the state dinner – the first one in obama tenure. lots was told about the food(curry,chutney …) ,about michelle obamas clothes and the indian designer.even the so called party crashers got more coverage than the bilateral relation ship.

we indians who gets excited with a mere mention of the word india in the world press started inferring things like ” india is asserting itself “  and ” us gives a warm welcome to the budding super power”.no one cared whether the coverage was about mrs obama’s bangles or the bilateral relationship as long as india was mentioned.some commentators in india is comparing the visit of the primeminister to the us with the obamas visit to china(which is absurd).president’s visit to china was more about trade,the currency issue etc the coverage in the media was unmatched,each and every aspect of sino-us relationship was analysed.why can’t we indians stop bragging about out ‘will be super power’ status and work towards gaining it.

on a lighter note – i dont know whether u noticed or not during the world business today on cnn they where talking about the crisis in tea growing ares and the weather woman mary ramos? showed nilgiris in west bengal .