Most Urdu papers offer a broken, divisive picture

[Manas7]

Most Urdu papers offer a broken, divisive picture - The New Indian Express

By Rakesh sinha

Published: 24th November 2013 06:00 AM

Last Updated: 24th November 2013 12:32 AM

After the recent bomb blasts at the BJP's rally in Patna, the National Investigation Agency swung into action and its preliminary investigation yielded solid proof of the role of Indian Mujahiddin (IM) in the blasts. Yet, some leading Urdu papers unhesitatingly accused Sangh Parivar of the blasts. Inquilab (Delhi) published an interview of one Mahfuzur Rahman, who heads the Seemanchal Development Front, on November 6, 2013. He bluntly accused Sangh Parivar of the blast. Similarly, Munsif from Hyderabad interviewed Dr Javed Zamil, who gave strange logic to support his claim, "when the BJP leaders received information, why was the rally not cancelled?" According to him, IM is a puppet in the hands of enemies of Muslims.

Such reporting, alas, is no exception but an unsavoury trend that majority Urdu newspapers follow. 26/11, an aggression by other means by the enemy state Pakistan, shocked the nation. Investigation by Indian and foreign agencies have proved that its script was written in Pakistan, with the terrorists trained on its soil. The whole world has been shocked by Pakistan's perfidy. But a majority of India's Urdu papers penned a campaign of vicious falsehood that 26/11 was "planned and orchestrated by the CIA, Mossad (Israeli's intelligence agency)and RSS; either by two of them, or all three collectively". Innumerable articles, news analyses and editorials appeared, linking 26/11 with RSS. For instance, Urdu Times from Mumbai wrote on November 28, 2008, alleging 26/11 was a "combined operation of RSS, Mossad and the Chhota Rajan gang." Another daily, Hamaara Samaj (Delhi), wrote on December 4, 2008, "Mossad and Hindu fundamentalists are behind all terrorist attacks happening in India." Others like Munsif, Siasat, Jadeed Markaz, Rahmaan-e-Mulk, Nasheman, Azad Hind, Rozanama, Rashtriya Sahara too joined this malicious campaign. It is noteworthy that such reporting actually supplemented Pakistani denials and seriously impeded India's efforts to expose Pakistan.

The Press Council of India has issued certain guidelines, but most Urdu papers feel entitled by the political patronage to ignore this code of conduct. Once, Urdu newspapers made valuable contribution to Indian journalism, with many being published by Hindus too. Sadly, things have changed. Most Urdu journals today are sensational and provocative. Their selective reporting and interpretation is intended to create a communal constituency. Urdu papers, more often than not, publish news and views reproaching the police, judiciary, bureaucracy, academic institutions, the army and intelligence agencies as anti-Muslim. This has led to some limited debate among Muslim intelligentsia too. Communalism Combat, edited by Javed Anand and Teesta Setalvad, wrote in its October 2008 editorial that Urdu papers subscribe to conspiracy theories and 'behind every incident, see the hand of the CIA and Jews.'

Athar Farooqui in his work, published by Oxford University Press, has exposed the emerging trend of Urdu journalism. According to his findings, Urdu media offers its readers only an emotional and narrow approach, and ignores emerging socio-economic realities. He further argued that Urdu media exaggerates the sense of discrimination in Muslims and ignores the inherent reasons for the community's backwardness. He also says the Urdu media wants to keep its readers trapped in gloom and pessimism. What is more disturbing is that the Urdu press has become a totally Muslim press. It is not prepared to accept slain policeman Mohan Chand Sharma in the Batla House encounter as a martyr and raises questions on the Ashok Chakra awarded to him. Unfortunately, a fragmented, broken and divisive picture of India is mirrored in Urdu papers whose irresponsible reporting has a ripple effect on a sizable section of the Indian people.

 

[Free Karma]

english Media->Congressi/Paid/christian
Urdu Media->Muslim/anti hindu/anti national
Social Media->Hindutva/ Feku etc etc.

Ah well....the world is truly full of maaya! Find it really hard to believe anything nowadays lol.

 

[Ray]

It is the fallout of the propaganda that the Muslims have to fear if they want to exist in India - the fear psychosis spun by certain political interest to serve their Vote garnering purpose as the sole defender of the Muslim entity!


Fear and Control

Fear has many uses. It can be used as a warning to keep you from entering into a situation that might hurt you. It can be used to motivate you away from something, such as a harmful relationship or a dangerous situation. It can also be used by others to control you.

How do people use fear to control others? When you understand what happens physiologically when people experience fear it becomes quite easy, as you'll see.

There is a part of your brain that exists solely for your survival called the "reptilian" brain, which is the original part of your brain. As humans evolved, our brains grew and other parts were added, such as the limbic system which deals with emotions and the cerebral portion which is the thinking part. This reptilian brain is located at the stem of the brain, securely protected by the rest of the brain. When all other parts of the brain are non-functional, this part will still be ticking away, assuring your physical survival.

When you experience the emotion of fear, your reptilian brain goes into action and the rest of your brain shuts down. The function of this part of your brain is to support you either to fight or in flight. When you are in the emotional state of fear, you have two choices and everything you do will be based on one of those choices.

If you're thinking, "Hoo haa. We're too advanced for that", remember the last time you were in a very disagreeable situation. Were you wanting to have a nice cozy, loving chat with the other person? Not likely. Probably you were wanting to get away from them and escape the uncomfortableness. Or maybe you were thinking how satisfying it would be if they got a comeuppance. These are flight and fight reactions.

Additionally, when you are experiencing fear, your entire body goes into fight or flight mode. All your blood is redirected to the parts that are needed for fight or flight - your heart, lungs, muscles, and your reptilian brain. The rest of your brain is left with only enough blood to keep it on idle, which means that you have no cabability for rational or creative thought. It's all black or white, yes or no, good or evil. In this state you do not have the ability to think of alternative solutions to the situation. Only run or fight.

How ideal for the military! If they keep masses of people in fear and educate them in the many ways to kill other humans, they have a ready, willing, able, and non-thinking military force. This falls right into alignment with the basic premise of the military: follow orders without question (or without thinking). Whoever came up with the idea of using fear like this was a real genius. Just look at what they've created!

The polarity thinking that is created by fear can also be used very easily and effectively on the general populace by our politicians and other powers. Look at how our own country is divided right now by the fear that has been promoted by the current administration. They are continually coming up with new ways of keeping the citizens of the U.S. in a state of fear. The "security alert" with it's color coding is perfect. All they have to do is change the color of it to turn the level of fear in this country up or down, just like controlling the flow of water in a faucet.

What's the answer? First, get yourself out of the state of fear. In order to be able to think you need to be able to use the other parts of your brain. If you are having difficulty getting out of fear, here are a few things you can do:

TURN OFF YOUR TELEVISION! Especially the news. Have you ever felt wonderful, or even good, after you watched the news? Even the commercials are designed to make you feel sick and fearful.
Get in touch with the earth. Go for a walk without your cell phone or CD player and truly pay attention to the beauty that surrounds you. Notice all the things that are there to support you - trees for shade, all vegetation for oxygen, ants to clean up the minutest messes, birds to spread seed for more plants to grow.

Show appreciation to your body by giving it something nice - a massage, a cup of herbal tea, organic food, pure water. It will thank you by feeling more energized.

Don't hang around negative people or people who are being negative at the time. You don't need to absorb their fear any more than you need to absorb the fear from the news on TV.

As you begin to emerge from the state of fear and can once again think rationally and creatively, look at how you can create unity in your life instead of the polarity caused by fear. The world will thank you.

how we are controlled by others with our fears

 

[Ray]

Here is a letter from a Muslim in Telegraph Kolkata 24 Nov 2013, that debunks the propaganda that Muslims are ALWAYS turned away from Housing colonies or not given accommodation on rent.

Letters to Editor


All is not bleak

Sir — In West Bengal too, minority groups are often barred from urban housing estates ("A house for everybody", Nov 16). In Katwa, where I live, members of the minority community cannot get rooms on rent or plots in areas dominated by the majority community.

But all is not bleak.

In Burdwan town, I stayed in a room owned by a Brahmin. I did not face any housing discrimination in the 'backward' town of Purulia as well. While doing my MA in Calcutta, I was living on rent with a Goswami family in Belghoria.

Yours faithfully,
Niamul Hossain Mallick, Katwa, Burdwan

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1131124/jsp/opinion/story_17587548.jsp#.UpGl_cTI0a8

Now, would the Urdu papers mention this or would those pseudo champions, Javed Akhtar and his second wife, Shabhana Azmi ever allude to this instead of making it that Muslims are unwanted as an universal rule?

 

[Shirman]

Zafar Sareshwala: The Muslim who bats for Modi
Mohammed Wajihuddin,TNN | Nov 24, 2013, 05.43 AM IST

Bright prayer mats are the only thing that lend colour to Zafar Sareshwala's otherwise spartan Mumbai home. Five times a day, Sareshwala — who is a member of the Tablighi Jamaat, a puritanical strand of Islam — lays these mats down for namaaz, and says prayer inspires the "important mission" he is called upon to perform — a spirited defence of Narendra Modi.

The 50-year-old bearded businessman has become a familiar face on TV news debates and is the go-to person for journalists looking for a byte from a rare breed — a Muslim supporter of the BJP's prime ministerial candidate.

Considered one of Modi's trusted backroomboys, he is said to have the Gujarat chief minister on speed dial, predictably earning brickbats for "backstabbing" community members who oppose Modi's Hindutva ideology. But Sareshwala, whose family hails from Ahmedabad, maintains that engagement with Modi and the BJP is the only way forward for the Muslims of Gujarat. "Muslims cannot remain isolated from a party which has been in power in Gujarat for so long, and Modi should not remain untouchable forever. Permanent animosity against a political party and its prime ministerial candidate will not help improve the community's condition," he explains.

Sareshwala's own leap of faith has been a long one — back in 2002, he was among Modi's fiercest critics though the only losses he suffered during the 2002 Gujarat riots were financial. A mechanical engineering graduate and expert in Islamic finance and banking, he was working in England at the time, but Parsoli Corp, an Islamic investment company he had set up in Ahmedabad with his two younger brothers, incurred losses of Rs 3.8 crore. Their industrial valve manufacturing factory was also burnt down, and the wealthy Sareshwalas, once among the largest zakat (charitable tax) donors in the community, found themselves in dire straits.

Back in the UK, Sareshwala joined a group of activists planning a suit against Modi in the UN-affiliated International Court of Justice. He even contemplated moving his family to England. Ironically, it was Modi who made him rethink his plan. "Kya wahan angrezon ki ghulami karte rahoge. (How long will you serve the British) You are needed in India," Modi had said to him during a phone conversation in 2005.

Earlier, in 2003, Sareshwala and London-based Islamic scholar Maulana Isha Mansoori had a long meeting with Modi to thrash out differences. He claims the Koran and the Prophet's traditions, his two main guides, did not stop him from engaging with enemies. "The Prophet signed Sulah Hudaibiya, a seemingly humiliating treaty, with the then pagan Meccans who had oppressed him and his followers. This is the example that I follow and want my fellow Muslims to follow too," says the businessman, who returned to Ahmedabad with a two-pronged task — strengthening his family financially and providing help to his community.

A BMW dealership that his brother acquired while rebuilding the family's finances has led Sareshwala's critics to label his proximity to Modi "sheer opportunism". "I have no problem if Sareshwala has made peace with Modi only because of his business. But after capitulating to a tyrant, he is now collaborating with him to make India a Hindu rashtra where minorities, especially Muslims, will be second-class citizens," says Javed Anand, secretary of Muslims for Secular Democracy (MSD) and coeditor of Communalism Combat. Human rights activist Shabnam Hashmi says Sareshwala has sided with Modi to "serve his own interests", but director Mahesh Bhatt, a supporter of Sareshwala and other riot victims, is more dispassionate. "Zafar is my frenemy. I am friends with him despite my fundamental dislike of his politics," he says. Does Bhatt believe his frenemy's claim of befriending Modi to ensure Muslim grievances are addressed? "I will believe that the day he (Sareshwala) stands with me in the house of Ishrat Jahan's mother," says the director.

Sareshwala, who receives loads of hate mail and is frequently referred to as 'Mir Sadiq' and 'Mir Jaffer', historical figures who betrayed their community to help the British, is unfazed by criticism. His grouse is against "publicity-hungry" activists who pretend to side with the community. "Funds were being collected to fight court cases but the Muslims in Gujarat were completely isolated. There was no one who would talk to Modi on their behalf," he claims. His family, including his three children, supports his stance and Sareshwala says his father, who died last month, advised him to stand his ground.

Sareshwala cites his list of accomplishments since he has had Modi's ear. In 2006, after a series of encounters in Gujarat, the police started rounding up Muslim clerics, many of whom ran madrassas. Sareshwala claims that after he set up a meeting between Modi and the maulvis, the operation was dropped. Last year, he ensured rehabilitation for 3,500 hawkers from old Ahmedabad being displaced by a government redevelopment plan. Sareshwala has also facilitated dialogues between Modi and prominent community members, like Urdu weekly Nai Dunya's editor Shahid Siddiqui and Lord Adam Patel, chief patron of London-based Council of Indian Muslims. While Siddiqui's interview became hugely controversial and ended with his expulsion from the Samajwadi Party, Lord Patel says, "Sareshwala appears to be honest, but I've reservations about Modi's politics."

Sareshwala doesn't, pointing out that Modi's Hindutva agenda is being downplayed. "Just as Muslims in Gujarat are getting financially strong, Muslims elsewhere too will if Modi becomes PM," he says. The community focus, he adds, must be on creating educational and business opportunities, entrepreneurships and jobs. "Once we are financially strong, we will be able to influence the country's policies," he concludes.

 

[Manas7]

@Ray

sir,

What you say about fear of the other and scare mongering among the indian muslim is right in one context .

But when i read the article ,and see everything wrapped up as RSS/RAW ,CIA ,and Mossad created kind of conspiracy theory in the Urdu media , i see its not just confined to just indian Muslims only ,it is also seen in pakistan if i can say better it's pan Islamic nature .

There is always exist a strong muslim VS the rest , feeling if only sublime in nature which is pan Islamic.

 

[Ray]

@Ray



There is always exist a strong muslim VS the rest , feeling if only sublime in nature which is pan Islamic.

One can't blame the Muslims for it.

It is the political system that has kept them deprived, backward, illiterate and has not encouraged them to find their own self esteem!

If one has no self esteem, then one gets delusional and believes every thing said to massage their self pity!

Madani has clearly said that the crumbs thrown their way won't do!