‘A drama of so-called elections’—Indo Pak monitoring Part ll

IN Media Monitoring | 08/11/2004

This is the second set of articles in the Hoot on how newspapers in India and Pakistan report on each other’s countries--- A Panos-Hoot monitoring project.   The first period covered reporting from  March 17 to April 17 in the Times of India, the Hindu, Dainik Bhaskar, Dainik Jagran. This article relates to the second period of monitoring, the month of May, when general elections were held in India. Four Pakistani newspapers were monitored: Dawn, Nation, Jang and Nawai Waqt. Two Indian newspapers in English were also monitored during this period:  The Times of India and the Hindu. This is the first article relating to the second period. 

Shubha Singh 

Ever since the people to people contact between India and Pakistan became easier early this year, there has been a surge of stories in the Indian and Pakistan media about the other country. The two Indian newspapers, Hindu and the Times of India, and Pakistan`s Jang, Nawai Waqt, Nation and Dawn have devoted ample space to such stories. Much of the coverage is about events and political developments across the border, sports and business, stories about films and entertainment, and commentaries on the each other`s policies. There has also been a trend in Indian and Pakistani newspapers to highlight instances of warm interactions between people of the two countries as the restrictions on cross border travel have eased.

However, the biases tend to emerge in the coverage of Jammu and Kashmir and especially in the commentaries and articles on the Kashmir issue. Nawai Waqt in a news report that was a compilation of news agency and radio monitoring reports referred to Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister as the "stooge Chief Minister of occupied Kashmir Mufti Mohammed Sayeed came to vote at Brijbehara polling booth under the protection of the army commandos. According to eyewitnesses, the police lathi-charged protestors and later used tear gas to disperse them," the report said.

The Nation had an op-ed article by MA Niazi on May 21. He wrote: "India is probably as dysfunctional as a democracy as Pakistan, if not more. Its political system is much more heavily fractured. Pakistan`s apparent knowledge of India disguises a serious misconception: Pakistan is a much more unified country than India. Apart from religious homogeneity, which means that the minority problem is limited, it is possible for Pakistan to have Urdu as lingua franca, in a way Hindi cannot be for India. There is no institution in India that interrupts the democratic process in the name of dysfunctional democracy, and then proceeds to rule itself. In Pakistan, on the other hand there is the army."

In an article in the Nation by Khalid Amin said that the only goal for Kashmiris was plebiscite. "The US State Department has recently pointed out about human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir by the Indian forces. India does not allow the representatives of any human rights organisations to visit J&K, but despite this fact many organisations have highlighted these violations. But talking about violations is not enough, the US government should take concrete steps as the Indian government has given more teeth to its intimidating, suppressive policies against innocent Kashmiris. India has a free hand to unleash terror against innocent people and a systematic annihilation of the Kashmiris is taking place. The entire territory has become a big jail because people are being arrested under some black laws. Talking about human rights is not enough, it is like pouring salt on their wounds."

Khalid Amin went on to add that the Britishers had created the problem under the Radcliffe award, "when injustice was done to the Muslim majority district of Gurdaspur, when it was given to India, and thus India had the route to enter J&K through Gurdaspur. Fighting for one`s rights is not and cannot be labelled terrorism. India has once again arranged a drama of so-called elections."

On May 22, the Nation had an op-ed article by Ahmed Quraishi. Quraishi wrote, "Whenever India goes to elections, a minority of Pakistanis that suffer an acute sense of low self-esteem, sets on its favourite pastime of comparing Pakistan to India with the predetermined conclusion that they`re so good and we`re so bad. There is no comparison between Pakistan and India. In Pakistan, the social order remains structured on tribal and clannish connections with competing interests, a restive population and a geography where some countries have demonstrated interest in destablising Pakistan from within. Thrusting a free-for-all democracy on this mixture was a sure recipe for anarchy."

The long history of inimical relations between India and Pakistan has its affect on the media of the two countries. But in the recent past, there has been a strong move towards viewing developments in the neighbouring country with a more rational perspective. The warmth of the people to people contacts has been increasingly reflected in the news pages of the newspapers of the two countries.

The Hindu`s staff reporter wrote of a Pakistani delegation that participated in the 146^th Founders Day celebrations of Lawrence School at Lovedale near Udhagamandalam. The school decided to dispense with the convention of inviting an Indian VVIP and invited a delegation from Lawrence College, Ghora Gali, Murree Hills, Pakistan. "Both schools are among the oldest in the subcontinent and came into being as asylums for orphans of British soldiers thanks to the vision of Sir Henry Lawrence, soldier and civil administrator, after whom the schools are named. Lawrence College principal, Air Commodore (retd) Farooq H Kiyani hoped that it would become an annual event and would be a trend-setter in improving relations. The students described their visit as a once in a lifetime experience, according to the reporter.

The Dawn newspaper of May 18 carried a news item by its reporter of the same function with the headline: Young Gallilans Visit India. A 13-member delegation from Lawrence College, Ghora Galli attended the Founder`s Day celebrations of its sister institution, Lawrence School, Lovedale, India. The boys participated in the variety show. The national anthem of Pakistan resounded in the hall of the school as the young Gallians took part in the march past, the report said.

From Bangalore, K Satyamurty reported in the Hindu that "the outstanding Pakistani ghazal singer, Ghulam Ali, had a frugal but happy meal with scores of underprivileged children at the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) temple. The Akshaya Patra scheme provides nutritious midday meals to 53,000 children. Finishing the meal with sweets and icecream, the amiable ustad said it was among the happiest occasions in his life." On May 11, Times of India`s Purnima Sharma interviewed the Kathak dancer, Uma Sharma on her recent visit to Pak. The dancer said, "initially I was worried that classical dance might not be acceptable there but I needn’t have worried. Interest in this dance form is growing. Kathak was brought to Pakistan by a shagird of my guru, Shambhu Maharaj. The highpoint of my visit was when I was asked to perform themes from the Ramayana and Mahabharata. The organiser, Hayat Ahmed Khan told me that Pakistanis feel that Ramayana originated in Pakistan, and Lahore and Kasoor have been named after Luv and Kush."

The Jang newspaper had a story by Wiqar Bangash in its editon on May 15. It said that Rotary International India had completed 100 free heart operations under its `Life Gift` project. At a ceremony held in Chandigarh, ex-president Rotary International. RK Sabu said that 100 men, women and children who had been operated, which included four Pakistanis, six Ugandans, and one each from Nepal and India. The 100^th patient was 12-year old Pakistani boy, Matiullah of Darsamand Tal district of NWFP, the report said.

The Hindu carried a PTI report that the Lahore Museum was all set to institute a Sikh gallery to attract Indian tourists. "The Museum has galleries dedicated to Hinduism, Jainism and Islam, but it had no Sikh gallery. The Sikh gallery would be used to display around 40,000 antiquities previously neglected because of lack of storage space," said Gulzar Mashadi, the new director. It would also house an old copy of the holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib.

The Nation (May 13) had a story saying that the Punjab National Bank of India had obtained permission to operate in Aghanistan. The Hindu`s staff correspondent reported that the Indian Tea Association expects to enhance tea exports to Pakistan to 25 million kg in three years.

Byas Anand of the Times of India reported on May 27 that India`s plan to open up the Saarc skies for its domestic carriers had run into a bit of turbulence. The Pakistani government has shot down the Indian civil aviation ministry`s proposal to allow private domestic carriers like Jet airways and Air Sahara from mounting flights between the two neighbouring countries. It is being seen as a bid to protect the interests of the Pakistani national carrier, PIA," he wrote.

Dawn newspaper (May 3) carried a article by Rashid Soorty that delaying MFN status to India was harming Pakistan. Further delay can also force Pakistani businessmen to lose the full extent of the Indian market of over one billion people at its doorstep. "If we can compete with the European and other countries, which technologically are far advanced than India, why not India. Pakistan has a strategic location, almost half way between Durban and Australia, and has access to the landlocked countries of Central Asia and Afghanistan. Pakistan continues to lose a substantial share in the inter-regional and intra-regional trade while delaying a decision."

The post-election stock market crash evoked a good deal of attention in Pakistan and was reported with out any negative interpretations. The Jang carried a `TV report" on May 18 on the subject. "Due to the unexpected election results and unstable political situation in India, the stock market crashed drastically and investors suffered a loss of close to 50 arab dollars. For the first time in the history of the 129 years of the Mumbai stock exchange the value of shares dropped by 11 per cent and a drop of 800 points in the market index. Investors protested outside the stock exchange and raised slogans of "Sonia down, down". The Communist parties accused the BJP and RSS of trying to make the stock market crash and destablise India," the report said. The Nation said that Indian stocks suffered their biggest-ever one-day fall over investors` fears about the Gandhi government`s economic reforms.

Looking at one month`s newspapers shows that the tinges of antagonism and rancour that can be seen in the print media are not as evident in the news reportage as they are in the articles and commentaries. The Kashmir-related coverage is mainly through different news agencies. The main part of the reportage by the newspaper`s own staffers has been generally devoid of overtly negative tendencies. This is evident in the greater number of soft stories as well as business stories that appear in the news pages of Indian and Pakistani newspapers.