The Media And Devyani - Insensitivity In Covering A Tragedy

The Media And Devyani - Insensitivity In Covering A Tragedy

By Ammu Joseph

Media coverage of the massacre of the royal family of Nepal continues to confuse and confound. A major reason for the constantly changing and contradictory reports may be the lack of transparency with which the concerned authorities have handled the crisis. However, one aspect of the constantly changing and largely speculative coverage cannot be blamed on the Nepali authorities alone: the way in which the young woman the crown prince reportedly wished to marry has been presented by sections of the media.

Of the five English language dailies published from Bangalore, The Times of India and The Asian Age, in particular, presented her as the femme fatale who had triggered the tragedy even though they provided no evidence to suggest that she had had any role in it or even prior knowledge about what was to take place.

On the day the story broke in the Indian press, The Sunday Times of India published a special, bylined story headlined "Devyani: the girl behind it all" on page 10 which was also prominently showcased in a box on the front page. The story began with a ridiculous rhetorical question: "Could the woman Crown Prince Dipendra shot his parents for be Madhavrao Scindia’s niece?" (as the daughter of his sister what else could she be?!). It also contained a rather irrelevant comment by a former Indian ambassador to Nepal, who recalled the young woman as very "cultured" -- whatever that had to do with anything.

Significantly, the paper’s lead story on the tragedy, headlined "Love triggers bloodbath in royal family," mentioned that the young woman had initially been reluctant to entertain thoughts of marriage into the royal family because she did not fancy herself as a queen but eventually fell in love with and agreed to marry the persistent prince.

The Asian Age, in a story subtitled "Prince’s flame was Scindia kin" (under the dramatic red banner headline LOVE KILLS) also reported that "The girl over whom Prince Dipendra had the fatal argument is believed to be Deviyani Rana, the daughter of…"

On the other hand, The Hindu, The New Sunday Express (of the Indian Express southern editions) and Deccan Herald opted not to identify the young woman by name, mentioning only that she was "the daughter of a former minister and member of the aristocratic Rana family that ruled Nepal till 1951."

By Monday The Times of India had a 1993 file colour photograph of the young woman with her grandmother on its front page. The caption described her as the woman "who is at the centre of the royal murders in Nepal," even while it acknowledged that this was only "one version" of the speculation about the killings.

While the Deccan Herald continued to ignore this aspect of the event, The Hindu and The New Indian Express had special stories on pages 14 and 11 respectively that did reveal her name but also emphasised the deliberately low profile maintained by the young woman through her student days, despite her family connections both in India and Nepal.

By Tuesday most publications had procured photographs of the young woman. The Asian Age frontpaged its colour picture, with a caption that labelled her "Heartbreaker." The others published the same black and white file photo (taken in Gwalior) on inside pages and described her merely as the person "believed to be the fiancee of the late Crown Prince…" (DH, NIE) and "whom Prince Dipendra wished to marry" (Hindu).