Ghost riding horse on Ajtak

Watching Aajtak (or Aaj Tak) was an altogether difference experience on Saturday night as viewers were treated to the sight of a ghost that came riding a horse in the night amid a graveyard in Benares.

The so-called News Channel showed the legend about a graveyard where the scion of Tipu Sultan are buried. The channel not only aired all the superstitions prevalent among locals but also recreated the entire scenes as told by the local residents.

So with all the special effects of horror movies and taking cue from Ramsay Brothers the Ajtak showed its viewers the Tipu Sultan, wearing a white robe, his face barely visible, sword in the hand and riding down the graveyeard...the programme 'Khauf' (Urdu word meaning fear)...was aired today. Star and Channel 7 have similar programmes but it seems all of them are out to prove that they will establish the presence of supernatural and ghost to Indian viewers.

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Indian Media's shocking apathy: 35 trapped in Purulia mine & 'Prince' in Kurukshetra

The shameless bias of Indian media was exposed once again when national news channels and most of the papers neglected the tragedy at Purulia where 35 workers are FEARED DEAD and were trapped for almost a week in a mine filled with water.

Now compare with the child, Prince, in Haryana who fell in a ditch and we had live non-stop 48 hrs of coverage. No denying that the life of Prince was no less precious but what about these 35 men.

Are they labourers and middle-class/upper-middle class India would not be interested in their safey as much as it is interested in a child's story that could boost TRPs? Or the fact tht Kolkata or West Bengal don't fetch the TRPs.

May be if Purulia was located in the Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Meerut/Ghaziabad...belt, it would have been a real story for TV wallas. After all, their Delhi-centric vision doesn't recognise anything that falls outside the small circle of say 50-75 km radius around Delhi. The newspapers were no better and proved that they are as insensitive as the much-maligned news channels.

Damn rural India! Isn't it the attitude right from Ajtak, Star TV, India TV to everybody including newspapers. Show celebrities, metro life, people shouldn't know the harsh truth else they might get restless and then who will watch their TV shows. Poor miners (termed Illegal by many) won't get even thousands. If channels wished they can make things move, CMs go and give lakhs to a child who survives.

Journalism was probably never a mission still journalists were concerned individuals. However, now it seems only the goodie-goodie would be shown so that the people remain glued to TVs and don't get repelled by such sights that can spoil the taste of their tea or dinner.

A Times Now link for the story
www.timesnow.tv/articleshow/1873718.cms

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Ajtak: Such misinformation and blunders!

Do you expect 'national' news channels especially the one like Aajtak that claim to be the Numero Uno in this country to be so careless about facts and make a mockery of all basics of journalism.

The leader of the most wanted dacoit gang in India Dayaram was injured in an encounter with police in Chambal region of Madhya Pradesh and I happened to see the special programme 'Aaj Tak Vishesh' that was focused on this gang.

In the 'exclusive' report it was again and again mentioned that Dayaram Gadaria had killed SAIKDON (HUNDREDS) of innocents in his years in Chambal. The fact is that the entire Gadaria gang has no less than 30 murders in its CV to boast of.

Of which, a majority including the 13 victims of Bhanwarpura massacre was at the behest of the second leader Rambabu. Even if the figure of 30 is attributed to Dayaram, the use of word 'HUNDREDS' suggests at least 200 or 300. So TEN TIMES the figure was blown up! How can they dare to air such wild figures? Frankly it is because they don't give a damn to accountability or facts.

It is no newspaper and so you are not bound to publish rejoinders (in newspaper offices, readers and officials of department concerned come with the cutting and demand explanation). Also, the channels don't have the beat system in the exact sense and thus guy in Gwalior may be just a low-paid stringer who has to look after politics, art, culture, crime, society and what not. Naturally he is too busy to specialise on any thing and picks up hearsay. Where in the world will we get such imbalanced coverage and so many bloomers except India!

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