The Statesman editor's arrest & media over-reaction

It was interesting to see the outrage over the arrest of The Statesman's editor after re-printing an article.

The writers conveniently ignored that if there is a police complaint made against you, the police have to arrest you. The names of editors and news editors are published in the paper's print line for them to take responsibility for both the good and bad.

The editors who are blaming pseudo-seculars easily forgot that whenever an ordinary Indian is called to the police station or is arrested, he doesn't get this VIP status of police completing the 'formality of arrest' and releasing the person within minutes.

Read the editors' (Vir Sanghvi, R Jagannathan and Rajinder Puri) angry pieces here, here and here. They should remember that whether right or wrong, everybody in India has the right to protest and lodge a complaint. Howsoever absured may be the reason for demonstration, we can't negate them this right.

Editors shouldn't feel that laws would be made more flexible for them.

Indian TV channels' obsession with Taliban

First, it was the India TV that got bitten by this bug. Now almost every channel has become obsessed with the Taliban.

You see a story about Taliban every time your switch on the TV. One day we are threatened that the Taliban are just a few 'hundred' kilometres from Indian border and the next day we are told that the Taliban are ready to sneak in into our territory.

Then there are reports about Taliban sending heroin and drugs to India and all sorts of story angles possible under the sun--either its about their ruthlessness or their growing power. Aaj Tak, IBN Khabar, Star News and News 24 love it.

Even English channels are now trying the Taliban trick for TRPs. Though the reports are often compiled amateurishly without any research work and mostly aimed at riveting viewers by causing a scare.

These 'special stories' about Taliban are telecast almost every day. It is not certain how much TRPs the channels get by airing such reports. Of course, its easy to create them because there is adequate masala that just needs to be put together and spice added to create a new hysteric report.

But isn't it going overboard? Taliban would surely like such international publicity.

Indian Media's softness on LTTE's terrorism

The Al-Qaeda like attack by the LTTE in Colombo didn't generate any outrage in Indian media.

In most newspapers, the air-craft attack in Sri Lankan capital were termed as 'daredevil attacks' by 'rebels' or 'Tamil Tigers'. There was no mention to the word Terrorism.

This is the same Indian media that brands any body who is a mere 'suspect' because of a police version, as terrorist. From SIMI to Abhinav Bharat (Malegaon blast accused case) and Sri Ram Sena, the word 'militant' and 'terrorist' is used quite easily.

Even words like 'Hindu terrorism' and 'Muslim terrorism' are used commonly. But the organisation that is responsible for the first suicide bombing on Indian soil--LTTE is let off easily. Most papers called the attackers as either LTTE guerillas, separatists, Kamikaze or rebels.

None termed them as Tamil Terrorists or LTTE Terrorist or just Terrorists. Its important for Indian media to deliberate discuss and arrive on a definition of terrorism.

Else, it must be answered why the group led by V Prabhakaran that is responsible for killing of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi is never termed as a terrorist organisation?