TV channels confused about Bengal Ram Navami tensions — from ‘all out war’ to ‘peace’

If it wasn’t Stalin calling for a 'voice of unity’' and criticising the scrapping of reservation for Muslims, it was Shiv Sena’s Udhhav Thackeray questioning the PM.

Devotees participate in a procession to celebrate ‘Ram Navami Festival’ in Kolkata on Wednesday. (Source: PTI)

SHAILAJA BAJPAI, The Print, 6 April, 2023  : When you see a TV headline that reads ‘Hindus call Act unconstitutional’, ‘Worship Act challenged’, ‘Muslims call it central to peace’ on Times Now, when you hear news anchors speak of ‘Hindus of Bengal’ versus ‘a certain community’, it means one thing: Elections are in the air.

Next month, it’s going to be Karnataka. Come winter, assembly elections are due in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh. This time next year, we will be in the middle of the 2024 Lok Sabha campaign.

You may have noticed that communal tensions increase each time polls are around the corner – and exact a heavy toll on the public as well as the viewer. Television news is notorious for talking of Hindu-Muslim divides, often exaggerating them. As we watch, war is declared, and while it’s unclear who started it, everyone is on the attack.

From Maharashtra, Bihar, Bengal, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka to Delhi, politicians and ‘Hindus-Muslims’ are pelting either words or stones at each other before our very eyes. Even if you wish to, you can’t duck the exchange of fire that’s ‘breaking’ on news channels.

Showtime for opposition leaders

What has been unusual is the number of opposition chief ministers and leaders from different states who’ve spoken up, publicly, against the Centre and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the last week on communal or divisive issues– and that news channels gave them a good hearing.

If it wasn’t Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin calling for a ‘voice of unity’ and criticising the scrapping of reservation for Muslims in Karnataka, it was Shiv Sena’s Udhhav Thackeray questioning Prime Minister Narendra Modi on VD Savarkar’s ‘Akhand Bharat’ — and his educational qualifications.

Then it was West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s turn: She ‘tears into BJP’ (NDTV 24×7) for the communal riots in the state before and after the recent Ram Navami and Shoba processions. English news channels telecast her speech ‘live’ with simultaneous translations so that nobody could have any doubt about her meaning. Rat-a-tat-tat she went at Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Wednesday morning saw Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar play the smiling assassin. Since Monday, he has been in news for Ram Navami clashes in the state, specifically Sasaram and Bihar Sharif. On Tuesday, he was pilloried for attending an iftaar party. Zee News showed him digging into a sumptuous feast ‘while there’s been violence just 70 km away’, said the outraged anchor.

During Kumar’s Wednesday interaction with the media, shown in its entirety by Times Now Navbharat, he answered questions on the violence and Shah’s attack on his government. Smiling imperturbably, Kumar spoke darkly of the ‘two’ individuals who ‘did’ everything and conspiratorially told journalists they knew what he was talking about. He said such incidents hadn’t occurred before — ‘What do we do about such people?’ he asked helplessly.

Stalin, Banerjee, Kumar, and Thackeray joined two other habitual BJP baiters and television favourites — Rahul Gandhi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. The latter was in Assam, firing at the state’s BJP Chief Minister Himanta Biswa, while, Rahul Gandhi’s appeal against his conviction for defamation saw news channels all but sit in his lap to Surat and back to Delhi.

What makes this week so interesting is that though news channels have, in the past, reported what the opposition said, now, there’s an effort to give them more live news and rolling coverage. A cynical view of this would be that news channels receive advertising from all state governments – you’ve seen promos for Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Delhi – and are, therefore, careful to give them space. The charitable view is that they’re simply doing their job.

A different story to Hooghly

It’s far more instructive and informative to watch daytime news than evening prime-time shows. The latter have opinionated anchors (rather like CNN International) who share their views rather too freely or else, foment on-the-air clashes between political opponents.

The reporting from Bengal and Bihar on the Ram Navami disturbances has been far more sober and often contradicted the dramatic headlines and visuals. Mobile video shots replayed on news channels were selected to highlight scenes of arson and stone-pelting. While it was necessary to show such videos, random mobile phone clips seldom reveal the entire picture – and certainly don’t fix the blame for the flare ups on any one community.

Anchors on Hindi and English channels repeatedly spoke of attacks on the Ram Navami processions, suggesting that the instigators of violence weren’t part of it. Headlines said ‘Zabardast hamla’ (Zee News), ‘Bengal simmers’ (Times Now), ‘Who set Bengal on fire?’ (India TV), ‘All out war in Bengal’ (Republic TV), and harped on how BJP protests and convoys were being ‘blocked’ by the state police (India Today). None of daytime anchors asked if such protests might lead to fresh clashes between the communities.

However, reporters told a somewhat different story: An India TV reporter on the ground told us that ‘peace’ had returned to Hooghly, the scene of the Ram Navami disturbances. He spoke to people in the area, both Hindus and Muslims, who said there was ‘shanti’ — ‘what happened, happened’. Some men refused to identify themselves. The reporter also found out that the police were out in full force in Hooghly and were maintaining the peace. Meanwhile, the Times Now reporter saw normal traffic movement, though shops were closed. Zee News also reported there was calm in the Hooghly area on Monday.

In Bihar’s Sasaram, the Times Now Navbharat reporter found the public was going about its business. He said this was the first time such violence had occurred there during festivals. Aaj Tak in Sasaram said it was peaceful but the streets wore a deserted look. The reporter added that there was some stone-pelting, which could have been prevented by the police.

This mismatch from what reporters report and what the channels say is likely to increase as we near elections.

(Edited by Humra Laeeq)