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Journalism of Courage
An editorial in The Hindustan Express on February 1 expresses anxiety at the reports of riots first in Bangalore and Jabalpur and then in Gorakhpur. The paper is concerned at what it calls the “penetration of communal trouble in rural areas.” It says in the context of Gorakhpur that “Mahant Adityanath’s Hindu Vahini has been active for a long time” in and around Gorakhpur, “terrorising minorities, but has gone unchecked.” On January 31, Rashtriya Sahara writes about an intimate connection “between riots and elections”. The paper’s editorial says that “communal parties and groups for their own gains are still trying to garner support for themselves.” The paper praises “the alert state administration and government for taking timely steps to arrest the miscreants”. Jamaat-e-Islami’s mouthpiece, the bi-weekly Daawat, has said that “there is an attempt to buy opposition groups by the ruling Samajwadi Party.” In an editorial on February 1, the paper takes a hard look at what it terms Chief Minister’s Mulayam Singh Yadav’s ascent to power using “several dubious means.”
Shia-Sunni dialogue
On January 20, a large three-day conference took place to look at possibilities to bring together all prominent Islamic sects, especially Shias and Sunnis, in the context of Iran and Iraq. Most papers have reported extensively on this.
Hyderabad-based Siasat on January 23 says that Maulana Saif Rehmani’s appeal to Shia and Sunni scholars to hold a dialogue found wide support in the conference. Daawat on February 1 writes on Page 1 that it has been decided in Doha that a team representing various sects of Islam from all over the world will visit Iran to hold a dialogue with political, religious and intellectual leaders in a bid to stem the conflict.The Hindustan Express on January 30 says that Shah Abdullah, the King of Saudi Arabia, through an open letter to both Hamas and Al Fatah representatives (both Sunnis) has invited them to Saudi Arabia, to help resolve their differences. But, the paper suggests, quoting another interview given by the king, the real purpose of this meeting is to stall “efforts to spread Shia-ism in Sunni countries.” The king has said in that interview that “efforts to spread Shia-ism in Sunni countries will not succeed as the majority of the world’s Muslims are Sunnis.”
Shilpa wins race
On January 21, Rashtriya Sahara writes that the racist West sees every dark person “either as uncivilised, illiterate, a magician or a snake-charmer.” Out of contempt, “they are referred to as Pakis”. But when “they see the wheatish-complexioned and the black score over them, they take recourse to racism…”
Siasat in an editorial on January 21 entitled, ‘Racism and the West’ writes that “despite the huge noise around Shilpa Shetty — it is important to see that the entire West is not racist. Also, one needs to look at how much the incident was criticised in the West too.”
P.S.: On January 31, Rashtriya Sahara offers this advice to visitors of patients in hospitals: Carry vegetables for the patients and not fruit, as vegetables are unaffordable but more necessary for patients. In a table, the paper points out that tomatoes are selling for the same price as grapes — Rs 26 to 30 per kg.
Right next to this advice appears a piece of news the paper describes as “sensational”: Pop idol Michael Jackson is likely to embrace Islam. The report quotes the idol’s brother, Jermaine Jackson, himself a recent convert to Islam and who incidentally finished as runner-up to Shilpa Shetty on the TV reality show, Big Brother.
Compiled by Seema Chishti
