War clouds the television screen

Three years ago, there was an azure blue sky over Kargil and a postcard perfect moonlit Tiger Hill during the conflict. If only climactic conditions reflected ground realities. Last week, the build-up in the subcontinent was ominous and threatening with ‘‘lightning’’ strikes. However, by Friday, the gathering storm, rather like the Delhi weather, petered out in a few drops.

This left the average person hot and bothered with an oppressive sense of foreboding. Is there going to be a war? Certainly, the media message pointed to full-scale engagement. Was the debate and the rhetoric deliberately bellicose in an aggressive media campaign which sought to raise the temperature and increase pressure on all sides — or, are we really marching as to war?

Certainly, our lips are walking-talking. Vajpayee may have spoken for and against war during his J&K visit, but other politicians like Farooq Abdullah or BJP members such as V.K.Malhotra, utter war cries each time they face the TV camera.

Simultaneously, experts — at least those most often in the TV studios— spoke the language of war. Thus, if you went by what you largely heard, war, war had been declared.

There was visual support for the verbal jousting. Each day, saw footage of troop movements, border shelling and Indian warships sailing into possible battle. By Thursday, the black smoke of combat in Jammu where a village was reported gutted, filled the air. Across the border, PTV showed us distraught families from Indian attacks, BBC dwelt on broken bricks that side of the border, three kids dead this side of the LOC, the Indian flag burning that side… On Friday, Aaj Tak assessed the military strength of the two countries. Yes, a kind of war is already on in a theatre near you.

The third element in this media build-up was its international dimension. Whether it was British Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, or American Ambassador to Pakistan, they lectured us about the pitfalls of war (‘‘war is not in the interest of their people’’, the latter pronounced). It’s worth noting that news channels such as BBC World and CNN rightly or wrong, preface or conclude their remarks on the region, with a reminder of India and Pakistan’s nuclear status in a way that suggests the two are naughty schoolboys who don’t realise the guns they play with are not toys. The international sound bites advocated restraint but heard alongside the battle cries, they seemed to heighten rather than lower the feeling of something impending.

In the midst of these war games was the assassination of Abdul Ghani Lone. Coming as it did during the PM’s J&K visit and soon after the Kalachuk massacre, the killing overwhelmed TV and perhaps influenced the nature of its coverage.

Never was ‘‘Lone-sahib’’ more feted and celebrated on ir, than in death — the private news channels have always lent Kashmiri separatist leaders a sympathetic ear but even DD broadcast a special programme on Lone. Indian TV channels and PTV were falling over themselves to claim the man as a ero of his times. It was unclear who exactly was being heralded: Omar Farooq said his death ‘‘was a loss to the entire nation’’. But we were also told he wanted a separate Kashmir state. So which nation? Such reports often create more confusion than existed before.

The grief of Lone’s relatives was repeated at great length. Zee News surpassed the others: it telecast women wailing and one lady in white flinging herself onto Lone’s body, and beating her breast. Is nothing personal any more, or is the personal deliberately made public for the world to see? In the age of television, we just don’t know.

The media war has been joined in earnest. PTV uses Indian TV channel footage to lend it credibility.A Star News interview with Lone’s son implicating Abdullah in his father’s death was broadcast on PTV. DD broadcast live the PM’s stirring speech to the soldiers and his press conference. It also had special 11pm reports on his visit: we know late is better than never, but earlier would have been better!

Lastly, Cannes. Suddenly, this French festival is fashionable in India. Just because Devdas was being screened? Aishwarya Rai featured prominently in TV coverage. On Aaj Tak she giggled and laughed and punctuated every other sentence with ‘‘it’s so special’’ or for variation, ‘‘it’s very, special’’, ‘‘it’s very, very special…’’.