Ways of seeing

It seems a fair assessment to make, that till about a decade ago, those of us living in the urban west in India were reasonably...

It seems a fair assessment to make, that till about a decade ago, those of us living in the urban west in India were reasonably, if not excessively, confident of our place in the nation8217;s consciousness. The relative prosperity of our region, its much-vaunted progressiveness, its political significance and the presence of local leaders who had the ear and trust of leaders at the Centre all contributed to the absence of any acute concern on that score.

We did not suffer anxieties about distance or linguistic neglect or identify with the sort of separatist tendencies that have been so much a part of the history of the North-east and have surfaced at various times in places as far apart as Chennai and Chandigarh. Rumblings of discontent may have been heard from time to time from high taxpayers in Mumbai about the niggardly flow of funds and inattentiveness from the Centre but the complaints were never of any major consequence. The average lad in Gandhinagar, with his eye fixed on global prospects, was probably even less likely to be concerned about his place in the country8217;s imagination.

The first time perhaps that I had occasion to question these assumptions was at the time of the 2001 earthquake in Gujarat, a time that coincided, ironically, with the expansion of the media. Journalists from the national and international media, swarming in droves to cover the devastation, found themselves waxing eloquent about the 8216;Gujarati entrepreneurial spirit8217; that had emerged in quick response to the disaster. They talked with wonder about the efficiency with which local organisations and non-resident Gujaratis had set up relief operations, of people refusing handouts and of housewives who had set up kitchen camps offering food not just to victims but also to visiting journalists. A colleague who had traveled from Delhi to cover the story was particularly struck with the contrast this surge of self-reliance presented with her experience in Orissa which had been hit by a cyclone 14 months before.

There was no doubting the complimentary nature of the response, yet it left one with a disquieting sense that the national gaze was perhaps less accommodating of the western part of the country than one had imagined.

Today, of course, things seem remarkably different. In the run-up to the assembly elections, Gujarat was crawling with mediapersons. Crews from every television channel were trawling the state. Senior journalists, often more than one per publication, sociologists, psephologists and consular officers came calling. Statements of national leaders were splashed daily on the front pages and apart from the election coverage brief news clips attempted to convey something of the sociology and long-term politics of the state.

A senior Ahmedabad-based commentator on Gujarat recalls how miffed he had been in 1998 when Doordarshan, like other sections of the national media, allotted far greater space to northern Himachal Pradesh, a smaller state, than to Gujarat though both were going to the polls at the same time. Now, of course, ironically, it is Himachal Pradesh that has reason to feel neglected in comparison to the overkill on Gujarat. But does this mean that the imbalance has been corrected?

Unfortunately not. To put things in perspective it needs to be recalled that the excessive coverage of Gujarat began with the 2002 violence, a development the media failed to predict despite its intensive coverage of the rise of Hindutva elsewhere, particularly in the north. It seems safe also to assume that had the BJP lost the last assembly election, media interest would have abated. It is primarily the Modi phenomenon, the bizarre strength of his authoritarian and fascist tendencies that kept media interest in Gujarat so vibrant just like Bal Thackeray and the Shiv Sena became a focal point for Mumbai in the national and international media, following the Mumbai riots a decade earlier.

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All this is not to deny the significant role played by the national media in exposing the ugliness of the 2002 Gujarat riots or the continued injustice towards minorities in the state. But there are consequences arising from the media8217;s sporadic disaster and personality driven mindset that has serious consequences at the regional level that need to be addressed.

Take, for instance, the persistent belief among local Gujaratis that the 2002 riots were a 8216;creation of the national media8217;. Having been in Ahmedabad in the fortnight preceding the elections, and comparing the widespread level of disinterest among the locals with the screaming headlines in the media, one experienced a strange disconnect. One could drive in any direction in the city and see nothing but a frayed bunting or two and hoardings of media houses advertising the 8216;dance of democracy8217; and asking the question of uncaring passers by: 8216;Kaun Banega Mukhya Mantri?8217; Of course, elections were taking place but it seemed as if their excitement and significance were for show elsewhere.

It is a similar sense one has been experiencing in Mumbai over the last few years as the national media has been growing in size and scope. The tendency for instance, to treat every heavy monsoon shower as a moment of crisis, and so converting a hardship Mumbaikars are accustomed to dealing with in a routine manner into an extraordinary phenomenon requiring extraordinary precautions.

An outsider8217;s perspective can be a useful thing, showing up the flaws locals have become accustomed to taking for granted. But without empathy, it can also serve to alienate and create divisions where none existed.

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Mumbai-based Shah is the author of 8216;Hype, Hypocrisy and Television in Urban India8217; amritareachgmail.com