Opinion View from the Right

The piece adds: “Addressing the meet,the RSS chief,who was on his first visit to Kerala after becoming the sarsanghachalak,reminded the swayamsevaks and Sangh supporters that the problems of the country could be solved only through the selfless power of Hindutva. ‘Only Bharat,with its basic philosophy of Hindutva,can show the right path to the entire world,’ he said.”

The RSS organ further quotes Bhagwat as saying: “There is an accusation that Sanatan Dharma is Sanatan but not modern. But studies in several universities around the globe have revealed that the essence of Sanatan Dharma and Hindutva is post-modern. The major problems facing the world are extreme intolerance,selfishness and greed”. He is also quoted as saying: “Our borders are unsafe. China is intruding into India and firing,while the government of India is suppressing facts and playing hide and seek. Pakistan is pushing jihadis into India for blasts and jihadi strikes. Sikhs are beheaded. But the government of India has no stable or strong policy vis-a-vis China and Pakistan.”

News fit to sell

In its editorial titled “Make a distinction between news and propaganda,” the RSS mouthpiece says: “The media can both be the poodle and the watchdog. But of late,it is becoming more of the poodle than the watchdog. The government of India in a recent advisory to TV channels directed them to avoid giving undue coverage to terrorists and terror groups and cover such events with great responsibility and sensitivity. The advisory,in fact,was long overdue”.

It adds: “Every terror attack has,of late,unfortunately become a kind of veritable celebration and overkill for most channels. The media,especially the electronic,has been indiscriminately featuring terrorists,with their family history,interviews and the so-called Karachi plot to destroy India with unbelievable fanfare and a persistent obstinacy. Of equal concern is the obsessed regularity with which soft stories on the D-Company are telecast on certain channels. All that the terrorists want is publicity and speculation about their motives,missions and methods. That is the way these underground outlaws operate and try to advance their agenda,if they have one.”

The editorial goes on to say: “This brings us to the subject of the business of selling news space. After liberalisation,the corporate interest has come to dominate politics,policy format and media coverage. As a consequence,matters that once used to come to us as press notes,now get splashed on the front pages as exclusive. It is propaganda that often comes as breaking news. The adage that news is something somebody wants to hide,is no more a dictum for the post-globalisation media. In this context,the advice of the Editors Guild of India to the Election Commission of India to take strong action against both politicians and media persons who violate the disclosure norms of election expenditure and publicity,failed to generate the desired public interest. Such issues are often buried somewhere inside between advertisements in a single column and go unnoticed”.