Dodging Pakistani Sleuths to Cover a War and a Coup

#88 Posted by dullabhatti on August 26, 2007 5:43:10 pm


We all know smaller Urdu papers in Pakistan are a lot more critical of GOP than major english papers


It's also important to point out that the urdu press is critical of the government of not being jihadi enough for their taste...

dulla, HP has been repeatedly making that point, that looking at the English language papers and media is misleading.

Still, my guess is that in India, mainstream regional language newspapers and media are a little more 'populist,' a little more sectarian and communal, but in general their character is not fundamentally different from English language papers.

That is certain true of Hindi language newspapers published in the north. What would you say of mainstream (and main) newspapers in Punjabi?

So I would hypothesize, the differences that one sees between India's and Pakistan's english language papers would also be reflected, to a great extent, between the two country's main non-English language newspapers.

a subtle point.
only handful of Pakistani papers are online (hence accessible to chowk audience) so is Indian papers (probably even fewer online in percentae terms).
We all know smaller Urdu papers in Pakistan are a lot more critical of GOP than major english papers..same is true about Indian papers...there are thousands of smaller vernacular Indian papers along party lines, idealogical line,s languistic lines who are very critical of GOI...although they don't make to the internet or Chowk they do reach masses in all corners of India.

Re: # 86

Kaal:

You indeed make good point. Right wing is as opportunistic in India, as the leftists are ideological. In today's world opportunism is not evil, ideological is regressive. Whatever the ideology be. China's move to opportunism from ideolgy is a great example. As long as Indian identity and Indian dream are strong, the institutions are there for younger generation to move on.

Indian economic pie must grow and only then it can become more inclusive. This is where the issue is how to bring in a sizeable population. This problem has been there from Nehru's time. Only recenlty the pointers have started coming in from the economic side that improve education and participate. The combination of education with economic progress is a very powerful driver. It is creating the middle class at an unprecedented rate.

The challenge is whether to distort and jump start inclusion, while distortions of quota system, in single generation all Indians can participate. Because opportunism is a great motivator, while quota systems stem from flawed ideology.

For this to happen, strong community based and faith based initiatives by strong leaders are needed. If you dissect it on religion or community lines, as Dost sahib does, then even various castes among hindus have to do it as well. This is a very dangerous way to dissect, and must be strongly opposed. I would not even suggest such dissection of a dead horse. I have talked to many muslim-Indians who are very strongly opposed to be even identified as muslim tyring to help muslims. This commitment is stronger than say brahmin helping a brahmin.

I respect such commitment, but need of the hour is not religious, political, but it is greater education and greater participation in economic pie. How else would such an inclusive system evolve? There is no incentive for others than the community itself. Selfish vies, yes; but certainly true.

anil ji, I guess so long as Hindutva or whatever remains just anti-Islam, anti-Muslim agenda, it is bound to fail. At best it may be a one-time wonder, as it was in UP.

Call it by any name, if there is a "right-wing" which explicitly theorizes and builds principles around faith in India, Indianness, and of commitment to some basic pan Indian (and possibly universal) principles, it would have to have to clear (and IMO very enlightened but also smart and sustainable) pointers to rajniti.

As Indian changes, such a national alternative may, can come into existence, if some people made an effort. And it need not be communal at all, but it MUST be so honest that people can participate and know precisely what they are getting.

Re: # 83

Dost sahib:

I may be accussed of not dissecting the Indian scene along the lines of minorities and majorities, else Sikh, Parsees and many Christians and many Muslims would agree with your use of minorities to exclude them from "good".

However, I do accept there is a massive skewness in distribution and participation by Muslim Indians. This can only be corrected through community based and faith based initiatives from within. Many will malign such initiatives as communal, but today's Indian leaders must be able to fight such accusations aside, elese they fail to be leaders.

BJP strategists only sees like Karl Rove how can they remain in power forever, even though they have lost their barn in U.P. elections. These strategists are indeed as smart as Karl Rove as well. They have failed to evolve a single and simple platform after Hindutva's failure. I sometime wonder, that the days of national party are over in India. It is coalition of regional parties that will rule the center.

DM, I don't know enough about BJP as a party, but from what I have seen of it, it does seem to quite lack the moral compass of the sort that communists have (I personally consider that as a very immoral compass, but it is nevertheless, normative, and guides communist actions).

What happened, I think, is that BJP became a random grouping of people who had some pro-business and some anti-Muslim agenda. That's not enough to create principled rajniti.

bulleya#68, arjun#71:

This is the interesting thing about Islam and Muslims. In Islam, according to my understanding, Allah is much bigger than the Prophet and Kufr is much more unforgivable than criticism of the Prophet. However, all Muslims (with very very few exceptions) will quietly accept or even indulge in Kufr while blasphemy is a strict no, no. It's in the DNA.

anil, kaal & others:

The BJP's stand on the nuclear deal is not atypical of its attitude. It has consistently criticised policies that it supported while in the govt. It is totally unprincipled. It would have given an arm and a leg to get the same deal from the US and would have probably settled for much less. The communist stand, though is quite principled and driven by their ideology, whether one likes that ideology or not. The Congress in opposition behaved much more responsibly.

The idea of India being "good" is bought only by Hindians, it is not shared by all minorities.

#81 Arjun2

[Before his release a soldier warned him, “Never defy the state and the secret services”.] etc.

Perhaps the Pakistanis could put at least one of their nukes to some use that is actually good for that country - by dropping it on the ISI headquarters!

WTF is it with chowk and links?

Here's the RSF country report for jihadis'r'us

Pakistan


Area: 796,100 sq. km.
Population: 156,600,000.
Languages: Urdu, English.
Head of state: General Pervez Musharraf.

Pakistan - Annual report 2007

An explosion in the number of independent TV channels boosted pluralism and the quality of news. But the security forces radicalised their methods of repression: a score of journalists were kidnapped and tortured by the military. The situation is worst of all in the tribal areas.

The murder of reporter Hayatullah Khan in the tribal areas in June 2006 provoked an unprecedented wave of protests across the country. The correspondent for Pakistani and foreign media in the very troubled Waziristan area had been kidnapped several months previously by armed men, apparently belonging to military secret services. The case underlined the brutality of security forces towards journalists who take too close an interest in what goes on in the tribal areas and in Baluchistan. Under pressure, the government set up two investigative commissions but has never made their conclusions public.

In 2006, at least ten other journalists were kidnapped by security forces, sometimes held for a few hours only, but often in very harsh conditions. Mukesh Rupeta and Sanjay Kumar of Geo TV were held by military secret services from March to June after being arrested for filming an air base used by the US Army. After their release, Mukesh Rupeta said, “Those who detained us seemed to be secret agents. When they were beating me, I wondered if I was a Pakistani in their eyes”. Likewise, Mehruddin Marri, of the Sindhi language daily Kawish, said that after being held for three months by the military, “I received blows and electric shocks. I fainted. Then, they stopped me from sleeping for three nights”. Before his release a soldier warned him, “Never defy the state and the secret services”.

Soldiers were also implicated in the arrest in April of Munir Mengal, one of the promoters of a Baluchi language TV Baloch Voice, in Karachi, southern Pakistan. His family had to wait until December before they were allowed to see him in a military detention centre. Dilawar Khan, a journalist for the BBC and the daily Dawn was kidnapped and threatened for several hours in November. His brother had been killed in unexplained circumstances in Waziristan in August.

Another journalist, Munir Sangi of the privately-owned Kawish Television Network (KTN) was killed in Larkana, south-east Pakistan in May 2006. The suspects, who were arrested by police, were believed to be acting on the orders of a local politician.

The very few journalists based in the tribal areas in Baluchistan are caught in the crossfire between security forces, jihadist militants and tribal chiefs. Some imams and Taliban chiefs used their clandestine FM radios to relay propaganda and to call for reprisals against journalists. The majority of these illegal stations have been closed by the federal government. In November, the Taliban kidnapped the son of a journalist in North Waziristan and stopped distribution of newspapers for two days after the press published an inaccurate article. “The Taliban accuse us of being spies and the authorities and the army do not allow us to work freely” said one of the leaders of the Tribal Union of Journalists.

The Pakistani and international press have been regularly kept away from the border area with Afghanistan. In January, two reporters from Peshawar were arrested while travelling in the Bajaur region where a village had just been bombarded by the US Army. It was also near Bajaur that five journalists were arrested and beaten in November while covering demonstrations linked to the bombing of a madrasa by the army.

Harassment and threats remain the preferred methods of the security services. Reporters Without Borders recorded more than 40 such cases in 2006. For example, Mushtaq Ghuman of the Business Recorder, received phoned threats while he was working on an article embarrassing for the prime minister. At the end of December, journalist Carlotta Gall of the New York Times and her Pakistani fixer Akhtar Soomro were assaulted and threatened by the secret services while they were reporting in Quetta, western Pakistan. These methods prompted leading investigative journalist Amir Mir to refuse to accept a professional prize which was due to have been personally presented to him by President Pervez Musharraf. The head of state’s services have just drawn up a list of 30 editorialists and journalists “to turn” in a bid to ease criticism in the press.

Broadcast media under strict surveillance

Privately-owned television has considerably contributed to an improvement in quality and pluralism of news and information. But they have also faced obstacles. In September, police forced cable operators in Punjab province, eastern Pakistan, to stop putting out programmes by ARY TV which had just broadcast footage of police officers attacking three journalists. In November, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) banned cable and satellite operators from putting out privately-owned Sindh TV. After a series of negotiations, PEMRA authorised resumption of programmes two weeks later. PEMRA also banned in March the broadcasting in Baluchistan of Afghan channels Tolo TV and Ariana TV, accused of spreading “poisonous and aggressive language towards Pakistan”.

Radio stations also found their operations were hampered. In August, PEMRA refused to renew the licence of Mast FM 103, set up in Balakot to assist people in the regions affected by the 2005 earthquake. In November, the same radio lost a case against PEMRA, in which it was asking for the right to relay Urdu programmes from the BBC World Service.

Pakistan had its first cases of Internet censorship in February 2006. The Pakistan Communications Authority (PTA) blocked 12 websites which reproduced the cartoons of the prophet Mohammed, published in the Danish daily Jyllands-Posten. Two months later the PTA censored five websites on the grounds that they contained “misleading information”. In July, Pakistan’s Internet blacklist was again extended to take in 30 new addresses, most of them linked to the Baluchistan nationalist movement, whose supporters have been fighting the army for several years to obtain their independence. In order to stop access to blogs linked to the Baluchis or Hindu extremists, the PTA for several weeks blocked all publications hosted by blogger.com.

anil ji, it's gratitude (after all the usual grumbling and whining that comes naturally to youngsters is done). As you know, we dare not and don't 'reward' our "maanya".

It's a UP concept, may not be familiar to everyone. In UP, if any of our maanya even suspected our being rude enough to 'reward' them, they would never set foot our homes again. :)

#77 Posted by anil on August 26, 2007 1:23:27 pm


Your comments about Farzana are not quite true. A few years ago I had opportunity to meet and discuss with her. She is probably more proud Indian than you are.


That's your opinion..I'm not buying it..everything I've read, from her article and her interacts, lead me to believe she's as pro-islamist and pro-paki as they come...

The reality of which country has the real free media is clear to all but the reality-challenged pakis..The report from the reporters without borders website is clear..

The report on Pakiland talks about the military government apparatus attacking reporters...For India, it's the maoists who're attacking journalists..



http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=20794

http:// www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=20785

Re: # 74

Arjun:

Your comments about Farzana are not quite true. A few years ago I had opportunity to meet and discuss with her. She is probably more proud Indian than you are. Her views must be included in today's India.

She does give a voice to a section which earlier was deserted by their leaders, then lead by shell-shocked Indians. Only now in your generation that section is beginning to find a voice. This section has paid one of the highest continued price for the partition.

Re: # 72

Kaal:

It is true that after 60 years, "this India" certainly has eveloved to believe in the goodness of India. To me this is the reward that younger generation is giving to the older India.

Indeed, vigorous filters that I mention are not perfect and can be circumvented in very Indian ishtyle. I have talked to real passionate news reporters, and if a person can figure out what drives these passionate reporters - I do not mean in the corrupt sense - the person can get away with the story he or she wants to be covered the way he or she wants. Then, isn't that what is marketing?

I defend their passion for whatever they define as perfection in their profession. It shows up too through Tehalka.Com

Re: # 72

Kaal:

It is true that after 60 years, "this India" certainly has eveloved to believe in the goodness of India. To me this is the reward that younger generation is giving to the older India.

Indeed, vigorous filters that I mention are not perfect and can be circumvented in very Indian ishtyle. I have talked to real passionate news reporters, and if a person can figure out what drives these passionate reporters - I do not mean in the corrupt sense - the person can get away with the story he or she wants to be covered the way he or she wants. Then, isn't that what is marketing?

I defend their passion for whatever they define as perfection in their profession. It shows up too through Tehalka.Com