Media houses behaving like cheerleaders of Modi on foreign trip, but "ignore" major humanitarian crisis in Myanmar

At a time when a large group of media house representatives is covering Prime Minister Narendra Modi's trip to China, Mongolia and South Korea, an incisive analysis wonders why is there indifference towards a major humanitarian crisis taking shape across the border in Myanmar, with whom India shares 1,624-km-long border. This is happening despite the fact that the Rohingiya crisis in Myanmar has lately come under direct scanner of the United Nations, the analysis complains.
Insisting that the "looming humanitarian crisis in Southeast Asia deserves our attention", the analysis in newslaundry.com by Arunabh Saikia, says that for the last several days the Indian media confined its foreign coverage to becoming "cheerleaders than neutral observers during the Prime Minister’s trip to China", yet the media houses houses "no newsworthiness" in another neighbour.
The analysis points to how the long-standing Rohingya crisis escalated last week when around 1,600 Rohingya Muslims fled Myanmar in a bid to escape persecution, and were rescued off the coast of Indonesia on Sunday.
It adds, quoting reports, that as many as "8,000 could still be stuck off the coasts of Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, with limited water and food", adding, "The UN has issued a warning stating that the situation could soon lead to a 'massive humanitarian crisis' as no government in the region was willing to take responsibility."
Indian media houses' behaviour, says Saikia, stands in sharp contrast to international media organisations which have since "doggedly" pursued the story. Al Jazeera carried ground reports from Myanmar and Indonesia, while BBC reported from the southern coast of Thailand. The Guardian also reported from the camps in Indonesia and The New York Times carried ground reports from the Andaman Sea. CNN, too, covered the story in great detail.
Saikia comments, "The Indian media, though, almost completely ignored the story, instead choosing to report on the minutiae of Modi’s foreign trip", insisting, "If reporters (more than one in many cases) could be sent to China to cover the Prime Minister’s visit in such detail, then surely a reporter could have also been dispatched to Myanmar or Indonesia too."
Saying that this "apathy" cannot be blamed on "lack of resources", considering Myanmar’s "physical proximity to India", the analysis comments, "Is it then that the story doesn’t affect (mainstream) India in a tangible way? The four Indian states that share their borders with Myanmar are Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram and Manipur – and the amount of coverage issues in these place get is well known."
It says cases of Hindus being targeted and temples being attacked in Pakistan "have always been highlighted in the Indian mainstream press", the analysis insists, "Reporting on issues in neighbouring countries is vital because it helps put things in perspective and analyse possible impact on India".
It says, "There have been reports about terror organisations trying to exploit the Rohingya crisis – the implications of which could directly affect northeast India’s internal security. Also, it is imprudent to ignore developments in Myanmar owing to many northeastern insurgent groups operating out of the country."

Comments

When Pakistanis whispered: ‘end military rule’ — A Moscow memoir

During the recent anti-terror operation inside Pakistan by the Government of India, called Operation Sindoor — a name some feminists consider patently patriarchal, even though it’s officially described as a tribute to the wives of the 26 husbands killed in the terrorist strike — I was reminded of my Moscow stint, which lasted for seven long years, from 1986 to 1993.

Ahmedabad's civic chaos: Drainage woes, waterlogging, and the illusion of Olympic dreams

In response to my blog on overflowing gutter lines at several spots in Ahmedabad's Vejalpur, a heavily populated area, a close acquaintance informed me that it's not just the middle-class housing societies that are affected by the nuisance. Preeti Das, who lives in a posh locality in what is fashionably called the SoBo area, tells me, "Things are worse in our society, Applewood."

Tracking a lost link: Soviet-era legacy of Gujarati translator Atul Sawani

The other day, I received a message from a well-known activist, Raju Dipti, who runs an NGO called Jeevan Teerth in Koba village, near Gujarat’s capital, Gandhinagar. He was seeking the contact information of Atul Sawani, a translator of Russian books—mainly political and economic—into Gujarati for Progress Publishers during the Soviet era. He wanted to collect and hand over scanned soft copies, or if possible, hard copies, of Soviet books translated into Gujarati to Arvind Gupta, who currently lives in Pune and is undertaking the herculean task of collecting and making public soft copies of Soviet books that are no longer available in the market, both in English and Indian languages.

RP Gupta a scapegoat to help Govt of India manage fallout of Adani case in US court?

RP Gupta, a retired 1987-batch IAS officer from the Gujarat cadre, has found himself at the center of a growing controversy. During my tenure as the Times of India correspondent in Gandhinagar (1997–2012), I often interacted with him. He struck me as a straightforward officer, though I never quite understood why he was never appointed to what are supposed to be top-tier departments like industries, energy and petrochemicals, finance, or revenue.

Environmental report raises alarm: Sabarmati one of four rivers with nonylphenol contamination

A new report by Toxics Link , an Indian environmental research and advocacy organisation based in New Delhi, in collaboration with the Environmental Defense Fund , a global non-profit headquartered in New York, has raised the alarm that Sabarmati is one of five rivers across India found to contain unacceptable levels of nonylphenol (NP), a chemical linked to "exposure to carcinogenic outcomes, including prostate cancer in men and breast cancer in women."

PharmEasy: The only online medical store which revises prices upwards after confirming the order

For senior citizens — especially those without a family support system — ordering medicines online can be a great relief. Shruti and I have been doing this for the last couple of years, and with considerable success. We upload a prescription, receive a verification call from a doctor, and within two or three days, the medicines are delivered to our doorstep.

A conman, a demolition man: How 'prominent' scribes are defending Pritish Nandy

How to defend Pritish Nandy? That’s the big question some of his so-called fans seem to ponder, especially amidst sharp criticism of his alleged insensitivity during his journalistic career. One such incident involved the theft and publication of the birth certificate of Masaba Gupta, daughter of actor Neena Gupta, in the Illustrated Weekly of India, which Nandy was editing at the time. He reportedly did this to uncover the identity of Masaba’s father.

Revisiting Gijubhai: Pioneer of child-centric education and the caste debate

It was Krishna Kumar, the well-known educationist, who I believe first introduced me to the name — Gijubhai Badheka (1885–1939). Hailing from Bhavnagar, known as the cultural capital of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat, Gijubhai, Kumar told me during my student days, made significant contributions to the field of pedagogy — something that hasn't received much attention from India's education mandarins. At that time, Kumar was my tutorial teacher at Kirorimal College, Delhi University.

A sector under siege? War and real estate: Navigating uncertainty in India's expanding market

I was a little surprised when I received an email alert from a top real estate consultant, Anarock Group , titled "Exploring War’s Effects on Indian Real Estate—When Conflict Meets Concrete," authored by its regional director and head of research, Dr. Prashant Thakur. I had thought that the business would wholeheartedly support what is considered a strong response to the dastardly terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Operation Sindoor.

Search This Blog