Covering up Naxalism

The bias shows in a Chennai-based national newspaper

This is an archived blog post from The Acorn.

The Darul Uloom at Deoband is one of the most influential Islamic institutions in India. Since Deobandi militants have been responsible for much of terrorism and violence, in Afghanistan, Pakistan and in India, it is natural to take notice when that institution organises an “All India Anti-Terrorism Conference”. According to the Indian Express the Deoband Declaration strongly condemned terrorism and urged “all Muslims to rise above sects and denominational differences to close ranks and fight terrorism”. Predictably, it blamed the government for unduly targeting Muslims “while letting Naxalites get away with their “acts of terrorism”.

The Hindu carries a report on the Deoband conference too. It starts with the complaint about Muslims being ‘hounded’ by intelligence agencies in the name of terrorism, mentions that the UPA’s “tilt” towards the West was assailed, cites the marginalisation of Muslims, calls India a “police state”, before finally telling us that the convention condemned terrorism. Conspicuously though, The Hindu’s report does not say anything about the Deoband gathering’s mention of Naxalites.

All newspapers—more or less—report what they wants their readers to hear. The Hindu hides what it doesn’t want them to know.

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