The Media is the fourth pillar of democracy. It plays a vital role in creating and moulding the public opinion. The newspapers reflect the views of the people. It is intimately concerned with the functioning of the state and policy it follows. It is a fundamental institute that contributes a great deal in shaping political, social and economical development of the country. It spread awareness among the people and touches almost every aspect of our public life.
The fundamental objective of journalism is to serve the people with news, views, comments and information on matters of public interest in a fair, accurate, unbiased, sober and decent manner. To this end, the Press is expected to conduct itself in keeping with certain norms of professionalism, universally recognised.
Since Independence the press in India has vastly grown in size and circulation. But now it suffers from many ills, it has yet to identify its true post independence role. It is said, “ In Gandhian era newspaper were working for a mission and now for commission”. Now press has become a tool in the hands of big business houses, and they are using it like a revenue generating machine. They are even not looking at the decline of credibility of the news. Most of the papers today (mainly English) are just providing entertainment (food, fashion and film) news. Though regional language newspapers are giving the better news (local news) than English, and it was the main reason, why regional language newspapers took over English in recent years.
There is a couplet of Urfi Shirazi, a renowned Persian philosopher and poet, which means:
“Either be a pig, lie down in the garbage or be a dead dog. Do anything, be anything but Urfi anyhow earn Money.”
The same is the thinking of Indian media, ‘earn money anyhow.’
As a result there is fast decline in news credibility. Media is just covering sensational news, which can increase its TRP or circulation. In recent months, we can see many such cases where media has ignored important news just for commercial purpose or somewhere it covered but did not follow it properly.
On 1st July 2005, when Hindustan Times launched its Mumbai edition it came up with a sensational celebrity story, Salman Khan’s relationship with Underworld and Aishwariya Rai. The news was so sensationalized by that on the first day itself 1lakh 25 thousand extra copies were sold.
There are many such cases, here I have studied four stories, which were not covered by media or if covered not followed properly or misinterpreted.
1.Mufti’s selling Fatwa.
2.2 Oct 2006: The Golden Jubilee of conversion to Buddhism at Nagpur.
3.29 Sep 2006: The gruesome rape and killing of four Dalits in Bhandara, Maharashtra
4.Fire near King Circle Railway Station.
Mufti’s Selling Fatwa (Operation BENAQAAB) by Aniruddh BahlFollowing a sting-operation that bites at the very foundation of an already marginalized and at times persecuted Indian Muslim community, the Rupert Murdoch-owned Star TV’s Benaqaab program recently featured a documentary showing secret footage of 10 Indian muftis “allegedly” taking bribes to issue religious edicts.
News agencies on the Internet were buzzing with news about the sensational “revelations,” which were dubbed by the Time Magazine website in partnership with CNN as the “Cash-for-Fatwas” scandal, an epithet perhaps coined from the “Cash-for-Questions” scandal that tarnished the image of the British Conservative party over a decade ago.
The Time Magazine wrote how “bribes, some of which were as low as $60, were offered by undercover reporters wearing hidden cameras over a period of six weeks. In return for the cash, the muftis appear to hand out fatwas written in Urdu...on subjects requested by the reporters.”
With an aim to unmask “the ugly face of corruption, whatever the stakes,” an investigative team led by Jamshed Khan, a little known and seemingly opportunist journalist, investigated muftis across north India. The group made the ridiculous discovery that muftis who incidentally represent Islam, a religion Muslims the world over believe to be a ‘complete way of life’ provide their flock with religious rulings on just about all of the topics that affect people in their daily lives.
In a nutshell the program made two allegations. Firstly, it claimed that it had made a “startling discovery that fatwas cannot only be easily bought but made-to-order,” and secondly that muftis accept bribes for this.
After the program was shown on television, Indian Muslims came out in force accusing the makers of the program of twisting fatwas and misleading viewers by distorting footage to make it appear that decrees had been issued in exchange of money.
Dealing with the issue of whether the fatwas were “made-to-order” and contrary to classic Islamic scholarship, a leading Shariah-expert from the UK explained how all of the rulings listed in the report could easily “be positioned somewhere on the wide spectrum of differing opinion among scholars on peripheral issues,” and hence casting doubt on the claim that rulings were made-to-order and influenced by unscrupulous motives.
In fact many Muslims are wondering why the journalists bothered spending so much money. “The thing that baffles me is the fact that these rulings have been mentioned by so many other muftis before, they aren’t new. They can easily be found in fatwa compilations published 25 years ago and are available on the Internet,” said Muhammad Akram from Great Britain.
Among “corrupt” muftis identified one was Mufti Habibur Rahman from Darul Uloom Deoband — one of India’s leading Islamic universities. Mufti Habibur Rahman was alleged to have taken a bribe to issue a fatwa saying that the usage of credit cards was impermissible. Subsequently the mufti was suspended from his post and an investigative committee was set up by the seminary to look into the allegations.
But
Media did not follow the whole story. Just made it sensational and created a huge havoc in Muslim community in all over the World.
Continue…
Following investigations, Maulana Marghubur Rahman, the rector of Darul Uloom Deoband, issued a statement in which he reinstated the mufti and described the allegations as part of an “organized conspiracy.” He also said that the “fatwa issued by the mufti was in accordance to Shariah,” adding that original text of the fatwa “as presented by Star News had been tampered with.”
Muslim know that according to Islamic jurisprudence, the usage of credit cards is permissible but can ultimately become impermissible if the user was to fall behind in his payments and incur interest, which is inherently forbidden in Islam. This is a legal understanding of Islamic law that the Benaqaab team seems to have grossly misrepresented.
Speaking about the tampering Maulana Khalil Qasmi, a graduate of Darul Uloom Deoband, said, “The fatwa was not only misinterpreted and shown out of context, but was also literally changed. Mufti sahib wrote, as the collection register in the seminary’s fatwa department shows, ‘in itself the usage of credit cards is permissible,’ this was changed by the journalists to ‘impermissible.’” Subsequently, the fatwa was misread on television.
On the issue of whether bribes were taken by the muftis, Maulana Marghubur Rahman said, “The investigative committee’s report said that nowhere in the footage does it show Mufti Habibur Rahman taking money from the person asking the fatwa. The money that featured in the footage was money that had arrived at the same time in lieu of some books of his that he had left at a bookshop to sell. This was the money that Mufti Habibur Rahman was shown placing in his bag.”
Interestingly, the rector of the Darul Uloom highlights some more discrepancies in the report, “This incident took place at 10.30 a.m., a time when there is no call to prayer. However, in the footage shown on television, the sound of the Muslim call to prayer had been added and the mufti’s refusal to accept money was made inaudible.”
The investigative committee’s report also added that the person who was with the Star News reporter asking for a fatwa a man by the name of Muhammad Imran has himself said that the Mufti had not accepted any money. Darul Uloom Deoband is presently consulting lawyers to prepare a judicial case against Star TV.
As news of the “scandal” broke, Yoginder Sikand an Indian academic who specializes in comparative religions — translated rebuttals of the allegations issued by senior Indian scholars in the Delhi-based Urdu Rashtriya Sahara, the most widely read Urdu newspaper in north India.
A statement issued by the Islamic Fiqh Academy in New Delhi denied the allegations of “muftis receiving bribes to issue fatwas.” It further contends that the journalists who had asked for the fatwas “had insisted that the muftis take the money as a gift or as a donation for their madrasas after the fatwas were delivered.”
“This part of their conversation between the muftis and the individuals who had requested for fatwas...was removed from the television program,” the statement continued.
Similarly, scholars from the Jamia Arabia Khadimul Islam said that reports that muftis from that institute had taken money was “false.” The rebuttal added “the muftis delivered their opinions in writing. After this the two men tried to offer them money as a gift. The muftis declined to accept this money as a payment for the fatwas.”
However, after repeatedly insisting the two muftis took the money and deposited it with the institute they represented and issued receipts.
Likewise, Riyaz Nadvi, secretary of the Uttar Pradesh Dini Talimi Council and leader of the Milli Council, issued a similar statement in the same newspaper.
Sikand wrote, “Nadvi argues that, generally, muftis do not accept money for delivering fatwas because they consider it their religious duty to answer queries related to Islam and Islamic jurisprudence. Yet...if a mufti does accept some payment for a fatwa that he gives there is nothing wrong with that, provided his opinion is based on the Qur’an, Hadith and the rules of Islamic jurisprudence.”
Discussing the issue, Ghulam Muhammad from the Bombay-based think-tank Idraak, said, “Rewarding the mufti with a gift of cash as a gesture of appreciation and capturing the whole sequence on secret web-camera and presenting it to millions of viewers as a bribe to the mufti...is the grossest misrepresentation of fact.”
Muhammad added that the camera “blurs the conversation” and so the muftis cannot be accused of taking a bribe to give a wrong fatwa.
Finishing his statement Marghubur Rahman interestingly mentions an ongoing court case filed against the concept of Ifta (the issuance of fatwa) at India’s Supreme Court.
“Darul Uloom Deoband has made the defendant and a demand has been made to close the Fatwa Department and the teaching of Ifta. The case is soon to be heard, the above mentioned plan (referring to the sting-operation) is merely an attempt to influence the case,” he said.
What Maulana Marghubur Rahman alludes to could possibly be true. British Muslims have had their fair share of exclusives as Murdoch newspapers in the UK notably the Sun, the News of the World and the Times — write about sting operations showing Muslims in a negative light.
For countless years, in spite of protests from level-minded Muslims, the Murdoch propaganda machine has actively vilified British Muslims by presenting the views of obscure and previously little-known “so-called” imams such as Abu Hamza Al-Masri and Omar Bakri Muhammad, the head of the now defunct Al-Muhajiroun group.
By giving these monsters the chance to air their views the media has been instrumental in raising their profiles and thus breathing into their lifeless views a breath of life. They and countless others have served the Blairite government well and have been instrumental in the Labor government justifying its draconian anti-terrorist laws in the UK, laws that have only served to victimize an already disenchanted British Muslim community.
It may be the case that the pro-Israeli Murdoch-owned Star TV is attempting to influence politics in India a growing economic world superpower. The unethical investigative journalism practiced by Jamshed Khan echoes that of the British News of the World’s investigative reporter Mazhar Mahmood.
Rupert Murdoch once said, “My ventures in media are not as important to me as spreading my personal political beliefs,” a quote that truly epitomizes his personal beliefs. It is only in the best interests of Muslims and Islam if we were to understand the challenges of the media.
This report which I read in an Urdu (Inquilab) newspaper is nowhere in any other language or English media. Now what to say, isn't it yellow journalism?
The Golden Jubilee of conversion to Buddhism at Nagpur - 2 Oct 2006Every year Dalits and Buddhists gather at Nagpur to remember 14th Oct 1956. They number anywhere from 800,000 to 10,00,000. According to solar calendar, this is the day when Dr Ambedkar led the biggest conversion sans bloodshed or allurement in the history of the world. On that day alone, around 500,000 Dalits had converted to Buddhism leaving behind the cobwebs of caste ridden Hindu society.
But this year, an estimated 2 Million, yes, a whopping 20, 00,000 people gathered from across the world to mark the 50th year of Dhamma Chakra Pravartan din on 2nd October! According to local reports, some 200,000 Buddhist Bhikshus (Monks) wearing saffron clothes, forming a 6 Km long chain took the procession turning the entire orange city into saffron and blue. The Celebrations lasted for more than a week.
Now, for an Indian media- that is always looking for something sensational- that’s a huge gathering, isn’t it? And how many white collar Journalists holding Handy Cams from the leading electronic media turn up? None! Reason? Ignorance!
Covered by – Loksatta (Marathi newspaper)
The gruesome rape and killing of four Dalits in Bhandara, Maharashtra - 29 Sep 2006On Sep 29, 2006 in one of the most gruesome and dreadful incidents of Dalit atrocities, Bhaiyyalal Bhootmange, a Dalit-Buddhist farmer in Kherlanji (Bhandara, Maharashtra) witnessed his wife Surekha (44), daughter Priyanka (18), sons, Roshan, 23, and Sudhir, 21 being killed by the Landlords in front of the villagers. Worst, the mother and daughter were first paraded naked gang raped, and then sticks were pushed into their private parts. The sons were stabbed repeatedly and their private parts mutilated. And what was their fault? Surekha had dared to fight for getting back a portion of their farm, which was grabbed by the landlords.
Bhaiyyalal and Sudan, Surekha’s sister, are inconsolable. Photo Courtesy - DNA.
The local police and doctors completely covered up this incident but the Ambedkarites made sure the news of this cruelty spread like wild fire amid the Golden Jubilee celebrations. DNA (Daily News and Analysis) was the only English daily that published this news and that too after 18 days! Seeing the hue and cry, not among media but the people, some VIP politicians including Dy. CM R.R. Patil visited this place after weeks and made some arrest drama and suspension of local police officers.
Just see the scale of atrocities against Dalits. India's National Crime Records Bureau working under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Home affairs has reported that in the year 2005 alone, 26,127 crimes were committed against SC/ST’s including 1172 rape against Dalit women and 669 cases of Murder (Reference: http://ncrb.nic.in). To summarize, every day, while three Dalit women are raped and two Dalits are murdered, two Dalit homes get torched. If you add to this the thousands of unreported cases, the picture is abysmally inconceivable!
And how does the News media react to the above facts and figures? While a soft atrocity news like “Dalit Entry banned in Hindu Temples” gets a little space once in a while, graver issues like daily rape and massacre of Dalits constituting about 1/4th of India’s population are literally ignored. As if this section of population means nothing to media. Why no news channel, ever holds any discussions on “How to stop atrocities on Dalits”?
If this is not Media’s discrimination based on caste, what else it is? The news medium is as responsible for these inhuman crimes as the Kheranjali oppressors by just being selective and dishonest. Such is the intensity of this inhuman caste-killing in Bhandara that the world media took the cognizant of it. Some western Human Rights based organizations like ACJP (Ambedkar Center for Justice and Peace) who take up atrocity cases in India are going to publish a detailed report on this case soon. And media’s continued blockage of such incidents will not only expose bias but also raise question on our ethics and compatibility.
Covered by – DNA (Daily News and Analysis)
King Circle fire – 30th Jan 2007On 3oth Jan 07, there were cylinder blasts near to King Circle station. The blasts were due to fire in nearby slum. Railway platform was very much affected by that, people started jumping out of running train as they thought its happening inside and many got injured due to this misunderstanding.
Now its duty of media to explain people whatever happened there, so they should not panic if any such incident happens in the future. This case might have been serious as well, thanks to Railway officers of King Circle station who controlled situation very well.
None of the newspaper covered the story, Sahara Samay Mumbai gave a short coverage and that was just fire burnt in three huts, no information about 7 to 8 cylinder blasts.
Covered by – Sahara Samay Mumbai
