[Reader-list] Today's "media circus" at Jamia

[Nazneen Anand Shamsi]

Dear Aarti,

This is not with respect to this or that incident. I would like to make a
general comment regarding, state and statecraft. Please tell me what is
wrong in devising categories to mark a population in order to rule them?
What is the great moral dilemma in bumping off few of them here to keeep the
official fiction alive? Many of our friends take a position or a point of
view on the reader list because perhaps they are in a position of privilege
to do so? So by producing a list a dissenters and hence personalizing
discourse on dissent, a Shuddhabrata, can very easily make a poignant
emotional appeal, but tell me, do you believe that, a nation or any nation
can merely run on such emotional exercises rooted in deliberation alone.
Apropos angst about 'media circus'. Tell me Aarti, what was a Ramayana or a
Mahabharata or a Karbala is if not like a great 'media circus' of an epic
scale. Such imagery, such poetry, such fine use of metaphors.  So much so
that every time I read these texts I am overwhelmed with the sheer
exquisiteness of language and craft. Or for instance what was Vietnam war if
not a great 'media circus' which swung the other way after an image of
wailing Paris was published on 8th June 1972. The point being, I think
'media circus' is a neccesary condition for state and statehood. The state
as we know and recognise and critque now, grew out of anarchy. It may not
have been 'a state of nature' in the strictest of Lockean sense but
nevertheless, I think, it need its 'circuses' to give us, a sense of
identity, a sense of involvement and a sense of purpose. Howsoever fractured
or precarious it may be.

Regards

Nazo

On Sat, Sep 20, 2008 at 10:48 AM, <radhikarajen at vsnl.net> wrote:

> Aarti,
>    Praveen Togadia, mutalik and many such like Bajrangi and mahendra kumar
> are not in hiding, they are openly living unlike a basher, atiq and dawwood
> Ibrahim.Worst, togadias  roaming freely in India in all the states , both
> ruled by all the political parties. If law needs them to be arrested they do
> not have the luxury of minority rights commisssion jumpimg to their
> statements.!
>
>   But a geelani , yasin malik has aarti and many more to defend them solely
> on "technical" grounds.Oscar fernandes who went to Mangalore just three days
> before the rackus happened,in  mangalore, had not visited the constituency
> after his defeat some ages ago, why the sudden visit. ? Maggi alwa after
> losing loksabha poll, in adjacent seat, has been cozily in Sonia darbar for
> over 8 years, now she is in Mangalore , ofcourse with mahila rights
> activists and chief of mahila commissin is accompanying her.!
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Aarti Sethi <aarti.sethi at gmail.com>
> Date: Saturday, September 20, 2008 3:00 pm
> Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Today's "media circus" at Jamia
> To: radhikarajen at vsnl.net
> Cc: Yousuf <ysaeed7 at yahoo.com>, sarai list <reader-list at sarai.net>, Sanjhi
> Virasat <sanjhi_virasat at yahoogroups.com>
>
> > tell you what radhika, why don't you make a deal alright? You
> > isolate and
> > capture Praveen Togadia and hand him over to the police. And then
> > we can ask
> > our Muslim friends to hand over any terrorist friends they might
> > have to the
> > law. Sunds perfectly fair to me. What do you say? Should I be
> > sending a van
> > over now? Let us know when you've got him. And of course, the
> > leaders of the
> > VHP in Orissa. There's no point wasting anymore time. The sooner
> > you can
> > isolate them and hand them over to the law, the sooner we can get
> > our Muslim
> > friends on the job for their end of the bargain.
> >
> >
> > thanks
> > A
> >
> > On Sat, Sep 20, 2008 at 2:47 PM, <radhikarajen at vsnl.net> wrote:
> >
> > > When do this muslim community accept the laws of the land and
> > behave with
> > > the nation. It is always seen, if the plice went even for
> > interrogation,> inquiry, the immediate hell breaks loose with
> > allegation of "targetiing' and
> > > harassment of muslims. Why can not this community identify,
> > isolate and hand
> > > over the deviant of their community to law. ?
> > >
> > >  Anyway, even if that happens we have judges in highest court
> > who ave
> > > passed judgements in record minutes. Recently, chief judge of
> > karnataka> passed 56 judgements in seventy minutes with six breaks
> > in between, and then
> > > got promoted to Supreme court.! By the way, some of the
> > judgements were in
> > > direct contradiction of SC judgements such as use of english
> > mediumin> schools which had yaken prmission to functionas kannada
> > medium schools.
> > > Ofcourse one bird told me that each school had contributed as
> > farewell gift
> > > , three thousand schools, 10 K each, great parting gift to this
> > judge.?>
> > >   because even if appeal comes to supreme court, my hoon na. ?
> > >
> > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > From: Yousuf <ysaeed7 at yahoo.com>
> > > Date: Friday, September 19, 2008 8:26 pm
> > > Subject: [Reader-list] Today's "media circus" at Jamia
> > > To: sarai list <reader-list at sarai.net>, Sanjhi Virasat <
> > > sanjhi_virasat at yahoogroups.com>
> > >
> > > > Friends
> > > > I have titled this message the "media circus", although I am
> > > > actually referring to this morning's so-called encounter killing
> > > > of two young people referred to as "terrorists" in L-18 Batla
> > > > House, Jamia Nagar, by the Delhi police. I call it media circus
> > > > because that's what I think it really is, like many more such
> > > > incidents.
> > > >
> > > > The incident happened in my neigbourhood, about 150 meters
> > from my
> > > > house. So I have the opportunity to see how things are turning up.
> > > > I had gone out of the area for some work while the incident was
> > > > taking place around 11 am, but found it impossible to reach back
> > > > home 2 hours later, because the road for about 1 and a half
> > > > kilometer (on both sides) was completely blocked, not by the
> > > > police vehicles, but by the parked OB vans of the countless TV
> > > > channels, some of which I never heard of before. Each of these
> > > > vehicles had its generators on, and thick video cables jetting out
> > > > of them for several meters to the other end where the cameraperson
> > > > and the excited anchor were shouting how two terrorists have been
> > > > killed in the fierce encounter. Most local people are
> > surprised at
> > > > the speed with which the TV crews arrived here and in such large
> > > > number. Apparently, the Delhi Police had already told a
> > section of
> > > > the press they are going for a raid in Batla House, based
> > > > on the suspect Abu Bashir's tip-off (I heard this from a anchor
> > > > on Times NOW channel, although Police chief Dadwal is now denying
> > > > there is any link with Abu Bashir), but they didn't obviously say
> > > > it was going to be an encounter. Its strange that the local
> > > > residents got to know about the incident only after the two people
> > > > had been killed – many in fact learnt it from the Aaj-tak channel.
> > > > They claim they heard only the police firing and no gunshots from
> > > > inside the flat, which the police claim have injured two of their
> > > > constables.
> > > > Most of you watching news TV in your homes may have already heard
> > > > the cacophony of the TV anchors, each trying to be shriller than
> > > > the other to prove that the local members of the Indian Mujahideen
> > > > have been killed. They now seem to have memorized their lines on
> > > > this issue well, since they have to repeat the same thing again
> > > > and again. The graphics, animated logos, crawling tickers, and
> > > > dramatic music/soundtrack to go with such coverage are always
> > > > ready in the cans to be used at short notice. A cameraman running
> > > > towards Batla House is nibbling at a burger while he holds on
> > to a
> > > > camera in his other hand. I saw two members of a TV crew outside
> > > > the Holy Family Hospital (where the injured policemen have been
> > > > taken) fiercely fight about which camera angle would look best for
> > > > a sound byte. Everything looks as if planned and part of the usual
> > > > business. The cops are happily allowing the media to climb any
> > > > wall to get the best shot while they beat the local
> > > > rickshawpullers to leave the roads clean. The message has got
> > > > across loud and clear: we told you – Batla House is a haven of
> > > > terrorists.
> > > > But many things sound fishy. I've been hearing a lot of angry
> > > > conversations in the neighborhood: people are asking that if the
> > > > police had only planned a simple raid (which they did 2 days ago
> > > > in Zakir Nagar and Abul Fazl Enclave too), why did they have to
> > > > bring battalions of police and encounter specialists with AK-56
> > > > and other deadly looking guns (that I myself saw) in advance. And
> > > > why is the media called in even before the residents are told. Of
> > > > course the fact the this happens in the month of Ramzan, on a
> > > > Friday, and near a large mosque where people were going to gather
> > > > in large numbers later for prayers, sounds just too predictable
> > > > and clichéd for anyone's imagination. Some locals claim that the
> > > > police had been visiting this place (and that particular house)
> > > > since last few days, and the so-called terrorists and their
> > > > weapons were probably "planted" last night for this encounter.
> > > > This claim would obviously find no takers in the presently
> > > > created euphoria (did you see any channel showing a sound byte to
> > > > this affect?) I didn't find a single local resident who is not fed
> > > > up with this oft-repeated image of Jamia Nagar as harboring
> > > > terrorists. But none of the channels I saw aired the public angst
> > > > against their portrayal.
> > > >
> > > > To be honest, one shouldn't deny that the Batla House area has
> > > > some criminal and anti-social elements, just as Darya Ganj or
> > > > Shahadra or Govindpuri would have. But most local residents
> > > > believe that for Jamia to become a haven of such criminal
> > > > elements, the local police and land-mafia are equally responsible.
> > > > Jamia area is one of the rare localities of Delhi where the rule
> > > > of law doesn't apply in most spheres. The land mafia openly
> > > > indulges in illegal construction; no rules of traffic apply here,
> > > > the condition of civic amenities is abysmal. Illegal shops,
> > > > factories (many with child labour) and businesses operate here
> > > > actively with police connivance. The local politicians (MLA,
> > > > councilors) are actually part of the problem rather than the
> > > > solution. There is a full-scale illegal ISBT (bus stand) running
> > > > in Batla House's backyard to bring hundreds of migrants everyday
> > > > from small towns of UP (you can see the police openly accepting
> > > > bribe from its
> > > > operators any day).
> > > >
> > > > There is no question of sealing whatever the heck business you may
> > > > run here, and most places stink with heaps of garbage everywhere.
> > > > There are no RWAs or citizen's initiatives to discuss the
> > > > problems. It is truly a manufactured ghetto of Delhi – why don't
> > > > all these problems happen in Lajpat Nagar or Kalkaji? I am
> > > > positive that the authorities are aware that criminals (or what
> > > > they call terrorists) exist here. But they deliberately allow them
> > > > to thrive here – never to be touched in the normal/peaceful times
> > > > – keep them for the right time. It is as if Batla House is a
> > > > laboratory or breeding ground where things are allowed to grow by
> > > > providing all the required ingredients and safety. The fruits are
> > > > plucked only when they are ripe (or required). So today, they
> > > > simply came to gather the fruit they had sown, and made a big
> > > > exhibition of it by calling the media. The local people,
> > > > frightened that the next encounter may happen in their house,
> > simply> > squirm and hide in their personal ghettos.
> > > >
> > > > In all this, a big responsibility lies with the media, and I am
> > > > yet to come across bold and honest reporters who are ready to go
> > > > beyond the obvious and investigate the truth – not simply repeat
> > > > what is told to them by the authorities or their channel bosses.
> > > >
> > > > Yousuf Saeed
> > > > September 19, 2008
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > _________________________________________
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