[Reader-list] How India's RAW manipulates, funds media

[M Yousuf]

http://dailymailnews.com/200905/29/news/dmtopstory01.html

 How India�s RAW manipulates, funds media
 *By Makhdoom Babar
Editor-in-Chief
(Additional reporting by Christina Palmer in New Delhi, Sandra Johnson in
Washington D.C and Cherry Ferguson in London)*

This is the age of information, the IT and above all the media, both print
and electronic. . It is said that after the renaissance of media across the
world, the wars are fought and won with the media being on the frontline. Be
it US attack on Iraq or be it terror attack in India, the media is immensely
used to propagate one�s views and perception. The media endeavors are
extensively manipulated to change the world opinion in own favor and against
the enemy. Almost all the governments have given a free hand to their
respective intelligence agencies to manipulate media and fund the media
organizations and individuals to gain the required results. No matter if it
is the CNN journalists embedded US troops, invading Iraq or venom emitting
Indian journalists and TV Anchors targeting Pakistan after the Mumbai
carnage, the Intelligence hands are always their to direct them and to fund
them.
However, Indian Intelligence Agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW)has
taken the issue more seriously than its contemporary agencies in the region
and even across the world. A comprehensive investigation into the matter by
the team of investigative journalists of The Daily Mail reveals that in fact
raw moved into the direction of utilizing media factor almost 30 years back.
In the mid 80s, when Rajiv Gandhi was the Prime Minister of India, RAW sent
a media related proposal to the Prime Minister�s Office (PMO) which was
straight away approved. According to this proposal, RAW was given a free
hand to use as much as required funds to make a solid grip on national and
international media. Initially, RAW came up with a long term project through
which, RAW started short listing young, potential and ambitious Indian
journalists and later started penetrating them to different media
organizations across the world. Today, according to rough estimate, 90
percent of the Indian or Indian origin journalists working in different
media organizations through out the world, are those having the RAW
blessings and one way or the other, promoting Indian perception and
delivering to the RAW�s requirements. The success of RAW in this direction
can be gauged from one fact that it has managed to get Indian journalists
inducted even in leading Chinese media organizations like the China Daily,
the Beijing Review etc.
In the 2nd phase, RAW started funding local media organizations in India and
also started buying the services of journalists working in the foreign
countries� leading media organizations. According to a Japanese journalist,
who worked in India for a Japanese news agency for about 3 years, the
India-based foreign journalists are very well �look after� and �entertained�
by RAW officials who develop interaction with these foreign journalists as
very warm but mysterious friends. These India-based foreign journalists are
at least once a year, are offered a vacation trip to Dubai where their
boarding, lodging and even shopping, are all paid off by their �friends�.
According to some reports, RAW is practicing the same with certain
Islamabad-based foreign journalists.
The Daily Mail�s investigations reveal that RAW started another project
around five years back under which Air Time is purchased on popular English
language international television channels and then during that air time,
special programs are televised to promote India�s view point with RAW�s
perspective. India Hour on BBC is one of the examples in this direction.
The Daily Mail�s investigations further reveal that RAW launched a mega
project to control regional journalists and to bring them to a secret RAW
platform when it established South Asian Free Media association (SAFMA) a
few years back. The SAFMA, the darling baby of RAW has so far been focusing
on highlighting the issue of Indian occupied Kashmir with RAW�s perspective
and nothing much or more. The members of SAFMA, whenever asked as to how
they manage to generate funds for the highly lavish functions and seminars
under its banners since all of them are paid employees of different media
organizations of South Asia, remain mum.
Back home, RAW is not only funding individual columnists and intellectuals
but is also comprehensively funding a number of newspapers and television
channels. RAW not only makes direct payments to a variety of regional and
English language newspapers but also arrange advertisement support for these
media organization. Many of these newspapers are run as �projects� of RAW
and all assets are owned by the agency itself. Some the newspapers that are
getting regular RAW funding and patronage include India News, Aajkal,
Al-Hyndelyom, Asia News, Bharat Observer, The Christian Messenger, Daily
Excelsior, Daily Roshni, The Daily India, Dakhshan bharat, Deshdoot, The
Echo of India, Daily Greater Kashmir, Daily Jaihind, Kashmir Times, Kashmir
Observer, Maharashtra Times, Nagalnd Post, Daily Phayul, Rajdhani Times,
Daily Saij etc. These newspapers despite getting direct funding from RAW,
also have the blessings of getting government advertisements and
advertisements of leading Indian Business houses, having extraordinary
relations with RAW. Furthermore, all the Indian airliners have strict orders
from RAW to purchase these newspapers for on-board circulation. Apart from
these newspapers support, RAW has also �gained� the �services� of different
columnists, reporters and analysts at top media organizations like Times of
India, Indian Express, The Hindu and Hindustan Times etc.
Coming towards the Electronic media of India, RAW has made remarkable
achievement in diluting media with Intelligence endeavors. It is not only
funding different anchors and analysts but RAW has established a huge
network in shape of ZEE T.V. Though RAW spends a huge chunk of money to
achieve targets by funding 9x News, Aajtak, NDTV 24x7, Times now, TV9, Time
TV etc, yet it runs the most venomous news Channel the Zee TV. Zee News�s
offices are considered to be Media Headquarter of RAW.
The Investigations of The Daily Mail further reveal that RAW controls a
whole paraphernalia of media network including ZEE TV and Films Network,
Asian News International (ANI) etc.. The ZEE network retains the pivotal
position in this RAW controlled propaganda and misinformation spiral. It was
actually RAW that has been the master mind behind the establishment of ZEE
Television Network. According to our sources the proposal for establishing a
private sector television channel actually under the control of Indian
intelligence agency was first presented to the Late Indian Prime Minister
Mrs. Indira Gandhi. The proposal could not materialize at that time as Mrs.
Gandhi had certain reservations about giving more powers to RAW for she
suspected it of being behind her earlier electoral defeat at the hands of
another Late Prime Minister of India Mr. Murar ji Desai. However, Indian
movie star Amitabh Bachan who was a personal friend of Rajiv Gandhi got the
cue. His brother later reportedly siphoned part of the Rs.64 crore
kick-backs of the Swedish Bofor guns deal into setting up a private
satellite channel by the name of TV Asia.
TV Asia enjoyed certain patronage from Indian government and intelligence
agencies though it was financed privately. In return RAW enjoyed certain
leverage on TV Asia; nonetheless its officials continued the campaign for
having their own channel. The break through was achieved when a high ranking
RAW operative Vasant Parekh found a willing partner in the Chairman of Essel
Group of Industries, Subash Chandra. The Essel Group was mainly involved in
the business of entertainment and amusement parks. Being an adventurous
entrepreneur, Chandra indicated his willingness to Vasant Parekh for
investing partly in the RAW�s satellite TV venture provided it also shared a
big portion investment and backup support. RAW hierarchy did not require
much persuasion to dole out a hefty amount of US$ 25 million as an initial
participation share in the project. The deal was struck and the ZEE
Television Network was formally launched in 1992 with Subhas Chandra as the
Chairman and Vasant Parekh as the founding member on its Board of Directors.
It was agreed to induct and employ a certain number of RAW operatives in all
cadres of the network. RAW personnel were thus recruited amongst the
programme producers, anchors, newscasters, and even amongst the marketing
and business managers. The arrangement facilitates RAW to send its agents
undercover to Pakistan and even other countries. Having a media tag gives
these operatives an easy access to cultivate a number of personalities in
the target country, which would have been otherwise difficult. The broad
outline of the propaganda objectives of ZEE TV defined by RAW were:
�Undermine the ideological frontiers of Pakistan through oft repeated Indian
rhetoric of cultural and social uniformity of South Asian sub-continent;
�Malign Pakistan by a deliberate negative projection of the events and
developments in the country. The aim was to systematically build a poor
image of Pakistan may it be in the context of internal political
developments, religious or social events, women issues, child labour, brick
kiln workers, Ahmedi or Christian minorities, secretarian clashes, Mohajar
ethnic movement, foreign policy or bilateral relations with India. Although
human rights violations, social, cultural, religious and economic problems
exist at a much gigantic proportion in India these were to be downplayed in
Indian context;
�Projection of India as a modern secular and progressive state which is the
world�s largest democracy;
�Propagation of India�s foreign policy objectives and its position on
Kashmir;
�Promotion of Hindu mythology through serials based on mythology as well as
soap operas telecast on the network;
In pursuance of this policy ZEE lays special emphasis in cultivating
prominent personalities in Pakistan for accomplishing the ideological
agenda. Bigwigs in Pakistani entertainment and show biz, poets, writers,
eminent sportsmen and politicians are a prime target. The common modus
operandi is that Pakistani celebrities are invited as chief guests or
special guests to various ZEE programmes. A lot of praise is showered,
calling them artists whose talent is not restricted by any boundary,
frontier or divide and that the people of the two countries love each other,
only the politicians conspire to keep them separated. Overwhelmed by the
tremendous show of hospitality the artist either ends up unwillingly
endorsing the host�s views or says something that is construed to be
negating the �Two Nation� basis of Pakistan�s independence. According to
credible information RAW also sponsors organizing of performances, shooting
of videos and securing of contracts for Bollywood movies and entertainment
agencies for some of these personalities belonging to the Pakistan
entertainment, film and music.
The Daily Mail has learnt that RAW�s further tightened its noose on media
during the first government of BJP under the then Minister for Information
and Broadcasting Parmod Mahajan. RAW had in the meanwhile already taken
control of the struggling television news agency Asian News International
(ANI) founded by an ambitious cameraman Prem Parakash. When the agency ran
into financial troubles RAW came forth to help it with idea of producing
South Asia News line which all the Indian entertainment TV Channels not
producing their own news bulletins were force to telecast. Parmod reportedly
threatened these channels with the sweeping powers under the PRASAR BHARATI
(Indian Broadcasting) ACT, 1990 Chapter IV, 23; �Power of Central Government
to give Directions� if they did not comply. Even his successor Sushma Swaraj
kept calling shots at the media also making coercive use of the draconian
Indian National Security Act, 1980. Three Advisory Bodies have been pivotal
in this regard to streamli mittee. The DFF amongst other things virtually
controls the films dealing with news, current events and documentaries. RAW
has a permanent representation on this Committee which can use any pretext
to penalize channels not receptive of its directives.
Our correspondent Saira Ilyas adds from London: The enormous success of ZEE
in South Asia and Middle East encouraged its sponsors to target the Asian
viewers in Britain and Europe. The prime objective was to disillusion the
expatriate Pakistanis and Kashmiris from their ideological basis. Britain
being the home of largest Kashmiri refugee community outside Asia has become
a cause of concern for the Indian establishment. The growing influence of
Kashmiri community in the political circles of UK, their frequent protests
over the human rights violations in the Indian held Kashmir and demand for
the right of self-determination for Kashmiris is often embarrassing for the
Indians.
ZEE UK was therefore launched in 1995. The ZEE�s strategists, however,
realized that Braitain and Europe was a different ball game. To lure the
Pakistani expatriates it was decided to telecast a mix of Indian and
Pakistani programmes. It is learnt that a team was sent to Pakistan to
negotiate the purchase of PTV programmes for telecast on ZEE UK. ZEE was
able to procure from the PTV library many classical dramas, the most recent
hit telecasts, musical programs, special occasions telecasts for Eid,
Muharam, Ramadan including and other purely Islamic religious programs.
These programs were reportedly sold to the ZEE at throw away prices. The PTV
establishment of the time credited itself for having sold the programmes
with no other clientele. Little did they know the diabolic use that ZEE had
planned for these programs. However, PTV authorities maintain that some of
its programs were recorded off air by a Lahore based spurious company and
sold to ZEE TV. Subsequently PTV obtained a court injunction to stop ZEE
from telecast of some of its programs. Nonetheless this gap is now filled by
the private productions that have mushroomed in Pakistan over the last few
years.
The ZEE UK program managers ran an extra-mile in their endeavors to
establish it as a neutral TV of the entire South Asian community in Europe.
The propaganda against Pakistan was deliberately kept sublime in the initial
year of its launching. However, it continued its policy of reporting
negative developments in respect of Pakistan and black outing positive
aspects may it be as non political news as winning a cricket match by
Pakistan. Nonetheless, ZEE�s one sided hype during events such as the Kargil
conflict and later during the Mumbai terror attacks gave away any semblance
of neutrality that the channels had been portraying. The propaganda blitz
unleashed by ZEE since the take over by the BJP appointed RAW administration
has exposed the real face of the channel and the Indian government�s
propaganda campaign; the Central Press Accreditation Committee (PIB), Film
Advisory Committee (DFF) and Hindi Advisory Committee.
It is popularly believed in the South Asian community in UK that ZEE-RAW
nexus was fully unveiled during the RAW staged hijacking drama of an Indian
airliner in December 1999. Throughout the hijacking drama ZEE newscasters
and expert panelists many among whom were actually undercover RAW officials,
continued to narrate RAW orchestrated script like parrots in an unbelievable
frenzy. ZEE was further exposed by completely biased reporting following the
RAW staged spate of attacks in India after September11 such as the attack on
the sham State Assembly of Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian
Parliament, US Consulate Calcutta as well as the 2002 border standoff
between Pakistan and India and lately the Mumbai carnage.
RAW prolific media network however received a setback when its sponsored
Reminisce Television Network (RTN) could not succeed in UK and Europe. The
free to air transmission of RTN�s Channel Asia 1 could not get enough
advertisements due to over crowding of the market by many Asian Channels.
The RTN also had an Urdu Channel ANJUMAN to target Pakistani viewers besides
Gujarati, Lashkara (Punjabi), Bengali and other regional language channels.
RAW is now concentrating on ZEE and SONY Entertainment Television (SET).
This is just one case that The Daily Mail has presented here for its valued
readers across the world. The Daily mail is near to complete its
investigations about RAW�s relations to many other Television Channels and
newspapers of India and Aajtak-RAW nexus would be the 2nd of this series of
investigative reports. The Daily Mail�s investigations indicate that RAW is
spending at least 500 million to 700 million rupees on media organizations
and individuals per year and ZEE TV project is not included in this budget.