https://sundayguardianlive.com/opinion/ ... tern-media
[b]Emotional truth is first, factual truth is secondary: India’s rise is hurting Western media
Om Dwivedi, October 8, 2023[/b]
At times, Eurocentric media’s aversion to India and its policies is brazen and smacks of hypocrisy, abrasive-audacity.
In one of the scenes of The Merchant of Venice, Antonio says, “In sooth, I know not why I am so sad. It wearies me.” This emotional dictum continues to grip and pull several Western media towards India, portraying a negative stereotype of India. It is symptomatic of an old disease, a “plague of the mind” for which no vaccine is available. It is, therefore, not surprising to see this contagious disease surviving and thriving even in the age of globalization.
It is not just about any one Western media. India has mostly been portrayed in dark shades by the chunk of them. The verbal bashing has only intensified ever since Narendra Modi has come to power. The rise of India and the subsequent strengthening of Modi’s position on the global platform has only added more fuel to the fire as far as many Western media outlets are concerned. The colonial hatred continues to permeate several of the reportage on and about India.
But let’s zoom out for a moment to reflect on the recent renditions of the colonial tendency that underpins the Western media. For example, commenting on the current impasse that one witnesses in the Indo-Canadian relationship, a UK-based newspaper was quick to run an article, “The West’s Modi Problem.” In its attempt to present PM Modi in a dark shade, the newspaper inadvertently positioned the entire West against Modi. How shall we see this burgeoning convergence of the Western media in our daily lives—an account of perverse pleasure or creative paralysis?
The same orientalist framing was visible when India became the first nation to land Chandrayaan-3 on the southern pole of the moon. Here is the New York Times coverage, “In a country with a deep tradition of science, the excitement and anticipation around the landing provided a rare moment of unity in what has otherwise been fraught times of sectarian tension stoked by divisive policies of Mr. Modi’s ruling Hindu nationalist party.”
It appears as if these biased Western reportages are singularly focused on the underbelly of India as well as its resentment class, thus assigning themselves the job of a solitary truthteller. So, while the entire world was observing the developments of the G20 Summit, there were media reports that smacked of voyeuristic pleasure as they deliberately tried to highlight the slum area and poverty.
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Gautam
(Kolkata, West Bangladesh)
