Page 107 - Conflict, Terrorism, and the Media In Asia

96 Prasun Sonwalkar
midnight. As we were driving back to Ahmedabad, we were stopped by a mob
of around 30 to 40 ‘trishul’ (trident) and lathi (stick)-wielding youth. They
asked us our names, our religious identity and wanted to inspect our cameras.
We desperately tried to flash our press credentials, but before we could react,
one youth climbed on the bonnet of our Tata Sumo and proceeded to smash
our windscreen. Claiming that if any one of us belonged to the minority com-
munity we would be killed, our identities were closely inspected. Then, after
the car’s side window was also smashed, we were allowed to leave, but only
after we had joined the chorus in chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ (‘Hail Lord Ram’).
(Sardesai 2002b)
Dutt described the attack even more vividly:

They came swooping down on us like vultures lunging at a carcass. There
were at least 20 of them, faces remarkably indistinguishable. In fact, frenzied
though these men may have been on your TV screens, they had an almost
robotic, rehearsed air about them as they thrust their gleaming swords into
our windshield and barked: ‘What’s your religion?’ There was only one
answer to that. ‘Hindu’, I said (aware that an articulation of my agnostic
beliefs would guarantee the unspeakable), privately cringing for my camer-
aperson Ajmal Jami. What would we do if he were asked to produce an
identity card? For the rest of the journey we mentally made up false names
for him, and avoided addressing him in public.
An educated man stopped our crew on the streets of Vadodara, and excitedly
leapt out of his car. ‘You’re doing a good job, madam’, he said almost kindly,
‘but why don’t you ask the Muslims of Gujarat to apologise for Godhra?’ By
this time my patience had run thin. ‘I agree, sir’, I said, trying to sound calm,
‘but will all the Hindus of Gujarat also say sorry for the 600 Muslims who have
been killed?’ ‘It’s not the same’, he declared, before stomping off.
(Dutt 2002)

Journalists negotiate a minefield of situations while covering conflict. Their own
religious and cultural identities are often called into question – even if it is not to
their liking. The culture of intolerance of dissent or the mere presence of reporters
results in the messenger himself or herself becoming a target of attack.

Conclusion

The events of Gujarat 2002 acquire salience when viewed as part of Gujarat Chief
Minister Modi’s politics as permanent performance. It was widely dubbed as
India’s first riot for the satellite TV era, but it was less a riot than a pogrom. The
attacks against Muslims were clinically one-sided, much as the 1984 attacks
against the Sikhs had been. In the era of satellite television, the news media can
help highlight abuse of power and acts of passivity or complicity in acts of politi-
cal violence. Journalists face serious questions in such situations: How should they
use information provided by the government? How credible is such information