Page 93 - Conflict, Terrorism, and the Media In Asia

5 Shooting the messenger?

Political violence, Gujarat 2002

and the Indian news media

Prasun Sonwalkar

‘Communalism becoming news is not dangerous. News becoming communal is.’
(A poster of the Delhi Union of Journalists)

Introduction
This chapter presents an example of how journalists negotiate political minefields
and face criticism for the simple reason that their output may go against dominant
political interests. I focus on the coverage of the political violence in the western
Indian state of Gujarat in the spring of 2002 – which was widely seen as a pogrom
against Muslims – and explore some of the ethical, political and professional
dilemmas faced by journalists covering such events. Gujarat, the land of Gandhi,
is likely to remain in the news for some time for the events of 2002, when mobs
went on a rampage against Muslims and perpetrated some of the most gory acts
of violence since India’s independence in 1947. The nature of the news coverage
made as much news as the acts of political violence themselves.
My starting point is to propose that political violence, and even parliamentary
politics, can no longer be imagined without examining the ways in which they are
communicated. Several events of political violence can be best understood as spec-
tacles on television. CNN’s coverage that brought the 1991 Gulf War to our draw-
ing rooms was perceived by many as a video game war or a Hollywood movie. The
defining image of September 11 for millions outside New York is the spectacular
television footage of the planes ploughing into the twin towers. Political violence
makes for riveting television, which partly explains why news organizations
around the world invest millions covering wars and conflicts. In 2003, the cover-
age of the Iraq conflict by ‘embedded journalists’ made as much news as the con-
flict itself. On such occasions, the medium itself becomes the message.
The symbiotic relationship between the media and terrorism/political violence
has been the subject of several studies (Schmid and de Graaf 1982; Schlesinger
et al. 1983; Schlesinger 1991; Weimann and Winn 1993). There is a constant
struggle between state and non-state actors to ensure that their versions are promi-
nently covered by the news media. Given the close relationship between the news
media and political violence, Hansen’s (2004: 19) notion of ‘politics as permanent
performance’ is useful to understand and unpack major contemporary events.