Media lost its relevance.

Indian media, esp. English, which arrogated itself in to thinking that their views represent what is the best for this country might be needing this kind of reaction, a Journalist beaten by Muslim mob for asking questions, here it is an unfortunate and brave Urdu Journalist, more often so that it could come out of its self created cage i.e. never report anything that is unfavorable to Muslims and Islamic interests esp. when radicals are involved. But it gets more unlikely from now that our secular Journos will ever put inconvenient questions to self styled representatives of Muslims. Present day definition of secularism is all about tolerating Islamic intolerance and violence.

Media never reported anything on Muslim radicals starting violence in Deganga and destroying many Hindu temples in the aftermath too (here). They have not reported that Hindus in Deganga have boycotted Durga Pooja celebrations this year. Media stayed silent when Muslims started violence in Hyderabad and in Karnataka and even in Gujarat. Media was indifferent when Muslim radicals cut off the hands of a lecturer in Kerala. It never cared when Muslim students were threatening lecturers to wear veil nor when Muslim organizations threatened a Muslim girl for not wearing veil. They said nothing when Muslims attacked and burned a Church in Punjab. Neither politicians did react to any of these.

People ask why Islamic critics use broad brush when few miscreants are responsible. One gets the answer partially here. Well it is not critics who are using the broad brush; it is media and politicians who are pointing to this view by their conspicuous silence. Compare this silence with the way Media reacted to Ayodhya verdict. The gulf between media, opportunistic politicians, self styled liberals and seculars, on one side, and ordinary people, on the other side, keeps increasing. If it was really a problem of few miscreants, our home minister would not have called for calm in this country when some one planned to burn a Koran in US. The fact that Muslim radicals burned down a church over rumors should itself speak for how well the feelings of Islamic supremacism are imprinted in many minds. It is these same supremacist feelings that have made Muslims to attack the journalist.

http://news.rediff.com/slide-show/2010/oct/14/slide-show-1-bukhari-thrashes-scribe-over-ayodhya-query.htm    (Video footage is also available at this link.)
{Shahi Imam of the Delhi Jama Masjid, Maulana Syed Ahmed Bukhari, on Thursday  lost his cool when a journalist questioned him regarding the Ayodhya verdict during a press conference, following which he was thrashed by supporters of the cleric.

Mohammed Abdul Waheed Chisti, a reporter with a local Urdu daily, raised a question relating to the ownership of the disputed site before the construction of the Babri mosque in Ayodhya.
.....
Initially, Bukhari skirted the question but when the journalist insisted, he was threatened. "Get him out of this conference, Bukhari shouted while accusing the journalist of working against the interests of the Muslims," he said. Bukhari's supporters then thrashed the journalist in full public glare. People like him will 'not be tolerated by Muslims at any cost,' the Shahi Imam said before leaving the press conference. .......}

Now look at the wording. Islamic interests? For, Radical Muslims here, these people also shout for true secularism and what this is all about! Their interests should override every other thing. In any decent country such people, like Imam here, would have been behind the bars. But this is India, where even Muslim cabinet ministers can issue a murderous fatwa freely. But when the nation has decided to overlook incidents like some political parties claiming to be secular have poll alliances with IUML (Islamic party) and Jamaat-e-Islaami-Hind (Read the last paragraph from this link), the nature of this kind of incidents and expressions is just insignificant can be overlooked too.

Note on Hyderabad riots: This year, at the end of March, Hyderabad has witnessed, yet again, communal riots. Dishonesty or shame are lesser words to describe the way media (esp. English media) reported on these riots.

It all started on the Islamic festival of Prophet Mohammad's birthday; on this occasion, Muslims have put up flags and banners on roadside. But the law stipulates that these should be removed with in 3 to 7 days and Muslims did not care to remove these religious flags and banners even in 10 days. And the police, with a Muslim officer being a commissioner of police, did not have guts to ask Muslims to abide by law and remove the flags in its accordance.

Then, Hanuman Jayanti came and Hindus intending to keep their own flags removed the Islamic flags esp. the ones which are tied to electric poles. Small quarrel started during this incident and it grew when Muslims started pelting stones at Hindu religious procession.

But, the media reports never mentioned about Muslims not removing flags as the law stipulated and most have not even mentioned Hindus trying to replace Islamic flags as this will lead to their readers asking some unpleasant questions. For them, the clashes were just a routine affair and in the end Muslim were just victims. The way Govt. reacted to this whole episode should invite every ones scorn as it simply banned display of all religious flags in the future.

While I read all this from telugu daily EENADU, the news published by English media close to reality is not of Indian origin but Reuters (here).