Tidbits of the region’s media

Arundhati Roy is in trouble (yes, again). Much has been said, printed, ranted and blogged about her supposedly seditious (oooooh!) statements in Kashmir in October. While the Indian media went to never-before-known highs of frothing frenzy in their attempt to condemn Roy's 'anti-Indian-ness', papers and channels across the border in Pakistan presented the opposite picture. Her statements, particularly when she said that Kashmir never was 'Bharat's atoot ang' (the horror!), got immense play. Chhetria Patrakar could actually hear the refrain of 'Ha! Y'hear that? Do ya?' in the background.

While journalists on both sides of the Line of Control proved their lack of research skills (most commentators had obviously not bothered to listen to Roy's speech, even though it was easily accessible on YouTube), in India even the courts joined the fray. A city court ordered the Delhi police to file a status report on a complaint filed against Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Roy and others on sedition and hate-speech charges. Wow, the honourable court in question really seems to be holding all relevant laws of evidence in abeyance in this case! And while sharing the stage with patriarchal, parochial womenhaters such as Geelani doesn't really do many favours for Roy's secular credentials, if those protesting her statements had bothered to listen to her speech (CP's looking right at you, BJP Mahila Morcha!), they would have realised that she was doing nothing more than upholding the Kashmiris' constitutional right to self-determination. As such, it is those who oppose that right who are actually being seditious (oops!).

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Kashmir certainly does seem to be the hot potato (well, hotter than usual) this autumn. Following reports that the 'Kashmir dispute' had been removed from the UN Security Council's list, the media on both sides of the LoC went bonkers again, with the Indian side celebrating the move and the Pakistani side lodging protests. It turned out, however, that the issue was indeed included – right there where it should be, under the 'India-Pakistan question'. Either way, Kashmir duur ast, and media personnel in both countries need to start concentrating on 'real' issues – the unrest in Northeast India or Balochistan, for instance. And the media in Pakistan might also want to take a look at the continuing plight of the victims of the 2010 floods.

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The Sri Lanka government continues to amuse, if that's the right word, allowing for a few stares of disbelief between the gnashing of teeth. Recently, the Qatarbased Al Jazeera network (which CP adores, by the way) released pictures and footage of what wire reports described as 'piles of dead bodies and execution-style killings allegedly taken during the final stages of Sri Lanka's civil war'. Soon thereafter, Colombo denied visas to an Al Jazeera crew that wanted to cover the second-term swearing-in of President Mahinda Rajapakse, and also visit the Tamil areas of the north. An External Affairs Ministry spokesperson even went so far as to dismiss the damning pictures as a fabrication. If so, CP wonders what Rajapakse's government is trying to hide by denying visas to journalists. Hmmm!

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Not to be outdone, the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) has, 'on the advice of intelligence agencies', ordered a new ban. This time around, the axe has fallen on the Baloch Hal, the only online newspaper from and about Balochistan. CP wonders who the PTA-wallahs think they work for, and whether they have forgotten that money to run the organisation and pay its staff 's salaries comes from taxes – and not the boys from Spookesville. As for the latter, when on earth are they going to realise that the ambiguous 'notional security' mantra has long since lost its lustre?

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On the subject of harassment of media personnel, journalists in Manipur shut down operations in early November (for the third time in a little under two years), to protest continuing threats from 'armed underground groups' – the Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP, no relation to CP) in particular. It all started with the murder of a local government official, who was summarily executed for alleged 'criminal activity'. One faction of the KCP issued a statement, claiming responsibility for the murder. Soon after, another faction issued threats to the media to not publish the first faction's statement, because – drumroll! – the murder had actually been committed by the second faction! What? Apparently, this isn't the first time something along these lines has happened, and CP honestly does not envy the Manipur journalists' jobs.

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Facebook, it should be noted, albeit briefly, has received divine patronage; well, from one god at least. Hanuman now has a Facebook profile, and might be getting an e-mail account soon, thanks to a certain Sankat Mochan Temple Trust. Divinity has never before been so accessible!

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If India Today is to be believed, Goa is the centre of all 'vice' (read: sex work and drug-peddling) and needs a new name: Sin City. India Today has proof too: pictures of women in bikinis dancing and partying on the beaches!! Can it be true? CP can almost picture thewriter(s) and editor(s) concerned looking at the pictures), throwing fits about 'deteriorating Eastern mores' – all the while, of course, forgetting that showing skin does not automatically mean that a woman is a sex worker, and that prostitution is very much a part of 'Eastern' culture (does the term devadasi ring bells?). What said writers and editors are hoping to promote, on the other hand, are Victorian morals, and there's nothing 'Eastern' about that, is there, darlings?

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The Bharatiya Janata Party just can't seem to find enough things to throw fits about. Hindutva goons are now threatening actor Kapil Sharma, who plays a gay man in the inanely named flick Dunno y … na jaane kyun? According to BJP-wallahs, the movie 'promotes' homosexuality. And here CP always thought that sexual orientations were actually things that people were born with. Tsk! Thank you, BJP, for bringing us errant folk on the right path.

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Speaking of movies from India, Rajinikanth's Enthiran (or Robot) has been doing brisk business worldwide – it even played at theatres in Pakistan! The censor board in the latter, however, thought fit to edit out a scene in which a woman gave birth. Hmmm. Did they consider childbirth 'dirty' and unfit for viewing? Or did they think that the audience would be titillated by it? Either way, any group that worries over childbirth being considered either dirty or titillating has a few screws loose. Nonetheless, after watching Enthiran – raw and uncut – CP now knows for sure: god exists, he is 61 years old, and his name is Rajinikanth.

~ Chhetria Patrakar.