Crime & Media Trial: The Religious Context

Religion: The Deciding Factor

"Don't judge me by my Religion"  Yes! You heard it right and that's the broader context that needs to be set here.

Crime simply put is"an action or omission which constitutes an offence and is punishable by law" 

Well! To be honest, I don't recall last I heard that term applicable in its true sense. In previous times and I am merely talking a decade, crime was still crime and the penance associated was more or less judged based on the severity of crime and the set of laws that prohibit and penalise for the same. The perception of people or society was also owing to the same set of rules. Ofcourse it wasn't all carved in the stone, there were exceptions, and those of similar kind that we are referring to here. But in general, the broader view was—to see the spade as spade. No doubt we also have had examples where the accused had used their influence, money or might to abuse the loopholes in the judicial system and get away with the crime. Something that puts the very foundation of our justice system on the docks. The most recent ones involving the massive corruption cases of the previous ruling dispensation. However that's a seperate subject that I wish to discuss another time. 

Coming back to the perception bit in the present scenario...I am amazed how the very definition of crime has undergone a drastic change and so has the perception of the onlookers (public). Today its more like crime vis a vis religion of victim or the accused with complete disregards to nature of crime, its severity or its consequences. The blame is on the government and very rightly so for not being able to draw that line or restore faith in judiciary and the law & order. No doubt they have been found complicit. However before we actually pin this entirely on the government we also need to equally analyse the role of our media or what we no refer to as "Breaking News Media". 

Remember how post the Godhra incident (2002) media played an active role in pitching the entire Hindu population against the Muslims and created unrest throughout the country. They weren't going that extra mile for their sense of justice, it would still have been acceptable if that were the case. But their focus was the viwership numbers by sensationalising the henious crime. The concept of generalisation has spread like an epidemic ever since. Once a pillar of democracy, today the media is on the verge of loosing its credibility. Just for making quick money or sky rocket those trps, its all gone dirty with the media and they are ready to stoop to any levels to get their hands on a story, spice it up and serve it in communal or biased flavours to the people via the so called breaking news! Criminals, repeat offenders etc are increasingly finding this as a leeway not just to escape harsher criminal proceeding but also to draw mileage in their favour, and even create unrest for ulterior motives, as commonly seen in case of politicians. This is certainly turning into a dangerous trend. Here we elaborate this further with recent examples:

The Media Trials Trend...

Last year 28th Sep 2015 a senior citizen in the village of Dadri (UP) was brutally beaten to death by a mob over rumours of butchering a cow and consuming its meat. Again one may not deny the sort of environment that was gradually building up after some beef restrictions began in Maharashtra. This instance was a serious law and order issue, and that of vigilante or fanaticism, whichever way you put it. No doubt the crime was committed by the Hindu majority in the area and there was definite incitement from certain anti social elements, which led the mob go berserk and break into the vicitims house. Eventually mob justice took over and an innocent life was lost. And that's always the case with mob justice, that's the reason we have courts—afterall we don't live in a Talibani society where dictats are issued and have to be adhered to. However, in a state as communally sensitive as UP this wasn't the first of its kind, and unfortunately not the last either. The state has had been in news for crime, mob violence and communal riots in the past too. Post this unfortunate incident the media took it on their shoulders to conduct trials and the entire print media, news channels and even social media was suddenly erupting  with communal and cooked up stories. Prime time news in all mainstream media ran stories and entire day coverage for weeks with headlines "Muslim man lynched by Hindu Mob", "Mob kills Muslim man over Beef" etc. Day in, day out this was a hot topic and what it did was disturb the harmony and create a divide in the society—specifically between the majority and minority community.  When the situation was already tense this only added fuel to the fire. Then to draw mileage—expecting to score in the poll-bound state of Bihar, the politicians too jumped in and with all their fanfare met the family of the deceased. I don't condemn it but why this rush all of a sudden and then those communal speeches to incite the public. They did promise justice—but did they really fullfill that very promise? Even compensation and government job were also thrown as bait for the family. Intellectuals, historians etc were also not far behind and started a trend called "Award Waapsi" or returning their awards/felicitation that were bestowed upon them by the government for contributions or achievements. There was unrest and India was introduced to term called "intolerance" which has remained a hot topic till date. Essentially this intolerance wasn't just aimed at polarising but also destabilising the government. Soon India was being shamed globally with likes of BBC, CNN, RT etc running the story globally. Meanwhile in all this hulabaloo, what was missed was justice for the victim and future prevention of such crimes. Trust me none of us bothered to look back either at the family or find out whether the perpetrators were severely punished. To everyone surprise, the lab that tested the meat samples recently revised their finding stating it wasn't cow meat. Of course that cannot bring back the dead but again raises concern as cow slaughter is banned and punishable by law in the state.

Earlier this year in January 2016 a student in Hyderabad University committed suicide. Again this was not the first of its kind incident, there were nine previous cases but the political class and media took it to the street and even stalled the parliament. Again they were at their best to create further unrest and divide in the society by highlighting the caste of the deceased student with headlines running as "Dalit student succumbs to pressure" etc. Students too united and took this to streets and again country wide university campuses saw protests and strikes. Whose loss, well that's the big question?? Did it really resolve anything? While this case is still not closed, I am pretty sure it will serve as a ramp to uplift several political careers and put government in the back foot, but by the end of it we will still be left with the same question—was justice actually served, and what next?

Few more headlines that we saw:

Muslim tenant asked to vacate in Mumbai due to her religion

Muslim techie killed in Bangaluru

Dalit Girl raped in broad daylight

See how these bold markers actually shift focus from the crime and are being deliberately handpicked to create ruckus. Again these are selectively picked crimes against the minority communities. While highlighting crime is certainly helpful in creating awareness in the society but such highlights are rather counter productive. These are not the only cases but reason I cited them was for them being most hyped in recent past. Now do we see a trend here? Of-course we do! News like this are fodder for politicians, anti social elements, some religious leader and preachers to unleash their dirty tricks department, create a communal divide and influence our minds to extent that we start hearing/visualising similar stories around us. As for media sensationalising such news and running such headers help them seek wider audience. Even people who know nothing of country affairs or are indifferent otherwise also suddenly get glued to such stories. Needless to mention the younger audience who are being severely influenced or rather brain-washed by it.

What Next?

So the question remains, before reaching conclusion basis such news, have we ever tried to read between the lines or even question ourselves as to:

Are these few cases the only atrocities that are happening around us?

Why do we never see news like Hindu men beaten to death or a Brahmin girl brutally raped?

Why did we mostly hear Mosques attacked or Churches vandalised during the run-up for election

Why media, politicians are focused on highlighting crime against minorities?

Why no corrective plan has been put in place till now, if at all they are so concerned for our well being?

Why do we often tag people by their religion in the first place?

There may be zillions of such 'Whys' which still have half baked answers or have never been properly acknowledged. End of day its for us to decide what we want to believe. But then its all the more essential that we use our rationale and not our prejudices or bias and simultaneously be aware of the facts while reaching a conclusion, because what may sometimes seem depressing to us may further prove to be more damaging for the society. 'Ignorance is bliss' and that's were sane mind takes over, and ask questions rather than jumping to conclusions based on preconceived notions. The truth and nothing but the truth.

Lets do our part and try and build a healthy ethos around us. Spread love, not hatred!

~Peace