War and farce

How television channels and social media became a national disgrace.

For “New India” chroniclers, nothing is surprising any more. Every event is an occasion to pitch for votes. And by implication, every event involves “media management”—the crux of which is to burnish the image of the leadership: a leader who is muscular, tough-talking, and a man of action. Equally, weaponise, staunch information flow, and distract, in order to control the narrative and protect holy cows in the government.

Disentangling the politics of the ruling BJP and the politics of the image purveyed by television and social media platforms is by no means an easy task, especially given the manner in which both have been weaponised by the current government, collateral be damned as long as the image of the leader shines.

The tone of the media coverage was set on April 24 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi cut short his official visit to Saudi Arabia after the Pahalgam terror attack. But instead of attending a scheduled all-party meeting, he air-dashed to Bihar’s Madhubani for what appeared to be an election rally. There, he thundered: “Today, from the soil of Bihar, I say to the whole world: India will identify, track, and punish every terrorist and their backers. We will pursue them to the ends of the earth. India’s spirit will never be broken by terrorism.”