Media silence on police crackdown at Jantar Mantar?
Leading newspapers seem to ignore the voices of students injured in the police crackdown at Jantar Mantar.
Most of the country's newspapers have developed 'Modiyabind'. Alternative media has coined a term for TV news channels – 'Godi Media'. However, newspapers are also included in this. Like corporate news channels, newspapers too do not want to lag behind in their devotion to the government. How can what is happening in front of the eyes be hidden, but corporate media makes this truth disappear and adds a Pakistan and China angle to it. There is an eye disease called cataract. But the popular media of the country has developed 'Modiyabind'. Meaning, corporate media views and presents news through the eyes of Modi and Shah.
During the Parliament march, the way Delhi Police brutally used batons and tear gas on students. But a day later, on Tuesday, the voices of students and protesters injured in this repressive action by Delhi Police were completely missing from the front pages of many major newspapers in the country.
Most major Hindi and English newspapers focused their front-page coverage on the police action against students and protesters attempting a peaceful Parliament march on Monday and the subsequent events spread across various areas of Central Delhi. However, The Indian Express published a report on the front page that included statements from injured protesters. But major Hindi newspapers like Dainik Jagran, Amar Ujala, and Navbharat Times completely ignored this truth.
Dainik Jagran published a lead story on the front page with the headline 'Chaos in Peaceful Parliament March, Delhi Held Hostage'. In this headline, students were described as chaotic. Not only this, but the protesting students were also accused of holding Delhi hostage. Dainik Jagran wrote in its report that a large part of the capital Delhi was affected due to the protest. Referring to police claims, the newspaper said that protesters pelted stones at security forces, threw stones at the police from inside a building, and vandalized a government office.
Interestingly, Dainik Bhaskar took the side of the students, saving its reputation. Dainik Bhaskar described this protest as "the largest protest towards Parliament in the last 14 years". The newspaper compared it to the widespread protests in Delhi after the Nirbhaya case in 2012.
It should be noted that for the past several days, thousands of students have been protesting at Jantar Mantar, demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over irregularities and mismanagement in competitive exams. With the start of the Parliament's monsoon session on Monday, the protesters planned to march to Parliament. The police tried to stop the march, but some protesters managed to reach near Parliament and gather in other parts of Central Delhi like Connaught Place.
Many protesters alleged that they were stopped from advancing amid heavy security arrangements. A protester claimed that the police first asked them to sit and then started the baton charge. A protester said that the protest was completely peaceful until the intervention of the security forces.
In its Tuesday edition, The Indian Express gave the headline on the front page— "Protesters reach the heart of Delhi, police use batons and tear gas to stop the march." The newspaper also prominently reported that representatives of the Cockroach Janata Party submitted their memorandum of demands to Union Minister and BJP President J.P. Nadda on Monday. Citing sources familiar with the developments, the newspaper wrote that no concrete assurance was given to the delegation from the government's side.
Ashutosh Ranka, the spokesperson of the campaign who met Nadda, later told Hindustan Times that the meeting was "inconclusive."
Ranka said,
"There was no response from the government. Next time, we will not engage in talks until they come to the protest site themselves. If they do not respect our time, we will not respect theirs."
However, Ranka's statement was not prominently featured on the front pages of most major newspapers published on Tuesday.
Hindustan Times prominently featured the clash between police and protesters, activist Sonam Wangchuk's announcement to continue his hunger strike, and the meeting between J.P. Nadda and representatives of the Cockroach Janata Party on the upper part of its front page.
The Hindu mentioned in its report that "many" people were injured in the police action. According to the newspaper, 38 injured were admitted to Lady Hardinge Medical College and 65 people to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital.
Meanwhile, the police claim that 60 protesters and 118 security personnel were injured during the clash.
The Times of India gave relatively less space to this incident compared to other major English newspapers. Its main story said that the police stopped the Parliament march, while J.P. Nadda met with representatives of the Cockroach Janata Party.