CNN-IBN, IBN7 - Criminally Communal Channels

There is something about our media celebs that makes them hate anything remotely connected with Hinduism or the Hindu religion. Any symbol related to Hinduism or their spiritual leaders or Gurus is an insult to the intelligence of these elites. Of the many media outlets that frequently ridicule Hinduism, CNN-IBN and its sidekick IBN7 are channels that are undisputed leaders. Not so long ago CNN-IBN’s Sagarika Ghose ran a fraudulent live show about SriSri Ravi Shankar and his campaign against corruption. It was a case enough to ‘Sack Sagarika’. But just as in politics, nepotism prevails in the media too and she continues merrily on the channel, frequently spouting venom against Hindus, subtly on TV or more brazenly on Twitter. When the damage is done and she faces a backlash her typical response is to play victim. Here are some recent transactions by CNN-IBN’s Managing Director, Rajdeep Sardesai:

The tweet on the left was in response to many demanding coverage of the anniversary of Emergency on June 25, 2012. Now, what exactly does Emergency have to do with Babri? But unless a historic event of significance is not equated with some supposed ant-Hindu news Rajdeep’s equation is not complete. In reality, Emergency is a shame on the nation, destruction of democracy and is comparable with the tin-pot dictators of Pakistan, perhaps with Saddam Hussain, Pinochet or Idi Amin. Emergency was not an offence against any particular community. All communities paid a price. In contrast the Babri incident is one of many communal incidents in the country. If history is perspective, then Babri should be compared to Somnath and not to the Emergency. But such is the communal agenda of CNN-IBN.

On June 25 #Emergency75 trended all day on Twitter. So Rajdeep wants to know if tweeters will trend #Babri92 on December 6^.  While he actually doesn’t suggest it, it’s almost as if Babri happened as revenge for Emergency. It’s alarming that those who pass off as editors in media outlets cannot distinguish between a national tragedy and a communal incident. The number of people killed or permanently disabled during Emergency will neither be known nor be ever revealed because our current media would prefer another Emergency. They would like a censorship of all voices in the social media and would delight in peddling only the voice of the Congress and their ruling allies. The Justice Shah Commission report on the Emergency was buried and lost till recently a writer (Era Sezhiyan) put the pieces together in a book.

Here’s another tweet from the same evening. Once again Rajdeep drags Babri and Gujarat 2002 to balance Emergency and the 1984 “Riots”. Mind you, he and others in the media continue to refer to 1984 as “riots” and Gujarat 2002 as “pogrom”. Most will disagree with 1984 being termed “riots”. That was a systematic killing of ONLY Sikhs in retaliation. It wasn’t a conflict in which both Sikhs and others were killing each other. Only Sikhs were being killed by Congress cadres. Still, what’s the connection? Unless the BJP’s so-called sins are called into the debate it is unfair to talk about Emergency. All the events Rajdeep talks about happened much after Emergency and aren’t connected in anyway. This is the media’s idea of “balanced” crap!

In another tweet Rajdeep laments being called a “pseudo-secular”. Why? Because he did a programme on 1984 on its 25^th Anniversary and about Gujarat/Godhra on its 10^th Anniversary. This is where Rajdeep comes across and establishes himself as an outright LIAR. And I do call him a LIAR. For long the media had buried 1984. It is only when the media was churning out lies about Gujarat 2002 that people wondered why a similar campaign wasn’t there for 1984. What the liar Rajdeep forgets is that from the day Gujarat riots started he, in whichever channel he was, has carried out a relentless campaign almost every day against the perpetrators and particularly Narendra Modi.The anti-Gujarat shows weren't on anniversaries - those were every week, every month, every year and still continue. Such were the extent of lies that media even reported as if February 2002 had 30 days and not 28. The stories are all in the open now and probably there is as much guilt that Rajdeep feels as other media crooks for stories about Gujarat.

If Narendra Modi were a Muslim I seriously doubt any of these channels would have mentioned Gujarat beyond 2002 or 2003. If Narendra Modi were a Congressman then Gujarat2002 would have been buried by the media as they did 1984. If Narendra Modi were a Congressman he would have been awarded a Bharat Ratna, streets would be named after him, airports named after him, govt schemes would be named after him. And would you see the media protesting? Make a wild guess! This is the communal nature of Rajdeep, Sagarika and all other bimbos in our mainstream media. Hate Hindus, magnify any Hindu crime and suppress the crimes of their paymasters, particularly Congress. Of course, when challenged about being anti-Hindu Rajdeep will claim he is a proud Hindu! Why? Because he eats beef! That’s his measure.

Now, while there have been frequent accusations of CNN-IBN and IBN7 being anti-Hindu and communal here is proof if you ever needed it. The latest catch in the 26/11 is someone called Abu Jindal. Umm…  no one seems sure about his real name! He is also called Abu Jundal, Abu Hamza and new names might crop up soon. On every channel and newspaper there is only one picture of his – the one with the same expression and the same check-shirt. Wait, all except IBN7. An observant tweeter (@AwakeIndian) sent me this TV grab from the channel. 

Out of nowhere you have Abu Whatever seen wearing a Saffron Kurta. IBN7 dressed him up him in ‘Saffron’ and that colour is symbolic with Hindus. The mischief behind altering a commonly circulated image is not lost on people. Of course, the journalistic-bimbo would disagree and suggest that isn’t Saffron but ‘Orange’. AwakeIndian also points to the saffron shirt the anchor is wearing but I wouldn’t read much into that. What exactly is the motive behind photo-shopping the image of a suspected terrorist? 

This can be a good case for a criminal act under section 153A of the IPC – Creating communal disharmony, insulting the religious sentiments of a community and so on. The managing editor of IBN7, Ashutosh, is also often accused of his anti-Hindu stance. Such acts only confirm the agenda of the CNN-IBN group as a whole. So Rajdeep, Sagarika and Ashutosh and their team can flush their ‘secular’ credentials down the drain and stop any pretensions. Their tweets, their images, their misguided sense of ‘balance’ have been frequently exposed. In the case of SriSri, Sagarika claimed it was a “bug” and a genuine “mistake”. Nobody buys that anymore. As with that episode I have to repeat: It’s neither an error nor a mistake, it’s just wilful deception. The sly, subtle and deceptive anti-Hindu campaign will continue on their channels.

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