The storeroom where the victim was allegedly kept, in Kathua near Jammu. (Express Photo)
The editorial in Organiser claims that if the theory of Hindu terrorists was not enough of a misadventure, the Congress and its liberal-communist friends tried to float a new theory to brand the entire Hindu community as rapists or protectors of rapists. “The heinous crime against a minor girl is a matter of shame. The courts, time and again, have given directions against using the victim’s name in any sexual assault related case. What the locals of Jammu were demanding was a CBI probe and not saving the rapists. Still, they were projected as protectors of rapists. The case was used to malign the entire Hindu community, even Hindu Gods and Goddesses were invoked to vitiate the national atmosphere on communal lines. The fissures were created in Jammu and Kashmir, ultimately benefiting the Pakistan-supported separatists and terrorists,” the editorial argues.
The editorial contends that people will not forget that the UPA government not only floated the “saffron terror” theory, but also “promulgated the Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence Bill in 2011 to bracket the entire Hindu community as a perpetrator of violence?” The editorial then notes that as the Congress tries to project itself as “Hindu, its track record, the stand on various issues including that of infiltration, jihadi violence, fraudulent conversion etc,” will come under question. “Because of the atmosphere created by the ‘secular’ eco-system supported by the grand old party, common Hindus will always perceive Shri Rahul Gandhi as ‘forced to be a Hindu’ and not the real protector of the Hindu ethos,” the editorial contends.
Blaming the media
The editorial in Panchjanya targets the media over the coverage of the Kathua rape case. The editorial says it is a matter of concern that investigation for truth and social responsibility are disappearing from journalism. “Not sure how much the media is concerned abut this, but giving preference to faces and groups involved in violence, bandhs and making provocative speeches and statements, is a big reason for the continuous development of the media’s negative image,” the editorial argues. It adds that the Kathua rape incident was caught in a trap set by the media. It asks what reporting did the media conduct in a case, which has been taken from Jammu police and handed over to “Kashmir”. “Did the media investigate those who made the matter a political issue?” it asks.
The editorial also talks about the Bollywood actors, who joined the campaign demanding justice for the Kathua rape victim. It argues that the media did not bother to check if these actors, who were holding up placards, had any understanding of the issue at stake or social concerns, or if they were politically aligned and doing propaganda.
The editorial questions whether the biggest democracy of the world can allow its media to create, or become a tool of, political propaganda and social acrimony. The editorial maintains that the objective of the question was not to curtail the freedom of Press, but to research the anti-dote of the venom that was being spread in the society these days through different mediums of communication.