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The Hindu, Opinion, Monday, December 17,
2001
Breeding little hawks
By Javed Jabbar
Getting children to raise hands in response
to one-liner questions on issues as solemn as war and peace, as
life and death, epitomised the superficial yet potentially
dangerous uses to which TV is put.
ON THE night of December 9, 2001, at about 11 p.m. Pakistan
Standard Time or about 11-30 p.m. Indian Standard Time, the Star
News TV channel based in New Delhi telecast a special edition of
``Star Talk''. It was hosted by Mr. Vir Sanghvi and featured the
Indian Information Minister, Ms. Sushma Swaraj. They faced 30 to
40 school children aged between 10 and 14 years. The special
edition was recorded and telecast to mark UNICEF's observance of
Universal Children's Day.
One expected a special programme like this to concentrate young
and tender minds on subjects of shared human interest, of common
global values so as to do justice to the true meaning and
significance of Universal Children's Day. But going by about 80
per cent of the programme's content, it would have been more
appropriate to telecast the show on a day specially invented to
mark ``Universal Hate Your Neighbour Day''.
The school children looked intelligent and charming. They
appeared capable of exercising their own minds quite
independently on their own to the extent that children can do at
their ages. However, judging by the content and tone of most of
their questions put to the honourable Minister they had clearly
been coached or primed in advance by a certain kind of adult
mindset that seems to be soaring to new heights in India since
the BJP took charge, and more specially since Kargil and
September 11, 2001.
The very first question put by a child, if I recall correctly,
posed the following profound thesis: ``Since the U.S.A has begun
bombing Afghanistan after the attack on the Twin Towers in New
York, why should not, or cannot, India apply the policy of `hot
pursuit' and attack targets in Pakistan and/or Pakistan-occupied
Kashmir?'' This thoroughly adult opening proposition was
virtually an echo of the line that is being assiduously promoted
for the past few weeks by certain analysts on Indian TV talk
shows. The obvious intent is to give popular currency to the
concept and term `hot pursuit': so that even children begin using
it as a perfectly acceptable option for India's conduct.
Succeeding questions sustained the direction set by the opening
salvo. ``Why should we wait (to use force)?'' ``Kashmir is just
the start (by Pakistan)''. ``As Kashmir is legally a part of
India, how many Indians will have to go on dying before the
terrorism by Pakistan stops?''
Some children had either been given less abrasive suggestions or
they themselves were assertive enough to pose questions of a
different nature. For example: ``Do you think the people of
Kashmir care more for Pakistan than they do for India?'' And,
``Why are there so many terrorists?''
One innocent child narrated a hypothetical query posed by a
teacher in school to the effect: ``What will happen if Kashmir is
given to Pakistan?'' This was like throwing a full toss to the
lady. She duly obliged by lifting it right out of the ground.
Predictably, she spoke in capital letters to say ``no'' just in
case some naive Pakistanis were expecting this gift to come true.
But just to make sure such a heresy was not repeated, however
hypothetical and well-intentioned it may be to provoke some sober
reflection on the subject, the BJP leader emphasised that neither
this aberrant teacher nor any other teacher for that matter
should ever dare to pose such hypothetical questions again.
When Ms. Swaraj was not breathing fire and brimstone about
Pakistan, she also pointed out that Indian Muslims have never
sided with Pakistan on Kashmir. In any case, Indian Muslims have
enough of other crises of survival, security and equity of
opportunity to worry about instead of also joining the Kashmir
issue to their lives. No one in Pakistan, including India's
favourite Pakistani institution, the ISI, wants or expects Indian
Muslims to take up the Kashmir issue.
There was also reference by the children to some other very adult
reflections such as the need to do away with Article 370 of the
Constitution that gives Jammu and Kashmir special status. As also
a concern about how non-Kashmiri Indians are thus prevented from
migrating into Jammu and Kashmir and owning property. The
remaining portion of the programme dealt with children's views
about the new laws being introduced in India to deal with
terrorism and with other subjects.
Some of the children in their supplementary comments proved that
they have an inherent ability to pose pertinent questions and
comments. When one child referred to a recent visit to Pakistan
by a group of Indian children and how friendly they found
Pakistani children to be, Ms. Swaraj began to make the
distinction between the people of Pakistan and the Government of
Pakistan so as to presumably ascribe all that is bad to the
Government. But at this critical moment, for some inexplicable
reason, our TV screen went blank for a couple of minutes. So I
cannot be sure about how she went on to stress the goodness of
the people of Pakistan but I am sure that she did so.
Other answers by Ms. Swaraj either built upon the incendiary
nature of the loaded questions put by the children or injected
her own views about Pakistan to ensure that the hostile opening
tone was maintained in the minds of children and others
vulnerable to such insinuations.
On a special occasion and at a time in history when the focus
should have been, say, on the devastating effect of the Kashmir
dispute on Kashmiri children's lives, their families, their
education, their well- being, the entire emphasis was on
villianising Pakistan and spewing vitriol. There was not a single
reference to the children of that territory.
This TV programme seemed like an Indian madrassah of the airwaves
for overt and covert indoctrination. In a country which rightly
prides itself on its pluralism and diversity, this show was
evidence of how, using the facade of freedom of speech, a blanket
uniformity of opinion is sought to be imposed. Incidentally, not
all madrassahs are centres of brain-washing - but that is another
story!
The shock one felt at this callous approach to children masked
under homilies and tributes to their ``intelligence'' and
``patriotism'' gave way to a sense of pity and sadness for those
who speak and act like this in India. They belong to a country so
large, so rich in history and human talent. Yet they are
blinkered, alas, with so limited a vision. To resort to
exploiting children as intellectually bonded labour to state an
untenable case is remorse extremis.
Mr. Sanghvi made a vital contribution to ensure the pre-
determined bias of the show. At one stage, he asked the children
to show their hands to answer his question: ``How many of you
think war (with Pakistan) is inevitable?'' When several put up
their arms, he concluded that there was a fair number of hawks in
the studio. With similar helpful nudges and shoves he made sure
the war dragon huffed and puffed through the show.
Getting children to raise hands in response to one-liner
questions on issues as solemn as war and peace, as life and
death, epitomised the superficial yet potentially dangerous uses
to which TV is put. This TV show symbolises the urgency of the
need for the media leadership in Pakistan and India to conduct a
critical introspection and replace such a poisonous, conceptual
approach with a more humane and harmonious vision.
(Writer's note: The following comment was written just before the
attack on the Indian Parliament on December 13, 2001.
Predictably, one of the immediate consequences of the
reprehensible terrorist incident is reiteration by certain
elements in India of their conviction that Pakistan is
responsible even though President Musharraf has immediately
categorically condemned the attack because there can be no
possible gain for Pakistan by sponsoring such actions. While the
December 13 event requires separate comment, this writer is of
the humble opinion that the TV programme with which this comment
deals concerns an equally disturbing theme: the fostering of
mistrust and hate between our two countries.)
(The writer is a former Information Minister of Pakistan.)