MEDIA

AND
COMMUNAL
RIOTS
 The media is the
conscience and voice of
the society and should
adopt self control and self
discipline in order to
perform its duties more
efficiently and diligently
 SOMETIMES MEDIA SENSATIONALIZES
ISSUES WHICH IS HARMFUL TO THE
SOCIETY AS A WHOLE
It should be responsive to the Society
There should be a self imposed Code of Conduct
in the larger interest of the society
Censorship is harmful for the freedom of Press
and media should not create a situation in which
censorship become inevitable
Self-imposed code of regulation is the need of the
hour and anybody violating it should be dealt
with stringently by the fraternity itself
Remember:
Facts are sacred and
comment-free
Get both sides of the story
Check your facts before
writing them

But they are not enough in

reporting communal riots . .
.
The guiding rules for reporters
should be:
Look for the background
Don't perpetuate the stereotype
Find residents who deal with both
communities;
Corroborate victims' accounts as well
as police accounts
Ascertain the role of the police, the
politicians and the media
Highlight stories where communities
have helped each other
In the first few days of the Mumbai terror attacks on
November 26, 2008, The Times of India carried a set of
'briefs' on top of every news page, which served as news
highlights, alongside the headline 'Warfront Mumbai'.
Among them was 'Foreigners who are Muslims have
reportedly been guaranteed safety by the terrorists'. This
was carried on Friday, November 28.
Imagine the reaction of readers to this bit of
information. Crucial no doubt, in determining the identity
of the terrorists. But worth separating from the text and
highlighting? What would have been an average Hindu's
instant reaction, especially against the backdrop of the
spate of bomb blasts in the last four months and the
hype about jehadi terror? And how would an average
Muslim have reacted? Would this kind of news highlight
have raised communal animosity or lowered it?
Do not to name the communities
involved (to prevent readers from
getting worked up)
Bland reports about two groups
clashing and one place of worship
being attacked are designed to leave
readers of both communities in the
dark, which is good in a way
Reporting a communal event is as
sensitive, delicate and challenging as
the event itself
A parallel here is the Gujarati press. Its readers would
have continued to buy Gujarati papers even had they
not blanked out all news of the violence against Muslims
after the Sabarmati burning in Godhra. Instead, the
Gujarati press published wrong accounts of what
happened after the train was burnt, including gory tales
of Hindu travellers being raped and their breasts cut
off in mosques adjoining Godhra station. They did not
print the collector's rebuttal of such 'news'. Nor did they
print the letters of condemnation issued immediately
after the incident by Godhra's Muslims, nor the open
apology on behalf of his community by Maulana Umerji,
the maulvi of Godhra's Ghanchi Muslims. This apology
was made at a peace committee meeting called by the
collector. The 70-plus Umerji is still in jail as a
conspirator in the train burning.
One can safely say that the telecast of the demolition of the
Babri Masjid on December 6 by the BBC did play a role in
provoking Muslims to come out on the streets in many cities,
including Mumbai. What angered them was not just the
demolition amid scenes of jubilation by the RSS cadre, but also
the inactivity of policemen posted there to prevent the
demolition. That is why the first Muslim mobs in Mumbai, on
December 6 and even the next morning, vented their ire on
public property and symbols of government, such as municipal
vans. The only Hindu targeted that evening in Mumbai was a
local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader who had actively
campaigned on the Ayodhya issue.
What is significant, however, is the violence after the demolition
by Hindu parties, directed against Muslims. Shiv Sainiks targeted
Muslims in Dharavi during a victory rally after the demolition;
later that night, a Muslim was killed in Mahim. The media played
no role in this communal violence. However, the Shiv Sena
mouthpiece Saamna had been carrying anti-Muslim editorials for
a long time, portraying the so-called kar seva at Ayodhya as a
religious war in which Hindus had to take part.
When reported in the
media, certain events
assume and induce
repercussion of
national, and
sometimes
international, character
The media, which enjoys the
utmost freedom of expression, has
a great and vital role to play in
moulding public opinion on correct
lines in regard to the need of
friendly and harmonious relations
between various communities and
religious groups and thus promote
national solidarity
The media should not to
distort, or exaggerate,
should not employ
intemperate, inciting and
unrestrained language
The local papers
particularly should
strictly adhere to this
The role of media in such situations
is to be peacemakers and not
abettors, to be troubleshooters and
not troublemakers
Let the media play their noble role
of promoting peace and harmony
among the people in times of crises
Any trend to disrupt the peace
either directly or indirectly should
be considered an anti-national act
 The media
consider its
reportage in the
interest of the
nation as a whole
Any news report printed or
published by the print media or
relayed by the electronic media
in contravention of ethical
norms in reporting or
commenting on matters
pertaining to communal
harmony is likely to invite
penal action under the
provisions of Section 295-A of
the Indian Penal Code and
Section 295A in The Indian Penal Code

Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to

outrage religious feelings of any class by
insulting its religion or religious beliefs.
Whoever, with deliberate and malicious
intention of outraging the religious feelings
of any class ofcitizens of India, by words,
either spoken or written, or by signs or by
visible representations or otherwise],
insults or attempts to insult the religion or
the religious beliefs of that class, shall be
punished with imprisonment of either
description for a term which may extend to
4[three years], or with fine, or with both.]
The Press Council by the norms
set out, ordained the media to
avoid sensational, provocative
and alarming headlines, avoid
details that might hurt
religious sentiments; as also
the reports that could
undermine the peoples
confidence in the maintenance
and restoration of peace and
law and order
The importance of the media is
in imparting to the citizens at
large, information and analysis
in a balanced and impartial
manner
The media, as a chronicle of
tomorrows history, owes an
undeniable duty to the future
to record events as simple
untailored facts
The language we use: "disputed structure"
for the Babri Masjid; "feisty sanyasin" for
Uma Bharati, the woman who cheered as
the Babri Masjid was being brought down,
the politician who enjoyed fast cars when
she was chief minister of Madhya Pradesh;
"terror techie" for the Muslim computer
experts suspected of planting bombs; no
adjective at all for Lt Col Purohit, a serving
officer of our army, arrested for planting
bombs aimed at killing Indian citizens he
was duty bound to protect; "terrorists" for
suspected Muslim bombers, but
"extremists" for Hindus arrested for
planting bombs in Thane; "sensitive areas"
for Muslim mohallas in Mumbai alone,
In times crisis, facts unadorned and simply
put, with due care and restraint, cannot be
reasonably objected to in a democracy
However, a heavy responsibility devolves on
the author of opinion articles
The journalist has to ensure that not only
are his or her analysis free from any
personal preferences, prejudices or notions,
but also they are based on verified,
accurate and established facts and do not
tend to foment disharmony or enmity
between castes, communities and races
The prime objective of Press Council of India
(PCI) is to awaken the press to the need for
conforming to the highest ethical standards
Even in its quasi-judicial role the Press Council
does not don the mantle of a taskmaster
Its aims not to punish but to act as a
conscience keeper and advisor to provoke the
media to introspect on the ethicality of its
reportage
This is possible, only if cooperation is
extended from all quarters including the press
in its own interest
A greater onus lies in times
of crisis on the regional
media rather than the
national media, in restoring
the faith of the public in the
law and order situation and
encouraging communal
harmony and amity
The media should be well
advised to give due
consideration to the
implications and impact of its
coverage of this and similar
instances when truth and
factual accuracy alone cannot
be the criterion to determine
the suitability of a publication
that could as well foment
passions as douse them
Norm 23 of the Guide to Journalistic
Ethics, reproduced as follows:
Photo-journalism is an important part of
the print media. While intrusion through
photography into personal grief likely to
hurt sentiments or arouse communal
passions, should be avoided, publication
of photographs serving the larger public
interest can not be termed as unethical or
in bad taste
At the same time, another norm (24 C of
the Guide to Journalistic Ethics) advises
the press to avoid mentioning the names
of communities of the victims of the riots
The editor should be vigilant in allowing
the publication of photographs with the
captions appended
Actually, no hard and fast rules can be
laid down in the matter and the editor
has to allow his conscience to guide
him up the path of ethical rectitude
Reports and / or photographs that may
directly or indirectly give away the
identity of the victims / attackers
should be avoided
 Cultural and
religious symbols /
images that may
give away the
identity of the
victims or attackers
should be avoided
 References:
http://www.hvk.org/specialrepo
/pci/index.html

http://vibhutinarain.blogspot.
com/2010/01/media-should-intro
spect-to-give-right.html
http://infochangeindia.org/Age
nda/Reporting-conflict/Reporti
ng-communal-conflict.html
Thank You