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OP-ED JULY 08, 2022 | The Indian Eye 12

Why Udaipur incident

needs a good probe

Views and opinions from the top commentators in Indian media

ollowing the gruesome murder
of Kanhaiya Lal in Udaipur
F – which was plainly an act of
terrorism – the course of investiga-
tion suggests that governments think
this was not an isolated local incident.
GoI yesterday directed the National
Investigation Agency to take over the
probe, with the search for internation-
al links being a key dimension. Rajas-
than CM Ashok Gehlot echoed the
view. He said the murder was meant
to spread terror and the information
available indicated the two perpetra-
tors have contacts overseas.
It bears mention that the two ter-
rorists, Mohmmad Riyaz Akhtari and
Gaus Mohammad, who have freely
admitted to murdering Lal, apparent-
ly belong to groups that believe that
the “punishment” for “blasphemy”
must be death. Indeed, the most chill-
ing aspect of what Riyaz and Gaus did
was the videography, reminiscent of MI Road market wears a deserted look during the Jaipur Bandh called to protest against the killing of
ISIS-style brutality. Clearly, what hap- Kanhaiya Lal by two men in Udaipur, in Jaipur on Thursday (ANI)
pened in Udaipur requires a multi-lev-
el and multi-agency response. and majoritarian communalism to be confronting fake news, and are brave
The other crucial job for investi- Media Matters
gators is to figure out whether Riyaz overtaken by an obsession with trans- enough to challenge an authoritarian
government are being punished for
national Islamism. It would be naïve to
and Gaus are part of a deadly pattern pretend that there is no issue here. We orking in the media has not their work. But this is not something
that will emerge over time. If that’s are certainly doing our best to create a been easy for many jour- that should be surprising given the fact
the case, it’s imperative that agencies society where anyone can light a fire, Wnalists around the world in that authoritarian regimes and popu-
are proactive in their response. recent years. There are many reasons
and create a conflagration. The per- list leaders around the world see the
-- Editorial, The Times of India petrators’ gruesome execution works for this — from political polarization media in black-and-white terms: ‘with
to online trolling, from some media
as a strategy, because they know we us or against us’. If you do not support
The Aftermath will make a political business out of it. outlets normalizing hate speech to a regime or its leaders, you will be
The psychological impact of see- authoritarian leaders expecting com- called a ‘sell-out’, ‘paid tout’, ‘agent’,
he biggest danger is that the plete pliancy. The media landscape
BJP and other parties may suc- ing a video where someone walks has, thus, changed globally. Journalists ‘traitor’, ‘fake news’ (Donald Trump’s
Tcumb to the temptation to use into a tailor’s shop, for a quotidian who try to do their jobs — reporting much-loved rhetoric for all media orga-
nizations he disliked) and much more.
transaction, and executes them, is
this incident to target and question horrifying. What produces such a sin- facts and analyzing issues critically — We have seen this in Pakistan as
the existence of minorities. Rajasthan ister method of execution? Can we face the brunt for doing their work in well. On the one hand, social media
has an election coming up. The con- comfortably treat it as an exception? an ethical manner. The recent arrest has given voice to many marginalized
duct of political parties, the perception These will be unasked questions. The of the co-founder of Alt News, Mo- communities but on the other, it has
of arbitrariness in police forces, has short answer is, we don’t really know hammed Zubair, in India for a tweet also weaponized hate and misinfor-
created unprecedented communal from 2018, critics of the Narendra
tensions across the state, which even with any confidence. And this situa- Modi government allege, is yet anoth- mation. Fake news is not a genuine
tion is compounded by the fact that
mistake by a journalist but a lie that is
the Congress is helplessly presiding there is a breakdown of trust. On the er instance of authoritarianism and of spread intentionally and systematically.
over. Condemning an incident is not one hand, there is the state that finds the Bharatiya Janata Party’s policy of
an answer to the endless narrative even a joke as evidence of complicity silencing those who stand up to power. -- Mehmal Sarfraz, The Telegraph (India)
of revenge and counter revenge and with ISIS, and will spread the net of In India, Twitter has withheld several
feigned victimhood that will be cir- suspicion incredulously wide. It will handles of journalists, including that of Every week, we look at what the top
culated to use Kanhaiya’s execution Rana Ayyub, due to objections raised commentators in the Indian media are
as an opportunity to polarize. This cast this as a war against a global ide- by the Indian government and local talking about and bring to you a slice
ology of Islamism and terrorism.
incident will very quickly allow con- laws. It is quite appalling that Indian of their opinions and comments
cerns about authoritarian repression -- Pratap Mehta, The Indian Express journalists who are reporting facts,

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