09-26-2006, 01:16 AM
From Pioneer, States news Section, 26 Sept., 2006
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->'Hindutva-media dialogue need of the day'Â
PT Bopanna | Bangalore
A dialogue on bridging the media and Hindutva divide, held in Bangalore, has come around to the view that there was a need for introspection to build a better India, instead of "the rightest being termed as loonies".
While columnist S Gurumurthy observed a 'disconnect' between the media and the Hindutva brigade, the Editor of Deccan Herald KN Shanth Kumar disagreed with the view that Hindutva was the favourite whipping boy of the media. <b>The seminar on "Bridging the Media-Hindutva Divide" was organised by Vishwa Samvada Kendra, a Sangh Parivar outfit, on Sunday.</b>
<b>Inaugurating the seminar, the Deccan Herald editor </b>opined the Hindutva ideology had gained more from media exposure than any other stream of political thought in the last 25 years.
Pointing out that the Indian media had not singled out the ideology of Hindutva for criticism, <b>Shanth Kumar noted that the media had been especially kind in its reportage on former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.</b> <i>{What does he mean? I thought ABV hardly got any room to act with constant questioning by the media?}</i>He added: "If the media has been erred in its representation of the Hindutva, it has been more on the side of generosity."
Gurumurthy called upon the Hindutva ideologues to be 'more strategic' in their approach to the media.
<b>Calling for an understanding between the media and Hindutva in the larger interest of the nation, Gurumurthy felt the existing divide was mainly because of the 'disconnect'. "The reasons for the disconnect was because of the colonial mindset where Indian mind had not been de-colonised yet. Secularism is distorted in the country," </b>he added.
<b>Dr Chandan Mitra,</b> the Editor-in-Chief of The Pioneer, in his valedictory address, <b>opined there was an attempt to 'demonise the Right by the leftists', especially in the English media. </b>
Dr Mitra underlined the need for a dialogue between the media and the Hindutvawadis. "There is a need for introspection to build a better India, instead of the Rightists being termed as loonies," he said.
Noted television anchor <b>Deepak Thimya felt there was a mutual suspicion between the media and the Hindutva brigade, and expressed the view that the saffron brigade too had contributed in no small measure for this suspicion.</b>
Among those who spoke at the seminar include A Surya Prakash, author and columnist, Vardesh Hiregange of the Mass Communication College, Manipal, Tarun Vijay of Panchajanya, and NS Ashok Kumar of Bangalore University. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
So there is awareness in Hindutva circles of the media disconnect. Now for someone to make the disconnect clear. For this it is essential to know the Indian social groups and how they are connected to the West and the East.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->'Hindutva-media dialogue need of the day'Â
PT Bopanna | Bangalore
A dialogue on bridging the media and Hindutva divide, held in Bangalore, has come around to the view that there was a need for introspection to build a better India, instead of "the rightest being termed as loonies".
While columnist S Gurumurthy observed a 'disconnect' between the media and the Hindutva brigade, the Editor of Deccan Herald KN Shanth Kumar disagreed with the view that Hindutva was the favourite whipping boy of the media. <b>The seminar on "Bridging the Media-Hindutva Divide" was organised by Vishwa Samvada Kendra, a Sangh Parivar outfit, on Sunday.</b>
<b>Inaugurating the seminar, the Deccan Herald editor </b>opined the Hindutva ideology had gained more from media exposure than any other stream of political thought in the last 25 years.
Pointing out that the Indian media had not singled out the ideology of Hindutva for criticism, <b>Shanth Kumar noted that the media had been especially kind in its reportage on former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.</b> <i>{What does he mean? I thought ABV hardly got any room to act with constant questioning by the media?}</i>He added: "If the media has been erred in its representation of the Hindutva, it has been more on the side of generosity."
Gurumurthy called upon the Hindutva ideologues to be 'more strategic' in their approach to the media.
<b>Calling for an understanding between the media and Hindutva in the larger interest of the nation, Gurumurthy felt the existing divide was mainly because of the 'disconnect'. "The reasons for the disconnect was because of the colonial mindset where Indian mind had not been de-colonised yet. Secularism is distorted in the country," </b>he added.
<b>Dr Chandan Mitra,</b> the Editor-in-Chief of The Pioneer, in his valedictory address, <b>opined there was an attempt to 'demonise the Right by the leftists', especially in the English media. </b>
Dr Mitra underlined the need for a dialogue between the media and the Hindutvawadis. "There is a need for introspection to build a better India, instead of the Rightists being termed as loonies," he said.
Noted television anchor <b>Deepak Thimya felt there was a mutual suspicion between the media and the Hindutva brigade, and expressed the view that the saffron brigade too had contributed in no small measure for this suspicion.</b>
Among those who spoke at the seminar include A Surya Prakash, author and columnist, Vardesh Hiregange of the Mass Communication College, Manipal, Tarun Vijay of Panchajanya, and NS Ashok Kumar of Bangalore University. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
So there is awareness in Hindutva circles of the media disconnect. Now for someone to make the disconnect clear. For this it is essential to know the Indian social groups and how they are connected to the West and the East.