Games which Media Play

Dr Babu Suseelan

For many years, western media has depicted India as passive, mysterious and complex; and Hindus as eccentric, otherworldly, disorganized and spiritualists. In many cases that mysteriousness has been the result of a superficial knowledge of a culture very different from the Christian west. However, in some cases, where a fairly thorough knowledge of Indian culture was attained, the sense of mystery has not been removed, but has been more firmly established at a deeper level. As a result, books, journals and newspapers are loaded with articles and commercials that reinforce the negative image of India and Hindus.
Media Manipulation
Now the media is busy smearing Hindus, the Hindu renaissance and the attempt to organize Hindus. One will be intrigued to read in the New York Times, Washington Post, Philadelphia Enquirer, Boston Globe, Christian Science Monitor, International Herald Tribune, the Guardian, Time and Newsweek that the Hindu renaissance movement is inspired and manipulated by Hindu fundamentalists. A casual reader of these newspapers could see words like "Hindu Militants", "Hindu Fundamentalists", "Hindu Warlords", "Hindu Extremists", "Hindu Bigots", and Hindu Fanatics". These journalistic euphemisms, and psycho linguistic programming are misleading, unfair, and potentially dangerous; because it distorts reality and creates an impression that Hindus around the world are fanatics and fundamentalists who use violence as a problem solving technique.
It must be that the media take pleasure in spreading persistent, pervasive lies about the Hindu unity moment. What else could explain the credulous acceptance of lies, half-truths and distortion of news about the Hindu unity movement? The inconsistencies, deceptions, and outright falsehoods about the reports are obvious and are responsible for what the westerners think and do. It is profoundly disturbing to note that the picture that continues to emerge from the media on Hindu unity movement, is in which passive, peace loving, tolerant Hindus come out as aggressive, militant fundamentalists and the violent, militant non compromising Christians and Muslims come out as victims. The hysteria emanating from the journalists is so persistent that the innocent readers may think Hindus are behind all unrest in India.
This distorted reporting is not only patently false, but also encourages Indian Muslims and Christians to continue their absolutist, terrorist and irrational behavior. Muslim and Christian fundamentalists and their foreign agents have devised a cunning strategy with the pseudo secular Indian media to malign Hindus.
Psycho Linguistic Programming
The distorted and carefully selected information encourage readers to change attitudes and values and establish emotional responses and direct behavior on that basis. The readers are not aware that they are being psycho programmed and thus controlled. Further, people prefer the continued state because it is easy and convenient.
Unethical, western journalists use loaded words for programming effects. Virtually, every word used in reporting is derived from prior assumptions that have been deliberately shaped by the media. So every word that the journalist uses is intended to manipulate the mind and the future control of behavior. False facts, lies, distorted truths, manufactured events, and coded words are all intended to convey a hidden agenda. Programmed words, fabricated phrases and symbols are skillfully used to confuse and disorient the readers. Sometimes, data, information, statements and pre-selected knowledge are refined and modified to make general statements, which send a subliminal message to the readers.
This distortion of reality, manipulation and invention of events validate the western belief that Hindus are irrational, emotional, disorganized and fundamentalists. A casual observation of the western media proves that the media is biased. Right wing Christian extremist and warlords kill more people in Columbia, El Salvador, Bolivia, Peru, Panama and Ecuador (all Christian countries). Western media do not describe them as Christian fanatics, Christian fundamentalists, or Christian militants. Western media has a vested interest to protect them. Innocent Hindus are being killed in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh and in many states of India by Jihadi terrorists. This mass murder is not being reported in the western press. But what one could not grasp is the deceit of Indian media. The Indian media and western media is targeting Hindus because Hindu organizations are helping Hindus to get out of the well designed mousetrap of the pseudo secular radicals, communist conspirators and Christian-Muslim fundamentalists.
Psychological thought control, in all its various capacities has spread the infection, in varying degrees to most phases of Indian journalism. This thought control system created by pseudo secular conspirators for the purpose of eventually leading to the destruction of the Hindu way of life poses a crucial problem for every one. This type of deceptive cognitive restructuring can destroy India if it is allowed to corrupt peoples' mind, and behavior.
Subversive Indian Media
The westernized, pseudo secular Indian journalistic elite has complete control over the media and they are able to generate enough anti Hindu phobia in the west. Indian journalists team with the enemies in India and abroad to undermine Hindu society, which kept India together as a nation for thousands of years. Indian journalist's real formula is to destroy Hindu culture, which will bring headlines in foreign capitals. The Indian press stigmatizes Hindus, malign Hindu organizations, and denigrates Hindu culture. They are very disdainful toward our heritage, culture, philosophy and spiritual tradition. It is no secret that there are powerful groups in India and abroad whom Hindu survival is anathema. India media's active support for the western press plays a major part in the media bias in the west.
The concerted efforts of the leftist intellectual establishment in India are directed at the obliteration of Hindus. They extol the superior power of the western Christian culture, Islam; encourage religious conversion, support communist violence, and endorse Christian fundamentalism and the porous nature of western consumerism. They attack Hindu spiritual leaders and glorify the stupidity of the drugged, corrupt politicians.
Indian journalists are not regarded as fully real until they insult Hindus by making headlines in foreign press. They are blind to the reality of events around them and unable to grasp the hidden agenda of our enemies. The unjust, unethical journalists are like modern day computers whose printouts they cannot read. They don't know whether their programming is true or false, right or wrong; whether it set to lead or mislead. They are eager to join with our enemies for breadcrumbs and a handshake and willing to manipulate national interest and divert attention from internal and external danger. Like the conspiracy theorists who blame Jews for all the world's problems, India's alienated intellectuals and media pundits with extraterritorial loyalty substitute empty rhetoric for significant content and obscure the principles of fairness. They sacrifice truth for empty slogans, real facts with manufactured events. Hindus struggling for basic rights are portrayed as attackers upon India itself. Well-organized, disciplined, orderly and peaceful mass protest against coercive religious conversion of Hindus is dubbed as communal frenzy. At the same time genocide committed against Hindus in Kashmir, Nagaland, Pakistan and Bangladesh draw no attention from the journalists.
While denouncing the all inclusive, tolerant Hinduism as a threat to India, journalists have an open admiration for religious intolerance in Islamic countries. Fraudulent evangelists are praised for their charisma, mass conversion efforts and mind manipulation techniques; and they are admired as leaders promoting liberty.
The Missing Panacea
Many concerned individuals ask what can one do about the media bias? How can one recondition them? How can we restructure their ever-changing values, and manipulative behavior?
It is certainly true that the readers are caught up in the prevailing patterns of complacency and conformity. Hindus have no influence or control over the media. There is no reason why one billion Hindus should remain a marginal and degraded group being denigrated by the vested interest media giants. There is nothing that prevents Hindus from being assertive. Hindus must unite and confront with force media bias, misrepresentation and prejudice. Hindus have to work against feelings of helplessness. Hindus have the brainpower, technical savvy, talents and resources to excite the imagination and the hidden power of the masses.
If the media were to take Hindus seriously, Hindus have to develop confidence in them, in their potential power, culture and become assertive. The day has come for Hindus in India and abroad to wake up from complacency, and denial; take affairs into their own hands and shape their own destinies. Some repudiate the media stereotypes, turn away from the painful reality and substitute for them an idealized self-image. It's a psychic closing off, an inability to confront the reality of the situation.
Hindus must unite, reassess themselves, address the media bias and voice their feelings forcefully with the hostile media. Hindus must tell the media in strong words and actions that they should not be trifled with.