Reg your comment on North Eastern part of India feeling left out, I agree that it is the general case. But should it give rise to separatism ? For that matter we dont hear much about Andaman or Lakshadweep in the national media. So why arent those people fighting for separation ? IMHO, the reasons for separatism flourishing in North East are basically some wrong priorities at the Centre especially by the Congress party which has promoted separatist elements to win elections and also the support given by neighboring countries for these separatists.
Reasons that add fire to separatism in the north-east:
1.) Geographical location, flanked by Nepal, Bhutan, China, Myanmar, and Bangladesh where shelter from the Indian security forces is easily available to the separatists.
2.) Very distinct ethnicity of many of the tribes in these areas. Extension of the inter and intra tribal warfare (i.e., Khasi versus Garo, Naga versus Manipuri, Thangkul versus Ao etc.,) which has always existed, now with modern arms. These tribes have always been war-like, and it is part of their tradition to train for war.
3.) The area getting flooded with cheap-arms. Weapons like AK-47, Universal Machine Guns etc., were initially supplied second-hand in the north-eastern Indian market from the disbanded Khmer Rouge of Cambodia. Now Chinese arms take their place. A 9 m.m. Chinese pistol is available for Rs.4000/-, and an A.K. for Rs.17,000/-. Ill-demarcated borders make smuggling of arms is easy. Can you believe RDX and fake currency notes arrive into India by rickshaws in Karimganj District of Assam? The BSF fellows charge Rs.2/- per every rickshaw that crosses the checkpost!
4.) Complicity on part of the Indian Government, and even tacit encouragement. When Fakruddin Ali Ahmed was the President, and Anwara Taimur was the C.M. of Assam, Congress Party encouraged floods of Bangladeshi muslims to enter Assam for the sake of votes. That changed the entire demography of the state, and resulted in Assamese separatist movement (ULFA etc.).
5.) Involvement of church : Churches are an important part of extremist movements of the Naga (Protestant Church), Hmar, Mizo, Kuki, Dimasa, and Bodo separatist movements.
Andaman & Nicobar, while having hostile tribes like the Jheravas and Sentinellies, does not border foreign nations, and is under a much tighter administrative control than the north-east. Also, the hostile tribes shun anything modern, including clothes and firearms. More importantly, the majority ethnic groups of Andaman & Nicobar are all from the main-land, i.e., Tamilians, Bengalis, Keralites, Telugus etc., and share their cultures with the main-land where separatist feelings are not that much in vogue.
So I dont subscribe to the view that the media tries to play FAIR. Rather, the media tries to sensationalize or downplay things to suit their business needs.
Things I observed with the Television news channels:
1.) Trying to influence Government decisions to the extent of blackmailing. Remember the Kandahar plane hijack? The then Star News (whick later became NDTV 24 x 7 when Rupert Murdoch recruited a different set of crew for Star News) had a major role in the dubious Government decision to handover the militants in exchange for the passengers. For all their news analysing skills, I am sorry to say, that Prannoy Roy and company had a "Progrom" to discredit the NDA government. It made the Government feel very shaky, and encouraged the relatives of the passengers to jump barricades infront of the prime-minister's house demanding the handing over of terrorists (=disgusting behaviour!). While I think the handing over of terrorists itself was not right (=opinions differ), if such a thing was necessary, it could have been done more calmly and gracefully but for the backmailing by Prannoy Roy and company.
2.) Trial by media : Even before they get a fair trial by courts, people get crucified by the television media, which I feel is not right.
3.) Lack of prioritization of news : If you watch five different news channels, say, Times Now (formerly TVI), Headlines Today, CNN-IBN, NDTV 24 x 7, and Star News, the first five headline news items would all be different on, say, four of the seven days of a week! Many times, news items which do not deserve to be headlines, are made headlines by overhyping (such as Aish-Abhishek wedding). Of course, which one to hype is the channel's choice!
4.) Use of idiomatic cliches where plain language would present the situation more objectively : This phenomenon particularly infests vernacular news channels such as Aaj Tak, TV-9 etc., where even ordinary news is presented in a highly sensationalized and coloured way by way of making use of proverbs, idioms, phrases and cliches. Emphasis on the crux of the news goes, and is replaced by emphasis on flowery language.
As for the print media:
Consider that in any State there are about three to four vernacular news dailies with bigger circulation apart from the print media in english. These popular vernacular news dailies would have their correspondents right upto the Taluka level. Add to this the local and district level news dailies and tabloids with limited circulation. The number of correspondents of all these news dailies put together at, say, Taluka level would be any where between 20-30. Most of the correspondents would be barely graduates without any intellectual capacity, and would be in need of money. In worst cases, they are not even class-X pass!
Many of them are nothing more than blackmailers and touts. A good number of them are into transfers and postings of Government officials, and are in the pay-rolls of one political leader or the other. Many frequently seek "Chandas" from business men, officials, and political leaders. They are ready to write anything in return for sops such as housing-plots, foreign-trips, money, liquor, or a good chicken-meal. Many amongst them also have caste-agendas.
So much for objective reporting!
