Anwarulhaq Baig
New Delhi: Veteran journalist Jai Shankar Gupta strongly criticized the national media for focusing only on the communal angle of the Pahalgam terror attack, while ignoring the compassion shown by Kashmiris in saving Hindu tourists, calling it a disturbing sign of declining media ethics and growing communal polarization.
Speaking at Jamaat-e-Islami Hind headquarters, the veteran journalist accused the mainstream media of suppressing the truth about the recent Pahalgam attack and instead promoting a biased, religion-centric narrative that ignores local realities and human compassion of Kashmiri people.
Referring to a live interview he had just watched, Gupta said:”I was watching a female anchor – we used to appear on her channel – interviewing two tourists. They said shots were fired and locals told them not to return to the hotel but come to their home instead. They said, ‘We’ll feed you, protect you, even die for you if needed. We’ll give you money if required. Because this attack is not the tradition of Kashmiriyat. Kashmir’s entire economy depends on tourism. Whoever did this, struck not just at Hindus or tourists, but at Kashmiriyat itself, at our livelihood.’”
Gupta noted that despite widespread local outrage and unprecedented candle marches across Srinagar – even in Downtown – with people shouting slogans like “aatankwad murdabad,” national media gave little attention to this response.
“These facts should have been reported with full intensity, but they were ignored by our media,” he said. “Instead, the media focused on whether the victims were Hindus or Muslims, whether they were made to recite the Kalma, whether they were circumcised, and if so, to go and inform Modi.”
Gupta questioned the lack of security deployment at the site: “Just a week before, a BJP MP had celebrated his anniversary with his wife in the same Baisaran Valley, and it was fully secured. But when 2,000 tourists visited, not a single policeman was present.”
He also drew parallels to past events:”Back in 2000, during President Clinton’s visit to India, we had the Chittisinghpura massacre in Kashmir. And now, during the visit of U.S. Senate leader JD Vance, we had the Pahalgam attack. What message is being sent?”
Gupta criticized the government’s response as well as media silence on major policy announcements, “After Pulwama, the Prime Minister announced we’d stop Pakistan’s share of Indus river water. We expected media to report that Pakistan is facing water crisis, but not a word was said.” He added, “They won’t do what’s in their power – like telling Adani or Sajjan Jindal to cut electricity from Gujarat, which supplies Pakistan – but they’ll take decisions that hurt ordinary people. What do common Pakistanis or Indians have to do with these politics?”
On cross-border trade, Gupta pointed out the inconsistency, “You’ve stopped visas, closed Attari-Wagah border. An Akali Dal leader even asked – why not close Gujarat ports or maritime routes used for business?” He commented that drugs were smuggled through Adani port, and even when caught, what happened next no one knows.”
Recalling his own experience, Gupta said, “I received the Harmony Award in 1997 for my journalism. Even back then, there were riots and communal tensions. But our editors taught us how to report. They had certain ethical rules. If a riot occurred, we were told to get to the root — why did the riot happen? And when we dug deep, we often found that neither the Muslim nor the Hindu was at fault. The real culprit was someone else, pulling strings from elsewhere.”
Laments erosion of ethical practices and principles in today’s media landscape
Lamenting the erosion of such principles in today’s media landscape, he said “We were told not to name victims, not to mention religion. Those were ethical guidelines we followed. But now, things have completely reversed — today’s media can’t function without labeling people Hindu or Muslim.”
Criticizing the portrayal of the Pahalgam incident, Gupta said, “From day one, the entire media said: Muslim terrorists killed Hindu tourists, made them recite the kalma, checked their religion, even pulled down their pants to confirm circumcision.”“But when some alternative reports started emerging , from local reporters or survivors , they were blocked.”
He highlighted the compassion shown by local Kashmiris, which he said went unreported. “Everyone — tourists, shopkeepers, residents — said that the local Kashmiri Muslims helped them, offered support in every possible way. A young man, Syed Adil Hussain Shah, even sacrificed himself while trying to save tourists. He tried to snatch a gun and told the attackers not to harm innocent people. He was killed in that act.”
“If this were 30 or 40 years ago,” Gupta stated, “such a story would’ve been the lead headline. It would’ve said, insaniyat zinda hai — humanity is alive and Ganga Jamuna Tehzib (composite culture) is alive.”
Pointing to Pahalgam, Gupta says “In a country where such a horrific incident has occurred—where people from villages to cities are in mourning—our Prime Minister is holding an election rally in Madhubani, Bihar, instead of attending an all-party meeting.”
Former Press Club of India official, Gupta questioned the media’s silence on stories that demonstrate compassion and humanity, “A positive media would have shown that Kashmiriyat is alive, insaniyat is alive, Hindustaniyat is alive—even amid such violence. But these stories are cut off mid-interview, and we’re shown something else instead. What can we expect from such media?” he asked.
Recalling the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots, Gupta said, “Videos from South Afghanistan were shared on social media and broadcast by TV channels without any verification. This pattern continues—finding content that widens the walls of hate.”
He argued that over the past 10–12 years, a deliberate atmosphere of communal tension has been nurtured.
Gupta said “earlier, during the Ayodhya movement, some journalists became Ram sevaks. Back then, electronic media hadn’t spread. Today, the entire media has been captured. Channels are in someone’s pocket. There’s not a single TV channel now that we can call truly independent or neutral.”
Gupta said real issues like floods or droughts are neglected, “There’s never any debate on those. The 24/7 focus is Hindu-Muslim, India-Pakistan.”
He also recounted being blacklisted from channels, “If I’m invited, orders come from above: don’t call Jay Shankar Gupta as it becomes inconvenient for us.”
Highlighting media manipulation, Gupta added, “a reporter may send a great story, but if it doesn’t have a Hindu-Muslim angle, they’re told to insert one. That’s how stories sell.” He noted that even in general crime stories, if one suspect belongs to a certain community, media highlights them disproportionately.
Media Houses in Dubious TRP Race Twist Stories, Injecting Nationalism with a Hindus vs Muslims or India vs Pakistan Spin
Gupta confronted editors at a Press Club meeting, asking why they broadcast false reports. Their reply, “It gets TRP. Even if the report is wrong—if it beats the other channel, we’ll run it.”
Reflecting on how media content evolved for ratings, Gupta explained, “Earlier, there were three ‘R’s used for TRP—Ramdev (for yoga), Raju Srivastav (for comedy), and Rakhi Sawant (for sensationalism). Now, a fourth ‘R’ has been added: Rashtravaad (nationalism). Just pit Hindus against Muslims or India vs Pakistan—and TRP will follow.”
Gupta accused Ramdev of hypocrisy, “Ramdev claims Rooh Afza funds madrassas and jihad, but doesn’t say where his fake ghee comes from. India doesn’t even produce that much milk. When I raised questions against him, TV editors begged me to let it go.”
Amid Communal Spin, Media ignoring real issues of Poverty, Economy, unemployment
Recalling a discussion at the Press Club, Gupta recalled an anecdote from his travels with former President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. “We travelled to several countries with Dr. Kalam. Once we were in Iceland, where they have six months of daylight and six months of night.”
Gupta narrated there he had noticed the absence of news content on Icelandic television. “I asked the locals, ‘Don’t you watch news here?’ They replied, ‘Not much. At 9 PM there’s only one programme everyone watches, where a lady anchor reads the news—and with every headline, she removes one piece of clothing. By the end of the bulletin, she’s completely naked. That’s the most-watched show with the highest TRP.’”
Drawing a pointed contrast, he stated at that time, Iceland had the highest per capita income in the world. But when the global recession struck in 2008–09, the first country to go bankrupt was Iceland. Gupta remarks they kept watching naked women on TV and didn’t even realize when their economy went into the hands of America and Israel.
The Veteran Journalist added, “I told my media colleagues—‘You keep shouting Hindu-Muslim while our economy is drowning under debt. The stock market is being deliberately manipulated—sometimes inflated, sometimes crashed—but you won’t discuss it. You’re too busy with Hindu-Muslim issues.’”
Mughal-Era Wars Were Political, Not Religious: Clarification Counters Communal Narrative
Criticizing the nature of current TV debates he said, “Today, absurd topics are being dug up—like Aurangzeb’s grave, Rana Sanga, Babur. I was once on TV9 during a debate about a Samajwadi Party MP’s remarks that angered Karni Sena. I said, ‘What does today’s common Indian have to do with Aurangzeb’s grave? With Rana Sanga or Babur?’”
Clarifying the political context of medieval warfare, he said“Yes, Rana Sanga invited Babur, but only because he wanted Babur to weaken Ibrahim Lodi so he could capture the throne of Delhi. Those wars were between kingdoms and rulers—common people had no role. It had nothing to do with Hindu-Muslim. If it did, why would Babur fight Ibrahim Lodi, another Muslim?”
On the historical Battle of Khanwa, Gupta said, “Rana Sanga had initially promised Babur he would support him from the Agra side. But later he backed out. When Babur advanced on Bayana Fort, Sanga realized he might be next. That’s when the decisive battle took place.”
Gupta detailed, “Babur told Hasan Khan Mewati, the ruler of Mewat, that one Muslim should support another. Hasan Khan replied, ‘Indeed, we are both Muslims—but you are a foreign invader, and I was born on this land. I will fight for this soil, and I will fight you alongside Rana Sanga.’ Hasan Khan joined the battle with 1,200 soldiers and was martyred.”
Gupta claimed he was the first to bring this fact to media, “Now even the BJP and Karni Sena talk about it, but I said it first on television.”
Clarifying that historical battles between Mughals and others were not Hindu vs Muslim religious wars at all, Gupta said, “Akbar never fought in the Battle of Haldighati. Who went? Man Singh. Aurangzeb never personally fought Shivaji—he sent Mirza Raja Jai Singh. Who led Rana Pratap’s army? Hakim Khan Suri. These are facts—but they won’t make it to your TV screens.”
He questioned why British colonial rulers, despite being Christian, are never referred to in those terms in historical accounts—why there is no mention of “Christian rulers” despite their two-century-long rule.
Gupta asked why figures like General Dyer, who ordered the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, or officer Saunders, who was assassinated by Bhagat Singh, are never vilified in political or public discourse. He lamented that while people recall events from 700 years ago to foster communal division, they conveniently ignore more recent colonial atrocities. Unlike the British, who looted and left, the Mughals stayed in India, contributing to its culture, building architectural marvels like the Taj Mahal and Red Fort, and becoming part of the subcontinent’s socio-political fabric. Gupta suggested that the portrayal of Mughals as mere looters ignores the deeper historical truth—that they ruled and lived as part of India and made this country united and ‘golden sparrow’, not as detached colonizers.
Veteran journalist Gupta warned against the growing trend of divisive politics in India, cautioning that attempts to inflame caste-based tensions could have grave consequences. Recalling a moment of heated exchange on the panel, Gupta asserted that if historically marginalized communities—Dalits, OBCs, Adivasis, and minorities—were to unite in response to such provocation, “no one would be able to contain the outcome.”
Gupta called on the media to play a constructive role in deconstructing false narratives that pit one community against another. “It is being made to seem as though all the problems faced by Hindus are due to Muslims and vice versa. This is simply not true,” he said. He insisted that the media has both the power and the responsibility to educate the public and promote social harmony, but lamented that instead of fulfilling this democratic duty, many media houses have succumbed to political and corporate pressure.
“Today, the media is no longer ideologically divided as it once was—it is being systematically manipulated,” Gupta noted. He pointed to the growing influence of corporate houses that, he alleged, are in direct collusion with political powers. “The government, through corporate networks, is holding the media’s weak points hostage,” he said, arguing that editorial independence has become a casualty of economic compulsion.
Gupta placed equal responsibility on politicians and the public to steer the country toward development rather than destruction. “Do we want to build a nation on hatred and division, or on brotherhood and mutual respect?” he asked, urging leaders to reflect on the long-term consequences of their rhetoric and decisions.
Gupta appealed to ordinary citizens to hold the media accountable. Drawing from past protests, he recalled how people once spoke of “burning the newspapers” when they became instruments of misinformation. “If the public starts boycotting such media outlets, it will force them to reconsider their very existence,” he declared.