The mainstream media in India has always served as apologists for Islamic extremism. The media has always managed to find the light at the end of the tunnel when the ones bringing the darkness happen to be Islamic extremists. On this particular occasion, the offenders are people at Dainik Bhaskar.
Dainik Bhaskar, it appears, has taken us for fools and clowns. On Sunday, it published a report making an astonishing claim. The report claimed that all Hindus and Sikhs have left Jalalabad in Afghanistan but relations between them and the Muslim community are so great that Muslims are taking care of their business establishments for them.
We are being serious here, Bhaskar does want to us to believe that. They even quote one Muslim man as saying, ‘I daily update the owner of the clinic with recent developments. We believe that he will return once things improve over here. Until then, we will not let his business shut down.’
And the Indian Hindi newspaper bought into that fantasy completely. The complete and utter naivete of Bhaskar does call for a certain meme to be mentioned here.
Of course, the inspiration for the meme is a clip from a Showtime documentary where the journalist asks the Taliban whether they will have Democracy in Afghanistan and allow women to vote. But it is very applicable here.
It is quite clear what is happening in Afghanistan with the properties of Afghan Hindus and Sikhs that have been left behind. They are being taken over by local residents in the name of ‘looking after’ them. It is an inversion of reality that we are witnessing here and the media is helping whitewash the misery that has been heaped upon Afghan Hindus and Sikhs.
Does anyone really believe Afghan Hindus and Sikhs will be able to return to Afghanistan once things ‘calm down’? And what does ‘calm down’ mean in the context of Afghanistan? There has been civil war in the country for well over four decades now. Has any Sikh or Hindu who has come over to India ever return? Why would they even want to? The writing on the wall is obviously and yet, the media continues to take us for fools.
It is not even a new thing that is happening here. Whenever Hindus have been forced to flee due to Islamic aggression, their properties have been occupied by their neighbours and people they once thought they were on good terms with. It happened in Kashmir, it happened in Bangladesh and now it is happening in Afghanistan.
The media surely knows this and yet, it is arrogant enough to believe that they can get away with peddling such ridiculous narratives. The timing is quite fascinating as well. Whenever Islamic extremists unleash violence and hell somewhere in the world, the media rushes to manufacture ridiculous nonsense to somehow minimize the threat that it poses to world stability.
It is consistent with the way Indian media has conducted itself during the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. NDTV, for instance, provided platform to the spokesperson of the Taliban to peddle their agenda. At the same time, Indian liberals hailed the Jihadist outfit for holding a press conference.
Thus, it is not surprising at all that the industry which buys into Taliban propaganda also believes that local Muslims in Afghanistan are also ‘taking care’ of the properties of Afghan Sikhs and Hindus.