The conduct of the mainstream media in the aftermath of the Pulwama Terrorist Attack was deplorable, to put in mild terms. It appears that one year later, not much has changed. After dedicating significant efforts towards humanizing the Pulwama terrorist last year, the mainstream media has renewed its efforts on the first anniversary of the attack.
The Hindustan Times, in a report on the 14th of February, again provided a platform to the suicide bomber’s family to cast aspersions on the conduct of the Indian Armed Forces. The said report went out of its way to humanize the terrorists and comes across as more of propaganda material for the terrorists in the Valley. But in its efforts to humanize the terrorist, the report inadvertently highlighted the extremely perverse ideology of the family itself.
The report says a great deal about the suicide bomber’s apparent love for cricket. And according to his father, he always cheered for India and not Pakistan. His father reiterated that the suicide bomber was apparently harassed by Indian security forces. It’s important to understand here that there’s no evidence to suggest any of it is true. And it is asking too much from people to believe the words of a suicide bomber’s family, especially when there’s no evidence at hand.
Interestingly, it seems that the sole reason for using the cricket reference was to ensure that the whitewashing could be done more effectively. The Hindustan Times article written by habitual Pakistan lover Harinder Baweja sneakily adds that the terrorist, who had called all Indians ‘cow-piss drinkers’, “always cheered for India”.
Baweja writes, “One of three sons of a small-time vendor, Adil Ahmad Dar had one more passion. He loved cricket. He kept wicket, batted well and perhaps that’s the reason he adored MS Dhoni. He would scream with delight each time his hero won a match for India, and unlike the popular perception that Kashmiris cheer for Pakistan, Adil always cheered for India, says his father Ghulam Hassan Dar”.
Later on, the report says that three people from the same family have become terrorists. The suicide bomber’s cousin, who lived in the same courtyard, joined the Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Islamic Terrorist organization. He was neutralized a few months later. The terrorist’s younger brother followed the same path but returned after a fortnight. He is currently rotting in jail.
The most disturbingly, however, were the words of the terrorist’s sister-in-law quoted in the report. She said in a matter-of-fact tone, “My husband says he too will join militancy. He needs to put his shoulder to the cause.” She continued, “I’ve told him, you don’t go, we will send our son.” The three-year-old son is named Manzoor, named after the person in the family who was killed after joining LeT.
Quite clearly, the suicide bomber’s family provided fertile grounds for his radicalization and the path he chose to tread. Even so, the HT report almost implores its readers to sympathize with the family that has produced three terrorists thus far with the possibility of more joining terrorist ranks. Under such circumstances, it is bewildering for anyone to even suggest that the words of the father blaming the Indian Armed Forces for his son’s actions should be taken at face value.
The mentality of the sister-in-law, who is prepared to sacrifice her son for Jihad, is similar to the mentality of the woman at Shaheen Bagh who lost her child due to her negligence. After the child passed away due to repeated exposure to harsh weather conditions in Delhi, the mother claimed that her deceased son too wanted ‘Azadi’. She also said that she was willing to ‘sacrifice’ her remaining two children as well for the fight against NRC.
Instead of questioning such a worldview, the mainstream media has constantly tried to humanize the terrorist and his family and even sympathetically claimed ‘Nothing remained of Adil Ahmed Dar’. The family has also been provided with numerous opportunities to absolve themselves of the sins of their son. It is also disconcerting that while the suicide bomber’s father says that the family is still ‘searching for answers’, his sister-in-law talks about sending her son to join the ranks of the terrorist outfits.
The mainstream media, which has been going out of its way to whitewash the sins of the suicide bomber’s family, would have introspected on its own conduct over the terrorist attack if it were not so morally bankrupt. The media effectively wants Indians to sympathize with a family that is over willing to sacrifice even little children for Jihad. It is not surprising at all that such a family produced the Pulwama terrorist and yet, their words are being paraded as gospel truth and the entire mainstream media is working overtime to provide them with a platform to further their agenda.
