In the tense hours after the recent bomb blast near the historic Red Fort in New Delhi, the world needed calm and fact-based reporting. Instead, as expected, primetime coverage by Indian media projected an openly aggressive, right-wing ideological line that heightened communal anxieties.
The Indian media promoted a narrative that placed India’s Muslims under sweeping suspicion, while urging the state to adopt harsher measures aimed at deepening the already existing social divisions rather than resolving them.
This approach amplified the dangerous political message that national security requires collective blame and uncompromising force. By invoking comparisons with Israel’s policies towards Palestine, the rhetoric signalled a vision of governance rooted in confrontation rather than coexistence.
Such framing tends to push both Hindus and Muslims into increasingly polarised positions, leaving little room for reasoned dialogue or shared grief in the aftermath of the tragedy.
At a time when unbiased, responsible and professional journalism should ease tensions, this style of coverage risks turning national sorrow into communal hostility. The power of the media in shaping public mood makes such rhetoric especially perilous in a diverse society.
We must remember Oscar Wilde’s words: “By giving us the opinions of the uneducated, journalism keeps us in touch with the ignorance of the community.” The reminder is timely: crises demand restraint, not provocation.
India’s diverse society requires careful, responsible journalism that prioritises facts over frenzy. Tragedies demand unity, not amplified hostility.
As the investigation into the said blast continues, it is essential that media plat-forms in India refrain from casting all Muslims under a cloud of suspicion, and resist the growing temptation to exploit national trauma for nefarious ideological gains. The need for calm, balanced media reporting has never been more urgent.
GHULAM HUSSAIN
JAFFARABAD
