Illegal cow smuggling and cattle mafia have become an epidemic are an India but it is only now that, because it has started being reported so aggressively, it has suddenly started drawing attention. Several lives are reported to be lost because of mob lynching on the suspicion of cattle smuggling.
Every life lost is a collective weight on the conscience of the society, however, the media, which has long been in bed with Congress twists and uses death according to which government rules the state in which the death occurred.
When an unfortunate death occurs in a BJP ruled state, the headlines often scream about how a Muslim man was lynched by ‘cow vigilantes’. The subliminal messaging being that the “Hindutvavadi” BJP is encouraging mobs to lynch Muslim men. However, when the same crime happens in a state that is ruled by Congress, the headlines mellow down drastically.
Twitter user Ankur Singh, took to Twitter to promptly point out few such headlines that furthered the ‘secular’ narrative of shielding Congress.
Ankur in his Twitter thread mentioned how various media houses reported two similar crimes, one which took place when BJP ruled Rajasthan and another which took place recently after Congress took over.
He highlights how differently these reports were approached by the media, giving the crime a communal colour during BJP rule while maintaining a softer tone for the similar crime transpiring during the Congress regime.
In the above screenshot, in both cases, a Muslim youth was assaulted, but while reporting when BJP was in power Times of India (TOI) mentions “Muslim Youth’ in the headline (right report) but cleverly avoids the same when reporting the incident during the Congress regime (left report).
Another channel Mirror Now a news channel owned by The Times Now group, used similar tactics.
The picture on the left: BJP rule: “Muslim Youth”
The picture on the right: Congress rule: “Youth beaten”
Though the accused, in the incident that transpired during Congress rule is also a Muslim youth named Sagir Khan, Mirror Now, craftily chooses not to include it in the headlines.
Similar techniques were used by media houses like India Today and The Quint.
Congress has always had a penchant to woo voters by indulging in caste-based politics and by pretending to be the messiahs of minorities. The media often shy away from asking Congress important questions like why they would oppose the Triple Talaq bill when they are viewed to be pro-minorities.
Since the BJP has taken reigns, the media has tried to project the party as anti-minority and Congress as the Messiah. They have repeatedly asserted that BJP is actively trying to sabotage Muslims of the country. This subliminal messaging as far as crimes against Muslims are concerned and the tunes changed when the government in power in Congress points to a greater malaise in the Media and the Congress ecosystem.
The ecosystem’s sympathy towards the minorities starts and ends with political considerations. The moment a crime against a Muslim doesn’t benefit the Congress ecosystem politically, they are cast aside and the headline is mellowed to benefit the Congress.
