Over the past couple of years, one
would have observed an increasing polarization across the board in India. With
the general elections in 2019, this was to be expected in the political space. But
it has been interesting to see that permeate across various mediums. I was kind
of hoping that once we were done with the elections and the dust settled down, things
would go back to normal.
Let us talk politics first and
how it has changed. Earlier, around election time, the public discourse would
be vitriolic with those in the running calling out the mistakes (perceived or
real) of their opponents – with the stray ‘below the belt’ comment. This time
around it has been an endless stream of abuses hurled against each other and
the level of discussion during the campaigning stooped to new lows.
Well, you might say that is to be
expected – after all they are politicians and the stakes are very high. But you
switch on any of the news channels and you get the same thing. The recipe does
not vary much across national or regional channels. During prime time you can
see various people in small boxes (at least six boxes to start with but more little
boxes the merrier) shouting over each other (and the anchor) to make their
point. After 20 minutes of this fun, the anchor would presumably activate the mute
button and go off on a rant with his/her ‘views’ on the topic. There just does
not seem to be any ‘news’ anymore on news channels – just ‘views’.
The most interesting thing about
television channels is that how polarized they have become. There just aren’t any
shades of grey. Its all black and white. The government of the day is either
the best thing that has happened since sliced bread and can do no wrong – or –
they are the most despicable lot whose every decision /action is wrong and must
be criticized. Of course, when it came
to the Prime Minister, the TV channels took it to a level that was beyond
absurd. They either deified him or demonized him to extreme levels.
We tried to reason earlier that
politicians need to do what they need to do. You could extend that argument to
television too. You could argue that they were either showing their editorial
biases or were trying to sensationalize their content to get more eyeballs and
sell more advert space. Maybe maybe…but wait there’s more.
Coming to a space that’s entirely
non-commercial and private – WhatsApp groups.
They not have been immune to this either. I am part of a residential group where
most of the active members are pro-Government and pro-PM. Every decision / news
event is a means to glorify the PM. He can do no wrong. On the other hand, I am
also part of an alumni group where the majority of the active members are
anti-PM. Every decision / event is dissected, and a negative spin attached to
it.
As I said earlier, I was hoping that
once the elections were done and dusted, things would go back to normal. Well, neither
the television channels nor the WhatsApp groups have settled down.
I have a new formula for getting
my daily dose of news. I depend on news aggregator apps as my primary source of
news. During the rare occasion that I do watch TV news channels or read
WhatsApp messages, I treat them as a means of entertainment! I do not depend on
them for neither news nor views.
As for the Government and its doings,
I like what Sadhguru said a few years back on this topic. Every five years we
have a chance to decide on their fate. Let’s debate on their rights and wrongs
in the last six months of their stint. For the rest four and half years, let
them get on with the job of governance. Common sense, eh?
