Polarization

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?