The Live spectacle

The round-the-clock live coverage of the state’s response to the terror attacks in Mumbai has brought to focus the reckless and insensitive attitude of news channels to such crisis. Quite evidently they were competing among themselves with each one of them claiming that “We are the first to have this news or enter this area.”

The media, especially the news channels, was chaotic in its coverage of the terrorist attacks. In their bid to be the first to show a particular picture or tell an exclusive story, they compromised the efforts of the security forces. The second-by- second accounts of the police operation would have even helped the perpetrators to relocate themselves or plan subsequent counter mechanisms. The television crew was on the side of the police, and their coverage showed the steps that the security personnel were taking.

Reporters ducked down and gave sleeping Piece To Cameras with the sound of bullets in the background, as if they were heroes in a thriller movie. The hype factor was never out. Their response gave the impression of “celebrating the tragedy.” Was all this asked for?
One news channel (ZEE NEWS) which was not showing live coverage of the terrorist siege repeatedly kept claiming that “their channel cared about the security” lest the viewers comprehend that they did not have the footage. The repeated claims made one skeptical of the real cause of restrain, so unlikely of the Indian media.

The visuals of blood-stained floors and copses made heart-rending and dismal viewing. The need that the media should tone down their coverage of terrorist strikes was undoubtedly felt. Instead of showing split body parts, they might as well choose subtle ways to showcase vital information.

Time and again, anxious camerapersons and reporters were tripping over their boundary, and security guards had to intervene to send them away. This was more evident on Saturday morning when the siege was over and the NSG platoon was still looking out for booby traps inside the Taj Mahal hotel. Though barred from going near the building, camerapersons and young reporters were too excited to follow instructions. In their race to be the first, they had no time to follow the ethics of their profession.

The media should behave in a way that helps those who are performing their duty. But what we witnessed in the last three days was a situation in which the security personnel were required to tackle the media. The Indian media have a lot to learn from their western counterparts. They need to be reminded of the 9/11 coverage by the American media.

Dipu Shaw
E mail – conciousdipu@gmail.com

India's 9/11

Sixty hours of hostage. 183 innocent lives lost including 20 coveted security personnel, 141 other Indians and 22 foreign nationals. So. What next!

The sadness that I feel for our valiant commandoes and police personnel who laid down their lives while taking on the hiding terrorists in Mumbai overwhelms me. Also for the 183 innocents who paid by giving up their lives while going about their daily chores.

There is disgust over the spineless leadership of our country and their sheer failure to protect the people time and again. The state apparatus bears the primary responsibility for protecting the citizens. It has laid bare its incapability to provide this basic and first necessity. And then they shamelessly come with sickening statements: “We will not tolerate…We are planning to modernize our equipments..”

I feel ashamed that such dastardly acts of terror are getting the support of locals in our own country. Such large scale and well planned carnage surely cannot be carried out without the help of locals, also confirmed from the testimony of Ajmal Amin Kamal, the Pakistani terrorist nabbed alive. The fidayeen has reportedly revealed names and addresses of at least five people from the city who helped the terror operation. There are reports that they not only provided shelter but also took the terrorists around showing them places – the places where the barbarians would carry out their operation to kill at will.

There is a sense of hopelessness. That in spite of being a nation of a hundred billion, who believe in peace, we could do nothing against these fanatics. We only sat at home and watched the perpetrators of violence wreak havoc in the lives of our countrymen.

There is fear in me. The fear that like before our leaders would make the same statements and we will again move on with our lives. This is no time to move on. It is time to confront the issues head-on. To make sure that the political leadership acts.

If the unprecedented terror attacks in Mumbai is India’s 9/11, let us sincerely follow the U.S. make the political leaders realize the seriousness of the peril. The U.S. made sure that 9/11 is not repeated. It is our time to ensure it.

No progress in Nangloi Metro Accident

The death of two men recently at the metro construction site in Nangloi in West Delhi served as a fodder for news channels for one entire day. Most national dailies too carried the story in their front pages.

After one week of the incident, the response of the administration as well as that of the media has been that of neglect and indifference.

Two men who were sleeping at the Nangloi metro construction site were buried alive on November 19, when a tractor trolley had dumped loose earth on them. Their hands presumably got locked under the blankets with which they had covered themselves up and they could not come out.


No progress in the case

The scene after more than one week of the incident is such: The dead bodies are still lying in the mortuary of Sanjay Gandhi Hospital in Mangolpuri. There has been no progress in the case. The police have been too casual in their approach into the case. Even the tractor driver who dumped the loose earth on the two men is yet to be caught or questioned by the police.

The only thing that the Nangloi police claim to have done is, they have put posters of the unidentified men in Bihar bound trains. Ironically, no such posters have been put in the Nangloi metro construction area where the incident actually took place.

Asked why they had chosen Bihar bound trains, Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) Suresh Kumar who is looking into the case said that the two “appeared to be labourers from Bihar and people of the state travelling in the trains may identify them”.


DMRC tries to evade responsibilities

Questions were also raised on the safety measures being followed by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation. However, Chief Public Relations Officer of DMRC, Anuj Dayal, has denied any lapse on their part.


He argues that construction work where the incident took place was over. In reality, this is not the case.
The incident took place about 200 m from the construction site of the Nangloi Metro Station. Less than 20m from the place where the two men were reportedly sleeping, the DMRC construction work is in its full flow.

The two dead bodies were found between the stones outlining the central verge between the two roads. Layers of mud under which their bodies were found lying as told by local residents still lies there above the ground level evidently from the construction work going on, on the other side of the road.


Asked if DMRC will provide compensation to the families of the deceased, the chief PRO said “It can be that they were brought there already dead. Their clothes were not that of those who sleep on pavements”. He also attacked media reports that the two men were covered in blankets. “There was no blanket”, he said in a recent interview.

Baseless Arguments

ASI Suresh Kumar clarifies that when the bodies were dug out, they were wrapped in blankets, giving the impression that the two men were sleeping. Asked about the type of clothes that they were wearing, the ASI said that they were dressed in plain clothes “like labourers normally do”.

Mohammad Gulfan who runs a tea shop close to the place where the incident took place was one of the first ones to see the bodies. “Their legs were protruding out from the heap of mud and that brought them to our notice”, he recalls. “We immediately called the police”. He also informs that the two labourers mostly slept at the same place, on the pavement between the roads, right in front of his small tea shop. He had even warned them when they had come to buy tea from his shop, but they did not pay heed.


Another local shop keeper Navin Kumar also clarifies that sleeping on the pavements is a common affair there. “The labourers often drink and lie down on the pavements and these two must be among them”, he says.

The unidentified dead bodies will soon be brought out from the Hospital and cremated by Police officials. Their family members meanwhile will keep waiting for their kin, who are no more.

Will someone tell them?



Dipu Shaw
Email – conciousdiipu@gmail.com

India's 9/11

Sixty hours of hostage. 183 innocent lives lost including 20 coveted security personnel, 141 other Indians and 22 foreign nationals. So. What next!

The sadness that I feel for our valiant commandoes and police personnel who laid down their lives while taking on the hiding terrorists in Mumbai overwhelms me. Also for the 183 innocents who paid by giving up their lives while going about their daily chores.

There is disgust over the spineless leadership of our country and their sheer failure to protect the people time and again. The state apparatus bears the primary responsibility for protecting the citizens. It has laid bare its incapability to provide this basic and first necessity. And then they shamelessly come with sickening statements: “We will not tolerate…We are planning to modernize our equipments..”

I feel ashamed that such dastardly acts of terror are getting the support of locals in our own country. Such large scale and well planned carnage surely cannot be carried out without the help of locals, also confirmed from the testimony of Ajmal Amin Kamal, the Pakistani terrorist nabbed alive. The fidayeen has reportedly revealed names and addresses of at least five people from the city who helped the terror operation. There are reports that they not only provided shelter but also took the terrorists around showing them places – the places where the barbarians would carry out their operation to kill at will.

There is a sense of hopelessness. That in spite of being a nation of a hundred billion, who believe in peace, we could do nothing against these fanatics. We only sat at home and watched the perpetrators of violence wreak havoc in the lives of our countrymen.

There is fear in me. The fear that like before our leaders would make the same statements and we will again move on with our lives. This is no time to move on. It is time to confront the issues head-on. To make sure that the political leadership acts.

If the unprecedented terror attacks in Mumbai is India’s 9/11, let us sincerely follow the U.S. make the political leaders realize the seriousness of the peril. The U.S. made sure that 9/11 is not repeated. It is our time to ensure it.

The MINI INDIA SHOW

Do you want a taste of the cultural diversity of India without necessarily worrying about going round the vast country? Well, the 28th India International Trade Fair (IITF) is one place to have the experience. You can also get a glimpse of few other countries in the process.

The 14-day Trade Fair is into its second week now. Just like the previous years, this year too, the “mini India show” is getting a very good response from the public. Infrastructure development in India and women’s empowerment are the two focal themes of the present fair, with Orissa as the partner state and Kerala as the focus state.

Organized by Indian Government’s nodal trade promotion agency India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO), IITF has had a history spanning more than two decades. Ever since its inception in 1980, the trade fair has proved to be a major crowd puller for consumers as well as traders, manufacturers, exporters and importers.
In tune with the government's commitment to promote closer ties with its neighbouring countries, Pakistan has been accorded Partner Country status while 'ASEAN' countries have been selected as the Focus Region at IITF' 08.

Pakistan’s participation as a partner nation is a special attraction in this year’s fair. The Pakistani exhibitors have managed to do good business. Ilahi Baksh, an exhibitor from Suad in Pakistan has rare varieties of traditional Pakistani and Afghan shawls that are much in demand with the Indian buyers. “The response is good. Even on the first day the number of customers was more than what we expected”, he says.

Pakistan has got maximum space among the foreign countries to display its products. However, a number of stalls allotted to the partner country were empty on the first day of the fair. “Our stuff is lying with the custom authorities, so what can we offer to the visitors”, said a frustrated Mohammed Rafiq, a businessman from Pakistan.



The businessmen who have got their stuff are already doing brisk business. Customers are flocking in for the unique collection of Pakistani fabrics and a taste of the partner country’s cuisines.