The Urdu Press here is more worried about the fate of ordinary Muslims than Osama bin Laden or Afghanistan.
Like the Indian Muslim, the Urdu press in this country too is facing a dilemma. The critical question on the minds of many Urdu journalists is whether to stand up against terrorism and support President Bush’s if-you-are-not-with-us-you-are-with-the-terrorists attitude or take a more independent and critical stand.
The Urdu press, together with the mainstream English and Hindi newspapers, had roundly denounced the terrorist strikes against the US on September 11. But it has been equally forceful in its condemnation of the attacks on Afghanistan. In the first two weeks of the US campaign, its reaction was relatively balanced. But it has given way to anger and frustration, thanks to the demonisation of Islam and the negative portrayal of Muslims in the print and the electronic media—the use of words like ‘Islamic terrorism’, ‘Muslim fundamentalism’ and ‘crusade’—which, the Urdu press here believes, has painted all Muslims with the same brush as the terrorists.
While most of the mainstream dailies—Inquilab from Bombay, Siasat from Hyderabad, Azad Hind from Calcutta, Qaumi Awaz from Delhi, Rashtriya Sahara from Lucknow—still hold a moderate editorial view, there are debates raging in their inside pages, hinting at a build-up of anger. The issues being debated are: the definition of jehad, whether the September 11 attacks can be seen to constitute a jehad and will the current situation lead to Pakistan’s destabilisation and how this could impact on Indian Muslims?
Another concern being reflected in the Urdu press is about the BJP and the agenda of the Sangh parivar. It’s been pointing out that the two have used the US attacks on Afghanistan to launch a propaganda war against the Muslims. More so in UP where they are being projected as potential terrorists. The Urdu press has taken exception to the language used by UP CM Rajnath Singh and Union home minister L.K. Advani. The general view is that while the BJP and its allies are posing to be at the forefront of the US effort to combat terrorism, their real objective is to jumpstart a fresh campaign against Indian Muslims.
Looking beyond Afghanistan, the Urdu press is also worried about the scope and impact of America’s war against terrorism which could drag on for years. The fear is that many Muslim countries, organisations, intellectuals might be targeted. This in turn could lead to the victimisation of thousands of innocent Muslims. The possibility of a global McCarthyism being unleashed seems to be troubling the Urdu media here more than the future of Afghanistan or Osama bin Laden.
(The author is the editor of the Urdu daily, Nayi Duniya.)