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Dear Sir, Hindustan Times wrote an editorial under the headline “Journalism is different from PR” on June 23, 2017, taking a high moral ground about objectivity and journalistic freedom about an event that took place in the Indian Capital. But I feel the editorial was a classic case of distortion of facts. This editorial took a dig at Lok Sabha Speaker, Ms. Sumitra Mahajan’s speech at the Narad Jayanti awards organised by RSS-affiliate Indraprastha Vishwa Samvad Kendra, New Delhi to felicitate journalists. The editorial scathingly said “varnishing facts helps no one”, in a reference to the Speaker's request to journalists to rely on in-depth reporting. Ms Mahajan's speech is on the You Tube, editors of Hindustan Times must have a look at it, they should not be misled about comments made by the Speaker, and they should not twist copy to suit their needs. The issue of reporting in India's maddening newsrooms, whether it is good, bad and ugly, and whether its truthful or not, ...

As different terror groups fight for dominance in Kashmir, they make it clear that resistance and struggle is only about Islamic Caliphate As radical Islam spreads its tentacles in Kashmir an increasing number of women can be seen in fully covered veils (burqa) Photo: Vivek Sinha  Vivek Sinha twitter: @viveksinha28 Zakir Musa, the recently ousted terrorist commander of Hizbul Mujahideen’s Indian arm, has unveiled the motivations driving Kashmir saga for the world that had hitherto remained secretive and was never talked about in the open. In a series of video messages, Musa has clearly spelt out that Kashmir is part of Islamists’ agenda to establish Islamic Caliphate and there is nothing political about their “movement”. Musa’s video message has come in response to a recent statement from Hurriyat Conference leaders where they claimed that Kashmir struggle is political and has nothing to do with Islam. But Musa was quick to denounce Hurriyat’s intent. He minced no words as he ...

Vivek Sinha   The flow of information drives dialogue and discussions in a society, which is the bedrock of a vibrant democracy. The fourth estate comprising an army of Journalists aid and abet this information flow that in turn kick-starts societal discussions about legislative policies and executive actions. While doling out information Journalists rely on the five ‘Ws’ and one ‘H’ to apprise their audience, such that these five ‘Ws’ refer to What, Where, Who, When and Why while the ‘H’ refers to How. Several generation of Journalists have been taught and made to believe that of these six questions, ‘Why’ is the most important that requires the precision and trained eyes of a scribe to write a news report. This, ‘Why’ puts perspective to an incident by adding value to raw bits of information. Interestingly, “Why” does an incident or an event becomes news worthy has undergone a sea change, for worse. To recall, in the pre-independence era newspapers were loaded with articles that...

How Islamic Terrorists are recruiting young Kashmiri boys to be play-things in their evil design Vivek Sinha twitter: @viveksinha28 Yet again the picturesque Kashmir Valley is in news for wrong reasons. This time the big talk is about violence that occurred during the by-elections in the Srinagar Parliamentary constituency, which led to the death of eight boys. Over next few weeks there will be a barrage of news-analysis wherein reams of newsprint will be devoted to the “targeted killing” of “innocent” Kashmiris, and hours of newsroom debates will focus on how Indian state is losing the plot in Jammu Kashmir. Discussion and debates will underline the alienation of Kashmiri youth, plebiscite, UN resolutions, human-rights violation, AFSPA (Armed Forces Special Powers Act) and several others. During the last months, flash mobs have indulged into targeted stone-pelting at security forces, leading to deaths. Immediately after such incidents there’s always a media frenzy that talks about...

Vivek Sinha  twitter: @viveksinha28 Quite often when a product has shortcomings its manufacturer resorts to deceptive marketing. It creates a smoke screen over the product’s limitations and marketing managers take it further by confusing and corrupting the minds of gullible people into believing that the product is not flawed, rather it is fabulous. That this is a common practice for corporations and businessmen is known, what is unknown is the fact that even historical events are subject to such devious designs. While this may sound strange, a look at the recent propaganda on Jammu Kashmir confirms this belief. The state has been a victim of countless propaganda yet the recent efforts are subtle and have the ability to confuse all and sundry. It is a historical fact that the erstwhile princely state of Jammu Kashmir acceded to India on 26 October, 1947. Yet, in the month of August this year, Congress Parliamentarian Dr Karan Singh said that Jammu Kashmir acceded to India on ...

Vivek Sinha  twitter: @viveksinha28 Certain events in a nation’s history are etched deep in its collective consciousness and have the potential to set the tone for future narratives. Quite often, we Indians have squandered away the positive opportunities presented by history and clung on to the negatives, only to remain as a self-doubting country that debates and discusses frivolous concerns and skirts the real issues. Great civilizations are built only when public opinion is shaped by historical events and the discourse is turned towards cohesive national development. As a nation, we must learn to identify and build upon such opportunities. Indian Army’s lethal strikes on September 29 on the terrorist base camps in PoJK (Pakistan occupied Jammu Kashmir) is one such historical opportunity. These strikes happened within days after the Pak-Army trained mercenaries attacked the Indian Army camp at Uri, in Jammu Kashmir. The counter-attacks by the Indian Army gave the message loud...

Vivek Sinha  twitter: @viveksinha28 Oftentimes perceptions are contrary to the truths. This happens, when systematic efforts are made to create a smokescreen to hide the real picture and then dole out camouflage as reality. Nowhere is this more visible than in the Kashmir Valley. Over the years a ‘perception’ has been assiduously built that local Kashmiri, especially the youth of Jammu Kashmir, is alienated with India and they support and endorse terrorist attacks like the one in Uri on September 18. This ‘perception management’ has been going on for several years, thanks to the well-oiled network of spin doctors and opinion managers across media houses in the Kashmir Valley and in Delhi. The arrangement works in such a way that opinion, especially the Separatists’ viewpoint, is passed upon as news from the Valley. It is hardly reported that these Pakistan sympathiser Kashmiri Separatists are a mere handful and they do not enjoy the support of the masses. This misinformation c...