China has invaded and occupied over 1,000 sq km of Indian territory, approximately the size of Delhi, right under the nose of a “strong man”, without so much as a squeak from pseudo-patriots.
But the government’s public response is as befits an acknowledged “soft power”. A ban on Chinese apps for starters, to make sure every Indian hooked on to Tik-Tok knows that a “befitting response” has been given.
And, outlawing Press Trust of India (PTI) from Doordarshan and All India Radio, for running an interview with India’s ambassador to China which contradicted prime minister Narendra Modi‘s farcical claim that “no one has intruded”.
In the process, paving the way for Asian News International (ANI), often dubbed Advani News International for its proximity to the BJP, and whose “editor” has interviewed Modi four times.
PTI’s current chairman in Aveek Sarkar, the paterfamilias of the Anandabazar Patrika (ABP) group which owns The Telegraph, one of the few newspapers to call out the decision.
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Barring The Telegraph, much of the media has been happy to downplay the significance of the Prasar Bharti decision, one of many to rearrange the chips of the media mosaic. Thankfully, the Bangalore newspaper Deccan Herald has an editorial on the topic.
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Screenshots: courtesy The Telegraph and Deccan Herald
Also read: 18 things you didn’t know about ANI
IJR 