How to benefit from a riot; first lesson

A riot happens in Delhi, the capital of India. It happens on the day of Diwali, the festival of lights. 

Now, riots in India can start due to any reason, a property dispute, misbehavior with women, a perceived desecration of place of worship or even a dispute on the volume of loudspeakers.

Nevertheless, as usually happens in case of riots in India, police takes some time to control it but finally some people, some of them rowdy and some innocents are put behind bar and riot is controlled. 

So far, so good.

Media does not cover it. MSM behaves as if the riot never happened. There is no tyranny of distance or any instructions by administration not to enter the area. Probably, MSM feels that since the riot happened on Diwali, it is easy to identify ‘the’ community responsible and that may not be the politically correct thing to do, as usual.

But two days later, without any declared schedule, Election Commission announces dates for by-poll in Delhi. One constituency which is around 10 kms away from the riot spot too is also going for polls.

And the usual becomes unusual.   

Next day morning, a news trader tweets, “I am told Trilokpuri by-elections due next month. Are we surprised.” The tweet alludes to the allegations on the right wing of organizing pre poll riots in UP a few months back. Obvious charge is that the right wing is indulging in riots because elections have been announced.

This exercise, an obvious attempt at defamation gets a leg up as the TV channels now pick up the scent of prey and start airing the videos of stone littered but otherwise empty streets & law enforcement officers marching in full gear. Now, since the responsibility of the riot can be attributed to the right wing without even a hint of political incorrectness, all breaking news and doomsday headlines come out in crimson red colors.

Then the erstwhile honest political party joins the campaign, “Pre-poll communal violence becoming a pattern. Together we have to frustrate efforts of vested political interests, who are behind it.” It looks like an ideal statement in the given situation coming from a responsible political party.

The orchestrated campaign by a news trader and a politician attempts to portray an incident of riot as pre poll conspiracy to divide votes, ignoring the fact that a) riot happened before the polls were announced and b) riot spot is around 10 kms away from the constituency where bypolls are to happen.

But then who said the campaign is about truth. It is only about deriving benefit from every incident, big or small, however violent or horrific.


Eventually, in politics and in media, electoral & TRP gains are more important even at the cost of dead bodies. 

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