Indian journalists graduate from being national shame to international embarrassment

Before the bilateral meeting between India and the United States of America in New York on the sidelines of United Nations General Assembly, both Indian Prime Minister and US President Donald Trump addressed the joint press conference and faced some pointed and at times obscure questions from the Indian media. The questions seemed to be swayed by hyper-nationalism and it looked like they had not read or prepared their questions beyond Pakistan and Imran Khan, not forgetting to mention the uncivilized way in which the questions were put up. Shouting and more shouting was the trend that was followed in the briefing.

When Indian reporters were haranguing Trump over Pakistan and its role in terrorism, Trump made a rather tongue-in-cheek comment which was laden with sarcasm. “You have great reporters, I wish I had reporters like these, You guys are doing better than anybody I’ve ever heard. Where do you find these reporters? This is a great thing,” Trump said to Modi. The media outlet went one step further and thought President Trump was actually praising their reporter and posted a self-congratulatory tweet that was trolled heavily all over the social media. Oh! The sweet irony!

While the Indian journalists tried their best to create some kind of sensation by continuously pestering Trump about what his message would be to Islamabad in view of the reports on Imran Khan’s admission about terrorists operating from Pakistani soil and the Indian army chief’s comments about terrorists standing ready to infiltrate into India, President Trump calmly said, “The message (to Pakistan) is not for me to give, it is for Prime Minister Modi to give. And he gave that loud and clear the other day. Very loud message and I am sure he will be able to handle that situation” Giving out a message to the media personnel and the others who were trying to unnecessary rile up a controversy.

Donald Trump is famously known for his snarky comments on the media outlets. CNN has been at the receiving end of his countless remarks accusing the media outlet to be a “Fake News Outlet”. On Monday too, US President Donald Trump during a joint press conference with the Pakistani PM on the sidelines of United Nations summit had mocked a Pak journalist who was singing his Pak and Kashmir propaganda incessantly by asking Trump about India’s move to abrogate Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir. After the ill-mannered reporter continued with his rant, Trump took a chuckle and said “Are you a member of his (Imran’s) team? You are making a statement, not asking a question.” And this was not all. After mocking the journalist, Trump directed a question to the Pakistan Prime Minister, asking, “Where do you get reporters like these?”

When de-hyphenation is on the cards, this lack of professionalism from Indian journalists hurts the cause, who seem to be shouting to ask questions in their quest to chase TRP’s. They must understand that when the country’s top brass is actively avoiding discussing Kashmir and Pakistan on a global platform to focus on the more pertinent issues, the media should also take the moral stand to keep things as simple as possible and try not to meddle and complicate things by coaxing on a single issue. The role of a journalist is to present the facts and ask questions devoid of their personal biases and feelings, but it seems some Indian journalists want to always hog the limelight and create unnecessary ruckus all meanwhile bringing embarrassment to the nation.