NDTV journalist is irked by attack on Nankana Sahib Gurudwara but not out of empathy for Sikhs

On Friday, disturbing images and videos emerged from Nankana Sahib, Pakistan, which is the birthplace of Guru Nanak Dev. A Muslim mob laid siege of the Gurudwara Janamsthaan and also indulged in vandalism and stone pelting at the holiest of Sikh shrines. Moreover, the leader of this mob was also seen threatening to raze down the Gurudwara and evict every single Sikh from Nankana Sahib. He further threatened to rename the town with an Islamic name– Ghulam-e-Mustafa.

This sudden outburst of anger against Sikhs is not something which has happened overnight. For over three months now, this frustration among the Muslim community has been brewing. The daughter of Nankana Sahib’s Granthi, Jagjit Kaur was abducted and forcefully converted to Islam by marriage. This case of outright harassment of the Sikh minority had back then caused a global uproar, succumbing to which the Pakistani establishment had to bow. Mohammad Hassan, the man who had kidnapped Kaur yesterday gathered a violent mob around Gurudwara Janamsthaan which then pelted stones, raised anti-Sikh and hateful slogans, and also  refused to let the trapped devotees from coming out.

At a time when Indians, especially Sikhs were shocked at the vulgar display of violent majoritarianism at Nankana Sahib, senior journalist at NDTV, Sreenivasan Jain decided not to hold back his inner fears and tweeted the following:

Jain can be seen saying that what has happened is indeed wrong, but he could not resist saying that the evidence of this violence will now be used by the supporters of CAA to further their cause. He also surprisingly, for the first time perhaps, mentioned the cut-off date of 31^st December 2014 upto which the minority citizens of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh will be given citizenship. He further said that due to the cut-off date, the present day minorities who continue living in these countries cannot avail any relief.

First there is a lowlife, then there are ignominious individuals, and then come these journalists from NDTV. Whenever one thinks that a journalist working for this organization cannot fall lower with an aim to further their sordid agenda, these individuals always surprise us. They rather take this up as a challenge and fall so low in pursuit of pleasing their political masters that they are later left embarrassed, and even their masters disown them. At a time when the Sikh community is facing unprecedented attack not only in Nankana Sahib, but worldwide (for Jain to think that yesterday’s incident affects only Sikhs at Nankana would be another level of ignorance), all that Sreenivasan can think of is whether the false and baseless fearmongering that he and his ilk have been doing w.r.t CAA will take a hit. And obviously, this incident is a glaring example of the misery with which the minorities in Pakistan are surviving. As much displeasure it may cause to Jain and his kind, this further validates the need of a CAA, without a cut-off date.

However, for Jain and his colleagues to be wary of such incidents is but natural. After all, despite concerted efforts by them, they have been unable to unite the country against CAA. Even in his tweet, it is this same fear which is seen being reflected. Speaking of NDTV, Jain is not alone in his fight against CAA. His colleague, Nidhi Razdan, interviewed Arvind Kejriwal recently. It was less of an interview and more of a dialogue between two like minded individuals spreading their propaganda against CAA. Such was the collective foolishness, that Kejriwal went on to diligently explain how CAA and NRC will also ‘hurt’ those who travel from one Indian state to another. It almost seemed like two friend’s scratching each other’s backs for having the same opinion of CAA. After a point of time, the entire interview seemed scripted.

Again, this is certainly not the first time when NDTV has shamelessly portrayed their obvious bias infront of the country. After the abrogation of Article 370, NDTV left no stone unturned to ensure that people don’t get swayed by the immensity of the decision, which will only help the BJP electorally. Whether it be spreading fake news about the curfew in Kashmir, or taking fake interviews of Kashmiri Pandits, or whether it be claims of small children being mercilessly sent to jail, NDTV has done it all. The good part, however, is that next to nobody watches NDTV.