26/11 was the day when Indian Media showed how low it can stoop

Today is the 13th anniversary of the dastardly 26/11 Mumbai attacks. On the nippy, wintery night of November 26, 2008, a large 10-men contingent of AK-47-wielding Pakistani terrorists ran amuck across the Maximum city. Over 160 innocent people including Indian nationals, police officers, and foreign tourists, lost their lives.

However, the death toll could have been low, if it wasn’t for the greed of a few TRP-hungry journalists, who blabbered every tiny detail of the operations of the armed forces and compromised the lives of individuals by giving their live location on national TV to the terrorists.

Media reported every tiny detail of operation to the terrorists:

26/11 was a case study in how not to report any terrorist activity – one where the Indian media rather spectacularly, soiled the bed. Images and visuals from Taj and Oberoi Hotels, the CST terminal, Cama Hospital, Nariman House and other locations where terrorists slaughtered innocent people, are still vivid in our nation’s memory.

It’s vivid in our memory and must be vivid in the memory of the handlers of the terrorists sitting in Pakistan, because the Indian media became their foot soldiers and helped them better guide their jihadis.

It was through news television, that terrorists realized fires had been lit and that helicopters were trying to land on the roofs of the Oberoi Hotel, and the Jewish Chabad House, where an American Rabbi and his family were being held hostage.

Also read: Mumbai terror attacks and its irresponsible coverage by Indian media

Barkha Dutt – the face Pakistani handlers rejoiced seeing:

Barkha Dutt, the former NDTV journalist is perhaps the face that Pakistani handlers must have liked seeing every time she popped up during the coverage. In one of the videos of the coverage of 26/11, Barkha can be heard reporting that “her sources are on the 19th floor where the terrorists are currently in their murderous frenzy”. She didn’t blink or hesitate for a second before giving such a crucial bit of information live.

When interviewed later by a fellow left-liberal journalist at Newslaundry, Barkha remained unapologetic for her role in the attacks.

She said, without offering an apology or admission of mistake, “The Oberoi story, I do remember having said at some point… not the exact number but when they was confusion over the fact that the hotel has been cleared, I did say that no, we still have reasons to believe that there are people who are trapped as hostages. That I did say. I don’t believe I was the only one who said it. Journalists across the board said that.”

Also read: Manish Tewari blames Congress for 26/11 in his book

Supreme Court pulling the media:

Even the Supreme court had pulled the media for its role in compounding the severity of the attacks by dedicating an entire section to it.

The apex court in Md. Ajmal Md. Amir Kasab vs the State Of Maharashtra case on 29 August 2012 observed, “From the transcripts, especially those from Taj Hotel and Nariman House, it is evident that the terrorists who were entrenched at those places and more than them, their collaborators across the border were watching the full show on TV. In the transcripts there are many references to the media reports and the visuals being shown on the TV screen.”

At another place in the transcript, the collaborators tell the terrorists in Taj Hotel that the dome at the top (of the building) had caught fire. The terrorists holed up in some room were not aware of this. The collaborators further advise the terrorists that the stronger they make the fire the better it would be for them.

The court further went on to say that it is not possible to find out whether the security forces actually suffered any casualty or injuries on account of the way their operations were being displayed on the TV screen. But it is beyond doubt that the way their operations were freely shown made the task of the security forces not only exceedingly difficult, but also dangerous and risky.

It’s perhaps as a penance that Barkha nowadays is roaming across the country like a nomad and trying to make up for the damage inflicted to the country, but it wasn’t her first rodeo and neither was she a greenhorn. She had similarly given crucial intel information live during the Kargil War.

13 years down the line, not much has changed. The left media is still as irresponsible as ever, and despite the guidelines in place, one would be forgiven to believe that they would do just the same, once again, if any attacks happen.