It is an unwritten rule that most government-owned media organisations support their government’s cause until there is a danger to the nation’s sovereignty. However, Russian media is walking on a different track. At a time when Russia-India ties are doing well, the official Russian network effort could compromise this bonhomie.
Documentary about Kashmir
Recently, a short clip of a documentary about Kashmir went viral. The clip was released by Redfish. In the tweet, embedded with video, Redfish has compared Kashmir to Palestine.
In the tweet, it wrote, “Indian Kashmir is fast becoming a settler-colonial state. While Indian politicians call for ‘the Israeli model’ in Kashmir, we spoke to separated families, evicted shepherds and victims of militarisation. Tune in on February 11 at 17:00 CET for “Kashmir: Palestine in the Making”.
https://twitter.com/redfishstream/status/1489630448225427461
The video in the tweet seemed like a leftist propaganda video against India. Like Israelis are termed as settlers in Palestine, one seemingly expert in the video says that Hindus are settlers in Kashmir. In one portion of the clip, a woman seems to be complaining about the introduction of Indian law and order machinery in state. She is saying that earlier they used to know that Kashmir is a Muslim state, which does not look possible now.
Redfish is sponsored by Russia
Apparently, Redfish is being funded by Ruptly. Ruptly, is a Russian video news agency specializing in video-on-demand. Though, based in Berlin, its ownership lies with Russia Today (RT), a Russian government-controlled international television network. RT is taken care of through Russian taxpayers’ money.
Redfish is funded by Ruptly, which is owned by RT. But interestingly redfish is left to do the left-of-centre work. https://t.co/Lhp7ACggI1
— Shubhangi Sharma (@ItsShubhangi) February 5, 2022
As soon as the clip was released online, people took to Twitter to express their disagreement. After getting backlash, Redfish rushed in to protect its tag of Russia state-affiliated media. It clarified that the documentary is balanced.
Controversial Redfish
Claiming that it includes everyone’s perspectives, Redfish tweeted, “In response to the unwarranted controversy over our Kashmir documentary trailer: We assure our community that the full documentary is balanced and includes the perspectives of all stakeholders, including the BJP in Jammu Kashmir and Kashmiri activists.”
https://twitter.com/redfishstream/status/1489968234531065868
This is not the first time that Redfish is in hot water for peddling leftist agenda. In April 2021, a paper published in a journal of Georgetown University has insinuated that Redfish is pro-Palestine.
Could scuttle India-Russia friendship
The controversial video came amidst India-Russia relations increasingly getting more and more cordial. Recently, Vladimir Putin, Russian head of the state had denied meeting Imran Khan, Pakistan;s Prime Minister. It was seen as a beautiful gesture towards India. Basically, he gave a message that he won’t deal with Indian enemies.
Read more: India’s support for Russia at UNSC came a day after Putin trashed Pakistan
Few days later, India had abstained from a vote on whether the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) should take up the situation in Ukraine as a possible threat to international peace and security. For its support and for not buckling under American pressure, Russia even thanked India.
Read more: India’s strategic abstainment in the UNSC is a grand friendship gesture towards Russia
Moreover, India is also making special concessions for Russia. At a time when Make in India in defence sector is nearing all-time high, India has not refrained from buying Russian weapons. Moreover, just for the sake of Putin attending the Beijing Olympics, India had decided to make a namesake official presence at the event.
Read more: India boycotts Beijing Olympics and leads Russia towards bitter ties with China
There is a reason why Media is called the fourth pillar of democracy. It has to act reasonably and put national interest as the top priority. The documentary release by Redfish is not an indication of pro-nation behavior by Russian portal. They should take note of this and improve their line of production.
