The bias:

Dr Manmohan Singh near the end of his term as Prime Minister, mentioned: “History will be kinder to me than the contemporary media”. It is a reflection on the media. He conveyed in a polished language what wrong they have done to him. But history will be harsher on the media.

The media’s bias against the Congress; their basic hatred, prejudice against the ‘dynasty’ has not even spared Dr Manmohan Singh, the hero who changed the economic map of India. This was a grave injustice and contempt for a great scholar who became an ‘Accidental’ PM.

Media questioned the silence of Dr Manmohan Singh. But they also said the same about Rao and Indira. Perhaps they were waiting for a person to do drama and blabber at the sight of a camera lens. They should not have expected it from mature politicians or scholarly individuals.

How could these media warriors be so silent about Modi not holding press conferences, conveniently avoiding questions about all the uncomfortable issues building up against him? Maybe Modi was using ‘silencers’ to destroy the Media and India. Media could not feel it.

Media had soft corners for anyone opposing Congress and its dynasty. Vajpayee was only a mask for RSS. But for media, any mask is better for fighting against ‘Congress virus’ while Vajpayee’s inaction for Modi’s ‘raj dharma’ after Gujarat riots was not seriously questioned.

Our political system got corrupted due to the engineered polarisation of people on various divides including religion and caste by political opportunists and power brokers. Vajpayee was a shrewd politician to know the degeneration over the decades but remained a silent spectator.

The partisan politics makes everyone play along, closing their eyes and mind when it is inconvenient. Vajpayee was not an exception. When one gets so much indoctrinated into RSS philosophy and school, it is difficult to dissociate and become open, logical and bipartisan.

Sometimes a person’s lifetime is too short to change from a grooved and groomed line. He knew he was used as a mask. He had to continue his partisan political journey ignoring serious erosion of Dharma. Perhaps that is the Guru Dakshina he was paying for his long association.

The partisan approach of a political party is understandable. When so-called free and neutral media gets to perform the partisan role, why not a political party. The media now resembles more like political parties without sharing power but have their bargains and shares. 

Media persons have their own doctrines, thoughts, philosophies, likes and dislikes. Journalistic ethics demand that they should go beyond to search for what is true. The public has the right to expect the media to be impartial and trustworthy as they depend on it for news and views.

 “Ethics is knowing the difference between what you have the right to do and what is the right thing to do” – (former US Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart). These moralities and ethics are too imaginary to talk about when the media lets in partisan views, bias, and prejudices.

The bias and prejudices of the media against Congress made them ignore the polarising agenda of political parties. It is not that the media are muted only after 2014. Even during the Vajpayee regime, it was Tehelka which exposed fake arms deals, not the mainstream media.

Media failed to analyse, dissect and expose the deeper agenda of RSS through their various masks. RSS needed Vajpayee with a softer image and universal acceptance at that point of time to take roots. They used it to the hilt to dig deeper and strengthen their foundation.

Vajpayee had his heart in the right place but only served RSS and not severed from its path. He was called a ‘right man in the wrong party’. But definitely, Modi was a wrong man in the right party. RSS needed all wrong people to use them for carrying out their devious designs.

They wanted heartless, merciless, unscrupulous persons with on-field experience to misuse power; to quickly roll out their agenda; convert or bulldoze people to their line of thinking. Modi and Shah matched their requirement perfectly and started executing RSS plans.

Like a pandemic, this virus combo of hatred, inefficiency, and secrecy is unpredictable in its course. It is in nobody’s control and it will take longer to assess and correct the destruction it caused. People will not forgive these cheaters if they get an opportunity.

This is obvious to everyone but the media does not venture to expose BJP about arm twisting institutions; source of money to buy everyone; destruction of economy and democracy.

Media perhaps accepts them as hazards, minor fallouts and side effects of fighting dynasty.