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Dear Editors,
The Tribune, Chandigarh & Zee News
I have not seen the programme on 'Khalistanis' that aired on Zee News a couple of days back but have followed the news since concerning the arrest of Dr. Jagjit Singh Chohan for his apparent "seditious" activities.
It is highly suspicious to me, and to many others im sure, that this turn of events has occurred so soon after the recent exposure of Punjab 'police cat' Sukhi and the role the Punjab police played in infiltrating ex-militants and criminals into the movement for Khalistan, eliminating innocent Sikh persons in the process in order to account for the faked deaths of these ex-militant criminals. Is this turn of events a coincidence? Or is it a deliberate attempt to divert attention away from the substantive issue of unlawful police brutalities against the Sikhs of Punjab onto a relatively minor issue of an elderly gentleman who supports the formation of an independent Sikh homeland?
I think the latter is obviously the case. Afterall, if Dr Jagjit Singh Chohan was such a threat then why was he not arrested on charges of 'sedition' back in June, 2005? How convenient is it that he has been arrested now creating such a media fuss about the revival of Khalistanis in Punjab at a time when the Punjab police has been fully exposed for its role in the patronage of criminal elements and murder and disappearance of hundreds of Sikh youths in their place?
The Sikhs of Punjab, and indeed, the Sikhs all around the World were not born yesterday and are no fools. The Sikhs will see right through this most gross and immoral practice of the highly unprofessional Indian media to cover up and deflect public attention away from the atrocities of the Punjab police by deliberately fabricating a "scare" on the revival of what most will wrongly believe to be a return of militancy to Punjab.
For Mr H.K Dua, Editor-in-Chief of the Tribune, Chandigarh. You are one of the most hypocritical and venomous snakes to have gobbled up a once prestigious Punjab English Daily like the Tribune. The Tribune under your reign of hypocrisy is wholly one-sided and tilts only towards providing a mouthpiece for
the forces of Hindutva and the proponents of "Hindi, Hindu, Hindustan". The bias reporting is completely contrary to the purpose of free press and your selective reporting and silence on those that do not fit into your narrow political agenda has tarnished the image of the Tribune with a saffron ink-pen and
has disgraced the memory of its Sikh founder.
The media has a duty to serve the people in a neutral and principled manor. But this is not the case in India, is it? Because you Hindus dont have principles and are far from being neutral. Tens of thousands in Punjab and elsewhere have lost their lives left, right and centre from the criminal and repressive policies of the government of India and the best you can do is provide a paragraph here and there on such issues which then get swamped by a heap of nauseating self-gloating and propaganda about 'India shining' completely ignoring the serious day-to-day issues faced by the common man and woman in the Hindustani occupied territories of Jammu & Kashmir, Khalistan, Nagalim and Assam and for the millions of downtrodden and oppressed Dalits all over India.
Far from being suckered into mass cover-ups of Indian state terror, propaganda on economic development, lies about the secular character of Indian society and promotion of the filthy whores Bollywood large sections of the Sikh diaspora remain unconvinced, unimpressed and ever resentful of the iron-fist of Brahmanical tyranny that has been tightening its grip over Sikhdom ever since August, 1947.
It is unfortunate that the Hindu government and society in India bends over backwards for a few scraps from the tables of the real World super-powers rather than addressing the various causes of conflict between the Indian state and the minority nations within modern Indian. India can never emerge as a
true Democracy while such conflicts exist and while past atrocities by the security forces against civilians and mass butcheries of minorities remain unaccounted for.
You in the media have an important position to play in serving the people and bringing the truth directly to their door. Honest, principled and neutral journalism can aid in bringing about honourable resolution to these conflicts as per wishes of the people concerned. So why dont you do this?
In any Democracy the government exists and functions by consent of the governed. Democratic governments do not exist to rule the people, but exist as representatives of the people. Why then, does the Indian media continually turn a blind eye to the institutionalised corruption and murderous tendencies of the Indian government while at the same time falsely trumpeting the myth that India is the "Worlds largest Democracy"?
Surely, if the government is not listening to the people and is violating their rights then this should be challenged by the media, not supported by it. Or, am i mistaken in assuming that there is such a thing as free press in this so-called Worlds largest Democracy?
There was an opportunity for Zee News to investigate on the atrocities and illegal activities of the Punjab police through their criminal 'police cats'. But instead, you chose to divert attention away from this by focussing on a comparative non-issue like the aged Khalistani Dr Jagjit Singh Chohan, which you are proud of the fact that he has been detained as a result of your programme. Good for you, you have managed to get an old man put behind bars but remain silent on the deaths and disappearance of hundreds of Sikh youth that were murdered by the security forces.
The idiotic Hindustani masses may be impressed by such news like the detention of Dr Chohan, but dont think for even one minute that those of us in the free world have been distracted away from the real issue here.
Regards,
A. Soni
Europe
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