Here’s How Indian Media Went from Warmongers to Peace Cheerleaders in a Single Day

All it takes is one bad day.

By Samir Yawar | 12:46 pm | Feb 28, 2019

Two days ago, Indian celebrities and media were clamoring for all-out war against Pakistan, not realizing the dangers of pushing such a vitriolic narrative to their followers.Even as Pakistani celebs called for sanity and a de-escalation in war euphoria, the Indian side just wanted to have their pound of flesh by any means.

Indian journalists, movie stars, politicians, you name it, they were talking with one voice – inflict hurt on the enemy by any means. Even a UN Goodwill Ambassador echoed the same.

Then the two Indian planes happened. One captured Indian pilot later, the warmongers have finally discovered the virtues of exercising restraint.

📢 For the latest Entertainment news, videos and gossip join Lens WhatsApp Group now!

We take a look at how these narratives changed in one day, and how, there’s still time for acting sensibly before its too late.

Calling for War

First we have a noted Indian journalist Barkha Dutt, and this is what she shared 2 days ago:

Funny how this sense of ‘justice’ does not apply when it comes to Kashmiris when they were busy being blinded by pellets (and that’s the least of it). No shedding tears over an infant whose eye was damaged by these pellets but ok, lets just stick with ‘justice’ here.

Indian movie stars soon followed:

 

In India at least, hashtags like  #indiastrikesback, #terroristanpakistan, #pakapologist soon began trending, giving us a view into the jingoistic and pro-war mindset there.

And the first casualty of war is truth, and Ms Dutt became a prime example of this case:

As a journalist, calling for war is a step too far, and Ms Dutt makes no bones of hiding it.

To be honest, she wasn’t the only one. Most Indian celebrities couldn’t distinguish between being patriotic and being nationalist. They happen to think the two are the same. Those who don’t (like Navjot Sidhu), were quickly shown the door.

A Ploy to Win Votes

Sure, Pakistan has a terrorism problem and one that it has taken great steps to exorcise itself of (the war against TTP for example). However, it seems that politicians are pros at making someone guilty before they are presumed to be innocent.

The Pulwama suicide attack on a Indian military convoy was itself, a manifestation of what happens when the state decides to terrorize its own population. The attack was carried out by a Kashmiri youth, who himself had to face humiliation at the end of Indian troops. Injustice, be it of the Indian or Pakistani variety, is bound to blow up in their own backyards. Let there be no doubt about this.

Coming back to the topic. it was the Indian government that decided to take ‘revenge’ for Pulwama attacks, by intruding into Pakistani airspace first. They did it once, and were chased away by Pakistani jets.

Then they did it again, only this time, their planes were shot down and a pilot captured.

The Pakistani side, instead of making an example out of the pilot, offered him tea and treated him with dignity. Prime Minister Imran Khan himself called for talks and a cessation of hostilities.

“I wanted to take you into confidence regarding the situation arising since yesterday. We offered India that we are ready to cooperate with them in any kind of investigation after the Pulwama attack.”

How did the Indian media respond? See for yourself:

Turns out the main aim for these airstrikes was this:

And finally, all of a sudden, Indian media personalities discovered they had been lied to:

Finally better sense prevailed, and Indian celebs chimed in:

 

 

The lesson here is clear. Never, ever blindly trust what the government tells you (applies to every one no matter where they live).

One hopes that the past few days serve as an eye-opener for everyone, and that the much dreaded war between India and Pakistan does not happen.