Author: Ram Kumar Ohri
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: November 26, 2012
URL: http://www.dailypioneer.com/columnists/item/52891-ode-to-news-which-no-one-publishes.html

Religion-based discrimination that is sweeping the country on the basis of the Sachar panel findings are rarely reported in detail by the mainstream media, either in print or in television channels

 On November 13, 2012, Mr Chandan Mitra in a thought-provoking article in The Pioneer, highlighted the rapid decline in the ‘news content’ of India’s mainstream newspapers that are extensively obsessed with the malaise called money-making through advertisements. Also, quite a few newspapers, even the electronic media, have somehow come to be perceived by the public to be afflicted with the notorious paid-news syndrome.

 For years, newspaper readers have been trying to comprehend, albeit unsuccessfully, why many earth-shaking news items, which could make banner headlines, never get published in the mainstream English media, nor aired on 24x7 television channels, nor ever commented upon by the news analysts. There are dozens of instances of important developments being ignored by the Indian media. The reasons are neither known nor ever stated.

 Here, I refer to two instances of unpublished news. On June 18, then Union Minister for Minority Affairs Salman Khurshid had addressed a Press conference in New Delhi, detailing how funds totalling several thousands crore rupees had been spent by the Government during the last five years, on the welfare of the minority communities. This was done under the Prime Minister’s 15-point programme and on the basis of Sachar Committee recommendations.

 Among other things, the Minister proudly recounted that 1,42,12,655 free scholarships and 7.02 lakh post-matric scholarships were granted to students of five minority communities — Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Sikhs and the Parsis — subject to the fulfillment of certain conditions. Similarly, thousands of merit-cum-means scholarships along with Maulana Azad Educational Foundation scholarships for minority community girls of Class XI and XII were awarded. In addition, thousands of Maulana Azad Educational Fellowships were also given out to the minority community students.

 That was great news. But there was bad news too. No Hindu child, not even the poorest Hindu farmer’s son or daughter, was eligible for these one-and-a-half crore scholarships doled out from tax-payers’ money, because the largesse was exclusively reserved for the minorities. This was a typical example of overturning the plea of ‘inclusive growth’ on its head, by converting it into an exercise of ‘exclusive growth of five religious minorities’ through an unusual sleight of hand.

 Not one scholarship out of the one-and-a half crore for a poor Hindu student! How come Mr Khurshid’s feat did not make any news? No newspaper published it and no journalist commented on this gross violation of the Right to Equality.

 The reason for this religion-based discrimination was that the poor children who were excluded happened to be Hindus. No wonder, nearly two years ago in certain jhuggi clusters of Delhi, there were murmurs suggesting that, if the poor Hindu children and their parents converted to Islam or Christianity they could also partake of lakhs of free scholarships!

 It is well-known, and also corroborated by Census 2001 data, that the Christians, the Parsis, the Buddhists and the Sikhs are miles ahead of the Hindus in literacy, educational attainments and economic status.

 This grind of discrimination befell the Hindus, even though Justice Rajinder Sachar had admitted in his report that in 13 States and Union Territories, the Muslims were ahead of the Hindus in literacy, and that in another 12 States Muslim women were better off in literacy standards than their Hindu counterparts.

 Among other things, Mr Khurshid boasted that under the Area Development Plan for 90 minorities-dominated districts (identified by Justice Sachar in his report) a sum of Rs2,941.60 crore was spent on building schools, additional class rooms, hostels, etc. During the 11th Plan, 3,01,556 Indira Awas Yojana houses, 2,624 health centres, 71 ITIs and 31 polytechnics were sanctioned solely for 90 minority-centric districts identified by Justice Sachar.

 There were other financial benefits like cheaper loans for education and starting new industries exclusively bestowed on five minority communities (constituting nearly 20 per cent of India’s population. But no financial benefits like cheaper loans, etc, were extended to the poor among the 80 per cent Hindu population.

 The second instance of blacking out important news was even more benumbing. While presenting this year’s Budget in April, then Union Minister for Finance (now the President of India) Pranab Mukherjee had declared that a free bicycle will be given to every girl of a minority community studying in Class IX and X. Neither any columnist nor any media commentariat dared ask why comparatively poor Hindu school-going girls were excluded?

 In both these instances, the capital news content was a new wave of unprecedented religion-based discrimination sweeping across the country on the basis of the Sachar report. But why was the capital news content, prima facie fit for banner headlines, blacked out by all newspapers and 24x7 television channels? No one knows. I am sure no member of the commentariat will speak about it either.