Rashtra Raksha Sanchalan
A grand show
FOC
THRISSUR: Irrespective of the blackout by the mainstream media of Kerala, the Rashtra Raksha Sanchalan has evoked widespread respect and adoration by the people of Kerala. Thousands of people who thronged the sidewalks of the roads through which the smartly turned out Swayamsevaks marched to the drumbeats were surprised by the discipline and beauty of the sanchalan. ?It is really sad that this march is not being shown in our TV channels,? a housewife was heard telling after watching the parade passing through the roads of Thrissur.
While the CPM honcho Pinarayi Vijayan'sKerala march is given wide publicity by all the TV channels and newspapers, the Rashtra Raksha Sanchalan, held to create an awareness among the people about the anti-national forces, communalists and terrorists stalking Kerala, find little mention in the so-called secular newspapers and TV channels. But this has not dampened the spirit of the people of Kerala. If the thousands turning up daily to greet the sanchalan are any indication, it is time for the Kerala media to sit back and take stock of the situation.
The media discrimination against Sangh Parivar, especially the Hindus, is notorious. When eight Hindu fishermen were massacred by Islamic terrorists, the media in the state was bent on underplaying the news. The attempt to slaughter hundreds of poor Hindu fishermen at Beypore by exploding powerful bombs was also blacked out by the media. The rescue and relief operations undertaken by Sangh Swayamsevaks and other Hindu volunteer organisations following the tsunami catastrophe in Kerala and Tamil Nadu was also ignored by the media barons. But proselytisers like the World Vision and the Oxfam were given wide coverage by the print and visual media.
Rashtra Raksha Sanchalan, held to create an awareness among the people about the anti-national forces, communalists and terrorists stalking Kerala, finds little mention in the so-called secular newspapers and TV channels.
The Rashtra Raksha Sanchalan got a shot in the arm when mothers welcomed the marchers with lighted Nilavilakku, flower bedecked thalams. ?This is a parade with a difference. I have never seen such discipline and dignity in any of the parades and rallies organised by the political parties,? said another housewife.
It is time that we should give a thought to the blacking out of the issues related to the Hindus by the media. A sacred and serene parade like that of the Rashtra Raksha Sanchalan deserves much better coverage. While anti-national and anti-people statements by the Christian and the Islamic fundamentalists receive wide publicity in the media, it is distressing to note that the secular media consider the Hindus as untouchables.
