Sikh Militancy (1984- 1995) in India and its media coverage

This is a research that I have carried and forward on myblog. This research is about the media coverage that the period ofsikh militancy ( 1984 – 1995) in India received. I will update thispost as and when I have anything further to write. One should knowthat the period of Sikh militancy was one of the darkest periods inIndian history, the effects of which are felt till even today inIndia and abroad. The research is as follows:ABSTRACT:Consequent to the 9/11 attacks and the subsequent war on terror,the historical accounts of religion based terrorism and thecausative factors are becoming a subject of interest especially tomedia and political scholars. With the advancement of technology,influence of media has grown exponentially reifying themedia’s strong and cultural impact upon society. After the9/11 attacks and the subsequent war on terror now being fought inAsia, it does inspire one to look at things in more detail, as towhy does religion based terrorism occur and what are the factorsvisible and invisible that go in creating and sustaining it. Thewar on terror is fought in Asia and Pakistan is one of theimportant partners of the western forces fighting there. It is tobe noted that until 1947 Pakistan was a part of India which wasdivided on the basis of religion. Thus this study set out to studythe media coverage of religious divides in India. Often religiousdivides in India which is a multi- religious and multi- lingualcountry lead to violent clashes. Some have taken the form ofmilitant activity as well. Sikh militancy of the eighties and thenineties is one such case. With the intention to explore how theBritish media represents religious divides in India, this studymade the Sikh militancy a case study. The coverage is analysed inone British Newspaper, namely The Times (London). The results ofthe study show that key elements and events of the Sikh militancyreceived in depth coverage during the period under review (i.e.1984-1995). They also provide engaging information on the sourceswhich made the news during the period as well as the variouscontexts in which the news was reported.CHAPTER – 1INTRODUCTION : This research focuses on thecoverage of religious divides in India by the British media –making Sikh militancy a case study. Within this context, otherelements like media analysis of the political, economic, religiousand cultural issues that had been influenced and affected by theSikh militancy were also reviewed. In reference to the works ofFoucault, a 20th century Frenchphilosopher, sociologist andhistorian, Carrette(1999: p33) states that: ” Foucault’s work demonstrates aculture cannot understand itself without first understanding itsimplicit connection and development within the constructs ofreligious belief and practice. Contemporary culture is born out ofreligious traditions and the conditions of our knowledge aretherefore embedded in religious discourse. The so-called secularspace is itself a hybrid of past religious traditions, and in orderto understand contemporary culture Foucault recognised (and wasfascinated by) the religious influences upon thought andpractice.” Chase (2006) states, religious beliefs of acommunity or society play an important part in influencing itslifestyle. The thinking pattern of a society, the general state orhabit of the mind of its inhabitants, their intellectual and moraldevelopment, their material and spiritual way of life, the practiceand rituals followed; all of which determine its culture largelydepend on its religious beliefs. Thus culture may be more properlyunderstood as a ‘way of life’ (Chase, 2006). Culturebased on religious beliefs gives a group or society its distinctidentity and in a bid to preserve the same, man has engaged inviolent conflicts all through history, which can be calledreligious fights or divides.Background:Punjab is a state which is situated at the border between Indiaand Pakistan. Pakistan is now an ally of the west in its waragainst terror. Hansen (2002) highlights that the Partition ofPunjab which took place at the time when India got its independencein August 1947 from the British, constituted a humanitariancatastrophe with an estimated death toll of half a million peopleand around 14 million people getting displaced. The unprecedentedviolence after the partition was not a sudden wave of anger andmadness that erupted. It was anticipated by the colonial rulersthemselves and the communal organizations that had embarked uponassembling and training private armies. The other phase of violencein Punjab was through the eighties and unto the middle of thenineties which covers the period under review for this study.(Khan, 2007) According to Khan (2007), Aggarwal & Aggarwal(1992), before India got its independence from the British in theyear 1947, the Sikhs wanted a country of their own based on theirreligious beliefs. In 1946, the Sikhs declared a nation based onthe tenets of Sikh religion and called for the creation of a Sikhstate called Khalistan. Thereafter they proposed the union of theSikhs in Pakistan. However the British preferred for the partitionof India into two states i.e. India and Pakistan. While JawaharlalNehru (who then became the first Prime Minister of India) set upsecurity for Sikhs in Indian future, the provisional government ofPunjab was formed by a coalition of Muslims and Sikhs. However theSikh massacres of Muslims that followed led to the annulling of theprovisional government of Punjab. Sikhs then fled to India en masseand the British imposed partition of the country, which wasendorsed on August 15, 1947. Jodhka (2001) points out that, Punjabhad done quite well economically during the post –independence period. The prosperity that was brought in Punjab bythe green revolution during the 1960’s and 1970’s madeit the most prosperous state in India with the highest per capitaincome in the 1980- 81 period. At the time, it also had one of thelowest proportions of the population living below the poverty linein the country. Not surprisingly, therefore, the rise of asecessionist movement in the state was a puzzle for many.Significance andScope of study:This study was designed to analyse how the British mediapresented religious divides in India, making Sikh militancy a casestudy. It tried to analyse the coverage of the highlighted issuesfrom the British point of view, considering the fact that India amulti- religious country is a part of the commonwealth group ofcountries and was divided after its independence on the basis ofreligion. India a multi- religious, multi- cultural country issituated in South Asia and has the second largest population in theworld. The population of India is divided primarily into followersof eight religions. The chief among them are the followers ofHinduism, Islam, Christianity or Sikhism. In recent times however,there have been large scale riots due to the growing divide betweenpeople belonging to different communities, resulting in fatal lossof life and property. The bomb blasts, shooting and hostage takingwhich took place in Mumbai in November 2008 sent alarm bellsringing throughout the world. This generated widespread concern asreports had confirmed that the men involved in these incidencescame from Pakistan, its neighbouring country. Co-incidentallyPakistan also happens to be a partner of the US in its fightagainst terrorism. Hence religious divides in India and itsimplications on the rest of the world is arguably one of the mostimportant issues today. The religious disturbances which occur inIndia do affect its neighbour Pakistan, which is an ally of theWestern forces fighting in Afghanistan. Thus an event in Indiaaffects the world politics in general (both in the Muslim and theChristian world).Justification:Within this dissertation (i.e. the Literature review section) isan elaborate discussion on how the topic of religious divides inIndia has been treated in academic circles. Here I posit that thegeneral focus of academic research lay on the Hindu – Muslimcommunal clashes specifically during the post – independenceera and after the demolition of the disputed structure (a mosque)at Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh in 1992. Relative to these events, itwould appear that the Sikh militancy of the eighties and thenineties which took place between the above two mentioned eventsand which formed an important part of the political and religioushistory of India did not get as much in-depth coverage. It wastherefore a point of interest as these three major phases ofcommunal events after India got its independence have played animportant role in the formation of the domestic and foreign policyof India. This research project will contribute to the body ofknowledge and illuminate key issues about the coverage receivedduring the period under review.ResearchQuestions:What elements of the Sikh Militancy received the most or theleast coverage?What was the frequency of the coverage during the years underconsideration i.e. between 1984 and 1995?In what context were the reports written and who were theyprimarily addressed to?What were the primary sources of the news during the Sikhmilitancy?How did the British media present the effect of the Sikhmilitancy on the foreign policy and relations of India?How did the British media analyse the effect of factors such aspolitical, religious/ cultural and violence on the Sikhmilitancy?Definition ofkey terms:The following are frequently used in this dissertation: 1)Sikhs: Five hundred years ago, Guru Nanak foundedthe Sikh religion in India. In the centuries that followed, threeof Nanak’s nine successors met violent ends, and his peoplecontinued to battle hostile regimes. 2 ) Punjab: Astate in India on the border with Pakistan. This state of Punjabwas partitioned during the partition of India after the Britishgave Independence to India.Summary ofMethodology:Content Analysis was the method adopted to carry out theresearch. Considering the period under review was spread over aperiod of twelve years, this method was deemed to be most suitablefor the research. Though interviews were initially considered asone of the research methods, they were found to be inconvenient asthe research period was not only extensive but also the eventlocations were foreign i.e. based in India.DissertationStructure:Below is a summary of the various chapters in thisdissertation:Literature Review: This section providesbackground information about religion as a shaper and a divider. Itthen proceeds to synthesize key literature on the relationshipbetween religion, culture and politics. This information then leadsus to details about the religions in India and the divides thatprevail within them. This is followed by the explanation of therelationship between media and religion and the sources that makethe news. The section concludes with the literature review on themedia coverage of Sikh militancy.Methodology: To carry out the research, thisstudy has employed Content Analysis as the method as it would bethe best suited method for a research which analysis news coverageof events spread over a period of 12 years. For the research thisstudy has selected The Times (London) Publication as it is broadlyrepresentative of the elite press in the UK, to analyse how theBritish media covers the religious divides in India, making Sikhmilitancy a case study. The chapter on methodology gives a detailedexplanation about the method chosen.Findings and Results: In this section, theresults of the findings of the study are presented and discussed.This section is divided into three chapters which tries to answerthe above mentioned research questions in the light of the findingsand discussions of the SPSS analysis. The three chapters presentthe findings of the SPSS analysis and a brief textual analysis ofsample publications leading to the conclusion and reflectionchapter.Conclusion and Reflection: This chapterconcludes the dissertation and also contains a brief reflection onthe author’s research experience.****To be continued ****

Share this:

Related posts: