Role of Social and Mainstream Media in Radicalization and Terrorism

Kashmir Rights Forum
3 Min Read

Social  media  is  also  playing  a  dominant  role  in  radicalising  the  youth.  Once  a  CASO begins,  messages  on  Whats App  groups  mobilise  people  for  stone  pelting.  Instagram  posts  of terrorists,  fiery  speeches  of  terrorists  like  Masood  Azhar,  Arabic  Taranas  are  widely circulated  as  well.  The  Youth  Forum  for  Kashmir  set  up  in  Islamabad  in  2012  by  Ahmad Qureshi  with  the  backing  of  the  Pakistan  Army  has  also  played  an  influential  role  in fomenting  youth unrest in Kashmir. They targeted universities and colleges.

Alarming rise in local recruitment in terrorist groups: Report - Rediff.com  India NewsFurther,  the  coverage  of  Kashmir  events  in  mainstream  Indian  media  is  acting  as  a major  spoiler. Kashmiri youth maintain that mainstream Indian media portrays all Kashmiris as terrorists and Kashmiri politicians as being ‘Pakistani’. The  influential  round the clock news  channels  indulge  in  bitter  debates  on  communal  matters,  getting  fanatic  religious leaders  on  their  shows  that  contribute  to  a  highly  polarised  environment.  Usually, such provocative journalism is taken very seriously in Kashmir.  People  even  in  the  remote villages  of  Kashmir  are   well  acquainted  with  names  like  Arnab  Goswami,  Major  Gaurav Arya,  and  Subramaniam  Swami.  Some  Kashmiri  politicians  and  youth  leaders  go  to  the extent of  attributing radicalization in Kashmir  as a  reaction to  Hindu extremism! They  added that  Hindu Muslim  dynamics  in  India  has  an  enormous  impact  on  the  Kashmiri  mindset. Therefore,  unfortunate  incidents  of  beef lynching  and  communal  riots  create  a  feeling  of insecurity  among  Kashmiris.

 To  an  extent,  this  may  be  real,  but  religious  radicalisation  has  its  internal  dynamics and  it  has  been  going  on  independent  of  happenings  in  the  overall  sociopolitical  scenario  of India.  Furthermore,  there  is  reluctance  on  the  part  of  Kashmiris  to  accept  that  radicalisation might  erode  the Tahreek ’ s international  credibility  by  exposing  strong  Islamist undercurrents  and  diluting  its  supposedly  secular  and  political  nature.    However,  even  the outer  trappings of  the  movement are  now  a  far  cry  from its much touted secular  credentials.

Despite this one cannot deny that national media or vernacular media in particular as is projecting a highly biased and negative image of the Kashmiri people for small TRP interests.  This is detrimental to India’s long-term interests in Kashmir and therefore needs strong reversal through greater media self-regulation. Hence creating problems which add to the radicalization process, however govt institutions need to keep a firm vigil on the activities of the media.

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