I was shocked when I first heard the news of the Benazir Bhutto assasination. However, I was shocked even more by the quick "Martyrdom" granted to her and by the Western media's portrayal of her as the only beacon of "Democracy" in Pakistan. Her regime was probably more anarchic and corrupt than Mushy's. These topics were quickly swept under the carpet and the TV channels were repeatedly beaming her Western accented English interviews with the likes of Wolf Blitzer.
It was very refreshing to see at least one reputed columnist write about her legacy as it was - with no embellishments and non-deserving adjectives. (William Dalrymple is an expert on the affairs of the Indian sub-continent.)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/04/opinion/04dalrymple.html?em&ex=1199768400&en=a4a6f48946e3ede8&ei=5087%0A
30 mile weeks
10 years ago
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2 comments:
spot on !!!
yes, media in india is in a frenzy to go overboard on everything, currently.
either lionize someone or demonize someone to a point of nausea.
in this particular case it was going on and on with martyr-izing bhutto.
honestly, i miss the JV Raman / poker faced DD era of news readers when TV journalists were journalists and not actors.
Dude! You are so right. I remember the Nawaz-Sharif/Bhutto campaign slogans on our good old DD - she was definitely not the beacon of democracy then. This time around? Who knows? And now 10% Zardari will be the leader of the PPP! It never ceases to amaze me how two nations born from the same land, within a day of each other can have such different destinies!
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