#the fifth estate

The bystander effect

Part 1

One thing that puzzled me about the Delhi-gang rape incident was that no one from the public were swift to help the girl and her friend even as they lay on street in pain for 40 minutes. I wondered what could be the reason behind this. Apparently, and besides the police inefficiency, it is quite a common phenomenon known as the ‘bystander effect’ - which suggests - greater the number of people present, the less likely people are to help a person in distress. Well, this is worrisome - in the larger scheme of things - allow me to explain why.

1) This phenomenon exists the world over - and can occur anywhere - irrespective of whether it is a developed country, a developing country or a third world country.

2) But I believe, if it is a country where people trust the laws and police - it does encourage people to come forward and help.

3) Countries like India have a bigger problem - a) as it is, people are prone to bystander effect across the world b) but in India, distrust in police and law aggravates this problem to quite a different level.

These are some of the reasons why laws that would encourage and support people to stop crime are imperative. An atmosphere where citizens distrust the police and the government only gives rise to crime and lawlessness. And after all, why should humanity be compromised because of some red-tape or fear of getting involved?

In fact, governments across the world who are unable to provide friendly and trustful atmosphere to their citizens should be put on trial in international courts for human right violations. It must be considered criminal if a government does not do anything about issues that lead to distrust.

Nevertheless, and until governments begin to comprehend such things, there are few things that we as human beings can do for each other when someone is in emergency or needs help.

1) Rush to help the person in need - as soon as someone takes the lead - others will follow.

2) If you are an old lady or a man, be the one who calls the emergency number.

3) Most people have camera phones these days - use it and record the incident - if the police or the government doesn’t act swiftly - let the world see.

Bystander effect and social movements - could there be a relation?

I find it relevant to relate the bystander effect theory to some of the worlds biggest social movements. Gandhiji took the lead, people watched for sometime, and after a while joined him. Result: the Britishers were forced to leave. In the larger scheme of things - I would say - it is not just about noticing a crime and stopping an individual - it also about noticing the wrongs in the country, taking a lead or following someone who is taking the lead in the collective interest, and avoid being a bystander.

Part 2

Are there countries where people feel truly secured to help someone in need? I interviewed some people in Europe, and most of them were sure that the police will assist them in 5-10 minutes (Needless to say, they have a very robust and efficient system there). Most people interviewed said they were “not scared to interact with the police in case of emergency” and that “they trust the police”. The video is blurred as I do not have their permission to put it online otherwise, but their faces hardly matter.

While working on the above video, I found two more videos, which I would recommend you to watch (embedded below).

What will you do if a stranger needs your help in emergency?
Click here to take survey (results will be posted on this blog later)

Angry at the story of a juvenile raping the girl? Read this.

I do not exactly know the background of the juvenile boy who is accused of raping the girl - but from news reports, I gathered that he was a runaway, and moved from city to city doing menial jobs.

The story of this boy intrigues me - because there could be more to it - his history needs to be researched. Did he runaway or was he encouraged to go and work as a kid? What did he do when he lived on his own? Did he commit any petty crimes before - if yes, was he caught? Was his name already in the police database?

I do not want to make any blanket assumptions in this case but the police officers in Delhi may have known this juvenile or had seen him before because most patrolling officers are familiar with runaways and vice-versa. Some runaways are used as informers, others bring chai-paani, and a sizable lot indulge in petty crimes - allegedly (as told to me by some NGO workers) sometimes ‘with the police having the knowledge of it’. Very few runaways are harmless, do not get into drug addiction, do their own thing, and send money back home from whatever they earn.

Last year I worked on a photo-story on runaway children - children who runaway from different parts of India to metropolitan cities. My focus was on children that come to Mumbai. The reasons for coming to big cities can be varied: some to escape scolding from a parent or a teacher, some in the hope of seeing their favorite film star, some are not interested in studies anymore, and some are ‘encouraged’ to leave and find work by their parents because there’s just isn’t enough food at home.

I worked on runaways for roughly six months, interviewed and spent quite some time with boys of different age groups who were rescued by an NGO and brought to a shelter. Their stories were shattering.

If the runaway is a male, he eventually becomes part of a street gang (lead by older runaway boys). Drug addiction, petty crimes soon become part of the schedule. If the runaway is a female, she is quite likely to be abused - either by older runaway boys or allegedly (as told to me by some NGO workers during this project) by policemen. If there is any truth to this, these will be crimes which will never come to light.

And I reckon to say, we do smell of hypocrisy - people are outraged because they could relate to the girl who was raped - she was middle-class, and had aspirations like many of us. But does the system or the people care as much about, say a woman beggar who we pass arrogantly? Does the media camp next to her to know her story? And why don’t we care? Because she looks unkempt and dirty? Or doesn’t have educational aspirations to prove that she is a human too?

From my interactions with runaway boys, I came to know that they too are physically abused - not just on streets but also in juvenile homes (yes, runaways, with no criminal record, are put in juvenile homes if they are taken to the police by active citizens until their families are contacted read TOI report on this link). Those runaways who are “fortunate” live on streets and do menial jobs. Eventually, they become quite an insecure and insensitive lot, and constantly feel under threat. These runaways, on purpose, develop a ‘stone-like’ demeanor so that no one dares to mess with them. The drug addiction (mostly likely the inexpensive glue-sniffing) keeps them away from hunger and leaves them numb enough to their surroundings.

Isn’t this society providing conditions that breeds crime? Why do they have to leave their homes? And if they do, why isn’t enough care taken that they will be safe and sound and not indulge in criminal activities?

I see no investigations in the media in this direction - why? The police ignore because it would reveal their shoddy and irresponsible way of functioning, the politicians ignore because it reveals their dysfunctional and ineffective administrative mechanism, and we (the learned) ignore because we are hypocrites.

Let me stop, and share some pictures now.

An older boy sniffing glue

List of runaway boys at a Mumbai-based shelter

A runaway boy running away from the shelter as his request to provide him with glue was turned down.

A runaway boy moping the floor of a restaurant based in Mumbai.

A runaway boy, from Andhra Pradesh, sitting in a shelter

A runaway boy (with head down) who was physically abused by his parents

If you would like to hang the juvenile, please do, but not without taking a holistic view of the situation. There are thousands of runaways who come to big cities like Delhi and Mumbai every year, and each one of them have the potential to give us a taste of this incident again. The need of the hour is to have a robust crime prevention model in place and address the issue of poverty.

Today @firstpostin tweeted - ‘Sushil Kumar Shinde: People want the age for being juvenile to be lowered’. And here are some comments that I read on the story: Juvenile raped ‘Amanat’ twice, once while she was unconscious: police sources

Comment 1: The law needs to be re-looked. If a juvenile, can commit such a heinous crime in cold blood, then surely he does not deserve to be tried in the juvenile court.

Comment 2: He has done a brutal act and asking for minor rights? A major act has been done and he is not eligible for this right. Hang him, at the earliest with rest of the five.

Comment 3: Juvenile is responsible for extracting the intestines from her body?? Unbelievably atrocious act. Juvenile should be charged for murder.

Comment 4: 17 years six moths, such brutality and 3 years in prison. You can’t let him off.

The comment of the Home Minister, like the comments under the story, are knee-jerk reactions, and will only address the issue superficially. The politicians are worried because their seats are in threat - they will do all to pacify the people at large - and even comply to quick fix solutions. The matter of the fact is - India is in deep shit now - the social issues have piled over one another, and so far no one was held accountable to resolve them - with no deadlines whatsoever.

Certainly, the juvenile must be severely punished, but it will be an empty solution - sufficient steps must be taken to prevent crime in future. These problems run deep, and cannot be sorted by simply introducing a new law. All factors that lead to crime, and bad governance must be identified, addressed, and people responsible must be held accountable - it’s going to be a long long walk. And I am not sure if the candles will last that long.

NDTV.com lauds Honey Singh as ‘Sound of 2012’, later issues apology

This is an interesting case of pressure by social media.

Honey Singh, a rapper from India, was trending on Twitter today. His grossly abusive nature of lyrics - which objectify a woman - had become the talking point after the Delhi gang rape incident.

Incidentally, through social media, it came out that NDTV, in one of its story headline touted Honey Singh as “Sound of 2012” (@SivaChandan) - wasn’t any research done on the said rapper before using such a headline?

What’s interesting is that the news website, changed its headline into “Honey Singh, Hits despite lyrics - soon after a twitter-er (@barbarindian) pointed it out.

According to screen shots: The story ‘Honey Singh: The Sound of 2012’
was updated (published) on December 18, 2012 11:23 IST

The headline was changed to ‘Honey Singh, hits despite the lyrics’ on December 31, 2012 15:09 IST

NDTV.com later changed the headline to ‘Problematic popularity of Honey Singh’, and tendered an apology for their oversight.

Start by not using the word “victim”

This is the fifth day of the protests demanding action against the gang rape fighter. For the past few days I have been constantly reading or hearing reporters repeat one word - “rape victim”.

Every woman who goes through this ordeal of rape, must not be addressed or called as “victim”. She must be addressed as “fighter”. Words have power, energy, and a message to it. And when it comes to rape, a strong message needs to be passed to the Indian society.

When one addresses a woman who has undergone sexual assault as a “victim” it might make her feel helpless, and maybe it is because of such terminologies the woman also feels ashamed, and is not encouraged to report the crime.

The Indian media, and the press should have made these corrections long ago. This word has reached deep in our sub-conscious. Changing the way this crime is reported, to some extent, will change the way this crime is perceived by the masses. And if, in an unfortunate circumstance, such a crime occurs, the woman will at least feel like “reporting” and know that she won’t be seen as a “victim”, but as a “fighter”. Thousands of rapes go unreported in India.

Here’s a headline that speaks a lot about the woman - that she is indeed a ‘fighter’.

Here are some screen shots of other headlines from Google news which show that using the word “victim” is quite a standard practice.

What does “Haath main chudiya pehen ke rakhi hai kya” really mean?

Just read a news report in which a girl is being quoted as saying, “These men have worn bangles”. This is a very interesting phrase, and something worthy of a discourse analysis.

It is indeed fascinating when a young educated woman decides to use a phrase like “These men have worn bangles”. First, let me clarify, I am trying to analyse this only as “discourse” material, and I do not intend to direct any criticism to this girl in particular who has been quoted. “Haath main chudiya pehen ke rakhi hai kya”, is in fact a very common phrase, and a unique example of gender discrimination.

Whenever a human being wants to ridicule or abuse someone he or she resorts
to comparisons with lesser things - things that would effectively humiliate a person.
For example, saying - “you are a pig”. What this sentence does is 1) It assumes that a “pig” is essentially a dirty loathsome creature 2) It implies that you are as loathsome and dirty as a pig.

Does this young woman assume that women are weak? And why did she use references associated with feminism (and being a woman herself!) with an intent to ridicule someone? Men also use this phrase to tease the ego of another man - quite often to rouse someone “for not being daring”. But why does a man get offended by this? Or is expected to get offended by this?

These may be complex and confronting questions to answer, but must be faced and studied nevertheless. But in a larger scheme if things, all these things speak a lot about Indian society - about Indian men, and about Indian women.

There might be at least a hundred thousand bollywood films in which this phrase (mouthed by both male and female characters) must have passed on as a turning point “dialogue” - where a man pulls up his socks, and ‘finally’ decides to do something about the situation - as he simply cannot stand being compared to a woman.

Indian men use this phrase, and many are known to undermine women. But why do women use it? And do they realize that saying something like this can undermine womanhood?

Such common usage suggests that certain sub-conscious notions about gender discrimination are deeply ingrained in the Indian society - and it is indeed fascinating that such phrases are continued to be used by young, old, educated and uneducated, men and women.

Dear Indian society…

Every time I think of the story of a 23-year-old woman gang-raped in a moving bus in Delhi, India. I go through a myriad of emotions - anger, frustration, hopelessness, and helplessness - and I am more or less sure - the essence of India will be gone forever. Technological developments, and economic boom is fine - but what is a country without brotherhood, civil safety, and belonging?

So far, India has had 15 general elections since independence (a general election happens after every five years) - but the issues, and promises made by the various political parties are the same year after year- better roads, safety, education, women empowerment, and preferences or quota to X or Y caste and religion. How many years does a government in power require to introduce stringent rules on a particular issue? News channels jargonize this as “political lack of will” but this is more like “deliberate lack of will” - so that the benefits of staying in power can be enjoyed as long as it possibly can.

A majority of politicians have business interests, seek commission, indulge in corruption.
This has resulted in political parties beginning to treat people as commodities. The question, which we must all ask ourselves is - are we commodities, and can we be shortchanged with a quota and reservation while the basic need of security remains compromised?

Education, and awareness is the need of the hour. And those of us who are privileged in whatever way, must invest our time in social service - educating people who are less fortunate than we are, helping the marginalized resolve some of their basic issues - it can be as simple as helping open them a bank account, donating old books, teaching, or putting them in touch with a relevant NGO or other such organization who can assist them.

Politicians, crony capitalist and anti-social elements benefit the most when people remain uneducated, and they benefit the most when the caste and societal divide continues to prevail. Besides taking advantage of uneducated people, this entire anti-social frame work also takes advantage of our “educated ignorance”. We go as far as writing on blogs, and twitter and facebook. The servers buzz, but the blood doesn’t boil. The cribbing on internet is more or less of no use - very soon governments will begin to enforce serious legislation’s on the internet (it is happening all over the world, and we have seen that happen in India too) to curtail mobilisation of people, and critical discussions on governments. A lot of politicians, corporate houses, are investing in online media (after investing in news channels) so that they can use it to control and divert attention from time to time.

As I mentioned earlier, through the last 15 general elections, the issues have remained same. It proves that political parties do not have the ability to resolve issues of the people. Instead they often complicate issues, and happily play vote bank politics. It is time to get rid of such political parties. India is already a complex society (gender bias, casteism, and the list is endless) but these complexities have piled over one another in the last four decades and are now staring at our face, and in fact, are on the verge of getting out of control.

Governments that have come and gone in the past have not maintained any deadlines for issues they could have resolved in time - can these political parties be trusted anymore? For instance, thirty years ago, condition of roads was an issue, it is the same now. Thirty years ago, education and health facilities was an issue, it continues to remain an issue even today. All the previous governments have have failed to instill a feeling of safety and security - and therefore, the 23-year-old girl who was raped did not receive any prompt assistance - neither from the police, nor from a single passerby. To what extent has governmental and public apathy reached?

Look at Japan, how it stands up in pride again and again - be it nuclear attacks or natural disasters. God forbid, if India was attacked, we would have been a society of scavengers. Take the example of Europe, how they re-built everything after bearing the World-War. And then look at India, how, at every step, it is used and abused by its own people. The matter of the fact is - the Britishers, who ruled us for years, knew our weakness - 1) Our ability to remain silent 2) Our ability to be easily provoked (for all the wrong things!) and this is something politicians and crony capitalists also know very well.

It surprises me to no end - India has all the spiritual wisdom of the world - what are we doing with it? Do we even recognize the essence in our Veda’s and the Vedanta? Why the hell are we blinded by rituals? Why are we hell bent on ruining the legacy of the likes of Vivekananda and Ramkrishna? Why? It is time for Indians to turn inwards and question their direction - we are forever in the “developing” stage, and we are not developing forward but backwards.

If, from time to time, and during every election, we would have decided to come on streets with our demands - for good education for all, better health facilities or social security or stringent laws, Ram Yadav, perhaps would have been driving the bus, or behind bars long before he committed such a crime. And the girl who got brutally raped would have reached home safely. Are practices in our society also encouraging people to commit crime? We cannot, and must not let this incident slip out as an isolated case. It is not. It is a warning. It is deeply related to our society, our practices, our politics, and all the wrongs that are begging for attention.

Besides education, there is an urgent need for sex education - to learn how to manage your sexuality and to know what is unacceptable - especially for men - and if, as a man, you are too excited, help your self. Use your hands in the privacy of your four walls. But do not ever make women a victim of your pleasure.

And then of course, we have our great entertainment outlets - bollywood, and media in general which often dresses down a women, or showcases them as objects of gratification -and this, to a society which doesn’t completely know how to handle it. In a place where a sober photograph can be used for a news story - the editor will pick out something which is sexually provocative. From a spiritual society, we are simply reduced to a sick society - each one of us – driven by materialism and selfishness and lack of discretion at all levels.

I recalled something I used to, and perhaps which many others recited or were made to recite in school. Something known as the “National Pledge” written by (according to Wikipedia) a gentleman called Subba Rao in 1962. Five decades later, this same pledge sounds like a myth, a joke, an optimistic arrangement of hollow words - does it have any meaning left for anyone?

INDIA IS MY COUNTRY (a country where murderers, rapists,
and scamsters have entered the parliament?)

ALL INDIANS ARE MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS (but we also indulge in
riots, picking fights, and believing in caste system?)

I LOVE MY COUNTRY AND I AM PROUD OF ITS RICH AND VARIED HERITAGE (which heritage are we talking about here - of corruption, and social injustice?)

I SHALL ALWAYS STRIVE TO BE WORTHY OF IT (how? by forever being selfish, fearful, and ignorant?)

I SHALL GIVE MY PARENTS, TEACHERS, AND ALL ELDERS RESPECT AND TREAT EVERYONE WITH COURTESY (OK, why was the girl who was raped, and lay naked and beaten on streets did not get prompt assistance?)

TO MY COUNTRY AND MY PEOPLE, I PLEDGE MY DEVOTION (and to my twitter and my facebook account?)

IN THEIR WELL-BEING AND PROSPERITY ALONE LIES MY HAPPINESS (and my well-being in my silence?)

Education, sex education, eradication of caste system, propagating scientific outlook, participation in politics, being active citizen, awareness of voting rights, and heightened individual responsibility - without wasting a single minute - is the need of the hour. Either we begin now, or our count down begins.

The Ravi Shankar mix-up

Pt. Ravi Shankar (and if I may use some adjectives), the icon of Indian classical music passed away at 92. As usual, news media had to report about this, but in the process ended up revealing their ignorance.

Pt. Ravi Shankar, the sitar player, was mixed-up with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, the spiritual guru.

Fox News, the infamous TV channel from US (can be equated with India TV from India for their sensationalism) was one such network which used Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s picture in the backdrop.

Meanwhile, the supposedly “musically-informed” folks at MTV also failed to get this one right. For their online story about Pt. Ravi Shankar’s death, they used Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s image.

If fox screws up, I am fine. But MTV? Perhaps this is the sign that Mayans saw, and the world, indeed must end.

Assuming that the journalist(s) might have used internet to seek pictures of Pt. Ravi Shankar after his death, I reckon to say - 1) Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s SEOs /search results might be better than Pt. Ravi Shankar 2) The journalist might be too much in a hurry to distinguish between the two 3) None of these are good excuses for such a faux pas.

OK, now its time for a quiz for the folks at MTV - which instrument did Pt. Ravi Shankar play? Yes, you are right, it’s bongo!

The incredible lie

It’s been a while since the latest ‘Incredible India’ ad was released. The ad tries to sell a romantic idea of India to foreign tourists – one of total immersion in culture that India is known for, and a surprisingly new message of India as a place for ‘adventure’.

The point of attention of this video is the head nod – something which is very common among Indians, but very amusing for foreigners – no harm with that jesting reference. But a lone woman travelling across India safely is the most laughable invention of this advertisement – it would be such a folly if a woman from another country, believing this advertisement, comes to India, only to get looted, molested or raped. Most places in India are not safe as the advertisement proclaims.

What the ad film also sells is India as a destination for adventure – yes, of course, the girl tries to grab a seat throwing her bag in a bus – which would be quite an adventure for any foreigner. And this is the only part which (while trying to be funny) reveals India’s truth – of India as a largely disorganized and over populated country.

What the advertisement covers: Cricket, Spices, Spirituality, Yoga, Diversity, Festivals, Culture, Wild life, Ayurveda

What the advertisement does not cover: Indian music, Bollywood

The new message: Building India’s brand image as place for adventure

Does it work? Not for me!

The Third Jihad – is it a faction of Israel-Palestine media war?

The Third Jihad is a documentary which gives a conspiracy ridden narrative of radical-Islam and its threat to America, Europe and rest of the world. The tone of the documentary film is that of urgency, in a manner that takes ‘Islamophobia’ to the next level.

The film is largely based on documents and conversations of The Philadelphia Meeting held between top Hamas leaders in US in 1993. The said meeting was secretly watched over by U.S Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The documents acquired after the meeting offered details about radical Islam’s strategies to penetrate the American soil by setting up liberal institutions to further their main agenda. The ambitious plan of the radical Islam was 1. Gain influence over Muslims in America 2. Enter political circles, set up institutions, support groups 3. Influence America’s foreign policy (particularly the Israel-Palestine conflict) 4. Eventually, establish Sharia Law in US.

A close scrutiny of the report The 1993 Philadelphia Meeting: A Roadmap for Future Muslim Brotherhood Actions in the U.S. by Josh Lefkowitz reveals that the strategy of radical Islamists was moving away from being skull-cap-beard donning terrorists, to suave communication experts not confined to using violent means to subjugate. For instance – by starting sly backdoor operations for Hamas or other such terrorist organizations within U.S, to begin with The cornerstone of CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations) (also criticized in this film for being a sophisticated face of Hamas) was also set in the 1993 Philadelphia Meeting. At present, CAIRs exact functioning is shrouded, but it is alleged to work as a backdoor operation unit of Hamas. Not only that, since CAIR presented itself as a “gap bridging outlet” when it started, it did have access to top governmental organizations in U.S. as it offered “diversity-training” to law enforcement besides being self-appointed voice for American-Muslims. It was only recently that FBI was reported to break ties with CAIR after threads of Holy Land Foundation case led to CAIR (WND News, 2011, FBI Chief Confirms Ties Cut With US Muslim Group).

Simply put, The 1993 Philadelphia meeting can be considered as a landmark step among radical-Islamists to incorporate public relations, communications, and agenda setting in their jihadist framework. The foreign policies which Hamas eyed to influence were largely about the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Interestingly, and as far as agenda-setting goes, tactics discussed at the 1993 Philadelphia Meeting, and their methods can also be equated with America’s strategy in Bolivia (Our Brand Is Crisis, 2005, Rachel Boynton). The only difference being – in case of America, the motivation is political – a plot to establish only those leaders or constitutional frameworks that are supportive of US agendas overseas. Whereas in case of radical-Islam, it is about influencing America’s foreign policies from within, establishing religious supremacy, or instituting Sharia law. However, both share the same commonality – of having the power to influence from within.

A critical examination of the narrative and sources of the film

With respect to the content of The Third Jihad – it is largely the conspiracy angle that drives the narrative of the film – simply put, the idea of “what we do not know, and what we ought to know about radical Islam”. Interestingly, the documentary (roughly 72 minutes) does not include any footage shot exclusively for the film, but is made from assorted clips gathered from intelligence agencies and those available on terror monitoring websites like MEMRI.org. For instance, it includes cherry-picked footages of Imam’s propagating hateful ideas against the west and America, or of influential leaders of Muslim countries (Khomeini, Yasir Arafat) openly supporting Hamas or Hizbullah or calling for America’s destruction. Much of the film’s strength lies in its ability to string a story that supports the conspiracy theory – of radical Islam’s plan to penetrate and destroy America. The stringing is done through using historical references and validation from sources representing CIA, FBI, and some well-known Anti-Islam speakers like Ayaan Ali Hirsi. The title – The Third Jihad – is based on the study that states – Islam is in its Third and final phase to dominate the world. The two phases over are: 1. Jihad of the 2nd century AD 2. Turks invasion of Balkans.

The Narrative

The Third Jihad opens with a disclaimer – “this is not a film about Islam, it is about the threat of radical Islam – only a small percentage of world’s 1.3 billion Muslim populations are radical.” Though such disclaimers are mainly used to keep legal hassles away, or project a stance that suggests ‘non-generalization of Islam’, the theory of second level agenda setting suggests that a “three second textual disclaimer” has no effect whatsoever, on viewers.

According to researchers Stephanie Craft and Wayne Wanta of US public concerns of 9-11: A test of Second level agenda setting: “The focus is not on coverage of objects, but on coverage of attributes of those objects. While coverage of the object continues to influence the perceive importance of that object as first level agenda setting, the second level agenda setting argues that the attributes linked to the object in news media are mentally linked to the object by the public. Thus, while first level agenda setting suggests media coverage influences what we think, second level agenda setting suggests how we think, or frame the issue we are thinking about.”

In case of the film The Third Jihad, this theory seems to be at work – even though the film starts with a disclaimer that suggests the film is not about ‘Islam’, it does cover several aspects of Islam like – references to Islamic laws, Islamic life style, historical facts about Islam – under a specifically coined term ‘radical Islam’. The Third Jihad, though appearing to frame the issue of Islamic terrorism, gives viewers guidelines on “how to think about” about Islam.

The Protagonist: Dr. Zuhdi Jasser

Like most propaganda’s, The Third Jihad includes a character Dr. Zuhdi Jassser who has a ‘halo’ around him. Described as a “devout” US-based American-Muslim, it is Jasser who finds shocking documents (written in Arabic) about radical Islam’s long-term plans in America. He eventually decides to bring the issue to the fore. A trailer of the documentary describes him as “One courageous Muslim [who] breaks the silence” – quite certainly, the Muslim antecedent of Yasser gives the documentary film, and its conspiracy theory a special value. Jasser is portrayed in the film as someone who is “plain-folk” – a 9-5 working doctor, a dad, a family man, and also a devout Muslim – who goes out of his way to give “testimony” of the threat of radical Islam in America – some of the well-known propaganda techniques largely applied by Nazi’s during World-War II (Yourman, 1939).

The hateful speeches in assorted videos in The Third Jihad are interspersed with interviews of CIA Analysts, FBI personnel’s, and even includes ex-members of terrorists organizations like one Dr. Tawfik Hamid who validates the threat of radical Islam in America. The Third Jihad uses a key communication strategy mentioned in Edward Barney’s History is a Weapon – mainly – “securing the co-operation of the key men” and “of persons whose mere word carried authority to thousands of followers” (Barney, 1928). Interestingly, the possibilities of The Third Jihad being a well-crafted propaganda material increases when antecedents of the producer Raphael Shore are investigated – Shore is a Canadian-Israeli film-maker and a rabbi who had made a film on a similar subject titled Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against The West, and gave free copies of the film in selected states across US during the 2008 US Election – ironically, the source of funding for such a large expense was never disclosed (Feyerick, & Steffen, 2008, Muslim DVD rattles voters in key battleground states, CNN.com)

One of the lesser known concepts when it comes to Islam is Taqqiya or deception – also discussed in The Third Jihad. The idea that all Muslims, in the present multicultural microcosm may be deceiving the non-Muslims as they are a minority – once they outgrow the non-Muslims, their true face will be revealed. Such theories have had a considerable impact on opinion leaders and political establishments – some even claiming that banning the burqa might perhaps not be a good idea. According to Fekete, “[They suggest that] Muslims, who do not signal their Muslimness (for example, by wearing religious clothing), are merely posing as modern, progressive and westernized. They are, in fact, camouflaged, and this makes them the more dangerous. (Interestingly, Jean-Marie Le Pen made much the same point when refusing to support the ban on the hijab on the grounds that it made it that much easier to identify Muslims.) (Fekete, 2012, The Muslim Conspiracy Theory and the Oslo Massacre).

Impact of The Third Jihad

As far as the popularity of the The Third Jihad on internet goes – it is not the most viewed documentary – and has less than 300,000 views on You Tube (on all its assorted clips). However the documentary does appear to have fueled Islamophobia among its limited number of viewers who have watched the film – for instance, as one recent viewer with a handle EvansYoung commented: “Why the fuck this video has only 70k views while Justin Bieber’s has million views. We are actually fucked. I will rather live in hell than be under an Islamic rule. Arise Europe and America, they want us to live like they do [sic].”

Some of the political reactions to the film included protests by Muslim groups in America and the demand of resignation of R Kelly – the NYPD Police chief who was interviewed in the documentary. On the fore front of these protest against The Third Jihad was CAIR – which was also criticized in the documentary. Post the release of The Third Jihad, the official website of CAIR features a long letter which attempts to clear the misconceptions people might have about their organization (Dispelling rumors about CAIR, 2012, cair.com)

As far as media news reports go, The New York Times was said to be extremely critical of The Third Jihad, and labeled it as hate-mongering – there were no critiques however, or investigations whether this film could be a propaganda. Meanwhile, around 1500 police officers from New York Police Department were shown the film before it came under criticism for doing so. However, a great deal of the films motive was achieved when legislators called for pressing stricter laws that would not accommodate any kind of agenda setting by radical Islam (RadicalIslam.org Briefs legislators and activists in North Carolina, 2012, radicalislam.org)

Conclusion

Considering the evidence The Third Jihad offers – video clips (albeit, cherry-picked to suit their agenda), historical connections with previous Jihadists strategies, past actions of radical Islamist groups (like terrorist acts 9/11, London bombings), and a 2007 empirical research provided by PEW which predicts Muslim population twofold increase by 2030 (PEW Research, 2011, Future of Global Muslim Population), I reckon to say, could there be some meat to this conspiracy theory? To corroborate my view point, for instance, there have been news reports from a non-Muslim country like UK of ‘Islamic Extremists Declaring Britain’s First Sharia law zone (Sue Reid, 2011, The Daily Mail). Incidentally, UK, since 1982, has permitted Muslims to practice Sharia Law parallel with British judiciary system (Divya Talwar, 2012, Growing use of sharia by UK Muslims, BBC News). What do such reports, and sly progress achieved by Islamic factions suggest?

Having said that, this conspiracy theory cannot be believed in its entirety – as battles, besides being fought on war fronts – are largely fought in the media today. As media researcher Manuel Castells writes, “In our society, politics is dependent on media politics. The language of media has its rules. It is largely built around images, not necessarily visual, but images. The most powerful message is a simple message attached to an image. The simplest message in politics is a human face.”

On the whole, a documentary film like The Third Jihad can be reduced to a propaganda battle between Israel and Palestine or Jews and Muslims – and there are countless examples of these two sides – confirming, rebutting and emphasizing with their own propaganda stories on a day-to-day basis. So far, both Israel and Palestine have proposed to be a bigger victim of the other, and have consistently used faces, stories and events to maintain and push their agendas and ensure that the battle in media, and through the media, carries on.

Is India up for a revolution?

Similarities between Anti-Vietnam War Protest, Arab Uprising, and Jan Lokpal – IAC protests

If one has a closer look at the commonalities of Anti-Vietnam War protest (US), the recent Arab Uprisings, and Janlokpal –IAC protests in India an interesting model emerges. The model throws light on certain similarities (like leaks), and differences in media coverage. Based on these patterns, I propose two models which aim to explain the steps of Anti-Vietnam War Protest (Ideal model), and steps that were faced by Arab Uprising, and are presently being faced by IAC-Jan Lokpal protest (Ideal model under threat). The models help understand how protests work, what makes a protest successful, and what role media plays.

Role of media in Vietnam War Protests

After Anti-Vietnam War protests grew louder in United States (1969), the US government had no option but to call the troops back home. By 1975, US had withdrawn all their troops from Vietnam, and large scale protests had finally come to a logical conclusion - what worked for Anti-Vietnam War protest makes for a telling case study when it comes media’s role, and the effect ‘leaks’ have.

It is worth to note that American newspapers had played a significant role by blowing the lid of the US government during the Anti-Vietnam War protest, and took the most courageous decision of publishing the Pentagon Papers - then leaked by Daniel Ellsberg - a former US military analyst. The publishers of New York Times and Washington Post, perhaps had to take the biggest decision of their life - to go ahead with publishing classified information which suggested that US was just there in Vietnam not to help a friend (South Vietnam), but to keep the Chinese at bay.

After publishing the classified information, New York Times and Washington Post were charged of treason, but eventually, acquitted of all charges. The ruling suggested that information in Pentagon Papers was something that the Americans deserved to know – Of course, those were the 1960s – journalistic idealism was high, and capitalism was yet to make its way into the media sector. Ellsberg, the military analyst was also let off - he is now 81, and lives in Chicago.

As the ideal model suggests: ‘discontent’ either political, social, or economical, is the beginning of a protest. But a protest (and one which are non-violent) is only successful if it receives courageous and unbiased support from the media - as it was the case in Anti-Vietnam War protests. The follow-up stories lead to building up political pressure, which eventually helps resolve the issue. As far as violent protests go, their message gets largely diluted as news media is likely to report on the nature of the protest, rather than what lead to the protest.

However, the second model (ideal model in threat), suggests that commercialization, political, and certain institutional practices within the news media - all over the world - have led to general discontent over the news media. This in turn has given rise to horizontal networks on internet, and protest groups like WikiLeaks and Anonymous. Ironically, the pressure built up by news media on political establishments is not as strong and effective as it was a few decades ago - and the blame, as unfair it may sound, squarely comes back on the news media, and the way it functions today. According to well-known media researcher Manual Castells, “Media does not hold power, but it is a place where power is decided.” It should not be surprising if, after having considerable influence over news media, politicians and power-breakers penetrate or invest heavily in social media - this is one form of media where free speech, and power remains largely into the hands of the people.

Role of leaks in protests

Interestingly, a common feature about all these protests (Anti-Vietnam war protest, Arab Uprising, IAC-Janlokal) should be taken into account – Leaks. With leaks, two things follow:

1) Either leaks lead to protests (Ex: Tunisian Protest after Wikileaks)

2) Or, if there is an existing mass protest or general discontent, it encourages valuable sources in public departments to leak more incrementing evidence (as it happened in Anti-Vietnam War Protest).

The Similarities

# What made Anti-Vietnam war protests a success was a combination of mass gatherings, leaks, and courageous support from the press.

# What made Arab Uprising a success were leaks ( WikiLeaks against Ben Ali, Tunisia) - supported by social media mobilization. Meanwhile, the exact role and motivation of news media during Arab Uprisings, needs to be investigated.

# Coming to India, what is making IAC protests in India a success are mass protests, social media mobilization, and a common feature - leaks (Vadra, Gadkari, Khemka, Khurshid). However, news media in India seems to have taken an extremely fragmented stance – and the reasons for this could be varied – political clout in news media, indexing, lack of journalistic morale to pursue investigative stories.

Since Anti Vietnam protests are over, and Arab Uprisings are also over, we’ll focus our attention to the ongoing IAC protests in India, and the challenges it faces.

Role of media in IAC-Janlokpal protests

In India, leaks are trivialized, and media eventually becomes a playground of political mud slinging. The focus is more on individuals, than system as a whole. Of late, the pattern in Indian journalism looks something like this:

Ask question to A > Quote A > Go to B with A’s response > Quote B’s reaction > Report.

Do a set of ‘reactions’ make a ‘news report’? It sometimes seems that news media is having a conversation with itself. The practice of ‘indexing’ is also high in news media across the world, and quite often in India – Castells defines this as – “limiting the range of issues discussed by journalists and editors in their publications or channels” – which is why protesters and activists increasingly find it difficult to spread their message through the media and prefer to use internet as a tool, and effectively so.

A recent PEW research confirms the growing discontent towards news media - Americans do not trust approximately 40 per cent of news reports – a similar research should be carried by PEW in India.

At the moment, the role of news media in India is crucial - if the news media fails to be courageous, it will be unable to reflect public opinion, and eventually fail to build up adequate pressure on political establishments to resolve the issue. The bottled frustration, as a result of this, will lead to more activism, and can come out in unexpected ways.