Is media jingoism fanning Indo-Pak tensions?
Amit Baruah, Foreign Affairs Editor of the Hindustan Times said the media could sway the government, Beena Sarwar, unaffiliated Pakistani journalist, cited a recent example in support, columnist Swapan Dasgupta said its influence on bilateral relations was “limited” while Daily Mail editor Bharat Bhushan cautioned journalists against having an “inflated notion of ourselves.” The debate was a fourth in a series since the Mumbai terror attacks. FMP had invited five Pakistani/Pak-based journalists and as many Indian speakers. There were no vacant seats at India International Centre’s main auditorium, despite the debate being in the forenoon, on a weekday. There were some surprise visitors. They were from the Sri Rama Sene, which had also attacked a pub in Mangalore. They shouted slogans in an unsuccessful attempt to disrupt the debate but managed to get headline mentions in channels and next day’s newspapers. Aniruddha Bahal of FMP set the debate going by enumerating the enthralling hold
