ICC Note:
A leader of the Hindu nationalist organization RSS claimed that reports on attacks on churches in India have been sensationalized and have affected India’s image abroad. In many cases, Christians whose churches are attacked claim that the attackers were attached to local RSS chapters or their affiliates in India. Will India listen to this RSS leader and continue to ignore the issues of Christian persecution or will India finally take the issue of Christian persecution head on?
5/11/2015 India (Indian Express) – While hailing the media for its role in the freedom struggle and for upholding truth in difficult times, the RSS on Saturday hit out it for sensationalizing the attacks on churches, which affected the country’s image abroad.
Senior RSS leader and joint general secretary Krishna Gopal said the media showed “half-truths” which led to a feeling in foreign countries that the minorities in India were unsafe.
“According to police, during the same time, there were attacks on 458 temples and 25 mosques. The media should have brought these figures out,” Gopal said, adding that showing just a part of the truth was like cheating society.
He added that similar sensationalism is seen while highlighting crimes against women.
“To create a sensation, even the caste of the victim is mentioned suggesting the entire society was bad. European countries witness more crimes against women, but the media there does not engage in sensationalism. We should learn from them,” he said.
The RSS leader was speaking at an award function organized by a Sangh-affiliated body for journalists. He said the media sector was passing through a phase of Tsunami.
“There is glamour, prosperity, but there is a need to strengthen truth. Today, sensationalism rules and the media showcases only half-truths. That in turn leads to sense of enmity…sensationalism is against the spirit of journalism,” he told a gathering of senior journalists here.
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