Tracking the Media : Interpretations of Mass Media Discourses in India and Pakistan

This book is about media content analysis in the English language print media in South Asia, with reference to certain contemporary issues. It is written from the perspective of the need to analyze media discourses and the ways in which their circulation creates a --common sense-- view of the world. The focus is on English language papers and news magazines; additionally, some Hindi, Urdu, and Sindhi newspapers are examined. The highlight is on the ways in which English language publications contribute to and function within middle class matrices of modernity, consumption, conflict, and conservatism in India Tracking the Media Interpretations of Mass Media Discourses in India and Pakistan 4 Copyright 5 Contents 8 Acknowledgements 10 Introduction 12 I. Terrorism and Conflict 35 1. Kargil and the Consolidation of ‘Indianness’: Media Representations of the Kargil War 37 2. Some Comments on Media Representations of the Gujarat Riots and the Kargil War 70 3. ‘KARACHI CAPTURED’: Cricketing Wars on the Subcontinent 94 4. ‘Delhi’s 29/10’: Terror in the Capital 113 II. India and Indians in a Globalized World 125 5. Media Representations in India of the Indian Diaspora in the UK and US 127 6. ‘Hindi–Chini, Bhai–Bhai’: Indian Media Representations of China 157 III. India–Pakistan Media: Comparative Perspectives 183 7. ‘Dispelling the Spooks about Nukes’: Indian and Pakistan Media on Indo-US Relations 185 8. ‘Big Time’: A Seat at the UNSC and Indo-US Relations in India and Pakistani Media 217 9. ‘Hatred must end’: Indo-Pak Media on Kashmir, Terrorism, and the Munabao–Khokrapar Issue 233 10. ‘Indian Interference in Balochistan’: Indo-Pak Media on Meddling in Others’ Affairs 256 11. ‘Musharraf among Worst Dictators’: Negative Reportage in Indo-Pak Media 293 Bibliography 305 Index 329 Covers media content analysis in the English language print media in South Asia, with reference to contemporary issues. This book highlights the ways in which English language publications contribute to and function within middle class matrices of modernity, consumption, conflict, and conservatism in India.