Image on the Screen: The Mediated-Politics and Muslims in

India

SHEKH MOINUDDIN

Mailing address of Author

SHEKH MOINUDDIN

113, JUBILEE HALL

UNIVERSITY OF DELHI

DELHI-110007

Contact No-0-9650855543

Email-moinuddin3shekh@gmail.com

Image on the Screen: The Mediated-Politics

and Muslims in India

The politics about Muslims in India is evident and known by

so-called name as ‘vote bank’1. The populist agenda ever

associated with minority particularly Muslims in India. Prior

the assembly election 2012 in five states including Uttar

Pradesh, the Union government of India issued a notification

regarding allocation of 4.5% ‘reservation for minorities’ from

OBC quota made furore to the opposition political party. The

Indian National Congress (INC) led UPA (United Progressive

Alliance) II government issued such notification in order to

fulfil the promises made in the past even prior the election

to give such benefits or some extent we can say that to lure

the voters. Media covered all aspects including the reasons

behind the necessity of such policy and dissent voice who are

batting against such policy since the first day when it was

notified even prior that when such speculation was in the air.

The issue much talked of inclusiveness and exclusiveness of

Muslims on the screen or behind the screen and discourse

followed by images of Muslims appeared across media in various

degrees.

Issue and Image: The lived space

Geography as discipline entails ‘visuals’ in myriad capacities

and visuals making a sequence of spatial knowledge produced

and reproduced for various purposes (Matless, 2003; Driver,

2003; Rose, 2003; Crang, 2003; and Rayan, 2003). ‘The visual

turn has accelerated in the last few years due to the

explosion in the use of the Internet using fast cheap

connections’ (Thrones, 2004: 787). ‘Unlike flows of goods

along highways, network flows are immaterial to traditional

geographic consideration, conveyed as analog electrical

currents or rays of light and veiled in a haze of computer

protocols and encryption where they are collated as data on

computer hardware’ (Torrens, 2008: 63). The encryption of data

might be in pixel form and sending a spatial signal and

considered as an issue by decoder such as media when displayed

over screen and page and web page. The issue envisage visuals

and needs technical attributions to explain the space in

different context.

Issue(s) produced and reproduced every moment by the state or

media or some other agency at different capacities. Issue

contains larger base in order to understand the whole

‘mediated process’ while image is a product of reducing the

whole issue into a singular pictorial form and consider enough

to examining/explaining the issue since its acknowledgement.

The issue and image are indeed complementary to each other

because image come out from the issue or in other word it can

assume that an image is an extension of issue, even some

extent they are separate entity. Issue is remaining found in

quite abstract ways and since acknowledgement either by the

state or media or any agency, the image formation process

instantly takes place. Hence, the issue knows by an image.

Issue are predominant across the spatiality but only some of

issue noticed and acknowledged by institution/agency, why? The

issue are carrying contentious nature or creating crisis over

the space/place, thereafter it identified. How an issue and an

image intertwined?

Let understand how issue and image are separate entity and

complementary to each other and how issue is providing a base

to the image formation. Prior the assembly election in five

states there was an issue, which got exclusive media coverage,

was ‘Reservation for Minorities’. The state has mooted the

idea in lieu of giving some concession to their voters or

sympathisers at best. The issue was very clear and implicit in

nature and intensions. However, the issue was proposed or

projected in quite contrary directions in order to produce an

image, which is reflecting different saga. With the

announcement of the issue media highlights the main objectives

of the issue, put the issue in public domain, and discussed

over the issue at various length. In throughout discussion,

the issue has been cornered and stigmatised as ‘Muslims’

oriented rather the word ‘Minorities’ has lost it actual

meaning and has been read as Muslims across the discussion

table or as reservation to Muslims. The political game plan

placed in such manner that the issue branded into a new

context. Therefore, the issue reduced around Muslims space.

Across the media, the issue talked as objectionable and

against the ethos of Indian constitution or secular

credentials. The opposition political party echoed voice

against the state’s policy. The issue talked lot across the

media tableau. The political entanglement and contested

interpretation push the word to entails a new meaning or come

with a new image. So, in overall construction of an image the

role of media along with politicians are inevitable rather

both works in quite close cooperation to make a new idea or an

image from the existing knowledge. Thus, the production of an

image can understood through mediated process where issue was

something different from the production.

Both issue and image placed in such a manner on living space

where both sides would have a meaning and subscribe an

ideology to suit their side to complete the meaning of the

issue. The lived space envisages the issue and image as

spatial attributes. The attributes are in some form, texture

and structure. The lived space construes these available

attributes in order to suit against the power cohesion to make

encounter the issue. If any, issue raised by power block or by

political supporter thereafter, an image projected by lived

institution in same way to reduce or as counter affect.

Therefore, image is a by-product of issue. Therefore, image

becomes an intervening point where both side approaching over

an image to clarify their standby, whatsoever is about

image(s). ‘The media do provide a means where by the image is

communicated, and that means is culture, grounded not only in

technical know-how but also in consensus and authority’

(Belting, 2011: 38).

Source: Zee news archives2

The screen is a metamorphic and virtual space and images shown

over it on myriad capacities with different colour, shade, and

represented the spatiality in real and imagination contexts.

The images on the screen are contested in nature and

conflicting frame by frame, and image by image. However, the

relation between image and screen can understood in light of

material and non-material contexts. The face value of an image

went multiply since the media acknowledged the image in

particular context while sometime it is not up to marks or

sometime it went ahead of course is subscribing a

materialistic view. Screen remains works as static machine is

providing a dimension of an image and not beyond that. The

identity of screen space is mere a contested space where images

appeared in mundane forms. The image portrayed by Zee news in

order to aware or represents the issue ‘reservation for

minorities’ through a photograph where in a religious

congregation a boy is performing Namaz in between in contrary

Muslims considered within minorities. But, image is narrating

a different saga or represented the issue in different tune.

As Allan Sekula (1982) notes, a photograph merely represents

the possibility of meaning and its embeddedness in a concrete

discourse situation, can the photograph yield a clear semantic

outcome. The meaning and interpretation of any photograph or

image depends upon the available spatial knowledge. The

spatial knowledge has their own metaphors and modalities in

order to transverse across the institution who is supposed to

build their own understanding and reflecting with technical

help. Indian media using available images for making

‘political economy’ sense rather more or less organization’s

outlook over an issue or image3. ‘An “image” is more than a

product of perception. It is created as the result of personal

or collective knowledge and intention. We live with images, we

comprehend the world in images. And this living repertory of

our internal images connects with the physical production of

external pictures that we stage in the social realm’ (Belting,

2011: 9). This study is analysing a hypothesis that whether

media spaces are shaping and reshaping the discourse of the

politics and examining an objective that at what extent

politics is shaping the image construction of Muslims in media

in India.

This study employed content analysis as method to analyse the

media news over concerned discourse. The issue of ‘reservation

for minorities’ was considered as prime broad theme to

understand the discourse. The study considered news content

including headline, caption and photograph over the issue for

a period of five months (October 1 2011-March 6 2012) and only

front-page news of newspapers and discussed/exclusive news of

news channels were considered in the study. The news of

pertaining issues is considering from both national and

regional media of Hindi and English newspaper and news

channels. The selection of newspapers and news channels of

course based on circulation, traditional popularity, left

orientation view and State’s view should reflected upon the

discourse were given preference. The newspapers (The Times of India

and The Hindu) selected on circulation and to know left version

over the issue and Rashtriya Sahara is chosen because of parallel

publication of ‘Urdu’ newspaper simultaneously and providing

news to Muslims in their language were given preference. The

considered news channels (AajTak, Zee News, NDTV 24*7 and CNNIBN) is

preferred to know people’s choice (these channels considered

initial news channels started news business as private

channels in India) and considered these media has shaped

Indian news industry categorically. The DD (Doordarshan)

included in the lists to known the state’s response over the

issue and from the channel randomly collected one of news to

know the views upon the issue.

Spaces of Representation

Spaces of representation or representational spaces is about

to show the symbol or image in order get over by critical

analysis, and using other sources including, media where real

and imagination is supposed in a proportional manner to

reflect the actual understanding, or create an image have

potential impact upon the space in various manner. Spaces of

representation are relative in sense of making a spatial

understanding in order of signs, symbols, and image(s). These

are often unique, aesthetic and sometime quite provocative in

nature. Hence, representational space of Muslims attested by

their mosques and medieval palaces along with other cultural

place-is describing the glory period of the past in form of

art works, cuisine, attires, fabrics, calligraphy, writing

systems, and so on. “Spaces of representation, which are

limited to articulation, images and memories whose content,

whether sensory, sensual or sexual, is so far displaced that

it barely achieves symbolic force” (Lefebvre, 1991: 50).

The screen or page/web-page became a space of emotional

attachment across the viewers in order to dissemination of

images, symbols, or works and developed being a ‘virtual space’

where different images, communities, or symbols are competing

to each other to get rid one over other or exist side by side

with spatial identity. The each said images, symbols, and

communities, etc., is subject to treat as an individual

spatial identity.

Source: Survey recorded in 2011-12

Table 1

The image of Muslims across media is based on semiotic

characteristic; where same image can be read in different

contexts across media; the derived meaning can be analysed in

different understanding. Hence, spaces of representation are

an extension of works where creativity is being displaying in

order to disphering the hidden truth, or in other words a

critical examination which is inviting much diagnosis, or a

second look to see the image in different context and

different texts. The news on ‘resrevation for minorities’ were

apparently appeared as Muslims reservation across the media

portal in various understanding. In throught discourse the

actual meaning of ‘minorities’ lossed in between shaping the

other contentious words ‘Muslims’ is of course considered a

handiwork of media played an important role in focusing or

shifting the issue from one discourse to another discourse.

In table 1, following number of news concerned on ‘reservation

for minorities’ were collected in specific period of time.

All these news items is apparently dealing with Muslims issue

some extent variably since the central government promulgated

the issue just prior the assembly election of five state in

early months of 2012. The issue again surface the discourse of

‘vote bank’ politics and people started to analyse the whole

episode as an extension to sympathize the one section of

citizens.

Source: Survey recorded in 2011-12

Table 2

In table 2, the comparative figure making an evident the

discussed discourse across the media is changed in certain

direction and levelled as Muslims reservation rather Muslims

was one of constituents in overall beneficiaries promulgated

by the union government. Each media has own trajectory and

interpreted the news as Muslims instead of minorities and

almost both print and visual has done the same practice

irrespective of news content. The news headlines are shaped in

such ways to address the Muslims, even politicians are

evaluating the issue to make political score, and in fact,

media played an important role to corner the issue and tagged

as Muslims oriented rather it was for minorities. In table 3,

almost all considered media except NDTV 24*7 and Rashtriya

Sahara has come out with original content rather all other

media considered diluted the issue as Muslims oriented and

even discussed across the media in the same capacity

irrespectively. The news content across the media in both

print and visual has diluted the issue with varying range.

Around 73% news contents of Aajtak discussed as Muslims in

various perspectives while 83% news content of Zee News

discussed the issue as Muslims orientation with political

manifestations. CNNIBN discussed the issue completely as

Muslims dominated policy and carved the merits and demerits of

Muslims in various orders even without acknowledging

minorities while NDTV 24*7 followed the news as minorities and

never attached the issue with Muslims rather push forward the

news in actual version.

Interpreted ‘Reservation for minorities news as

Muslims reservation news

S. No. Source of News Percentage of Muslims News in total News on

issue of ‘Reservation for Minorities’

1 Zee News 83.3

2 AajTak 73.3

3 Rashtriya Sahara 0

4 DD 100

5 NDTV 24*7 0

6 CNNIBN 100

7 The Hindu 44.4

8 The Times of India 78.9

Source: Survey recorded in 2011-12

Table 3

Left leaning newspaper The Hindu used the issue to some extent

pushed the Muslims in political domain in restricted manners

while in the headlines and news content of The Times of India

used Muslims preferably over minorities for various reasons

and provided contentious news to make sensation across the

spatiality contrary to the news issue. The state

sponsored news channel DD also aired the same as other

considered media and preferred Muslims very cautiously instead

minorities reservation. However, then Union law Minister (Mr

Salman Khurshid) made some contentious announcement but

retract from his earlier statements on the issue. Thus, over

an issue of ‘reservation for minorities’ announced by union

government to lure some section of voters and media reshaped

the discourse along with opposition political parties even

some minister of central government along with opposition

political party provided all ammunition to shaped and reshaped

the issue categorically. The role of both print and visual

media is evident from the study that media played an important

role in order to mould and reshaped the issue.

Muslims and Mediated-Politics in India

‘Muslims constitute the second largest religious group in

India and by implication the largest religious minority. Given

that India’s population crossed a billion by 2001, the Muslim

population, though a minority was over 138 million in 2001 and

assuming an annual growth rate of 2 per cent would have

crossed 160 million by 2009’ (Kulkarni, 2010: 92). ‘Though at

the national level Muslims constitute 13.4 per cent of the

total population, the share varies considerably across the

state’ (ibid: 106). The demography equations of Muslims are

varying in India and enjoying all social, cultural, economic,

religious and political rights and visible in political agenda

across the party line in India. Muslims in India are ever

associated with ‘vote-bank’ politics and nowadays media playing

an important role to pushing Muslims in the domain of politics

in myriad form. The reservation issue for minorities was

indeed in the Congress Party agenda since long but waiting for

right moments to unveil the policy.

On December 22, 2011, the Union Cabinet approved reservation

for minorities under the provisions of OBC (Other Backward

Castes) and decided to give 4.5% sub-quota to minorities

within the existing quota of 27% for the OBC. Some extent it

is election packages in order to ensure particular communities

votes. However, as usual again opposition political parties

particularly BJP (Bhartya Janta Party) opposed the issue and

termed as mere ‘vote bank policy’. While the issue gets

media’s attention univocally and discussed in length. Media

use the moment, constructed the issue of ‘minorities for

reservation’ along with politicians in different direction

even politicians discussed the politics in concerned direction

and circulated the issue as mediated politics where media

bites become a notion for political parties to do politics

over it and change the nomenclature of the issue.

The Times of India on 24.10.2011 covered news ‘Cong to focus on

Muslims areas ahead of UP polls’4, while the story narrate the

election plan and road map of Congress regarding how supposed

to manage particularly Muslims populated constituencies.

Further, the news includes the statements made by SriPrakash

Jaiswal (head of campaign committee in UP) “the campaign will

look to carry the message of development, harmony and

inclusive growth to maximum people. It has been drawn up with

that objective in mind”. On 24.12.2011, The Hindu published a

news with title ‘Muslims groups see ‘minorities’ quota as a googly’5, the

story incorporated the interviews of few Muslims luminaries

who showed their anguish over the ‘reservation’ move and find

complete betrayal of Justice Sachar committees and Justice

Ranganath Misra committees. Thus, they wished to see the early

implementation of recommendations made by both committees

regarding reservation for Muslims in employment and education.

“The quantum is well below the expectations of Muslims groups

which had been pressing for an exclusive reservation of 10 per

cent for the community as recommended by the Ranganath Misra

Commission”.

The issue further politicized when Mr. Salman Khurshid bat for

9% reservation to minorities while Mr. Mulayam Singh Yadav bat

for 18% and reiterated that during his Samajwadi Party

government’s tenure their government (SP) given 14%

reservation to Muslims even without having such legal

provisions. However, Mr. Salman Khurshid’s remark irks

Election Commission of India and thereafter, Commission issue

a notice and sought declaration and in between allegation and

counter allegation, BJP demands resignation of Mr. Khurshid. A

complain filled against the notification of ‘reservation for

minorities’ and cited the promulgation is against the model

code of conduct by opposition party (BJP) and, therefore, the

Election Commission of India has stopped the implementation of

reservation policy in the election-ridden states until the

election is over.

The Times of India covered news with headlines “Digvijay slams

Mulayam for so-called minority love” on 21.1.2012. News story further

quoting of Mr. Digvijay Singh “wherever he is made the chief

minister, Mulayam keeps a door open for BJP. The SP chief is

best known for paying lip sympathy to their cause” and he said

people yet not forgiven him cozying up to Kalyan Singh.

Digvijay Singh further said, “Both Mulayam and Maya have only

made empty promises to the community. The state government has

power to sub-categories the quota but neither evoked it during

his/her rule. Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav conveniently ignored the

issue and Ms Mayawati dashed off a letter to Prime Minister

Dr. Manmohan Singh demanding a quota instead of doing her bit

here”.

Vinod Mehta a senior journalist once marked ‘medium is the

image’ in which he argued that Indian Muslims is facing problem

of perception whether good or bad. This stereotypical look

should be broken in order to make dialogue about spatial

identity and its possible dimensions. Across the media, the

Muslims being an image depicted in myriad ways. Prior the 2012

assembly election in five states including politically nerve

Uttar Pradesh where Congress Party (INC) has promised

following issues in their manifesto: to give Urdu as second

language status; scholarship to minorities’ student; shall

appoint minority schoolteacher; and further all possible

actions will take to preserve the minority status of the

Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh. Congress Party also

promises to give 4.5 percentage reservations to minorities

from OBCs quota and expansion of vocational education in the

minority institution. Both media and the politics rearrange

the identity of Muslims in order to make a list what they

need, and what they do not require. Media created an image of

Muslims needs immediate empathy and political battle drawn

where Muslims carved as entity across the political parties to

make an impact. Prior Uttar Pradesh assembly election, both

Congress and Samajwadi Party reiterated their political stand

to give or in favour of reservation despite of some

differences over how much percentage but condition when people

voted them, thereafter the party can think beyond that.

However, BJP has opposed the reservation policy and called it

is a divisive politics.

The politics of empathy and entity became subject of mediated

politics. Once Rajni Kothari argued that the politicization of

the people of India before Independence was in two directions:

homegenization and hegemonization. She further said that

unfortunately hegemonization and separatism have visualized in

post-Independence period, and she feels that the role of media

has been negative. It has not provided enough space for

minority opinions and has portrayed them negatively. Chandan

Mitra also feels that the English language media of India does

not project a positive picture of the Muslim community. And,

further he is against generalistion of his comment and

retreating from what he said early and reiterate and said

that, media is baised against Muslims is not true. And

further he is saying that even Urdu media is also not doing

more to uplift the image of the community.

Conclusion

‘Any assessment of the socio-economic condition of Muslims in

India needs to recognize that, like other minorities, issue

faced by Muslims are multifaceted as they simultaneously face

problems relating to the security, identity, and equity. And

the interplay of these dimensions is at the core of the socio-

economic and political processes that the community is exposed

to a daily basis’ (Basant and Sharief, 2010: 2). It is evident

that screen is by virtue emerge as a space render menaningful

representation and showing/shown length of news/other

programme based on various issues in round the clock. The

screen and page or web page facilitates the images with

different perspectives and even representing/represented the

issue with contentious nature. Everyday media comes with

different images in form of issue with varying nature. Of

course ‘Reservation for minorities’ was one of them which

surface prior the asembly election when both media and

politics shaped and reshaped the issue and mold the direction

towards Muslims while Muslims was one of beneficiary

constituents of the reservation policy mooted by Congress led

central government no doubt. The issue discussed with both

merits and its demirits across the media and critically

evaluated the Muslims and its inclusiveness programs rather

reservation system discussed in length and in fact Muslims

being driven by media and politics in lieu for self purpose

where both media and politics have own interests.

A Short Profile of Author

The author is pursing PhD in media geography from Department

of Geography, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi,

Delhi.

Notes:

1. Read as. Votebank ( vote-bank or vote bank) is a loyal/traditionalbloc of voters from a single community, who consistently supported/inga certain candidate or political formation in democratic election. Suchbehaviour is often the result of an expectation of real or imaginedbenefits from the political formations, often at the cost of othercommunities. Votebank politics is the practice of creating andmaintaining votebanks through divisive policies. As this brand ofpolitics encourages voters to vote on the basis of narrow communalconsiderations, often against their better judgement, it is consideredinimical to democracy. The term vote-bank was first used by notedIndian sociologist M .N. Srinivas (who also coined the

terms Sanskritisation and dominant caste), in his 1955 paperentitled The Social System of a Mysore Village. He used it in the context ofpolitical influence exerted by a patron over a client. Later, theexpression was used by F.G. Bailey a professor of Anthropology atthe University of California, San Diego in his 1959 book Politics and SocialChange, to refer to the electoral influence of the caste leader. This isthe usage that has since become popular. Though the term originallyreferred to voting along caste lines, it was soon expanded to describevotebanks based on other community characteristics, suchas religion and language. See for further detail.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Votebank

2. For detail see the issues on which the Uttar Pradesh assembly election2012 was fought and out of eight issue the issue of ‘reservation forminorities’ was one of them and see http://zeenews.india.com/state-elections-2012/up/issues.html/7

3. See. Shekh Moinuddin. 2013. ‘The Political Economy of Indian Media’, Mass Media,Vol-1, No.7, New Delhi.

4. See for detail the daily newspaper The Times of India of Delhi editionof 24.10.2011(front page and ‘dance of democracy’ page specially envisagesfor assembly election coverages).

5. See for detail the daily newspaper The Hindu of Delhi/Chennai edition

of 24.12.2011.

6. See for detail the daily newspaper The Times of India of Delhi editionof 21.1.2012 (front page and ‘dance of democracy’ page specially envisagesfor assembly election coverages).

7. See, Vinod Mehta, ‘The medium is message’. In Farouqui, Ather. 2009. Muslimsand Media Images. New Delhi. Oxford University Press: 25-39.

8. See Rajni Kothari, ‘Muslims and the Press: Some Reflections’. In Farouqui, Ather.2009. Muslims and Media Images. New Delhi. Oxford University Press: 36-39.

9. See Chandan Mishra, ‘The Print Media and Minority images’. In Farouqui, Ather.2009. Muslims and Media Images. New Delhi. Oxford University Press: 91-99.

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