The tragic Air India crash report
has led to some serious violations at many fronts. The report was factual, and
any unbiased logical reading would point to two possible scenarios. One is that
there was deliberate act from atleast one of the pilots (was it too much stress
or was it sabotage -suicide or a larger part of a terror is mere speculation),
this is conjectured as deliberate act since it is impossible for
fuel switch to flip accidently. Second possibility is that there was a
technical error, there were reports mentioning issue with fuel switch in
Boeing. Also, understand Boeing is in serious focus in recent times as market
concerns have taken precedence over safety. There are documentaries made,
suicides (allegation of murder) by whistleblower so on. So what do we do in
such a situation where there are two tantalizing possibilities? There is
something called ethics.
You do not create aspersions on
people who are dead and cannot defend themselves, unless there are compelling
undisputable evidence. They must always be given benefit of doubt. It is not
about misplaced nationalism but basic humanity, be gentle. Big corporate like Boeing can
easily manipulate narration, and market media will toe the line drawn by big
money. Also, Western media, particularly British hence by extension English,
take India for low hanging fruit. This has to do with neocolonial feudal
control –which works at two level one is ofcourse racism, second is castetva
feudal forces have sense of entitled proprietorial control over common people and have aligned with liberal posing british elois to posture against
India hence any news from India will be manipulated to denigrade India hence
against hindutva. Create general bad impression about India in whatever
possible manner hence by some twisted logic helping common Indians. Ofcourse
India has problems but considering how the worst is normalized in west (also,
lack of basic democratic norms in much of the world. Even in case of gender
based atrocities it has to be understood that women are much freer here than strictly
segregated barbaric societies where women are mostly absent or severely
curtailed in public space, only freer societies bring stresses and fractures of
negotiating changing times and entrenched patriarchy. Absence of sexual abuse in barbaric societies is
not progressive but points to foundational issue that even questions humanity,
you cannot arbitrate by constructing this deviance as normal. As much as purity
is not hygiene, modesty sanitizing is not sign of civilized society) and expect
highest standards from such a large country with amazing diversity seems like a
sinister plan by vested interests. Incidents from India are exaggerated to
create a narration. It also is power display. Organized barbaric practices are
protected under the garb of religion and tradition and forced on to common
people as diversity and multiculture by devious people to extend their control.
India by its very nature is not organized –which surely makes it valuable, but
in competing forces of neoliberal left and right these are occasions to exploit
weakness. Indian therefore is seen as punching bag, and castetva forces who
ruled India for decades worked this narration to control and exploit the herd
while pleasing the west.
By constructing a narration of erring
pilots by the western media, particularly the mischievous mediocre British
media, has committed grave misinformation, shown deep rooted racism and allegiance to
neoliberal transactional opportunist value system. Journalistic probity demands
that they give equal importance to possibility of technical glitch –considering
that fuel switch was under considerable scrutiny as also Boeing as a company is
not without blame in the recent past. Ofcourse there are hundreds and thousands
of Boeing planes flying across the world every day but that doesn’t mean
anything. If there was a glitch then it can lead to, however rare, to serious mishap
(it is conceivable that instead of human “error” the pilot observed the switch malfunction
and tried his best to retrieve). Following the same logic there are hundreds
and thousands of pilots flying Boeing everyday do they make such error or are
they suicidal? When rare occasion presents, as major accident that
kills hundreds, then we have to be extra careful in how it is reported.
Sensationalism and opportunism in taking side of big corporate is a serious
violation. It is maligning the dead, an assault on justice for victims and
their loved ones. Considering the context it is a serious disinformation. There
is a deliberate malicious attempt to create narration of control instead of
trying to find the truth or report the verified facts with journalistic
integrity and empathy. Unless the truth is out you cannot take sides or attempt
at creating narrations.
An instance of constructing narration
by media
It is very rare for common people
to have first-hand experience of media manipulation; they are always passive
audience. The other day all India strike was called. Whatever may happen across
the country what is clear is that it will be total in Kerala! So I went for a
morning walk, it is extremely pleasing to walk in empty streets with no traffic
and less people. I thought of having coffee, all hotels were shut down. As I
walked around I found an open restaurant. Stranded devotees in temple town were
seen rushing in from street. Restaurant was crowded and naturally doing brisk
business. I too had masala dosa. Very soon strike enforcers ransacked the place
and created ruckus. Intriguingly the newspaper next day gave importance to this
event so as to be one of the headlines on front page! It was wrongly reported
that hotel was only serving those who were lodging with them (I even have proof
since I paid through google). Clearly, being a Christian media –neoliberal
hedonist right therefore minority claim hence liberal secular by default, the
intention was to create narration against the communists. Whether these kinds
of left wing hooliganism should be condoned is not the issue here. Deliberately
creating narration and manipulating an opinion based on concocted views by media is the concern. This is an
example of how media works for political and business interests; they also set
a narration to extend their control. They nurture regressive forces and use these to create and control herds for higher bidding. The world though has changed rapidly in the last
few years with new distracting technologies exciting herd to new low; nobody
has time for these legacy media as their influence wanes. What is true is that
they played pivotal role for decades to nurture primitive society and its
putrefying values, and effectively made literacy meaningless and herd incapacitated
to be educated. Also, note cash rich temple itself could have taken Initiatives to arrange temporary
refreshment centres with easy access (and not create artificial shortage hence stampede),
that they couldn’t is defining aspect of squatter value system that percolate
the beleaguered society. *pic morphed for privacy concern
Defunct Kerala model
Kerala for its prized spices like pepper
and cardamom had influence from various parts of the world for more than
2000years, and was an important trading route for centuries. Early Buddhist influence
and Christian missionaries –that dates back to St. Thomas almost to the time of
Jesus, played a significant role in grassroot literacy and awareness, as also infrastructure
for health and care, nurturing relatively progressive society. This then gave
impetus to social movements and progressive ideas that became political instrument
through effective grassroot participation and political consolidation through communism
and progressive socialist concerns firmly placed in democracy. Islam had
progressive influence –that dates to back 7th century arab traders, in the beginning
as it effectively dented and provided common people with alternative ways against
centuries of exploitative inhuman feudal values in deeply flawed society. Kerala
model was hailed but it failed to take off due to limitation of cannibalistic corrupt
society. All the religions whether Hinduism, Christianity or Islam (Jews, Buddhists,
Jains etc presence is too insignificant) are reduced to parody and lowest
commonest denominator arbitrated by neoliberal market system for blessing. Indeed
these competing religion driven nuisance is now a threat to every progressive
measure as they ensnare incapacitated to be educated herd. Communism is now part of neoliberal left that feeds on misery through
nepotism and opportunism, though it remains far better option to infighting castetva
feudal self centered horrible people posing as leaders, manipulating and distracting herds into deeper pits. Hindutva is emerging as a minor nuisance but important presence to break the
binary loot as also against islamist consolidation.
Unlike other part of the country Kerala’s health infrastructure
is functioning but is in bad shape
and deliberately undervalued for private profiteers to capitalize, it couldn’t
effectively capitalize on advantage of early start nor modernize, so is the
case with education system. Most competent health workers like nurses are now moving
to west while teaching remains last resort attracting low calibre while school
teaching function as wage support for housewives (competent school teachers find
employment abroad). Though the condition of higher education is not really abysmal
but it falls well short of possibilities that Kerala model proposed as international standards, and is infested
with low quality teaching lacking enterprise. Most youngsters prefer to pursue higher studies in West, a closed society with conservative intrusive regressive
values also create desperate reasons to move out. Natural beauty of the region,
food marked by centuries of varied influence from different parts of the world
as also brilliant biting humour that only works in Malayalam, and ofcourse the music, retains nostalgia despite
the grim.
Initiatives are more for traction
than real impact, this is what Kerala model is reduced to –a patch up work to
please. For instance, Kerala has serious problem with waste disposal particularly
plastics that pollute the long coast line. People are very much aware but have
no options. Govt. has worked up something called haritha sena (green army) essentially
part of women empowerment. So women in green attire visit homes once in a
month to collect plastic. There are serious problem not only in the intention
but execution. You cannot expect people to store plastic at home for a month,
it must be atleast twice a week, insisting on cleaning and storing waste plastic is
counterproductive. Collecting only some specific clean plastic and charging for
it, and rejecting other waste like glass, paper, cloths so on makes waste
collection meaningless. Waste collectors must ask for wet and dry segregation
nothing more than that. Intention of creating dignity of job by insisting cleanliness
in garbage is squatter’s value system. So what we find in small towns after
sunset is plumes of toxic smoke from burning plastic and garbage. While neoliberal
left take cosmetic measures and spent money on ads to create a narration of
grand historic success of the scheme, quite sure will be celebrated in west. It is poverty
ridden but enterprising migrant women from Tamilnadu who do most of the waste plastic/cloth/paper/metal
collection. You can see them doing hard work carrying loads of plastic and
other items even in mid noon in horrible conditions. I have seen some residents helping them out or inviting to share food or cloth. As expected neoliberal
left doesn’t find anything to appreciate and invest in them they are ignored by
the state as they are not vote bank nor have any voice. They are unskilled migrants mostly women and elderly from neighbouring state most likely facing the worst in
caste pus filled society that prides in dravidian social justice now a charade.
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