Inter faith Dialogue and the Right use of media to promote it…

Part 1

We may have different religions, different languages, different faiths, different color and skin, but we belong to one human race said Koffi Annon. But that is true in physical sense. The fact is we are not human beings having a Spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a Human experience. Every human contains the element of the soft and the hard. For the sake of world peace, dialogues within faiths and among them will strengthen the soft aspect.

Well you all are doing your part to ensure that the dialogues must continue. How can we as media persons contribute to these Inter Faith dialogues. In the parlance of the Advertising world, Hammering is the mantra to ensure that you are seen and heard. So how do we hammer our point home, on this subject?

Customizing the product is the name of the game. Our end product is world peace. To achieve that, we will require the entire multimedia world to help us. Today all forms of media are sitting back to back, with each other on a single platform, called the computer. You can watch a film, listen to radio, view videos, read a newspaper, chat with people on your hand held device.  Today’s generation is comfortable with this platform and is using it to the hilt.  But the 50 plus cant connect with it. That’s where the divide lies, called the great digital divide.  Therefore, apart from bringing different religions, different faiths and different castes to come together and connect on one table, the young and old will not gel even if they are from the same community, because of the this great digital divide. As a first step the 50 plus needs to brush up their skills to become digitally savvy, if they want to take part in the dialogues. The point I am trying to drive home is that, in the last two decades we have seen an enormous growth of technology and the world is no more the fragmented and poles apart. It’s now a global village, connected through technology. So what our fore fathers could not do in so many years’, digital media has done it in just 20 plus years. It has done half the job by uniting the world, through technology; we will have to do the remaining, by uniting the world spiritually through Interfaith Dialogues

At the outset we need to customize our product. Like the Valentine’s Day we need to sell our product. We need to market it. We need to design our commodity (Interfaith Dialogues) in order to take it to the next level. If we continue to work on the default method we will not reach anywhere. Let’s make the best use of our new media tools to reconnect faiths, reconnect people. As I said, the torch bearers of this inter faith dialogues should be our younger generation. So let’s adopt their media language and lace it with our experience and thoughts. 

( PART 2 Coming up.... Next week Akbar and his inter faith movement & case study of Amir Khan's Satyamev Jayte)

 Part 2

Now let’s indulge in a little history of this inter faith dialogue. How many of us know, that Inter faith dialogue in our country was first approached professionally by the Mughal Emperor Akbar the Great. He called the movement DIN E ILAHI. Akbar not only tolerated religions other then Islam, he encouraged interfaith discussions and debates. After listening to many religious scholars and wise men from the prominent religions of his empire i.e. Islam, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity and Judaism and to less extent Jainism, he decided, that no one faith was entirely and exclusively true, he developed this interfaith belief into a new religion called DIN E ILAHI or Divine faith and encouraged its subjects to follow it.

It is a fact that DIN E ILAHI never gained a prominent following, still, it promoted many universal values, found in these religions, including, compassion, piety, abstinence and prudence. History says it forbade celibacy and animal slaughter.

     

Imagine if the Mogul King Akbar had the support of the new media i.e. face book, twitter, SMS, Mobile, tablets, I pads, TV etc., DIN E ILAHI could have been a Brand & an important land mark Vis a Vis Inter Faith Dialogue.

That’s why I emphasis on Brand building. I may sound like a marketing guru but without a proper media plan, media focus, media outlook and use of all media vehicles, Inter faith dialogue will find hard to gain momentum.

Building Brand “Inter Faith”

Satyamev Jayte a case study……

Like Amir Khan’s TV show Satyamev Jayte we need to discuss brand Inter Faith on all media platforms. When Amir was approached by Star TV for the show he made it clear, unless the show is beamed on the Terrestrial TV network, there will not be any impact. Only Doordarshan has terrestrial broadcast facility and the national channel was roped in by the rival broadcaster Star TV.  To ensure that the coverage of the show was 100% in the country, Amir took the help of All India Radio to make it successful. And Metro audience was roped in through the private Radio channels.  Amir knew that without the help of the print medium, his idea of making Satyamev Jayte a Brand will remain a dream.  So, Amir talked about the show Satyamev Jayte every Monday through the columns of Hindustan Times, after its simulcast on Sunday, on both Star and Doordarshan. Apart from the above Satyamev jayte website was created and people were asked to log in to give their views. Free flow of SMS, Twitter and face book further helped the show Satyamev Jayte to consolidate its position. The series which commenced on 3^rd May 2012, within 40 days, achieved a brand name and people are talking about it. Imagine if Akbar the Great had these media platforms at his disposal, today DIN E ILAHI would have been a force to reckon with.

(Part 3 Coming up.... Next Week Media plan for Brand inter faith and heart warming tale of communal harmony, a Muslim man performs Kanyadan of a tribal Hindu girl)

 

Part 3

Media plan for our brand Interfaith

As a first step we need to ensure that even after this seminar is over, we must continue to talk, to keep the Inter Faith dialogue alive. So we need to have a media plan for our brand Interfaith. As a first step let’s create a Blog or a web page, post conference, and put our thoughts and ideas on this platform. Before we leave, we must share our Email id with each other in order to keep the Interfaith Dialogue on.  So, what can we share on this Blog…Stories... Inter Faith Success stories. These tales can be the building blocks for our brand Interfaith. For e.g. let’s revisit the story of the Hindu girl child Mahi, who succumbed to death in an open bore well. How many of us know that the child was finally lifted out by the heroic efforts of a Muslim dry bore well digger Sohrab Khan. No doubt the army and the administration were doing their efforts, but, to break the final ice, it was Sohrab Khan’s heroic efforts that were praiseworthy. But how much media attention he got, we all know.

In yet another heart-warming tale of communal amity, a Muslim man performed 'Kanyadan' of a tribal Hindu girl, Alpa, at a village ravaged during the 2002 post-Godhra riots, even as her own relatives stayed away. The members of the Muslim community living in the Panwad village  of Gujrat extended a helping hand to Madhuben Rathwa, a tribal widow and the bride's mother, for making the arrangements and playing the host at the wedding last year. Acknowledging their generosity, Madhuben said, "The marriage ceremony of my daughter could not have taken place without the help from the members of the Muslim community as my own relatives stayed away. This may be due to my staying in this locality of the village". Stories have a powerful way to connect .They down load very fast in our memories. So we must share the heart rending tales to keep the human element alive and kicking.

(Part 4 Coming up next week.... Hindu Sacrificed a child to keep word to Muslim)

Hindu sacrificed his child to keep word to Muslim                                          

Published Online: Aug 23, 2010

This is a real story from Pakistan’s Faisalabad, the kind of stuff we no longer come across. During the 1947 Hindu-Muslim riots, on the eve of Partition, innumerable people were killed, many became homeless and refugees. Many known and unknown stories of brutalities and human valor, faithfulness and faithlessness of Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims have come to light over the years and are preserved in print or on celluloid. One of the rare stories of chivalry that came to light recently was of a father-son duo, it was published on line on august 23, 2010. The father was Master Maan Singh and the son Charan Singh.

In 1947, Charan Singh of Ghuman village of Amritsar district, was a young boy of 17 years. He had fallen in love with a girl of his village. When the riots erupted and Hindus-Sikhs and Muslims became thirsty for each others’ blood, senior people of the village decided that all Hindus and Sikhs will protect their Muslim brethren. They also decided that if a Muslim family is harmed in any way, people of the village will compensate it. Charan Singh, who is now 80, narrates that after his two sons were killed in communal riots, one Noor Muhammad of his village came weeping along with his wife to his father Master Maan Singh and told him about the incident. Maan Singh had agreed with others to help their Muslim brethren and compensate their losses. In this situation, he could not decide how to compensate Noor Muhammad. After a pause, it dawned on him that since Noor Muhammad’s sons cannot be brought back to life, he offered his only son Charan Singh to Noor Muhammad who kept refusing the offer but finally succumbed to Maan Singh’s insistence. Noor Muhammad, after the death of his sons, decided to migrate to Pakistan. Maan Singh said while consoling his son Charan Singh that though he made a mistake by making such an offer but a promise is a promise and it has to be honoured by his son as the father expects sons to honour his word. Charan Singh was hesitant at first but in the end he agreed to do what his father told him and left behind his parents’ love and affection, his native village, relatives and friends and of course his sweet-heart and accompanied Noor Muhammad to Pakistan where they settled in Lyallpur (now Faisalabad).

Noor Muhammad could not settle himself financially in Pakistan and because of this, his adopted son who was now called “Manzoor”, could not complete his education. In order to help Noor Muhammad, Manzoor started to work early to supplement the family’s income. Now he is a Pakistani but memories of his parents, his native village, friends and relatives, and of course, his sweetheart still torment him. These afflictions and agonies made him a poet who is now famous and popular in Pakistan and is known as "Manzoor Jugnoo". Now after such a long time, neither Maan Singh nor Noor Muhammad are alive but Charan Singh/Manzoor Jugnoo is still living up to the word of honour given by his father. People like Master Maan Singh no longer walk our earth.

Another area where media should highlight is the interfaith, inter community and inter religion marriages. In fact we must celebrate such weddings. We must celebrate such unions. Nation should honor such couples.  Our country is the best e.g. of interfaith people living under one roof. That’s why our founding fathers enshrined in the constitution the word Secular. The secular nature of our country makes it more viable to live in. Unfortunately it’s the politics of vote bank in India that does not allow the secular temperament to flourish. So we need to work on to change the political system in order to ensure that the Secular nature survives. Though the private broadcasters are doing their bit to clean the system still the lure of breaking news and TRP ratings downgrades their Credibility Quotient.

(Part 4 coming up next week  ......Ethical guidelines in Multi cultural societies) 

Part 4

Ethical guidelines in multi cultural societies

Up till now my focus was what media should do to promote Interfaith Dialogue. Now I would like to highlight what media should not do or be careful to ensure that interfaith harmony is not destroyed in the lure to capture eye balls. ……

              In order to gain TRP’s and to lure audiences and viewers, private broadcasters are doing more harm than good to the society. In their hurry to “break news” the broadcasters are breaking all the norms and ethics.

The uncontrolled influence   of the abysmally low credibility quotient of Private News TV channels have a demoralizing effect on people as a result of their undue exposure to the  sex, sensationalism, violence & bloodshed  through their day-to-day exposure. Currently, the total number of TV News channels being beamed into Indian homes is over 500, and at least 100 more are in the queue.

The story is simple. There will be more media than before. So, we are likely to be more fragmented. Civil society requires shared information or common knowledge in order to function effectively and democratically. When differentiation and fragmentation arise in society, common knowledge is lost. Anything uncommon among the citizens will lead to further divide, more chaos, more confusion, and more disintegration.

When channels proliferate the mixed network vanishes. In its place the specialist network, or the niche channels viz. sports, films, news, music, wildlife, shopping etc. come alive. Whereas the mixed network emphasizes what viewers have in common, the single-issue channel emphasizes, what separates them from others. This situation is extremely alarming, when among the news channels there is a further fragmentation of viewers and audiences.

Junk food journalism is the norm of the day. In the words of the erstwhile minister of I&B, Mr. Jaipal Reddy, “Media has more reach, but less credibility now.” Blaming it on the trivialization, glamorization, sensationalism, the minister felt that media barons have the dreadful combination of influence and affluence.

             At a seminar held last year, at a Mumbai college, on media ethics, panelists and students of Mass Communication expressed their dismay at the growing trivialization of the news media and developments such as sting operations. The students were particularly anxious about the ethical compromises they feared they would have to make as a journalist.

              Let’s take the example of the news channel, India T.V., which was born in March 2005 out of a scandal. The scandal was the telecast of the sting operation conducted in Bollywood on the casting couch. Why was the nation eavesdropping on the sexual escapades of a debauched actor on a Sunday afternoon? Didn’t they have anything better to do? In the words of the film director Mahesh Bhatt, “Scandals fascinate nearly everyone. The more respectful the victim, the juicier is the gossip. In order to conform to their own sense of virtue the public doesn’t mind becoming peeping toms. In fact it relishes it. To put it simply, one man’s tragedy is another man’s’ entertainment.”

            Most of the news channels believe in the phrase…more loyal than the King. Also seen is the fact that they do not have respect for the dead. We all remember 9/11, but how many of us remember seeing the faces of dead Americans, none of us. That’s because, not a single dead body was exposed to the T.V. camera. But we all remember the mutilated dead bodies of our countrymen at Akshardham, when the terrorists struck there, with all the gory details shown vividly on our news channels. That’s why I say they seem to be more loyal that the king.

            The private broadcaster doesn’t realize that by showing the dead faces they are not only disrespecting the dead but also creating hatred between the communities in this country, as riots and terrorist attacks have the power to cause such rifts.

The media must avoid derogatory or pejorative reference to an individual, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation or to any physical or mental illness or disability. This means for e.g. a journalist reporting a crime story should not mention the racial, religion or ethnic origin of a suspect except when the police have provided a description of a particular wanted criminal.

( Part 5 Concluding part..summarize media’s role in promoting the Brand Interfaith & peace)

Part 5

In the end let me summarize media’s role in promoting the Brand Interfaith & peace

1. Develop program and activities to encourage a more socially responsible media,

with regard to intercultural and interfaith issues.

2. Work in partnership with the organizers of existing media awards to include an

΄Intercultural and Interfaith Award΄ category for those who display exemplary media

social responsibility.

3. Encourage the media to promote events related to intercultural and interfaith issues.

4. Establish partnerships between youth organizations and the media in organizing a

‘Youth & Media Week’ to promote intercultural and interfaith dialogue; the program

should include exhibitions, cultural performances, live interactive talk shows and workshops.

5. Conduct exchange program for young reporters that focus on the promotion of

Peace through responsible media coverage.

6. Establish a network linking university newsletters.

7. Promote peace by training young journalists in intercultural and interfaith sensitivity.

8. Maximize use of free electronic media to publicize the message of intercultural and

Interfaith dialogue.

9. Encourage young people to create interactive blogs and online forums, and involve diverse       stakeholders to provide them with the necessary support.

10. Organize campaigns to promote the dissemination of intercultural and interfaith information through media

11. Encourage young people to deliver intercultural and interfaith messages through pen pal    projects.