15

Oct

Godi Media’s Criminal Silence on  Hate Crimes

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Dr John Dayal

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New Delhi | Wednesday | 15 October 2025

In the crumbling edifice of India’s democracy, “Godi media”—the lapdog press cradling power while savaging pluralism—stands as a chief architect of our ruin.

Coined by journalist Ravish Kumar, this term derides outlets like Republic TV, Zee News, and Times Now, accused of parroting the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) agenda, transforming news into a spectacle of division rather than scrutiny.

These channels, once pillars of accountability, now fuel communal fires, eroding the interfaith harmony Gandhi envisioned.

As a witness to India’s wounded soul, I see their broadcasts as blueprints for hatred, inscribed in the blood of marginalised communities.

India’s courts have repeatedly flagged this media as a vector for bigotry. In hate speech hearings, the Supreme Court stressed anchors’ “crucial” duty to curb on-air prejudice, decrying channels’ “competition” in sensationalism, as noted by legal observers.

The 2018 Tehseen Poonawalla judgment mandated anti-lynching measures and fast-track trials, implicitly acknowledging media’s role in normalising mob violence by amplifying it—yet implementation falters.

In July 2025, the Court emphasised fraternity to combat online hatred, warning of its corrosive impact on society.

These remarks spotlight how Godi media’s unchecked vitriol threatens judicial integrity itself.

Article at a Glance
The article condemns “Godi media,” a term coined by Ravish Kumar, for undermining Indian democracy by promoting divisive, pro-government narratives instead of objective journalism. Channels like Republic TV and Zee News are accused of fueling communal hatred, normalizing Islamophobia, and weakening interfaith harmony.
 Courts, including the Supreme Court, have criticized such media for spreading hate speech, yet implementation of corrective measures remains weak. International watchdogs like RSF and Human Rights Watch link this media bias to rising violence against minorities and declining press freedom, with India ranked 151st globally in 2025.
The media’s selective outrage and silence on democratic erosion—such as weakened institutions, politicized laws, and suppressed dissent—further deepens mistrust. By glorifying propaganda and ignoring injustice, Godi media plays a structural role in polarizing society. The article urges reclaiming truthful journalism to restore constitutional values and social harmony.

International watchdogs echo this alarm. Reporters Without Borders’ 2025 World Press Freedom Index ranks India 151st out of 180, up from 159th in 2024, citing “concentrated ownership and political alignment” as key threats to freedom.

The Reuters Institute’s Digital News Report highlights audience distrust amid politicised, personality-driven content, fertile ground for propaganda.

Human Rights Watch’s 2025 World Report documents escalating violence against minorities, linking BJP’s 2024 campaign rhetoric—inciting discrimination and hostility—to anti-Muslim attacks.

Amnesty International’s 2024 probe into “bulldozer justice” exposed targeted demolitions displacing hundreds of Muslims, framed by discriminatory narratives in media.

The toll on community relations is profound, dismantling bridges of dialogue. Godi media inflates minor incidents into religious conflagrations, as in Haryana’s 2023 Nuh clashes or Manipur’s 2025 ethnic strife, where Hindu processions sparked mob assaults on Muslims.

A 2024 Frontiers study reveals Muslims facing relentless digital hate, with anchors mirroring online Islamophobia that stifles Sufi calls for unity.

Shared festivals and shrines, once emblems of harmony, now fracture under portrayals of Muslims as perpetual threats, fostering vigilante justice and shrinking inter-religious discourse to tokenism.

This amplification extends to hate crimes, mainstreaming Islamophobia from fringes to primetime. Channels like Sudarshan News label Muslims “anti-national,” justifying demolitions in Uttar Pradesh.

A BBC report notes a 2024 spike in hate speech, tied to “BJP-sponsored Islamophobia.”

Post-2019 Citizenship Amendment Act, anti-Muslim incidents surged 30%, according to a 2023 eScholarship analysis, correlating with media-fueled conspiracies like “corona jihad” during COVID-19 and the 2020 Delhi pogrom that claimed 53 lives, mostly Muslim.

Godi media’s selective outrage—silencing perpetrators while vilifying victims—turns bias into bloodshed.

Yet, their deepest complicity lies in muting democracy’s erosion.

The Central Information Commission, vital for transparency, suffers chronic leadership vacuums and backlogs, allowing executive narratives to dominate unchallenged. Parliament’s 2023 law ousting the Chief Justice from Election Commissioner appointments defied Supreme Court safeguards; the Court declined to stay it pre-2024 polls, amid partisan delays in opposition probes.

Human rights bodies are neutered, with 10,000 dissenters arrested under draconian laws in 2024.

Godi coverage frames these as procedural, anesthetizing public alarm, while ignoring Kashmir’s muzzled press and cronyism like Adani’s empire.

The chill on watchdog journalism compounds this: The Committee to Protect Journalists logs assaults on reporters in a deadly environment, with RSF noting takedowns and blocks.

When intimidation meets pliant primetime, hate amplifies, dialogue shrinks, and institutions atrophy—courts besieged, Election Commission compromised, information flows obstructed, human rights protections eroded.

Secular harmony hangs by threads in this abyss.

Godi media isn’t mere bias; it’s structurally complicit, rewarding polarization, muting violations, normalizing institutional decay.

As riot-scarred villages mourn lost kin, we must reclaim the fourth estate. Only unbound truth can heal what hatred has ravaged, restoring the Constitution’s secular promise.

(A veteran journalist, Dr John Dayal is human rights defender.)

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