Now that Zubair is out of jail, let’s talk about the elephant in the room of journalism— reporting on religion. In the final episode of the fifth season of ‘Koffee with Karan’ that had Shah Rukh Khan and Alia Bhatt on the couch opposite Karan Johar, SRK defined Alia as a ‘demotional’ actor, which Khan said is the state of being deeply emotional but strangely detached while pursuing a job. Years before, Shah Rukh had called himself a demotional being too.
Invented a word to describe myself. DEMOTIONAL.Deeply emotional & strangely Detached.Invent one that best & uniquely describes u & tweet it
— Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) June 22, 2011
In principle, journalism is a demotional job too. That is, you should be invested about your job but at the same time, you should also be detached from what you are reporting. During instances like Mohammed Zubair posting a snippet of now suspended BJP
spokesperson Nupur Sharma’s controversial statement about Prophet Mohammed, a journalist may become as emotional about what is being reported as they may be about their job as a whole.
The question remains that while reporting on matters of faith or religion, do the
journalists or fact checkers remain demotional as they essentially should be? If so, why do
their tweets or reports display their indispensable attachment to the matter of faith being
brought to the limelight? Why can’t a fact-checker or journalist remain detached from the
tenets of its religion while reporting on the matter concerning that same religion? Shouldn’t it be a prerequisite for the job to report?
Also read: Mohd Zubair got bail, but the guiding principle of India’s justice system is still in jail
Need for ‘demotional’ reporting on religion
One may argue that all Mohammed Zubair did was merely put out to the world the
controversial comments made by now suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma against
Prophet Mohammed. This subsequently led to diplomatic backlash from Arab nations
and protests as well as violent demonstrations after Friday prayers in many parts of the
country. Furthermore, it stoked the radicalists of the faith to issue death threats to the other side with at least two brutal killings in Rajasthan’s Udaipur and Maharashtra’s Amravati respectively.
The sequence of events began when Mohammed Zubair first posted the TV debate
snippet in which Nupur Sharma made controversial comments on the life of Prophet
Mohammed underlines a crucial assertion. When a journalist isn’t detached while reporting on the same, it may have devastating consequences for the inter-religious harmony in a diverse, multi-ethnic, and multi-religious nation like ours.
Whether your work or act of merely pointing out is provoking people up to the point of violence is a different debate altogether. In journalism schools, it is taught that while content may be the king in journalism, it’s the context of the news which is its founder. That is, if you are unable to inform the people about the context of the crux of what you are showing, you are not doing justice to your job.
Also read: Do I have a complaint with Mohd Zubair of Alt News? Here’s why I have 3 answers, No, No & Yes
However objectionable or provocative the comment in a short snippet may be, in principle,
where is the context when you post a two-minute long snippet out of fifty-minute long TV debate? Do people know the context of what that so-called debate was about?
You may be well-intentioned but when your religiosity interferes with your work, you forget to add the context to what you are showing to your audience. This, as the past couple of months, have bore witness, may have dangerous consequences for the inter-religious tranquillity in a country like India.In these times of polarisation of epic proportions, staying demotional while doing even a remotely journalistic job has become essential. Mohammed Zubair’s act of merely pointing out Nupur Sharma’s controversial comments on Prophet Mohammed underscores how indispensable the state of being demotional should be, in the contemporary business of journalism and fact-checking.
The author is a student at Delhi School of Journalism, University of Delhi. Views are personal
