You witnessed the outrage, now listen to it:
“I don’t care what you think… this is a riot…” (Shiv Aroor, India Today)
“If you (farmers) aren’t ashamed you should be.” (Rubika Liyaqat, ABP)
“Kisan groups waged a war on the State, viewers… farmers have undermined the spirit of the nation’s momentous tryst with democracy…” (Rahul Shivshankar, Times Now)
“…Even the tukde-tukde gang, and those at Shaheen Bagh did not have the guts to do what they did today.” (Aman Chopra, Zee News)
“What happened today at the Red Fort… was an absolute and utter disgrace…” (Arnab Goswami, Republic TV)
“Today, what happened on Republic Day will be written in black letters. I am hurt, I am sad, I am angry.” (Rajat Sharma, India TV)
The pain and indignation felt by leading TV news anchors was reflected in the headlines on the day farmers’ groups came, saw and desecrated the Red Fort.
‘Kisan breaks agreement/Besmirched R-Day spirit’ (Republic TV); ‘R-Day Spirit Shamed’ (Times Now); ‘Kisanon ne kiya hungama’ (News18 India); ‘Monumental Anarchy’ (India Today); ‘India shamed on Republic Day’ (CNN News18).
Also read: In Times Now Vs Republic TV opera, Navika Kumar ‘killed’ Arnab Goswami with kindness
Shooting from the studios
While anchors and headline writers pontificated and preached from their cosy perches inside TV studios, the reporters were uncomfortably perched on tractors rumbling into Delhi or worse, caught in the middle of a protest that went as crazily out of control as the tractors that drove around in berserk circles.
It wasn’t a pleasant experience for the TV reporters. They were breathless — at the sheer audacity of the farmers who took a route different from the one agreed upon with the Delhi Police. And, they had a hard time keeping up with the protesters tractors on foot.
Like us, they were bewildered: “Yeh dekhiye, the farmers are breaking the barricades,” panted an alarmed CNN News 18 correspondent at the Singhu border. “Yeh dekhiye, the tractors’ parade is out earlier than expected and heading for Delhi,” puffed the News24 reporter.
“Farmers refuse to stick to pre-planned agreed route,” gasped NDTV 24×7’s reporter. “Yeh dekhiye…they’re going towards ITO… the leaders had said they would be peaceful…” wheezed the ABP reporter.
“What is happening here? Who are these people? The entire world is watching…” rasped Zee Hindustan’s correspondent, on the move. “Is this a peaceful protest? The cops are almost running… the farmers are armed with sticks – what are their intentions?’’ asked Times Now.
As the TV screens filled with clouds, and tear gas shells went off, the reporters took guard: “Look at the chaos!” exclaimed the Times Now reporter. “Look at that,” she added, at a booming sound. “That is an explosion! Our eyes are in tears…and another explosion!”
Then, the protesters and tractors lurched drunkenly around Lutyens’ Delhi, and reporters began to fear the worst: “…from ITO they are headed to the Supreme Court and India Gate… and then there’s Rashtrapati Bhavan,” said an ABP reporter. “What are they doing with sticks and swords… dekhiye Dilli ki haalat,” observed India TV. “Law and order out of control,” announced NDTV India in its best stentorian tone. “Even the tractors don’t know where they were going,” added NDTV 24×7’s reporter after hundreds of vehicles headed towards the Red Fort.
“Chaotic scenes in Delhi,” announced the normally understated BBC World. “…(farmers) scale iconic Red Fort… tens of thousands converge on Delhi…”
Also read: TV is obsessing over who takes the first shot — not just vaccine, but at farmers, Opposition
Questioning the cowboys
Once the protesters had “breached” the Red Fort, climbed up the flagpole, and scaled domes, the news channel anchors and reporters were truly enraged and out of all patience: In ‘#AttackOnCapital’, Zee News said “Behind violence (are) Khalistanis. This is a terror march.”
But reporters also made a point to question the men who rode into Delhi on tractors like cowboys in the wild West. And that’s when they learnt that some of the protesters had come to Delhi for reasons other than the farm laws — call it protest tourism or tractor sightseeing.
“We will visit the Red Fort for a few hours, see a little of Delhi and then head out,” explained a man on a tractor to Aaj Tak. When NDTV India asked another protester where he was headed, he replied, “Going to fetch my buddies..sabko Dilli dikha layenge…”.
Meanwhile, back in the studios, anchors demanded answers, and not just of the farmers: “Who is responsible for this?” asked Rubika Liyaqat. Pointing a finger at the protesters and the police, she pronounced judgment: “Dono fail.”
At Zee News, Aman Sharma confronted Bharatiya Janata Party’s Gaurav Bhatia: “How did this happen? You had no idea of what might happen? You could do nothing?’’
“I am really surprised by Delhi Police,” said Vinay Tewari, Managing Editor Mirror Now, adding that two famers’ unions had said they wouldn’t abide by the agreed upon route — “Shouldn’t they have anticipated (trouble)?”
By Tuesday evening, the mood in the newsrooms was belligerent, unforgiving of the farmers, and Wednesday morning saw channels demanding “justice” or openly accusing the farmers’ unions of a planned attack. CNN News 18, which had spent most of Tuesday hosting a “waterthon” and largely ignoring the violence in Delhi, led the criticism — “Attack on democracy”; “Annadata or Anarchist? Red blot on Red Fort.”
The last word goes to Zee News, which had what can only be described as a Donald Trump conspiracy theory moment: “Today, the Americans must be very happy,” it declared, reminding viewers of similar scenes witnessed at Washington DC’s Capitol Hill three weeks ago. Now why would the Americans be happy that farmers scaled the Red Fort?
Views are personal.