Donald Trump will impose a 50 per cent surcharge on all Indian television news channels. That is, if he finds out that they barely show his face—unless he speaks about India. Or welcomes Pakistani leaders to the White House—again.
In the latter case, he’s treated as ‘Traitor Trump’ by news channels.
What he doesn’t know—and his advisors haven’t told him—is that if Indian news channels have a choice between Trump and Suryakumar Yadav, there’s no contest. SKY will fly high in the headlines, while Donald’s 21–point peace plan for Gaza will be a ticker tape news item.
Just as well, the President of the United States of America is unaware of this downgrade. Otherwise, there might be a 75 per cent tariff on T20 games.
The thing is, Trump is no match for cricket on Indian TV news. Nor is any other world news —unless it concerns Pakistan, of course.
India is being buffeted by global winds on a daily basis: Developments in New Delhi are being dictated by events or leaders in other countries, led by the US president. His decisions and other countries’ reactions, conflicts across the world, and the instability in the neighbourhood have made India’s international relations and foreign policy its domestic concerns.
Also, during Operation Sindoor, many Indians complained that the foreign news media coverage of the conflict favoured Pakistan and spread a false narrative. If that is true, you’d think Indian TV news channels would be flooded with Indian perspectives on world news. Not so.
TV news will go on and on and on about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s tweet on India’s win over Pakistan in the Asia Cup final: ‘Operation Sindoor on the games field’. Not one of them, however, will tell how Trump’s reported threat to attack Venezuela over its drug cartels might impact world oil supplies.
Indian news channels give the world a big ignore.
Unless you watch TV9 Bharatvarsh, the Hindi news channel. It delivers daylong running commentary on ‘War’ like it’s a cricket test match: Russia vs Ukraine—Day 1,327 post lunch bombing.
They have reduced this conflict and the Israel offensive in Gaza to entertainment reality shows—Bigg Boss, 11.23 pm…
Not even one bulletin?
This is folly, surely? Incomprehensible? And insensitive? Besides being against India’s interests?
Let’s take the human(e) angle first.
TV news coverage of the weekend stampede in Karur, Tamil Nadu, in which 41 people died, dwelt on the suffering of the people and the mismanagement of the crowds for hours. Rightly so.
Even the visit of actor and BJP MP Hema Malani, leading an NDA fact-finding mission in Karur, was streamed live across TV news channels.
The death toll in Gaza has exceeded 66,000. In Ukraine, over 14,000 civilians alone have died since the war began in 2022.
Indian TV channels don’t have report extensively on these war zones. But why don’t they have at least one prime time bulletin of international news each day? Shouldn’t their viewers know about the world they live in?
TV9 Bharatvarsh’s continuous coverage of Russia-Ukraine suggests that the Hindi-speaking audience is interested in the conflict. Benign self-interest should encourage news channels to cover more foreign news.
India’s global interests would also benefit. We know what happens in Washington, Tel Aviv, Kyiv, Moscow, Beijing, Tehran, Doha, Rio de Janeiro, et cetera, et cetera often has an impact on India too.
Some of it plays out domestically. The recent Asia Cup in Doha saw politics on the pitch—cricket was incidental. Of course, Indian captain Suryakumar & Co made headlines because it was cricket, and because Pakistan was defeated.
Other neighbours such as Bangladesh, Nepal, or Sri Lanka appear on news screens when there’s a political upheaval. Indians learn almost nothing about China, although it’s our most important foreign policy challenge.
Also read: Trump and Hegseth’s speeches at military gathering show America fighting a war within
It’s about will
To learn something about the world, you probably go to CNN International, BBC World, Al Jazeera, or DW.
You might switch to WION and the more recent NewsX World.
Both are Indian, English, 24/7 news channels dedicated to international developments. And yes, they go beyond Gaza and Ukraine. You’ll learn about the new Moldovan government; China-North Korea talks; the final week of the UNGA meeting; a new wave of Afghan refugees to Pakistan; Denmark receiving a drone system after airspace violations; the collapse of a school in Indonesia — and, Meryl Streep’s surprise visit to the Milan Fashion Week as she reprises her role from The Devil Wears Prada (2006). There’s lots more too.
The channels are hosted by young anchors. They use international footage and correspondents. NewsX World makes an effort to get Indian experts to speak on different issues—that’s a good beginning. However, the coverage is truly global, so you do come away with a fair idea of developments around the world each day.
They’re low-key and presumably work on low budgets. They need more experienced, well-informed anchors, with analysis from seasoned foreign affairs analysts. But at least they exist.
It’s a pity someone like Palki Sharma, previously at WION, is no longer on television. Her show, Vantage, is now on the Firstpost website.
That’s the kind of show news channels ought to produce—they have the correspondents and editors who can do it. They just need the will.
Otherwise, Donald Trump may come after them…
(Edited by Prasanna Bachchhav)