Institute of South Asian Studies, Singapore, Email: isastsm@nus.edu.sg.
The secular image of the Indian democracy has been tarnished by the communal riots of 1984 and 2002, which would be considered a blot on the social fabric of any civilised society. The anti-Sikh riots in 1984 took place in the aftermath of Indira Gandhi's assassination. In the Gujarat riots hundreds of innocent Muslims were killed, and it took place immediately after the Godhra episode in which a bogey was allegedly burnt by a mob and 58 Hindus in it died. This paper uses the coverage of both these riots as case studies to analyse whether the media has actually become bolder in its coverage of communal riots. The reason for using the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and Gujarat riots as case studies is that in the period between these two riots, India has witnessed a significant transformation in the media; a large number of television channels have emerged to cover various events. The two episodes were also perfect case studies, because there is one stark contrast between the two episodes. While there was no electronic media in 1984, there was a large number of TV channels which covered the 2002 Gujarat riots and provided on the spot information on the communal violence. The paper examines the drastic change in the Indian media coverage of riots.
anti-Sikh riots, Godhra, Indian democracy, communal violence
