On April 27th, 2017, Indian veteran actor Vinod Khanna lost the fight of his continuous battle with cancer. While the entire Indian media was flashing the news of his death, a young soldier was martyred trying to save the nation from yet another attempt of infiltration by terrorists. But the news coverage of his sacrifice barely made it to our TV screens.
So why is the death of Bollywood’s ‘Amar’ making more headlines than our ‘Amar Jawaan’? I tried to demystify that for you.
The Kupwara Attack
On the same day that Vinod Khanna passed away another tragedy had shaken the borders of our country. A group of three heavily armed terrorists attempted a suicide attack on an Army base in the Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir.
Three soldiers including a Captain succumbed to the attack leaving behind seven others injured. The terrorists were trying to breach the security of the Panzgam camp near Chowkibal in Kupwara.
The soldiers did kill two militants and captured one alive but unfortunately lost their lives. The brave countrymen were later identified as 26-year-old Captain Ayush Yadav, Subedar Bhoop Singh Gujjar and Naik BV Ramanna.
Also Read: The Price Of Being Loyal To His Nation Didn’t Come Cheap For This Court Martialled Officer
The Reporting Of The Attack
In the past one year, there have been more than a dozen such attacks on Army camps in Jammu and Kashmir in which over 35 soldiers have lost their lives. The number of such attacks has seen a consistent rise over the last decade. It clearly throws light on the terrifying and threatening rise of militancy in the state.
But did we know about that? Of course not. Because we are more interested in bashing the Snapchat’s CEO over a comment that he may or may not have said, but not about the lives of the soldiers.
The reporting of the Kupwara attack has been so little that it almost makes me wonder if it’s even worth being a soldier in this country. They will have protests if a minority man dies in the NCR, but wouldn’t flash a single piece of news for the men who risk their lives every day for this country.
Obsession With The Glamour World
There’s no denying that Indians are obsessed with the cinema. Anything that our TV or film actors do makes headlines instantly. More often than not, the news of Virat Kohli flying to seeing Anushka Sharma is deemed headline worthy by our beloved Indian media houses. Talk about priorities!
That’s not it. It’s absurd when I turn on my TV or even log onto my social media, so much of the content of their constantly reappearing news is just about what celebrities do.
What I fail is understand is when did we become a generation that is more influenced by the hero fighting on screen than the one fighting on our borders? Because I can’t seem to figure that out.
The reckless and careless Indian media is to be blamed as well. How complacently they can miss out on a piece of news as important as this, is beyond me. I DO NOT condemn the reporting of Vinod Khanna’s death but only the overshadowing of the Kupwara attack.
All in all what I’m waiting for is a revolution. One that would actually enforce some worthwhile news reporting instead of useless hogwash!
Image Credits: Google Images
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