More Hypocrisy By The Times of India

 
PUBLISHED on the Internet: Dec. 18, 2005.
 

FOR FAVOR OF PUBLICATION AND WIDE CIRCULATION

I have had occasion frequently to highlight the hypocrisy of the Times of India, Bombay's flagship English daily. Today, we have yet more evidence of this.

Since about June – July this year, the Times launched a tabloid version, the Bombay Mirror, in order to take on its main rival, the Mid-Day published by the Islamo-Communist Inquilab Group.

With the failure of the Mirror to sell, the Times now distributes the Mirror complementary as a supplement to the Times.

In today's edition of the Mirror (Sunday, December 18, 2005, page 19), we see highlighted a large section under the caption, "America's Killer Kids".

This section, which covers nearly fifty percent of the tabloid page, covers two incidents.

AMERICA'S KILLER KIDS

Teen kills father fearing reprisal for failing class

Boy shot him and then set house on fire; will be tried as an adult

If convicted Watts faces Life in Prison. He is not eligible for the Death penalty because he's a juvenile

 Santa Clara, California: A 15-year-old boy allegedly killed his father, then set their home on fire because he was afraid his father would find out he was failing some classes, prosecutors said.

Ryan Watts was charged on Friday with murdering his father, 50-year-old John E. Bruner, who was initially believed to have died in the fire earlier this week. He was charged as an adult.

Watts was arrested Wednesday after an autopsy determined that Bruner died from multiple gunshot wounds and not from the fire, Santa Clara police said.

According to court documents, Watts told police he took a .45 handgun from a safe in his father's bedroom and stashed it in his room shortly before the killing.

Court documents allege he shot his father in the head at close range on Monday, then set the body on fire because it was too heavy to carry to the backyard, where he had planned to bury it.

Watts hid the gun and went to a Taco Bell fast-food restaurant before calling emergency services to report the fire, the documents said.

Watts' parents apparently were separated, and he had been staying at his mother's home since the fire, police said.

If convicted, Watts faces life in prison. He is not eligible for the death penalty because he is a juvenile.

Watts is expected to enter a plea during a December 22 court appearance. [Agencies]

Teacher dies after 12-year-old slaps her

Had asked the girl to leave a school party for creating trouble before

Police said a fight broke out and the girl hit the teacher. Moments later the teacher passed out and had a heart attack

 New York: A teacher who doubled as school safety inspector suffered a fatal heart attack after the police said she was struck by a 12-year-old girl.

Police said the girl was waiting on line to attend a dance at a middle school in New York city about 6 p.m. on Friday when safety inspector Vivian Samuels, 56, asked her to leave.

The school's principal wanted the girl removed because of an incident that took place earlier in the day.

Police said a fight broke out and the girl hit Samuels.

The girl was restrained with the aid of two other safety inspectors. But moments later, police said, Samuels passed out and had a heart attack.

She was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

The girl was being questioned by investigators late on Friday, and police said charges were pending.

School safety inspectors are mostly civilian employees of the New York Police Department and do not carry guns.

They are tasked with providing security and ensuring the safety of students, faculty and visitors in New York City Public School buildings, acording to the police department.

Samuels had worked for the police department since 1981. [Agencies]

The large, sensationalist coverage provided to these two incidents contrasts sharply with the reporting of two incidents in India which are buried at the left-bottom of the page in the main Times of India (Sunday, December 18, 2005), on page 6, in a tiny display that is easily missed:

Student Kills Teacher

 Basti, Uttar Pradesh: A school teacher was shot dead by a student for complaining about the latter's behavior to his parents.

Principal Held

 Guwahati, Assam: A private school principal was among the two persons arrested for drug peddling after the police seized 300 grams of heroin from them.

Not only were these reports buried in an obscure corner, they are also very brief and sketchy.

Have they been paraphrased?

I ask: Is there any good and logical reason why these four reports have been treated differently? Why were the American reports highlighted "America's Killer Kids", but the Indian reports not highlighted?

If one were being honest, would it not make sense to put all four reports together and contrast them?

Or is it true that the Times is working hard in order to justify its claim to the title of "The Jingostan Times"?

Evidently, the Times of Jingostan wishes to flatter its Indian readers with the notion that American kids are, like the Americans, a bunch of dirty ignorant barbarians and parricides, in contrast with which, Indian kids and their parents are veritable paragons of virtue, wisdom and understanding!

Or any other of your conclusions are as good as mine.


Lúcio Mascarenhas, Bombay.
(Author of The Aarti Controversy).

STOP PRESS

 Madras, Tamilnadu, India: We have a rerun of the same dreary news from India Magna: Victims of the recent floods who had queued outside a government school in driving rain to collect relief stampeded after the gates were opened. Some 42 people were killed. This is typical of Indians; they cannot stand in queues and await their turn, but must make a bull run for things, working on the Darwinian maxim, Survival of the fitest. The same thing had happened when relief for the December 2004 Tsunami was being distributed! Over to India Magna! [Yahoo News]

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