Economies are crumbling, the world order is shifting, and unemployment is on its way up, but TV news in India has more urgent matters to attend to – dissecting the specifics of a relationship between a man and his would-be mother-in-law.
After a 20-year-old man in Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh “eloped” with the mother of the woman who he was supposed to marry, Hindi news channels made it their mission to shame the duo for disrespecting Indian values.
The incident came to the fore when a man filed a missing persons complaint with the police. He claimed his 40-year-old wife Anita had fled with Rahul, their daughter’s husband-to-be, on April 7. The man also accused Rahul and Anita of fleeing with Rs 2.5 lakh in cash and jewellery.
Ever since then, news channels dedicated hours of airtime and dozens of reports to how Rahul and Anita “brought shame to their families”. Their defence of Indian values included broadcasting titillating visuals and accusing a woman of using “witchcraft” for “manipulating” a man. One channel even used paid actors to portray the imagined physical intimacy the man and the prospective mother-in-law allegedly shared.
Sensationalism in reporting on crime is not new to Hindi news channels. Even back in 2009, a research paper published by two media professors noted that Indian media’s “tilt towards sensationalism” “did not necessarily imply credible public perception of either the news content or the news channel”.
And even by those low standards, this felt like a new depth.
We looked at how mainstream Indian news channels sensationalised the incident and promoted superstition in their coverage as they played judge, lawyer and jury.
News18 India
“Saas ne kiya daamaad ka vashikaran!”
“Daamaad sang bhaagi saas ka bada khulassa: Vashikaran, kaala jadoo,..police bhi chaunki!”
“Jaadu-tona kar saas ne fasaya daamaad: taabiz baandhkar kiya vashikaran!”
These were the kinds of thumbnails and titles News 18 India used for some of its video reports on the incident to suggest that Anita used “black magic” to “manipulate” Rahul.
In a number of reports, the network reported on the accusations levelled by Rahul’s parents against Anita for using “black magic” – all without any disclaimer that the police did not make any such claims and without pointing out that such allegations are rooted in unscientific, superstitious, anti-women beliefs.
“Jaadu tona kar fasaaya saas ne daamaad,” read a title of one News18 Rajasthan report. The anchor said: “Parivaar ne dulhe ki honi waali saas par vashikaran ka aarop laga diya hai…Holi par hone waali samdhan hamare yahan rehne aayi thi, ladke ke ghar pe jab usne jo do tabeez bandh diye the, ussi ke baad se ladka ajeeb harkate karne laga tha. (The family has accused the groom's future mother-in-law of using black magic to control hi …The woman came to stay at our place [with Rahul’s family] on Holi. She then tied two amulets to the would-be groom and after that the man started doing strange things.)”
These accusations were repeated in several News18 India reports without mentioning that the man in question was a fully functional adult who was employed in Bengaluru. No one in the network’s studio thought that perhaps Rahul was capable of making his own decisions and did not need “black magic” to decide what to do in life.
In one video report, News18 Uttar Pradesh/Uttarakhand even used blurred visuals of a man and a woman sharing an intimate moment. The anchor did not explain why audiences needed to see such visuals.
“Saas ne toh hadd kar di! daamaad ke saath bhaagi, beti ka ghar ujada! (The mother-in-law has crossed all limits! She ran away with her son-in-law and destroyed her daughter’s home!” read the title of this report. The network’s anchors reprimanded Rahul and Anita for going against Indian culture and values.
IBC 24
With its coverage, IBC 24 threw objectivity, sensitivity and any pretense of fairness out the window.
“Pehle rishton ki maryaada ki taar-taar.”
“Fir hone waale daamaad ke saath faraar.”
“Aur ab shukanje mein aayi bhagodi saas.”
This is how the channel described the sequence of events soon after Rahul and Anita were traced by the police in Bihar and brought in for questioning. Text about “dignity of relationships being shattered” and a “fugitive mother-in-law” being nabbed was splashed across viewers’ screens. “Aligarh saas daamaad love story: Saas-daamaad ki ‘bhaagi hui mohabbat ka ant?’ police ne dabocha” read the title of the report.
Speaking to the police, Anita had alleged that her husband would often beat her up, but the channel couldn’t care less. While the channel showed visuals of Anita speaking to the police about her husband’s alleged abusive behavior, a voiceover said: “Tasveeron mein dikh rahi woh yahi mahila hai, jisne pehle toh apni beti ke hone waale suhaag se ishq ladaya aur fir lok laaj aur maryaada ko taar-taar kar, beti ki shayad se dus din pehle hone waale daamaad ke saath hui faraar…(The woman seen in the pictures is the one who first fell in love with her daughter's would-be husband and then, disregarding any morality and dignity, eloped with her would-be son-in-law 10 days before the wedding).”
The channel then rolled a dramatised portrayal of how they imagined Rahul and Anita spent time together. One visual had both actors almost share a kiss. How any of this was significant to the case was left for the viewer to decide.
News Nation
While some channels implied that it was Anita who used “black magic” to “manipulate” Rahul, News Nation chose a different tactic. In a “shocking revelation”, News Nation accused Rahul of “eloping” with other women on two previous occasions. Only this revelation did not come from the police – it was based on information purportedly passed on to Anita’s husband who, as you might recall, has been accused of domestic violence by his wife.
“Nayi jankaari ke mutabik, saas ko lekar faraar hua daamaad Rahul pehle bhi aise kaand kar chuka hai. Rahul pehle bhi do mahilaon ko lekar bhaag chuka hai. Ye dono mahilaein Rahul ki padosan batai jaa rahi hai. (According to new information, Rahul, the son-in-law who fled with his mother-in-law, has done such acts earlier as well. Rahul has fled with two women earlier as well. These two women are said to be Rahul’s neighbours),” announced the News Nation anchor.
“Is baat ka khulasa faraar hui saas ke pati Jitendra ne kiya hai. Jitendra ne media ko bataya ki ye mamla bada hone ke baad log unhe phone karke ye jankaari de rahe hain. Unhone kahai ki unkit patni teesri mahila hai jinki lekar woh (Rahul) faraar hua hai. Isse pehle woh do baar alag alag ladkiyon ke saath faraar ho chuka hai, lekin iss dauraan dono parivaaron ne samjhauta karwa diya tha jiss wajah se ye mamla sarwajanik nahi hua. (This matter has been revealed by Jitendra, the husband of the absconding mother-in-law. Jitendra told the media that after this matter became big, people called him and gave him this information. He said that his wife is the third woman with whom he [Rahul] has eloped. Before this, he fled with two different girls, but during this time, the families had come to an understanding due to which this matter did not become public),” she added.
Aaj Tak
Aaj Tak found it vital to discuss how many nights Rahul and Anita allegedly spent together. “Paanch raat apne daamaad ke saath rahi thi Anita, pati ko diya ye bahana (Anita stayed with her son-in-law for five nights, gave this excuse to her husband)” read the thumbnail text of a Crime Tak video report. Crime Tak is Aaj Tak’s flagship show on crime.
The description of their report read: “Aligarh ka saas daamaad case kaafi surkhiyon mein hai. Naya update bhi saamne aaya hai jisme ye patah chala hai ki Anita ke (se) apne daamaad ke saath 5 raaton tak ruki thi. ( Aligarh’s mother-in-law and son-in-law case is in the news. A new update has surfaced and it has been found that Anita stayed with her son-in-law for five nights on some pretext.)”
How did this report serve public interest? The channel did not explain.
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