Article Type: Research Article Article Citation: Narendra Kumar. (2020). MEDIATIZATION AND
STRATEGIC APPROPRIATION: POLITICAL MOBILISATION THROUGH MEDIA. International
Journal of Research -GRANTHAALAYAH, 8(6), 15-19. https://doi.org/10.29121/granthaalayah.v8.i6.2020.212 Received Date: 06 May 2020 Accepted Date: 20 June 2020 Keywords: Media Public Opinion Politicisation of Religion Ideologically Constructed It is a well-known fact that the media plays a very crucial role in framing public opinion and it can influence the decision-making process as well as the future of a country. Despite being divided on the lines of caste, religion and language India is lagging its diversity in newsrooms all over the country. The essence of religion has been changed with space and time and through modern influences. Religion plays an important role in the lives of people. So, how religion becomes politicized concept? In other words, how to understand politicization of religion? The essence of religion varies from time to time, depends on the influence of political circumstances. Religion is a powerful phenomenon which is ideologically constructed and institutionalized for social domination. The main concern is that how the relationship between religion and politics is reflected through the media.
1. INTRODUCTIONReligion is the most
powerful and influential force in human society. It influences all the institutions
of society such as political, economic, and family etc. It has shaped the
people’s relationship with each other and is also responsible for human
actions. Religious groups organize their collective religious expression.
Religion plays an important role in a person's private and social life. It has
the power to influence people’s ideology, practicality and emotionality. It is
kind of powerful tool which is particularly used for political gain such as
power and position in political set up. Furthermore, politics has used
religion, to institutionalized religion, to perpetuate ruling class ideologies,
to justify their beliefs. Hence political parties majorly depend upon religious
sentiments for their own profits. Likewise, Marx says that the function of religion
is to legitimize structures of social domination. The relationship between
religion and politics is not new. These two areas are segregated yet it is
important to understand the appropriate relation between two. We can compare
politics and religion to “this worldly and otherworldly” because on the one
hand religions speak of other worldly concerns such as life, death etc. On the
other hand politics majorly concerned with daily life
and deals with power and positions. Religion identity plays an important role
because it is helpful in political gain and sometimes gives birth to religio-nationalism. So, this culture religious identity
helps political leaders in terms of support.
Religion identity is simply effective in public sphere because through
social interaction these religious practices, values and beliefs transmit to
each other. Arvind Rajagopal
shows that the use of the cinema is responsible to blend historical facts with Hindutava mythology and create a kind of theological
realism (Udupa p.13). The Indian televisions try to show the Hindu epic in
serial form like Ramayana. The widely watched epic serial of Ramayana on Doordarshan created a ‘mythic idea of history… whose
precise status as fact or fiction was not relevant’ (2007: 211). As, the depiction
of the status of narratives on television never be clear whether fact or
fiction. In the same way Jean Baudrillard says, that the original version lost
behind the media narratives. Media always express their constructed ideologies
in the language of choice and freedom. Political parties try to spread the
communal feelings so that they win the elections and come to power. To take the
example of research conducted by Indian social institute that, Hindutava ideology is basically constructed by BJP. They
are uniting all the Hindus in the name of “Ram” by manipulating communal
feelings along with its organizations such as, RSS, Bajrang Dal, and VHP etc.
To misuse religious sentiments for political gain is dangerous for democracy.
Furthermore, media plays a powerful role as it is a fourth pillar of democracy,
but we need to look at that media is economic institute and always in the favor
of ruling government for its own survival and profit. I would also like to show
how the series of serials, movies and news promoting Hindutva ideology and
politicize the religion. How these ideologies influence the individuals by
promoting a unity as a sense of nationhood among Hindus which results into the
emergence of Hindu Nationalism. Different political
parties have different ideologies and they target different religious
communities for their vote banks. Hence they emerge as
champions of their own communities but they are champions of their political
interests rather than their community’s interest. It is important to examine
how civic nationalism degenerated into ethnic nationalism and to theorize a
reason that why a particular ethnic identity has a tendency for mass appeal and
politicization (Bose, 2009; p.7). There are few reasons point out by Bose that
politicization of religion in India is firstly, the result of the anxiety of
dominant Hindu groups towards several policies for minorities and lower caste
Hindus. These dominant communities feel most threatened by these policies.
Secondly, through manipulation of the mass media for religious ends. Thirdly,
state policies also produce ethnic consciousness (Bose, 2009; p. 18). Hindu
nationalism is simply a conservative ideology which aims to preserve the
privileges of existing elite groups. Furthermore, Hindu nationalists were
inspired by European fascism and majorly concerned with modernization and
industrialization (Swamy, p.76). In a country like
India which is heterogeneous in terms of ethno-linguistic, ethnic identities
simply represents as a powerful instrument for influencing voter’s behavior.
These identity based appeal is more effective in
increasing the salience of those ethnic identity. Furthermore, the
politico-religious campaign within India has been occurred in 1991 national
elections. The main purpose of which was to increase of Hindu sentiments in the
general population. Media framing influence political outcomes. In recent census it
is said that Hindu religion is divided into different castes and sub-castes.
So, how to bring these diverse and pluralistic belief systems in single
platforms? So, it is necessary to understand society on the basis of democratic
sphere. So, the uniform organizations such as RSS, VHP etc
try to politicize of Hindu religion through the aspect of nationalism for
religious and political benefits. These organizations like RSS views themselves
as cultural organization not political party. They have applied several methods
to unify Hindus such as by building of temple at Ayodhya.
There were more reasons by which the rise of Hindu nationalist occurred such as
BJP, by making Hindi as a national language and by broadcasting the televised
serials which depicts the Hindu epics to create a sense of shared cultural
identity among Hindus. 2.
Mediatized
Hindutva: Ideological State Apparatus
During 1980’s and
1990’s the Hindu nationalist project is strongly linked to the mass media such
as television. Media tries to promote religious nationalism likewise Stanley Tambiah asserts that “mass politics and mass religious
fervor in many places now make efficacious and explosive use of communication
media and high-tech devices. Aside from radio and films, followed by
television, perhaps the most sensational recent development is the use of VCRs
and audiocassettes, by means of which both villagers in remote rural areas and
the unlettered in cramped urban slums can hear messages and see visual images
propagated by leaders and ideologues from metropolitan centers”. Sunil khilnani states that “For many in India, modernity has been
adopted through the conservative filters of religious piety, moralism, and
domestic virtue. This has spawned a novel Hinduism, where holographic gods
dangle on well-used key chains and cassettes of devotional ragas are played in
traffic jams.” In India, people are against modern values or they use modern
values to a particular extent because of their cultural integrity, traditional
values and religious duties. Furthermore, the important point to notice is that
mass media was fundamental to the spreading of religious nationalist ideology to
far-flung villages and towns in all over the country. Thus, the process
modernization did not successfully crush the role of religion instead this
modernization process proved to be an essential vehicle for the expansion of
Hindu Nationalism. Hindu national movement is limited to certain elite groups. In recent times
there are numerous online practices/activities done by self
declared “internet Hindus” which are prominent, they constitute the
group of right wing Hindu nationalist in India. These
“internet Hindus” are active in gathering texts and arguments which simply
portray the ideas of Hinduism and they share them aggressively into online
media such as twitter, facebook, youtube
etc. They are more excited to share, store, and trace these information and
debates on Hindu mythologies, Hindu cultures, Hindu deities and Hindu kingdoms.
These are considered as a new form of political agency that emerges along with
social media. Furthermore, such practices are also responsible for producing
religious differences and conflict within the country and also not good for
democratic environment. The main aim of this online archiving by Hindu
nationalist volunteers is to develop a sense of belongingness among religious
political communities. This is an important online practice for religious
nationalism. Contemporary media tries to show how different religions expressed
and experience different forms of popular religiosity. The role of the
media in people’s religious identity has grown. But, the most importantly context
is important in which these both issues are located i.e. media and religion. If
we talk about the relationship between media and religion, then, we simply need
to divide media into two distinct categories. First is traditional media and
second is modern media. In contemporary period the main concern is towards
religion and modern media. It simply claimed the question of religion and
modernization in the traditional world. The traditional world which is being
faced by the modern world but its identity has been confused and in contrast
with western “otherness”. So, the complete transmission of traditional world
into modern world cannot be possible. When traditional encounters with modern
world there are no concrete patterns and hence perplexed, as well as when
traditional world face materialized modernization they essentially make their
relationship with that (H. Khojaste, A. Kalantari,
2009; p.287). The best suitable example of a traditional world is India which
is a traditional one in terms of its culture, religious values, practices etc and simultaneously it encounters with modern media. The
nature of media in the modern world is different from that of the traditional
world. If we move towards looking up at the media institutions in modern world
the results found different because through the emergence of modern media there
was declining in religious institutions, social and private life. Hence, this
results into the rise of the power of media and the decline of the importance
of religion (H. Khojaste, A. Kalantari, 2009; p.290).
Hence, some thinkers have pointed out that there should be some limitations on
modern media. Furthermore, some steps have been taken to produce religious
programs through establishing religious media in modern world. So, people in
recent decades have used radios and televisions to revive religion. On the
other hand traditional media were always helpful in
spreading and stabilizing religious culture.
Media tries to
compete with the concepts derived by religious institutions by creating general
concepts of rituals and rites (Horsfield, 2003:222). So, when certain religious
customs were spreading and stabilizing by the media itself in the society it is
termed as religious media rituals which is distinct from non-religious rituals,
that emerged by negative effects of modernization in western countries. These
media rituals (religious and non-religious) are publicized by modern media such
as through television and radio. 3. MEDIA AND STRATEGIC FOCALISATIONFurthermore, social
media is also responsible for the construction of identities and the sites like
facebook and twitter suggest a form of self identity. The main concern of facebook
and twitter is that a person’s individual opinion matters or taken into account.
The relation of social media and Hindutva is changing the ‘role of the public
sphere’ in the Indian society. The category of youth is dominating on social
media with different perspectives. Fractured Consciousness absorbs the minds of
the youth, with their participation on social media. The scenario of digital
expansion reports the idea of expansion of distortion. In their study Yral Report 20161 found that at least 136 million Indians
are active users on social media. According to a world bank report (2016), with
around 30% penetration of the internet, in India, the facebook
users approximately more than 241 million have already there (The next web
report,2017). On the other side the penetration of whatsapp
has increased with approximately 200 million users. It shows that social media
is emerging like a sphere where the role of agency is changing. The main reason for
the construction of such identities is not for artistic purpose but for
commercial reason. Anthony Giddens argues that the concept of Facebook and
Twitter ensures self reflexivity and the ability to
construct and develop one’s own biographical narrative or identity. Social
media is a democratic space and democracy wants the active participation of
citizens. Social media is a space where anyone can share their views, opinions
and ideologies. Social media is helpful and play an important role in deepening
of democracy. People have freedom of speech and expression in different forms
through modern media. Hence, social media has reinforced values and ideologies.
It is also helpful to build peace and social consensus. Media can play a
positive role in democracy but it totally depends on enabling environment that
allows them to do so and if it is free from the media owner and the state. But
media can also be responsible for withering away the democracy by playing
anti-democratic roles through violence and division. Amartya Sen sees the media
as a watchdog of the government functionaries and states that “A free press and
the practice of democracy contribute greatly to bringing out information that
can have an enormous impact on policies for famine prevention… a free press and
an active political opposition constitute the best early-warning system a
country threatened by famine could have.” Furthermore, it is
important to provide relevant information by media to different sections of the
society on particular issues especially to the poor section. Otherwise they
won’t be able to aware about their rights and without the inclusion of poor
people in the public sphere, democratic roots won’t be possible. Likewise, for
Habermas, Reliable information is an important constituent of any democratic
society. Media considered as fourth estate in democracy. It provides the space
for alternative ideas for debate and discussions. It plays an important role in
the formation of public sphere. In India public
service broadcasting has given much importance after independence to bring
several changes within society. AIR (All India Radio) and Doordarshan
had the major responsibility of to provide education programs along with
information and entertainment as first public service broadcasters within the
country. Furthermore, it is important to notice that the public service
broadcasting system is closely associated or identified with the state in the
country. In other simple words press is not free from the state. Media
institutions come under the control of the state hence; they represent the news
and events according to the ruling government ideology as media is majorly an economical and political organization. Another problem
within the field of media is about ownership. Such as, with the emergence of a
competitive market in the field of media, the public service broadcasters had
been challenged by private entities. Hence, it results in the media become more
economic entity rather than democratic institution. So, media should monitor on
professional ethical standards because it is accountable to general population. 4.
CONCLUSION
All type’s social
media involve the practice of developing Hindutava
ideology such as through facebook, twitter, blogs,
posts etc. The positive aspect of this social media is that people can express
their opinions, views and ideologies through this modern media. Simultaneously,
it is important to notice that a particular type of ideology is developing,
which is dangerous for democratic growth of society because the other groups
and minorities are simply being avoided by social media. I would like to
conclude this paper by giving certain examples from contemporary media in
India. My major concern in this paper is generally on social media but here I
am particularly focusing on televisions. In contemporary times the Hindutva
ideology simply reflects through the series of serials such as series of Ramayana
and Mahabharta, Devyanshi,
Shani, Nagin these entire serials simply depicts the
Hindu culture, ideology and mythology to revive Hindu religion. There is a need
to understand these series of serials deeply. These series are not simply for
the audience or according to the taste of the viewers but the great politics
involved within it. It is important to notice that how media tries to
politicize the religion. How media tries to influence the general population by
reinforcing these Hindutava ideologies. Hence, media
portrays news and events according to the taste of ruling government for its
own survival and profit. They not merely provide limited information related to
particular ideology but they are also responsible for the production and
reproduction of those ideologies. The concept of politicization of religion
requires deep understanding and observation. The relationship between media,
politics and religion cannot be easily understandable. SOURCES OF FUNDINGNone. CONFLICT OF INTERESTNone. ACKNOWLEDGMENTNone. REFERENCES[1] Bose, A. Hindutva and the Politicization of Religious Identity in India. Journal of Peace, Conflict and Development, 2009, 1-30. [2] Coronel, S. S. The Role of the Media in Deepening Democracy, (https://doksi.net/get.php?) 2003, 1-23. [3] Dutta, S. Social Responsibility of Media and Indian Democracy. Global Media Journal, 2011, 1-8. [4] Horsfield, P. J. (2003). "Development of Religion in the Age of Media", in Hoover, Stewart M. and Lundby, Knut Open-mindedness in Media, Religion and Culture. Translated by: Mas'oud Armenia. Soroosh, 2003. [5] Khilnani, S. The idea of India. London: Penguin Books, 2003. [6] Khojaste, H., & Kalantari, A. The Relationship between Media and Religion. Asian Journal of Social Science, 2009, 284-304. [7] Rajagopal, A. Politics after television: Religious nationalism and the reshaping of the Indian public. UK: Cambridge University Press, 2001. [8] Rajagopal, A. The Gujarat experiment and Hindu national realism: Lessons for secularism in A. Needham and R. Sunder Rajan (Eds.), The crisis of secularism in India. Duke university Press, 2007, 208-224. [9] SJ*, M. D., & SJ**, A. F. (n.d.). Politicization of Religious Identity: A Case of Mangalore. [10] Swamy, A. R. Ideology, Organization and Electoral Strategy of Hindu Nationalism: What’s Religion Got to Do with It?, 2003, 73-100. [11] Tambiah, S. Levelling Crowds: Ethnonationalsit conflicts and collective violence in South Asia. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996. [12] Udupa, S. Online Archiving as Claims to History: New Media and Religious Politics in India. MMG Working Paper, 2014, 14-10, 1-30. [13] https://www.livemint.com/Opinion/ZAHBp4YDLp1BcCnlIuwFON/Hate-speech-and-the-role-of-social-medi a.html
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