The great joke that is Indian media – part 2 *must read*

Thanks to Shadow Warrior on whose blog I first came across this extraordinary piece of reporting: “Who says Indian Media isn’t biased?“*about the mass conversion of Dalits into Buddhism last Sunday in Mumbai.

After reading that, I was left wondering how many actually converted (the point is not trivial and this is not about conversions per se – I will write a separate post on that)…but the links below illustrate – once again – how sloppy, inaccurate and biased reporting passes for respectable journalism in India these days… Now read on (I have added The Hindu, TOI, Rediff and several other sources to the original post):

Here is the puzzle – just how many Dalits converted to Buddhism last Sunday in Mumbai?

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The Hindu‘s front page news story “One lakh people convert to Buddhism”

The Times of India: “Though the number of people present at Mahalaxmi Race Course was a little less than the expected figure of 100,000, it was definitely one of the biggest mass conversions in modern Indian history”

NDTV:It was the biggest mass conversion in recent history as over one lakh Hindu tribals converted to Budhism in Mumbai on Sunday”

Rediff: “Failing to find an identity in the caste-dominated Indian society even 60 years after independence, about 50,000 Dalits converted at the function”

Reuters: “About 50,000 Indian low-caste Hindus and nomadic tribespeople converted to Buddhism before a vast crowd on Sunday in the hope of escaping the rigidity of the ancient Hindu caste system and finding a life of dignity”

IHT (Via Associated Press): “About 2,000 low-caste Hindu Indians bowed before orange-robed monks and recited prayers as they converted to Buddhism in a mass ceremony Sunday that they said would bring them dignity in a society that considers them “untouchables.”

MSN India mentioned the same figure (2000) as did AOL.

BBC: “Several thousand tribal and Dalit Hindus in India have converted en masse to Buddhism at a ceremony in Mumbai….”We estimate that close to 5,000 Dalits have chosen the path towards Buddhism by the end of the day,” said Shravan Gaikwad, representative of the Samatha Sainik Dal, a Dalit group…. ….the number of people converted was much less than the 100,000 expected…says the BBC’s Zubair Ahmed.

Same number (5000) has been reported by Yahoo News.

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Now to a more serious point…Is there still any doubt in anyone’s mind why the caste system is the biggest stumbling block in getting Hindus to unite?

Related posts:
Utterly shameful and inexcusable

Periyar was against Brahminism, not Brahmins (excerpts)

The great joke that is Indian media

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Please keep sending me links to other similar stories either via email ( jai DOT dharma AT gmail.com) or via comments here – pl. note that when you leave a comment, your email is NOT published.

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