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Guest Editorial, Morung Express

Although Nepal is grateful to India for the relief work following the earthquake, the Indian media has come under attack from the Nepalese.  The coverage of the tragedy by the Indian media is said to be insensitive and patronizing. 

For example, a media person asked a mother who had lost his son, ‘How do you feel?’ In another instance, a wounded person was filmed to show on camera the open wounds. The media love to increase their ratings (TRP) by claiming that they are reporting from ground zero and that they have reached the affected area before the aids arrive. The media tend to sensationalize and exaggerate whatever they cover, and in the case of a tragic event, that is a very insensitive thing to do. A blogger commented that the coverage of the earthquake was like shooting a family serial. 

Also it didn’t go down well with the people there that the coverage of the relief works by India was done in a patronizing manner. Some people reacted that the Indian media should realize that Nepal is a free country, and not a satellite territory of India. The big brother attitude of India is a reminder of how India meddles in the internal affairs of its smaller neighbor in the past. I received a picture in whatsApp where the map of India was depicted like a concerned mother, and Nepal was a baby crying on the arms of mother India. It is condescending picture. Through the internet, many Nepalese are reacting by asking the Indian media to go back home. They are saying, thanks for your aid, but we don’t need your media. #GoHomeIndianMedia was trending in twitter in Nepal for days with over 60,000 tweets.

An important message is that when we help the needy, we should respect the dignity of those who we are helping. When we do a noble job, we want a camera to capture it so that we can share it with the world. But it is possible that such a display will be degrading to the one who is at the receiving end of our charity. When we go to less developed areas in Nagaland or outside for relief work, mission trip, etc, some of us love to click pictures with dirty children and display it in social media on our return. Thereby, we may be saying, ‘Hey, I have been to a backward area and people are still like this. And see what a nice thing I have done’. Some may do it with better intention, ‘Hey, some of our folks are still living in these pathetic conditions. Let’s go and help them’. But even with good intention, if we are not careful, we may be disrespecting the other people in the photo. 

There is often the tendency to label people in backward areas as inferior, ignorant, dirty, stupid, uncivilized, etc. And the result of such a mentality is to act in a patronizing manner and impose a kind of authority over them. The charity or aid work which follows are carried out in a similar manner. But what we must realize is that the poor are not subjects or objects of pity, but equal and fellow human beings who deserve respect. They are people who are intelligent, resourceful, and quite capable of helping themselves, if not for the odd circumstances they are caught in. Charity or relief works must be done with respect for the cultural sensibilities, respect for privacy, and respect for dignity of the receivers.