Cairo Calling; ‘News Jihad’; Timid US
Opinion Watch
Cairo Calling
India and Egypt ties are now 75 years old. Egypt is also an African pivot for India, with the even bilateral trade thriving. Indian corporate is most visible in Egypt. While India aims for fourth largest economy slot in the world, Egypt certainly gives India an access to the next growth story in Africa.
Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, Egypt’s President, was the Chief Guest at the Republic Day Parade, an honour reserved for special friends of India, while his country’s contingent also took part in the parade. The Asian Age in an Editorial has delved into the significance of the moment, opining that the ties are gaining strength with the non-alignment partnership now evolving into strategic partnership. By 2028, the bilateral trade will touch $12 billion, said the daily, adding that the free trade agreement (FTA) could give new wings to the economic aspects of the relations. The daily also underlined that Egypt wants to ride the Indian IT juggernaut and also the financial muscle to give new legs to the small and medium industries.
From Jawaharlal Nehru to Narendra Modi, Indian political leadership has always held warm relations with its Egyptian counterpart, which is enriched with a vibrant Indian diaspora and the reach of India’s soft power, jncluding the cinema. Amitabh Bachchan and Shahrukh Khan are highly popular in Egypt. At the DefExpo in Gandhinagar, India had showcased its capabilities in the defence goods productions to the African countries. India aims to export $25 billion of defence goods soon. Most importantly, India must rescue Africa from the tentacles of China’s debt-trap policy for which Egypt should be an African pivot for India.
‘News Jihad’
Switch on the television at any time during the day or the evening, and one may come across only bile, hatred. TV news channels are rancid pickles of Indian journalism, which shame the profession, which stands on its feet solely for service to the people.
The Pioneer in an Editorial headlined ‘News Jihad’ has opined on the Supreme Court’s remarks that the “television channels are dividing the society, while being agenda-driven and compete to sensationaolise the news”, and stated that description is entirely true. The Noida-based daily lamented that hate-mongering from the news channels has grown exponentially. The daily was opining on the remarks of the Supreme Court Justices KM Joseph and BV Nagarathna, saying that the vocabulary used by the TV anchors are same as heard in the agenda shrill in the public discourse, which cannot be a mere coincidence. It also stated that “all you need is a foul-mouthed anchor to provoke the panel”.
Incidentally, the discussion panel in television is chosen with care by checking into their shrill strength and skills for cock fight. The media heads of the political parties have for long been saying that they send their spokespersons to TV studios for cockfight. Should we be ashamed? No, the audience deserves this gutter, for they promote them with viewership. The people have equal stake in the state of the Indian media’s slip into the abyss.
Timid US
The Hindu in an Editorial has taken a grim view of two gun-shooting incidents this month, which left 18 people dead. California’s Monterey Park shooting left 11 dead, while seven were killed at Half Moon Bay in North California. The Chennai-based daily opined that gun violence is a serious challenge for the world’s most developed country. The daily also stated that there had been 17 incidents of shooting in different states of the US this month. It’s well known that the gun industry dictates the US politics, and politicians there indeed have blood on their hands.
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