SAJAD PADDER
Leaving the border issue on the back-burner and concentrating on the economic relationship worked in case of India and China partly because the idea was supported by the Indian media. The Chinese liberalization programme is touted by Indian TV channels and newspapers as a role model India should emulate, the reason being that the Indian media themselves have been the biggest beneficiary of the policy of economic reforms. Advertising from domestic and transnational companies has changed the face of the Indian media industry.
But Indian newspapers, TV channels and the entertainment media have largely played a negative role in shaping Indo-Pak relations. The newspapers driven by circulation figures and TV channels by Television Rating Points (TRPs) have opted for sensational reporting instead of deeper and insightful analysis of India–Pakistan relations. Reporting about Pakistan varies from one extreme to the other. Either the Pakistanis are demonized, or the romantic a