Politicians & Media Influence Narratives All Over The World

Empathy is always selective and unequal. I will take my son to the doctor if he is unwell, and only give the doctor's address if my neighbour's son is sick. This applies to communities and nations. Countries are sad and angry when their kith and kin are annihilated, but are insensitive to the destruction of their neighbours who probably belong to the same religion or ideology.

Gaza killings get more attention than killings in Yemen by fellow Arabs, but the Muslim world is quiet — ditto with Sudan, where 1,50,000 have died in the civil wars. ‘Jews need to be wiped out from the face of the earth,’ scream the various terrorist organisations. Hence, extreme hostility towards an enemy leads to intense empathy towards one's own tribe. This garners traction all over. Hamas wins over all other groups and is favoured by the US AID too clandestinely, and barbarism is perpetuated. But is this ‘empathy’ when there is severe hatred towards victims of the adversary who are probably innocent?

Muslims largely across the world do not condemn the April 7 terrorist attack on Israel, and others do not show an iota of sadness towards hapless victims of Gaza and other countries. True empathy crosses all borders. Similarly, the murder of an American missionary of Chinese origin in the Andaman and Nicobar islands a few years ago got worldwide condemnation, but the torture of minority Hindus and Christians in Bangladesh and Pakistan across decades is completely ignored by the West and their media. They are not us.

The Rich and Powerful decide the flow of compassion and calibrate it too. The victims of the Pahalgam terrorist attack occupied more space rightfully, but the civilians killed by Pakistani shelling are overlooked. Political leaders and the media also influence the narratives all over the world and influence empathy. Distorted facts can create misplaced empathy and lead to savagery, too.

What Is It That We Should Do?

In one voice, all of us should condemn the death of innocents at Hathras and the atrocities against the Hindus recently in Bangladesh, the genocide against Uyghurs by China, the massacre of Christians in Nigeria, Syria and others. Similarly, all of us should ask the BJP to rusticate the politician in MP who made unparliamentary remarks against our decorated Army officer immediately.

As empathy is selective and unequal, leaders should make a conscious effort to condemn all violence. Some phrases may come from the heart and others from the neurons through effort. When humaneness is consciously uttered with effort by the voice box, it will slowly seep into the soul and become part of us. Ulterior motives and electoral arithmetics can cause a mirage of compassion.

Powerful nations go unpunished, and their atrocities are ignored. There are labelled terrorist organisations and a huge, unofficial terrorist group that has killed millions of civilians and invaded many countries, causing mass destruction all over. The cat and mouse game played by the Goliath with criminal terror groups has caused more terror attacks. Equal denunciation and action against all forms of violence can only help peace to prosper.

Silence or exaggerated one-sided censure against savagery will lead to the destruction of the mother earth. In a bipolar or multipolar world, the middle ground needs to be occupied. In Covid-19, they all said if everyone is safe, we are all safe. This maxim applies here.

Published on: Monday, June 02, 2025, 10:42 AM IST