Biased coverage of the Amarnath protests

Chindu's double standards in covering the Amarnath dispute is appalling. Praveen Swami, while covering the firing against the mob marching to cross the LoC, writes :

Police in the remote mountain town of Kishtwar killed two members of a mob that attacked homes belonging to the region’s Hindu minority.

He does not name the suspects nor does he make any mention of the community of the attackers. Good journalism, if consistently done.

However, two lines down, he adds:

Earlier, Hindu chauvinist mobs initiated several arson attacks against Gujjar Muslims’ homes in and around Jammu.

http://www.hindu.com/2008/08/13/stories/2008081360960100.htm

Strong words. They aren't even "alleged" attackers. They are chauvinists, Hindus,arsonists and brutal attackers . I am amazed that he managed to pack so much into a single line.The benefit of doubt, which is so liberally awarded for some attackers, is denied outright.The principle of not identifying the community of the attackers, that was adopted just a couple of lines above, has been kissed goodbye. Chindu's commitment to secularism and its "unflinching" adherence to the highest principles of journalism is truly hair raising.

Interview with Abdullah

For a pointed question whether he condemns Pakistani interference in J&K protests on TimesNOW, Farooq Abdullah says Pakistan is a part of the J&K issue. He is happy that Pakistan did not take the issue to UN. Condemn what?
He also says that the firings were unprovoked. Intelligence says protesters fired at the police. Whom would you believe? Which side would you take?

Fwd: Pakistan, Saudi Arabia bankrolled Amarnath agitation

Thanks to Girish for the link.
At the time when N.Ram lashed out at the Governor, we raised some questions. Ram made some pretty harsh statements against the Governor. He then went on to blame the BJP and Islamists, fabricated lies, and tried to mislead the readers. Instead of supporting the Goverment's responsibility towards the citizens, Liar-in-Chief attacked the BJP on the pretext of overheads.

As in the context of islamic terrorism (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)Ram did not make any attempt to trace the root cause of violence or it would have dug up some inconvenient truths. We are now hearing confirmation that the violence was sponsored by the usual suspects.

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia bankrolled Amarnath agitation: Azad - Yahoo! India News

In his first public appearance in this border town, former chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad Sunday accused Pakistan and Saudi Arabia of bankrolling the parties behind the violent agitation on the Amarnath land row.

Lashing out at all the groups that made an 'issue' of the allotment of the land to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) and subsequent cancellation of the same, Azad said: 'Less than one percent of the population of the state was involved in these agitations, which were being carried out with money provided by Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.'

The Muslim-majority Kashmir Valley was rocked by violent protests after the former Congress-led government transferred 40 hectares of forest land in south Kashmir to the SASB, the temple trust of the Himalayan Amarnath cave shrine.

The Hindu : Opinion / Editorials : In god's name

When Jammu and Kashmir Governor S. K. Sinha demits office on Wednesday morning and flies to New Delhi on a government jet, the ground beneath his feet will be ablaze with hate. Sharpening a communal divide, engendering street violence, uniting anti-India secessionists, and precipitating a showdown between the Congress and People’s Democratic Party: these will be remembered as this Governor’s abiding legacies.

The critics were, on point of fact, wrong, for no land was actually transferred to the SASB.