Western Media’s Misrepresentation of Indian Policies: A Response to the Guardian
The Guardian’s recent article, which unfairly targets the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and paints India’s internal policies as discriminatory, is a glaring example of the Western media’s consistent pattern of biased reporting when it comes to India. It perpetuates a narrative aimed not just at misinforming the global audience, but at undermining India’s sovereign ability to govern its diverse population with integrity and fairness.
The characterization of Yogi Adityanath, a democratically elected leader, as a “hardline Hindu monk” is not only disrespectful but reveals a clear agenda. His policies, which are aimed at ensuring health, safety, and regulatory compliance, have been twisted to promote communal discord. The Guardian’s narrative ignores the legitimate concerns about food safety and sanitation in restaurants, concerns that any responsible government would address. These measures, applied uniformly, seek to protect the public from health hazards—not to target any specific community.
The insinuation that this policy is a thinly veiled attack on Muslims is an unjustified leap. India’s vibrant democracy, upheld by the rule of law, has systems in place to address concerns of all citizens, regardless of religion. To suggest that Muslim-owned businesses are being deliberately targeted based on unsubstantiated claims from a few individuals is irresponsible journalism at best, and malicious at worst.
India has long been a diverse country where Hindus, Muslims, and people of many other faiths coexist. While incidents of communal tension do occur, to broadly label Indian policies as discriminatory reflects a profound ignorance of the ground realities. Indian authorities at the federal and state levels are more than capable of managing domestic issues without interference from foreign media, whose involvement often exacerbates tensions rather than helps resolve them.
Furthermore, the article’s suggestion that these policies are a means to promote “anti-Muslim conspiracy theories” under the Modi administration is not only provocative but deliberately misleading. The Indian judiciary has already stepped in when necessary, as seen with the Supreme Court’s intervention on earlier orders. India’s institutions are fully capable of addressing any alleged discriminatory policies without the need for such external commentaries that only serve to fuel unnecessary communal strife.
The Guardian, like much of the Western media, seems intent on casting India’s internal affairs through a lens of religious division, conveniently ignoring the actual issues at hand. Policies to safeguard public health and safety, implemented by both the BJP and Congress governments in different states, should be evaluated on their merits rather than through a divisive communal narrative. This kind of reporting does little more than further ignite communal tensions, the very thing the article claims to be concerned about.
India’s media and political systems are robust and capable of handling these matters internally. Rather than meddling in India’s domestic affairs, it would serve Western media well to focus on balanced reporting, especially when covering a diverse democracy like India.
