By Shazia Anwer Cheema
Schizophrenic response of Indian mainstream media while responding Pahalgam incident is not the main subject of this piece because that should be taken as a case study for research work by media studies departments and media wings of South Asian countries. This piece is focused on the semiotic elaboration of certain dictions spilled out by some of the analysts sitting on screen, having the background of the Indian Army and Indian intelligence networking.
Certainly, Major (retd) Gaurav Arya who is consulting editor for strategic affairs at Republic TV and Major General (retd) Gagan Deep Bakshi whose last appointment was at the Directorate General of Military Operations while dealing with Information Warfare and Psychological Operations cannot be missed if rhetoric, narrative building and propaganda against Pakistan is under review. This time, both crossed limits in abusing Pakistan, and this is also not under view what kind of abusive language Gen Bakshi used against Pakistan; rather, under discussion is what semiotic web both Indian security experts were woven in their discussion. The most important was their harsh wording statements, such as “Unless we kill Punjabi (censored) soldiers, Pakistan will not learn the lesson”. Some of their comments can be translated as:
Punjabi personnel of the Pakistan Army are (censored) and they must be beheaded to take revenge for Pahalgam.
They (censored) Punjabis are real devils
Punjabis must be sent to hell
Will must make Punjabi soldiers (of the Pakistan Army) an example by giving them a horrible death
You (India) cannot get peace unless the Punjabi soldiers (of the Pakistan Army) are alive.
“Hindus are not border-centric. They hate Punjabis of both sides of the border”
I thank both Indian analysts for sharing their mind and spilling beans out of rage because their discussions are very useful to tell my students with proof what I have been telling them since a decade that separatists, nationalists and terrorists such as BLA (and all of its pseudo names) and TTP are taking class work from Indian intelligence agencies and they (terrorists/separatists) do have their mouths but words they mince come from their Indian masters. Remember the events of terrorism in which terrorists checked the CNICs of victims and killed all those who were Punjabis.
Moreover, this hate against Punjabis among radical Hindus are not border-centric. They hate Punjabis of both sides of the border—Indian Punjab as well as Pakistani Punjab, that is why Sikhs have been their target of hate mongering and faced massacres, including the 1984 massacre of Sikhs. Sikhs had been burned alive, butchered, beheaded, raped and drowned during military operations in Indian Punjab as well as in Delhi and other Indian cities. There was only one pure (comprising 100 percent Sikhs) 9th Battalion of the Sikh Regiment was disbanded in April 1984 when a large number of Sikh soldiers showed reaction against killings and rapes of Sikhs in Delhi massacre. Over 5,000 Sikh soldiers were sent home without benefits after the disbandment of the 9th Battalion.
Now India has been caught red-handed while killing Sikhs in Canada, America, and even in the United Kingdom. Over 90 percent of transcontinental terrorism in India is targeting Sikhs who seeking justice for the 1984 Delhi massacre.
History is not my immediate subject therefore without indulging the reasons why Punjabis had been a pain in neck of several social groups of subcontinent, I would focus why Indian hawkish media is singling out Punjabis although Pakistan Army comprising of all caste, clan, ethnic and linguistic groups of Pakistan and there is no differentiation in Pakistan Army who is who? To my understanding, this classification serves many purposes to India, and one of these is to show that the Pakistan Army is not one entity rather it comprises several entities, and only Punjabis are our (Indian) target. Another reason is that Punjabis are agrarian sons, so they are always ready to kill or be killed even over a single drop of water. Still, the majority of enmities and murders in Punjab take place over the issue of using someone’s water or stopping someone’s water. Water is the lifeline of Punjabi culture, and this is more important sometimes than blood in Punjabi culture. When India is threatening to stop water to Punjab, Indian anthropologists sitting behind the Indian intelligence network do understand what kind of reaction could come from Punjabis (soldiers or civilians), so killing them is the foremost objective, and their killing through TTP, BLA, and other terror groups has already been documented. This is the responsibility of the media managers of Pakistan to document what Gaurav Arya, Gagan Deep Bakshi recently uttered and how their words contribute to TTP and BLA killings, and this study should be shared with universities all over Pakistan. Semioticians, being the philosophers of language and communication, understand how much it would be useful for Pakistan to tell its youth what kind of propaganda launched by India they are facing. This piece is just a preamble or surface analysis of the hate mongering of Gaurav Arya and Gagan Deep Bakshi against Punjabis, and this subject needs detailed academic studies.
Shazia Anwer Cheema is an author, geopolitical analyst, writer, and educator with 10-plus years of international experience in research, teaching, and strategic analysis. Expert in media, linguistics, and cognitive semiotics, with a strong focus on political discourse, global narratives, and strategic communication.
Disclaimer:
The views and opinions expressed in this article/Opinion/Comment are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the DND Thought Center and Dispatch News Desk (DND). Assumptions made within the analysis are not reflective of the position of the DND Thought Center and Dispatch News Desk.
