D e f i n i n g B a l o c h s t u d e n t p o l i t i c s

shaped the way for Baloch politics as a whole They supported the National Awami Party (NAP) in the first and last transparent Pakistani general elections in 1970 But after nine months the NAP government was overturned in Balochistan and strong Baloch voices were imprisoned including Nawab Khair Bakhsh Marri, Sardar Atta Ullah Mengal and Mir Ghous Bakhsh Bizenjo At such a time when strong Baloch political advocates were imprisoned BSO took the responsibility to lead the way and supported the then Baloch insurgency (1973-77)

TH E best use of political student unions or organizations is working theoretically and practically on youth to polish them for a better and brighter national future Unfortunately, things are different in Balochistan: on one side, the state degrades student unions and organizations and on the other hand the youth themselves avoid student politics by calling politics a dirty game of playing with the psyche of the youth and nation

We cannot complain to the state for what harshness it practices on Baloch student politics, while the sidelining of Baloch youth, amidst the present humanitarian or Baloch crises, is justifiable in one sense and illogical in the other It is justifiable in a sense that student politics in the Baloch society is portrayed in a way which only serves a particular group or party interests It is illogical in the sense that given the present scenario they can opt for the organizations working solely for common Baloch interests in one way or the other While the line of difference is already defined between the two forms of present Baloch student organizations Baloch politics has a long route beginning from the 1920s (while some others claim it started even earlier) with Abdul Aziz Kurd s Young Baloch which became banned in the next phase as it adopted radical policies They kept working underground until Yousuf Aziz Magsi’s Anjuman-i-Ittehad-i-Balochan was formed ten years later The journey went on to form scientific Baloch political parties including the strong Baloch proindependence Kalat State National Party When it received independence in 1947 Kalat State had to face a forced merger in March 1948 after which things turned the other way unless Baloch youth realized their responsibilities again with various student groups forming in 1950s and 1960s, including Warna Waninda Gall Then came the Baloch Students Educational Organization (BSEO) in the 1960s which made way for the formation of historic Baloch Students Organization (BSO) in the same decade that later on turned out to be the mother organization of the Baloch movement in its past and present forms Baloch students, then on the platform of BSO,

The thing that makes every Baloch student or political worker dejected even today is the division of BSO into various factions Because the BSO has been a strong advocate of Baloch rights and making strong political cadres, every party and group has tried to manipulate and influence the BSO in their own way so that the BSO only works as a wing for them From Pakistan People’s Party in the past to the present day political parties the BSO in its most factions has been aimed to serve a party interest by becoming the spokesperson to a party, which has negatively affected Baloch student politics, whether in the past or in the present

Observing the same scenes in the early 2000s, a group went on to form a new faction of the BSO by aiming to radicalize it which within a decade attracted a large number of members from across the Baloch areas However owing to their radical approach towards the state, the organization received a ban from the state in 2013 And then plentiful student leaders and members from the organization had to face state crackdown and enforced disappearances among whom Zakir Majeed and Zahid Kurd Baloch are two leading names From 2013 to 2018 Baloch student politics was occasionally active in the institutions in Baloch areas The gap not only deprived Baloch students of their political rights, but also inserted various diseases (apart from physical diseases) after which the Baloch youth began to deem student politics as a ‘dirty place’ Within such a time when students were getting ‘mis- directed politically emerged the Baloch Students Action Committee (BSAC) as a full time organization on the surface which has been working for political rights of Baloch students within institutions and has begun to recreate Baloch political literature to guide the Baloch students and reshape Baloch student politics In the last five years that BSAC is active on the surface it has grabbed the Baloch grounds by engaging more Baloch students in study circles, creating literature (particularly in Baloch national languages), promoting scientific culture among Baloch students, ideologically shaping and working with Baloch students, conducting sessions and festivals in Baloch areas and engaging Baloch students

The only way possible to challeng e such narratives is for Baloch students not to refrain by standing neutral because neutrality does not exist in societies which do not make their decisions on their own For a student living in a colony, politics becomes an act of worship. Even if it is dir ty, then should we wait for a person from another par t of the world to come and make it clean for us? No. We need to understand that no third par ty will come and do it for us. Baloch youth need to step in to make an impact for national interests and define Baloch student politics as it ought to be in the Baloch ground

That s how a myth was created from the market itself for this poor content

And now, this myth has been busted The new owners of Big Media are Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani Adani is launching several news channels this year Ambani already owns many channels Given the volume of channels and the money they both have between them, the ghost – a lack of funds – that haunted the media until now must run away

But why aren’t we seeing the effect of these funds on content? Why aren’t their wealth and business acumen improving the poor state of TV journalism especially when these expenses are lower than their other businesses? What examples have Ambani and Adani’s channels set in journalism? What have they done that’s new – or even spectacular?

These are my questions and the answers are simple There are two essential and basic conditions for good journalism: courage and questioning Without courage you cannot question

Without questions, courage has no meaning

So, you cannot change the content of Godi media’ with just business skills and money –you need courage and you need to question Instead Ambani and Adani join the queue that already includes Aroon Purie Subhash Chandra Jagdish Chandra Kaatil and Rajat Sharma A queue where everyone is timid This is the biggest change in the mainstream media over the last 10 years Their content isn’t influenced by the owners, it’s influenced by the ‘unknown owner’ of these owners We cannot expect these channels to ask questions like The Telegraph Merely opening a channel doesn t make one a journalist The content of these channels tells us about the relationship they have with the Modi government If journalists protest in Delhi against attacks on their peers, take a look at how many journalists from these channels are in attendance take the media out of Modi and Modi out of the media These sections of the media remain silent towards him

If they speak, they speak only for him When a social worker or journalist gets respect in foreign countries, they call it an “anti-India” conspiracy But the PM gets respect in the same countries they describe it as India’s name –Modi s name – ringing across the globe The decade of 2014 to 2024 belongs as much to Godi media as it does to Modi These channels have different names but the same content

The packaging is poor, their stories are similar, and they’ve broken many myths in the process

‘NO MONEY’ NO LONGER AN EXCUSE: Prior to 2014 we believed TV journalism was haunted by the ghost of no money News channel owners who usually weren t journalists, were running out of funds and the business model was flawed

Everything was done in the hope of gaining TRPs; the alternative was shutting down the channel entirely These owners didn’t care about journalism Even helpless owners of established channels would follow this otherwise they wouldn t get advertisements

I do not consider The Wire Caravan Scroll Newslaundry Alt News NewsClick The News Minute, Boomlive and Article 14 as alternatives to the mainstream media That line of thinking frees the mainstream media from guilt These institutions should be seen as individual efforts Their names should not be brought up during the Godi media debate by claiming they are also of this era Because they aren t – the government doesn t give them ads Corporate ads are rarely available They aren t the startups helped by the government What we should care about is the media houses that get crores of public money in the form of ads Why aren’t they practising journalism? When journalism is not possible then why are India s richest opening channels? The two richest industrialists in the world have thrown their money at Godi media’ The inference is there’s a market for it, that it’s good business But there is no pleasure of making a product from the heart

Let me ask you this: Why didn t young educated people from startup incubators think of a media startup? It s because they know they cannot create free content in the media But Godi media has developed such a

During the NDTV takeover, Gautam Adani had said India “does not have one single [outlet] to compare to Financial Times or Al Jazeera” He had said something along the lines that there is no dearth of money for this But he doesn t know journalism isn t driven by money Also this is the same Financial Times that Adani demanded to take down a report on his empire s offshore funding Financial Times declined, saying it stood by its reporting Many global media houses are made of such courage But in India channel owners buy expensive cars but will not post reporters in different countries They won t even send their reporters to other states, let alone abroad Adani wants to create a global media brand, and Modi would like that too, but look at what happened to Doordarshan In nearly 10 years of Modi’s India it’s flush with resources and is actively playing the Godi media game OUTLIVING A PURPOSE: The Godi media factory does not produce questions for the government It manufactures weapons to target those who do ask questions – calling them traitors or terrorists But the public is more aware now Viewership is dropping People are learning that ‘Godi media may position itself as patriotic but it s not actually good for the country Social media accounts are dedicated to monitoring hate speech in the media The media is a watchdog but the public is watching it instead The sustained criticism of the media in the Modi decade is unlike any other At a glance the scene seems to be changing Old faces are switching from one channel to the other new channels are launching with brand-new faces But they re repackaged versions of the same product, all performing the same task It’s like mafia movies from the golden days of cinema: an old gang leader is eliminated but a new one soon takes his place The empire continues Yet credibility is so low that ministers are giving interviews to social media influencers – a throwback to the time when Modi permitted Akshay Kumar to interview him in 2019 They wouldn’t have to if Adani and Ambani’s channels and anchors had built credibility themselves Modi clearly needs a new Godi media We should remember the opposition took too long to understand the power wielded by Modi s media It finally happened when Rahul Gandhi, during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, established his press conferences as an alternative to these news channels He challenged journalists saying ‘you cannot ask this question to the PM but you can ask me They did ask him – and he answered Of course, Godi media all but ignored Rahul s yatra Now that the yatra is over, Rahul doesn’t mention ‘Godi media’ as much in his speeches And while he showed some courage Congress governments are now giving their ads to these channels despite their treatment of their leader Imagine the irony: Modi s ministers are flocking towards influencers while Congress governments are turning to Godi media with ads Meanwhile, the end of journalism is being celebrated in ideological scientific educational and practical debates and acts

The scope of politics is often eyed from what others define as student politics But since the emergence, Baloch students have been defining Baloch politics in their way to move towards a better end As Baloch we are never disconnected with the ground realities around us At a time when Balochistan is going through a massive humanitarian crisis, limiting student politics to institutions is directly tantamount to opposing the Baloch interests Misfortune follows us here where an atmosphere of misconception and confusion has prevailed under which not only are Baloch youth sidelining themselves from actual student politics but are opposing it from the direct end which is yet another narrative to keep Baloch youth away from the reconstruction of the nation Because the future of the nation are today s youth And without political experiences, they will have a lesser grip over the changing national situations which will further enhance the chances of the youth to not recognize the actual Baloch politicians who are working for Baloch national interests

The only way possible to challenge such narratives is for Baloch students not to refrain by standing neutral because neutrality does not exist in societies which do not make their decisions on their own For a student living in a colony, politics becomes an act of worship Even if it is dirty then should we wait for a person from another part of the world to come and make it clean for us? No We need to understand that no third party will come and do it for us Baloch youth need to step in to make an impact for national interests and define Baloch student politics as it ought to be in the Baloch ground

The writer is a freelance columnist