Ghazala Wahab

For years since I first started to report and write on the defence services, one complaint that I repeatedly heard from the uniformed forces was that the media was biased against the forces (make that the Indian Army); it indulged in sensationalism and unverified news reporting. Such was the unquestioning faith of the army officers in this belief that they elevated media to the level of a subject matter for study, maybe not in the same league as China, but important nevertheless.

Army officers on study leave started to do courses on media management/ media studies. Several journalists became experts in imparting knowledge on this amorphous subject to the military officers. Seminars on media became calendar events at various levels down the command hierarchy (disclaimer: Even I have participated in a few of these) and media cells were established at the lowest unit possible.

Fancy terms were coined like information warfare or psy-ops (psychological operations). Peeled down to their bare bones, all they amounted to was controlling the daily press coverage, especially