TV Newsance 177: Kanhaiya Lal’s killing and cheering of Zubair’s arrest

This week, the news of Hindu tailor Kanhaiya Lal’s beheading in Udaipur by two extremist Muslim men, Gaus Mohammad and Mohammad Riyaz Akhtari, hit headlines. One would think there was nothing to “debate” about such a crime, but when does news TV disappoint? Times Now, where the entire Nupur Sharma fracas started, invited a non-expert who masquerades as a CPI spokesperson and political analyst. He justified the murder by questioning the vicitm. We explain how such “experts” and “fake spokespersons” help TV news anchors create a perception that some people in the oppostion support the murder. Meanwhile, Rahul Shivshankar wondered if people like Gauri Lankesh, Narendra Achyut Dabholkar and Govind Pansare should be beheaded for insulting Hindu gods and if India should legalise beheadings. We explain why it would be hard to behead people who are long dead, and why Times Now remains the classiest of all channels.

Arnab Goswami cheered the arrest of Mohammad Zubair of Alt News. We look at why many of India’s prominent news anchors love to hate Zubair.

Watch.