This is a reprint from NewsBred.
Indian Express today wrote a bottom spread on its front page which mocked a (now retired) judge in its headline and went on to term his recent claims on medicinal benefits of cow as "vague and outlandish."
The headline "A little fact-check of Honourable Judge's cow order in Rajasthan" was full of sneer and contempt. It's as close to abusive as it gets. It's like a reader telling the Indian Express editor: "So Mr Editor, how much monthly bill you save by using your distinguished newspaper in place of a toilet roll?" If my quip stinks, it's meant to drive home the point.
The entire 945-words wordathon is meant to counter Justice (retd) Mahesh Chandra Sharma of Rajasthan High Court who, while declaring his wish that cow be made the national animal on Thursday, quoted several sources, mostly foreign, to highlight the animal's medicinal benefits.
The reporter set about dismantling the judge. From rattail combs to chisel and hammer, the writer used every weapon at his command to deliver a thousand cuts. It was akin to how a deranged psychopath chops off every limb, bone, muscle, sinews of a hated victim, plucking the eyes from the socket; gulping down the bursting blood in both hands. The violence in the pen of the reporter, and that of the newspaper, is unmistakable.
Sadly, this hatred and venom isn't backed by the report itself. Let me take readers through the Indian Express rebuttal point by point; and challenge the newspaper to either prove me wrong or make a public apology (don't worry, both things won't happen. For mainstream media in this country are supreme artistes of hit-and-run stories).
CLAIM 1: German scientist Rudie Steiner: "Cow uses its horns to acquire cosmic energy."
Indian Express rebuttal: It's not Rudie Steiner but Rudolf Steiner. (Phew!)
CLAIM 2: Cornell University's Ronald Goreite: "Cow milk boosts memory and the MDGI protein prevents cancer from entering blood cells."
Indian Express rebuttal: It's Ronald C. Gorewit. The MDGI (mammary-derived growth inhibitor) thing is inconclusive. (Bravo!)
CLAIM 3: Dr Vijayaakshmi of the Centre for Indian Knowledge System: "Women's milk is getting poisonous everyday from using chemical fertilizers instead of cow dung."
Indian Express rebuttal: Dr. Vijayalakhsmi was travelling (so couldn't be contacted).
CLAIM 4: Mumbai's Dr. Kanti Sen Saraf: "Spraying cow dung on urban waste removes all foul smell and converts waste to fetilisers."
Indian Express rebuttal: Dr. Saraf's work has been backed by some studies. (Would you believe it! It's like "you are right but you said you were right.")
By now, the reporter has unlocked his kalashnikov and is spraying bullets everywhere. He now claims the Judge was outlandish in his report on several counts. He quotes a little-known scientist who in turn claims the references the Judge has made are not in the mainstream academic space." (Does this irony makes sense to you? It didn't to me).
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