New Delhi: A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked the nation to respect women, his home state led by his party – the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) – set free 11 convicts in the 2002 Bilkis Bano gang rape case through an administrative order.The news hit the headlines on August 16, with visuals of the lifers walking out of the Godhra sub-jail following the BJP government’s remission of their sentence, and their supporters feeding them sweets.Even though the Gujarat government’s action in favour of the convicts in a gang rape case – it was the first 2002 riot case to be transferred out of Gujarat by the Supreme Court and the only one to see monetary compensation to the victim by the apex court in 2019 – shocked a wide section of the public, parsing the coverage of the story in the ‘national’ print media – both Hindi and English – throws up a wide discrepancy. With a few honourable exceptions, the tendency across the spectrum seemed to be to underplay the state government’s action made in favour of rapists in a riot case.While most Hindi newspapers kept the news away from their readers, the Times of India, in its August 17 edition, carried it as a snippet on page one. Without carrying the actual news report, the newspaper which is said to have the highest circulation in the country preferred to carry only the words of the victim – Bilkis Bano – in quotes, in a paragraph, with the rest of her reaction rolled out to page 17. A short double-column story was placed next to it in the inside page where some opposition parties termed the prime minister’s speech as hypocritical when placed against his party’s government in Gujarat.Also read: ‘I Fear For Our Future’: Bilkis Bano’s Husband on Release of 11 ConvictsThe Times’ competitor, Hindustan Times, too reported the story through the opposition’s voice only, which has slammed the move of the BJP government. On its page 11, the newspaper carried a photograph of the video grab of the rapists being welcomed with sweets, with a five-column report mostly around the reactions to the remission decision.In contrast, two other national newspapers – the Indian Express and The Hindu – not only carried the news on the top half of their page one prominently but also published editorials condemning the move.Underlining what Modi said from the ramparts of Red Fort on the 75th anniversary of India’s Independence – “Can we not pledge to get rid of everything in our behavior, culture and everyday life that humiliates and demeans women?” – the Indian Express reminded its readers that the Gujarat government’s action violated the letter and spirit of the prime minister’s address that celebrated ‘Nari shakti’ (women’s power).The editorial read, “The Supreme Court needs to step in once again. To speak up once more for a woman who has stood her ground, braving all threats, in the courageous pursuit of justice. The court must direct that the remission be revoked.”It further said, “Two decades after the riots, as the convicts in the Bilkis Bano case walk free, activist Teesta Setalvad and police officer R. B. Sreekumar, who fought on the side of the petitioners, are in jail –the police took their cue from the court, its verdict became the basis for the FIRs. The apex court must ensure that the injustice to Bilkis Bano is reversed. It knows what is at stake.”In its editorial, The Hindu wrote, “While the benefit of remission ought not to be denied to anyone without a ray of hope that they will be free one day, it is a power to be exercised with discretion and wisdom. Further, any decision on remission should be linked to the convict’s expression of regret and some promise of reform.”Addressing the reason behind the BJP government’s decision – that the rapists (who are also accused of killing Bilkis’ minor daughter) had already served 14 years in jail – the newspaper added, “It would be unjustified if given for political considerations merely because of elapse of minimum number of years they have to serve (as a lifer).”Holding up an important angle to its readers, the editorial stated, “With an assembly election due in Gujarat at the end of the year, it is difficult not to read political significance into this decision. The sight of the released convicts being greeted and feted on their release will not sit easy on the country’s conscience.”Even though the two top national newspapers – Times of India and Hindustan Times – found an indirect way to carry the news, most Hindi newspapers blacked it out. Be it Amar Ujala, Dainik Jagran, Hindustan or Rajasthan Patrika, each chose to not carry the news altogether in their print edition. While Dainik Bhaskar carried it on the page one of its state edition, its New Delhi edition placed it on Page 2.Also read: What Bilkis Bano Survived That Day in Gujarat, 2002In Gujarat, the three biggest vernaculars – Gujarat Samachar, Sandesh and Divya Bhaskar – carried only the state government’s justification of the remission order. While Divya Bhaskar carried it as the second lead on its page one on August 17, the other two Gujarati newspapers buried the story in their inside pages. These news reports only stated the official version that the Gujarat government, keeping in mind the SC recommendations, had decided to release the convicts since they had already served 14 years of imprisonment.Among them, an honourable exception, though, was Surat-based Gujarat Mitra which, apart from carrying the official version, also gave some space to opposition’s criticism of the move.
