Many residents of Bengaluru and rest of Karnataka are extremely unhappy over the "one-sided" coverage of the alleged attack on a Tanzanian girl student in Bengaluru last Sunday. They allege that the English media in New Delhi is covering only one side of the incident, completely ignoring the other versions of the locals. They have taken to social media platforms like Twitter & Facebook to highlight the issue and vent their anger.
They have dismissed the claims of the Africans that it was a racial attack. They argue that angry locals attacked after a poor 35-year-old woman was killed on the spot by a drunk Sudanese student. However, they agree that the attack on a Tanzanian girl was wrong. But, they claim that African students are causing a lot problems to the locals in Bengaluru. They are also angry with some TV channels for using the hashtags like “ShameofBengaluru” etc.
They claim that Bengaluru has always been a very tolerant city and the recent incident is certainly not a racist one. They point out that Africans have been living in Karnataka for over one thousand years. The Siddhi tribals of Uttara Kannada district are of African origin. They are believed to be the descendants of the slaves, who escaped from their captors after a shipwreck in the Arabian Sea.
Terming the English media coverage of the issue as one-sided, Bengaluru-based senior journalist Gatham Machaiah wrote on his Facebook Page, “Is the recent attack on a Tanzanian girl in Bengaluru an act of racism as is made out by the media? No. There is no denying that there is some contempt towards the blacks, but that is not because they are blacks but because many members of their community are indulging in hooliganism, illegal and immoral activities, besides terrorising the local population and even the police. The fact that the police ignored repeated complaints by local people and actually sided with the African community only brought things to a boiling point.
"The recent incident where a local woman was mowed to death by a car driven by an inebriated Sudanese national was the last straw on the camel's back. A few minutes later, the Tanzanian girl and her friends happened to be passing through the already tense area when the mob mistook them to be the friends of the Sudanese youth and trashed them. It was not a premeditated attack, but a retaliation by a crowd that had gone mad because one of their family members had just been killed. True, nobody has the right to take law into their own hands and the incident deserves outright condemnation, but to describe it as an act of racism is a bit far-fetched. Before indulging in 'kite flying', media persons should speak to the local people and get the other side of the story, that is, the horror they are subjected to by some rowdy elements among the Africans. Meanwhile, why is nobody speaking about the Indian lady who lost her life? Is an Indian life of no consequence?”
Suhruta Yajaman, who works for a Multi National Company and who himself lived abroad for sometime calls media coverage completely shocking. On his Facebook Page he posted the following comment made by Vijay Grover, a Bengaluru based senior journalist. “Shocked at the way the English channels are reporting the Hesaraghatta incident. Only one part of the story being highlighted. Why is the fact that it was the mowing down of a pedestrian woman by drunk Nigerian students that triggered the fights. Did her life have no value for these channels, because she was a poor Indian. A Tanzanian woman's unverified claim of getting her clothes torn get so much value that channels start a campaign to tarnish the peaceful city of Bengaluru.
I request the English channel reporters to just leave cameras and mics behind and try to spend a few hours with these African goons who in garb of studying here carry out practically every illegal activity from credit card thefts, online hacking, drug peddling etc.
It's time the channels get to the bottom of the story instead of running competitive campaign on humanism”
Even at Karnataka Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara’s media briefing, some journalists asked him about the illegal activities being done by some African nationals in Bengaluru. Parameshwara admitted that some Africans break laws and do all kinds of anti social things. But, he hastily added that it was not the occasion to talk about that.
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