Click to play videoNew Delhi : The 7/11 terror attacks made headlines across the news media including in the Urdu press.
But have Urdu newspapers covered the attacks like other national dailies?
Says Chief Editor, Jaam-e-Noor, Khushtar Noorani, "A day after the carnage in Mumbai, the Urdu press called the 7/11 blasts a 'murder of humanity'. They said that it does not matter who is behind the blasts, but whoever it is needs to be punished."
In the recent years the Urdu press has been confined to a predominantly Muslim audience and understandably, the editors face pressure from the conservative groups who want them to go soft on certain issues.
Says Chief Editor, Quami Awaaz, Mohan Chiraghi, "We have faced a lot of criticism of the way the 7/11 attacks have been covered, especially since I am a Hindu."
However, standing true to their progressive and secular traditions, most Urdu newspapers have taken up the challenge.
Says Editor, Akhbar-e-Mashriq, M W Haque, "I have never compromised on any news item. On the contrary, one can't play with people's emotions for too long."
However, the editors feel that the mainstream coverage of terror attacks tends to be one-sided, full of stereotypical images - largely speculative, delibrately creating false impressions.
The editors in the Urdu press express their discomfort with such coverage.
Says Kushtar Noorani, "What is this phrase Islamic terrorism?"
Mohan Chiraghi agrees with Noorani and says, "To point fingers without any proof is unjust and insensitive."
Commitment to fight terror but without victimsing the innocent - that seems to be the final word in the Urdu Press on the 7/11 crisis.
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