The lane outside Vinay Narwal바카라s family home resembles a busy marketplace during peak hours. People who are not his friends, not his family, who did not know he existed till 12 hours earlier throng at the gates.
바카라We바카라re standing outside the home of deceased Lieutenant Vinay Narwal, who was on his honeymoon in Pahalgam when a terrorist shot him in the head in front of his new bride,바카라 one man speaks into a large black mic. Around him are scores of others, both women and men, speaking to cameras and the people beyond. Behind him, listening to the cacophony of reporters, fighting back tears of grief and rage, are Narwal바카라s college mates who learned mere hours ago that their friend is dead.
It's 6 pm and Narwal바카라s body is still on its way home바카라it바카라s been through Srinagar, Delhi and is now riding inside an ambulance on the highway that leads to Karnal. The 26-year-old Lieutenant바카라s family looks worried. They바카라re looking up at the sky, with the setting sun. They바카라re afraid there won바카라t be enough time to carry out Hindu last rites, which must take place before dusk.
Vikas Malik steps out of the gate holding a steel table with two muscular arms. He eyes the crowd outside his friend바카라s home, silently imploring them to move to make way. On this table, the family will place Narwal바카라s corpse for prayers and adulations before taking it to the crematorium. All the reporters turn around and watch Malik with curiosity. No one moves. Then, photographers rush to Malik바카라s side to take pictures of the empty table; reporters surround him to ask how he feels having learned his friend is dead.
Earlier in the day, before Narwal바카라s own mother and grandparents knew he had passed, local media lined up outside his home. 바카라There were so many people that there was no place to stand. They were so squashed against the outside wall that they broke some planters and parts of the boundary,바카라 says Agrima Verma, a 31-year-old filmmaker and Narwal바카라s neighbour for the past 18 years.
Verma looks tired, 바카라I바카라ve been fighting with journalists since morning바카라in person and online,바카라 she explains. She바카라s been correcting misinformation online and keeping wandering media out of her house.
On April 23, the day after news of the Pahalgam terror attack broke, one image went viral. A young woman, a new bride by the looks of her red, white, and gold bangles, sitting next to the body of a tall, burly young man wearing a black hoodie and pants lying face on the ground. Crimson blood is splattered on the young woman and flowing from the man바카라s body. This is Vinay Narwal and his widow Himanshi, the pair who had gotten married a week before the attack that killed him.
This image became a symbol of grief for the nation. And, just hours later, another image, another video surfaced. This one purportedly showed Narwal and Himanshi waltzing against the backdrop of Pahalgam바카라s snowy peaks and the man copying the famous spreading of arms that is known as the Shah Rukh Khan move. The 19-second clip juxtaposed to the popular Coke Studio track Jhol, is shared across India as the 바카라last video바카라 of the Lieutenant and his wife before the terror attack.
Narwal바카라s family is incensed as is Verma. First, they are informed that the only son in their family바카라whose marriage reception they celebrated at this house just four days ago바카라is killed in a terror attack purportedly orchestrated by Pakistan, and now they바카라re being told there is footage of his final moments against the backdrop of the Pakistani song.
Shristi Narwal, who has not said more than a few words since she learned of her brother바카라s passing, speaks up to clarify that the video is misinformation. Hours later, travel influencers Ashish Sehrawat and Yashika Sharma come forward and set the record straight.
UK-based journalism watchdog IMPRESS released guidelines on reporting death and terror attacks in 2022. The IMPRESS Standards Code tells journalists that to responsibly report on loss of life and respect the privacy of individuals and their families, one must "take all reasonable steps not to exacerbate grief or distress through intrusive newsgathering or reporting."
Narwal바카라s father Rajesh looks dazed with exhaustion. He doesn바카라t know when to mourn the loss of his only son바카라his home isn바카라t just filled with well-wishers and relatives as would be the case normally. He is also playing host to 100 journalists all brandishing cameras in his face.
The senior Narwal is a private man. Occasionally바카라 when yet another mourner says to him: can바카라t believe this happened바카라his face starts to crumble and the grief he바카라s feeling peaks through. Then, he looks around at the cameras, and the reporters with their notebooks and phones. At that time, his face takes on an expressionless countenance. He goes back to making sure everyone, mourner, or media, has water; organising a white canopy outside his lane to shield waiting journalists and police officers who have been parked outside since noon from the scorching summer heat.
When Narwal바카라s body arrives, there is a rush. The family wants to complete prayers before the sun sets; the media, having climbed on to neighbours바카라 roofs, wants their money shot바카라a family grieving over their lost loved one.
Even on the way to the funeral home, cars chase Narwal바카라s convoy. Not just the ministers and politicians who have shown up to offer their condolences, but media rushing to get to the spot before even the body. Photographers and camerapersons are invested in lining up the perfect image to capture the sorrow, reporters want to find a quote that is just right to convey the story of lives lost in a terror attack.
바카라The images and video of Vinay바카라s cremation will be forever on the internet, for everyone to see. His family will see them again and again. How must they feel? Who does this help?바카라 asks Verma.
It's said that terrorism is like a theatre. 바카라While the terrorists may write the scripts and perform the drama, the 바카라theatre of terror바카라 only becomes possible when the media provide the stage and access to a worldwide audience바카라 Terrorism is aimed at people watching, not the actual victims,바카라 says Gabriel Weimann who has studied the subject for decades.
But, the question remains: is reporting on the aftermath of a terror attack also theatrical? While reporters are told, repeatedly, to be sensitive and empathetic while on the field, the new age of social media, with its emphasis on breaking the news and having the visuals first, sends a different signal. In the rush to be the first, as seen with the incident of the fake Narwal video, are we as reporters forgetting to be accurate? More importantly, are we forgetting that we are talking to vulnerable victims who simply want to carry on with their lives without their grief and raw emotions being aired on primetime making them unwitting spectacles.
Narwal바카라s home is quiet바카라neither his sister nor his father have cried yet. Shristi, his sister, broke down once during the past two days. According to close friends, Shristi has been in shock since learning the news of her brother바카라s death. They were Irish twins, studied in the same grade throughout school, and exceptionally close, said the Vermas, their neighbours. 바카라She바카라s like a shell바카라she hasn바카라t cried. Neither has Rajesh ji (Narwal바카라s father.바카라) says Seema Verma.
The one time Shristi showed emotion in those first days, she faced the Chief Minister of Haryana and in a voice breaking under the weight of her anger she asked: 바카라Where were the army officers? My brother could바카라ve been saved바카라no one came to check on the site till one and a half hours later.바카라 The heart-breaking video, taken inside the crematorium while her brother바카라s body was burning, is all over the Internet.
The Code also states that when reporting on loss, "journalists should be particularly careful to avoid making any approaches that may result in the harassment of a person who is suffering from grief or shock, or towards their friends, colleagues or wider families."
According to the PIB, Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah paid his last respects to the deceased of the terror attack in Srinagar. Shah alighted from his car and walked a red carpet to where the 26 coffins were placed.
바카라Bharat will not bend to terror and the culprits of this dastardly terror attack will not be spared,바카라 Shah had vowed. At the time, no one in the media questioned security lapses, nor asked what the government바카라s plan was. The same day, in Kathua in J&K, Dainik Jagran senior reporter Rakesh Sharma was beaten up by BJP party workers, including MLAs, because he asked them about security lapses which could have led to the attack.
On April 24, the government called for an All-Party meeting to discuss the attack. The Prime Minister did not attend. Outside the meeting, the only questions about the outcome were directed at the Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, Congress President Mallikarjuna Kharge and other opposition leaders. The Home Minister was in attendance but the media directed no queries towards him.
Over in Kanpur, a chubby-cheeked child stands alone facing mics held to his face in a semi-circle. The kid saw his father shot by the terrorists on April 22, just a day ago. Now, he바카라s at the centre of a media maelstrom. 바카라Tell us what happened, son,바카라 one journalist is heard asking the kid. After faithfully narrating the details of his father바카라s death, the boy looks around at the people. And another journalist is heard asking the 10-year-old: 바카라what do you think went wrong here?바카라
