The mainstream media has made it a habit of sympathizing with the families of terrorists. In numerous instances, they have tried to humanize terrorists themselves as well. The latest entrant to the party is a report on Hindustan Times by Ashiq Hussain that humanises a terrorist involved in the Pulwama attack.

The report titled, ‘Family of killed Jaish operative Sajad Ahmad Bhat can’t believe he joined militant ranks’ quotes the terrorist’s uncle, Tariq Ahmad Bhat, as saying, “He would study, offer namaz during the day and teach village kids in the evening. That was his life. Even after Pulwama blast, he lived a normal life till February 22, when he went missing. We had no idea that he will join militancy.”

The report further quotes the uncle as saying that Sajad was “waylaid by the army during a protest and tortured in custody.” According to the uncle, Sajad’s father was arrested as well “on false charges of provoking protests”.

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According to the NIA, the vehicle that was used in the Pulwama terrorist attack belonged to him. A week after the attack, Sajad had gone missing from his home. His family was informed of his joining Jaish-e-Muhammad by the Police a day later.

After every terror attack, attempts are made to absolve the family of the terrorists of their sins. Under the garb of such ‘neutral’ reports, the Army is presented in poor light. The subtle connotation in the report is that Sajad had become a terrorist after he was mistreated by the Indian Army. However, what is the source of such information? His own family, a terrorist’s family.

The terrorist dedicated his life towards attacking India, however, our mainstream media believes his family ought to be given a platform to further narratives that can serve as propaganda for separatist organizations in the valley. An apple hardly ever falls far from the tree and in this particular instance, with his father’s own arrest, there is sufficient reason to believe that the apple did not fall far from the tree.

It has become a general theme with the mainstream media. Zakir Musa, the jihadi terrorist head of Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind who was killed by the security forces on 23rd May, became ‘fashionable young boy’ who loved ‘cigarettes and sports bikes’. They tried the same with the family of the Pulwama suicide bomber. The family, too, had claimed that their son had become a terrorist after suffering mistreatment at the hands of the Army.

There’s a pattern emerging here. As per reports on the mainstream media, the terrorists were ‘chocolate boys’ who became murderous due to the fault of the Indian Army. In reality, nothing could be further than the truth. It’s not for nothing that the mainstream media is so hated. Because their reportage gives one the feeling that their agenda is not in consonance with the welfare of this country.