Recently, a news reporter from Punjab came to Balochistan – perhaps to explore the landscape and culture of the local people. But instead of doing her job properly, she just spent her time in mocking the children, humiliating the elderly, and not respecting their traditional musical instruments. This is not the first time such an incident took place, but Balochistan and the Baloch have always been looked upon as “bystanders or idiots”. Truth be told, that is not true.
According to historian and columnist Nadeem Farooq Paracha, the English people of British India have conceived the native masses in certain ways. He says they considered the Sindhi like garlands, while the Punjabi were considered attractive beings; Pathans were famous for their courage and heroism. And when we come to the Baloch commoners, they have been perceived as people who have isolated themselves in caves and not interacted with other caves. However, this is a menacing narrative and this must be intimidated. Baloch were a highly educated and civilized nation. In addition, this problem is not limited to Balochistan or the Baloch only.
For instance, Afghanistan-based poet Sarwat Najeeb, in his poem “Afghan camera aur Kalashnikov” divulges how western media has delineated and emphasized more on the inferior side of Afghanistan ignoring their cultural aspect. The poem states:
Tum ne
Sada mujhe camere ki ankh se dekha
Hamesha
Tumhari lens ka zoom
Mere kandhe pe latki Kalashnikov pe focus
Raha,
Tum ne Meri bansuri
Aur sheeshon se mazeen naswaar ki dabbiyon
Ko Nazar andaaz kar ke
Mera Jo Roop duniya ko dikhaaya
Woh Mera aadha Sach tha
Najib spoke eloquently about how the media portrayed Afghans as mere militants and chose to ignore Afghanistan’s rich and diverse culture. Later in the poem, he reveals how media photography injured Afghans more than the Soviet and American wars. Thus, it has always been “an issue of representation”. Today, perhaps, what we think of many countries of historical events or of great personalities is half-baked truths, presented with an imperfect medium.
The French philosopher and sociologist Jean Baudrillard has offered a great theory in this regard which is called simulacrum and simulation. According to Baudrillard, stories often substitute and overwhelm our very sense of reality. A “simulacrum” or narrative comes to replace the truth the media is purporting to represent media is tasked with representing reality. When we read or look at news, we assume that what we see are signs that refer to a real life referent.
The problem is that there is a confidence factor that is not recognized in what we do. We need to believe that the people responsible for representing things are doing an exact and honest job. As Baudrillard says, we are engaged in a wager on representation, that a sign could be exchanged for meaning. And in this way, we often just accept representation as reality.
This simulacrum comes to define what we call true. Facts and reality are associated in our comprehension with when they have been encountered for the first time or routinely. For instance, we think of 9/11 almost exclusively from our home country’s perspective. We picture Aurat March as, however, a certain media station has presented it; we imagine our favourite celebrities as social media construct them. The point is that if you close your eyes and imagine anything whatsoever, you don’t get reality; you just get a representation or a simulation of reality – biased, coloured or built. So, we do not remember facts and truths, but we only remember stories.
