There’s little in common between bigotry and “bhaijaan”, an Urdu word evoking love and respect for a brotherly figure. But in the haze of TV news electrosmog, even a word with such positive connotations as “bhaijaan” is being incubated as a pejorative.
“Border par badhe bhaijaan,” read the headline on Aman Chopra’s show as a News18 India episode in August suggested that the increasing population of Muslims, or the "bhaijaan", in certain regions was a threat to India’s internal security. A few weeks later, “bhaijaan” returned as the inherently depraved Muslim male ensnaring unsuspecting Hindu women during Navratri, in a fantasy termed “garba jihad” by nearly all channels. “Garbe mein bhaijaan ka kya kaam?”. What business does “bhaijaan” have at a garba, they asked.
