The Western media’s approach towards India shows how the English press continues to disseminate the West’s long-held prejudices against India. Drawing heavily from history, the book ‘Western media narratives on India: From Gandhi to Modi’ authored by Umesh Upadhyay critically unravels the origins and causes of this bias.
Western media not only misrepresented India’s efforts but also perpetuated outdated colonial attitudes.
In the book, the media’s role during crises emerges as a central theme with the main focus on Covid-19. The Western media crafted a narrative, projecting India’s response to the disaster as chaotic, forecasting a staggering death toll reminiscent of the Spanish Flu of 1918
With a foreword by Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha, Harivansh, “Umesh Upadhyay, through his book based on rigorous research has convincingly shown how Western media has traditionally been biased and negative, projecting a distorted image of India. These lopsided images now appear to be contradictory to India’s stature as an emerging twenty-first century global power in this technology-driven world. Upadhyay has very rightly pointed out that the credibility of western media will be at stake if it does not change its approach towards India. This book is indeed a very interesting and informative study.”
In the words of Sanjeev Sanyal, economist and bestselling author, “In this very readable book, Umesh Upadhyay recounts, with clarity and undeniable evidence, the history of how this skewed media narrative has been used to box India’s place in the world since 1947. It then makes the case for a rising India to tell its own story.”
Umesh Upadhyay is a veteran journalist and communicator with four decades of experience in print, radio, TV and digital media. He has produced and anchored several news and talk shows. Beyond journalism, he enjoys teaching and travelling.
