Modi's jingoistic India made Pakistan look the good guy
Indian media's nightly tirades now make Pakistan’s state-run PTV look like NPR.
In a geopolitical plot twist worthy of a Netflix thriller no one asked for, India’s far-right government and its ever-jingoistic media have accomplished the unthinkable: they’ve made Pakistan look like the reasonable one. Yes, that Pakistan — the one with a military so omnipresent it has its own line of cereal and a democracy so fragile it needs armed babysitters.
Somewhere in Rawalpindi, a Pakistani general is polishing his medals while sipping chai and chuckling, “They’re doing our PR better than our own ISPR.”
Let’s be honest: Pakistan has never really nailed the “liberal democracy” brief. It’s a country where elected leaders often have the shelf life of a banana in summer. The military establishment, also known as “the government,” has long operated under the quaint notion that elections are seasonal rituals for public amusement, not actual power transfers.
And yet, thanks to India’s current leadership, Pakistan is now being seen as the “mature neighbor.” It’s like being told Darth Vader is the more reasonable parent because Emperor Palpatine won’t stop yelling about ancient Hindu texts and bulldozing housing projects.
The Media That Cried Wolf (and Then Set Fire to the Forest)
Much credit goes to India’s media-industrial complex, which has evolved from journalism into an Olympic-level event in chest-thumping nationalism. Every night, primetime news anchors bark like caffeinated mascots for a World War III campaign no one else signed up for.
Whether it's demanding surgical strikes over cricket losses or calling for economic blockades because a Pakistani pigeon crossed the border suspiciously, Indian media has gone from watchdog to Rottweiler on meth. Their nightly tirades now make Pakistan’s state-run PTV look like NPR.
Meanwhile, across the Wagah border, the Pakistani media — historically a willing pawn of the military — has recently discovered the power of subtlety. Compared to the performative patriotism on Indian news channels, even a half-hearted editorial in Dawn feels like a masterclass in restraint.
When Hyper-Nationalism Becomes Self-Sabotage
India, a country that once prided itself on democratic pluralism, now resembles an eternal Independence Day celebration minus the independence. Dissent is labeled sedition, minority rights are seen as optional side quests, and everything is apparently a foreign conspiracy — from farmer protests to onion prices.
In this chaos, Pakistan doesn’t even have to try. It just has to not set its Parliament on fire and boom — it wins the moral optics war.
International observers, who are generally not known for their subtlety, are scratching their heads. “Wait,” they mutter, “which one is the fragile state with a militarized deep state again?” The confusion is understandable. When India arrests comedians and bans documentaries while Pakistan awkwardly hosts international summits, the narrative gets complicated.
Plot Twist: Everyone Still Loses
Let’s not pretend Pakistan’s democratic credentials are improving. They’re not. The military still decides foreign policy, civil liberties remain on a leash, and former Prime Ministers still mysteriously discover corruption charges right before elections.
But the sheer overperformance of India’s right-wing government — in censorship, majoritarianism, and paranoia — has handed Pakistan a diplomatic image makeover. It's as if both countries are competing in a reality show called Who Can Undermine Their Democracy Faster, and India decided to skip the auditions and go straight to the finale.
So here we are, in the darkest of ironies: Pakistan, authoritarian and unstable, now looks like the saner one in the subcontinental soap opera — not by reforming itself, but simply by watching India implode on live TV.
Maybe next season, Bhutan will be accused of waging a psychological war by just existing peacefully.
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