If Fatwa against Nahid Afrin didn't exist, it would have been invented

Before checking facts, TV channels jumped all over the alleged fatwa against the 16-year-old singer

On March 15, two stories from the north east featured prominently in the national media, particularly television channels. The first – the swearing-in of Manipur’s new chief minister, the second state in the region to be ruled by the BJP – was a story of great significance for the north east. Yet it got covered as a routine development of little consequence and was completely overshadowed by the sensational manner in which a ‘fatwa’ reportedly issued by 46 Assam-based clerics against a reality music show star, Nahid Afrin, was reported and discussed by angry anchors and angrier studio guests.

Assamese