5 Bodies, 2 Days TRP, Then Forgotten

From Mir Raza to 5 Bodies: Same Script – TRP Over Truth

*Other Display Headlines:*
– *A Teacher’s Tears: We Are No Society*
– *Breaking News Race, Broken Justice*
– *Herd Mentality Nation*
– *Are We a Herd or a Society? – 78-Year-Old Teacher Questions Us All*

KARACHI : _The same news, the same breaking news race, the same TRP game, commercial interests, every man for himself – are we even worthy of being called a society, let alone civilized, or are we just a herd like sheep, goats and other animals who have no thinking of their own, who can be herded wherever and whenever someone wants – an elderly man expressed deep sorrow while talking to Minute Mirror._

Near Falcon Society, Gulshan-e-Hadeed, 78-year-old retired headmaster Muhammad Yusuf was sitting at a tea stall, tears in his eyes, holding a newspaper that read “5 Bodies Recovered”.

Talking to Minute Mirror, he said:

> “Son, I taught children in this city for 40 years. I saw the Mir Raza case, now I am seeing this 5-bodies case. The same news, the same breaking news, the same race, the same TRP game.”

> “On the first day, TV channels scream – ‘Cruel father killed 3 daughters’. On the second day they say – ‘Committed suicide due to poverty’. On the third day they forget. Were these 5 humans or just numbers for TRP?”

> “I have seen herds of animals in my life. When the shepherd herds them, the sheep and goats go wherever he wants, they have no thinking of their own. We have also become the same herd.”

> “Police herds us – it’s suicide – we say yes, it’s suicide. Media herds us – it’s poverty – we say yes, it’s poverty. Tomorrow someone else will herd us – it’s murder – we will say yes, it’s murder.”

> “We have no thinking of our own. No questions. No research. Just being herded.”

> “Are we even worthy of being called a society, let alone civilized? In a society, there are questions, there is accountability, there is thinking. Here there is every man for himself, there are commercial interests.”

> “Look at Mir Raza’s father, he has been running around courts for 3 months, 49 witnesses have appeared, the judge visited the crime scene, what did he get in the end? A sealed envelope.”

> “Now look at the family of this poor man with 5 bodies, the cousin says he sold a house for 30 million, police says he was poor. Who is telling the truth? No one will ask. After 2 days everyone will forget. Then next 5 bodies will come, then same breaking news, same race.”

> “Son, I am not sad that 5 people died. Death is inevitable. I am sad that even after death we don’t treat a human as a human. We even use his dead body for TRP.”

*Minute Mirror’s Note:*

After listening to Muhammad Yusuf, we realized that the real problem is not of police or judiciary, but our own.

*The same news, the breaking news race:*

– During Mir Raza days – every channel – “Murder of a young man from Balochistan” – took TRP for 3 days, then finished.
– During Gulshan-e-Hadeed days – every channel – “Father committed suicide along with 3 daughters” – will take TRP for 2 days, then finish.

*The TRP game, commercial interests:*

A news director told on condition of anonymity:

“5 bodies is a good story, but it doesn’t last more than 2 days. Who will watch forensic report? What is GSR? Public wants dead body, blood, crying. Justice is boring.”

*Every man for himself:*

– Police is in hurry – to close the file, there is another case.
– Media is in hurry – to give breaking news, another breaking news is coming.
– Government is in hurry – to form a commission, to get rid of it.
– Public is in hurry – to post on social media, to get likes.

No one is in hurry for truth.

*Are we a herd?*

Identification of a herd:

1. It has no thinking of its own
2. It goes wherever it is herded
3. It does not question
4. It does not demand accountability

Are we like that? Police said suicide – we accepted. Relative said there was money – we said it’s a conspiracy. Media said poverty – we accepted.

*Minute Mirror’s question to its readers:*

Are we really a society?

A society is where when 5 bodies are found, question arises – where did the money go? When crime scene is burned, protest happens – on whose order was it burned? When 1 out of 52 cameras footage is found, court asks – where are remaining 51? When sealed envelope is given, public says – make it public.

Or are we really a herd of sheep and goats who are herded every day behind a new breaking news?

*A 78-year-old teacher has shown us a mirror today. And in that mirror, our face does not look very civilized.*