Media resistance

This refers to Dr Shahid Siddiqui’s article, ‘Media resistance in British India’ (Aug 22). The article is a great piece of knowledge published at a perfect time, when our youth need to be aware of the fact that the Muslim and non-Muslim press played a vital role against the British empire in India. The Muslim press also played a leading role in the Pakistan movement run by Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

The writer has very correctly described the concept of the construction of reality that was earlier done by social institutions like family and schools but in the modern ages it has been replaced by the media. Today, we are living in a media-driven world where our attitudes and behaviours are heavily influenced by the media. The article has been published at the right time when our universities are moving away from historical and qualitative media research. There is a great need for the mass communication departments of our universities to encourage this kind of historical research.

Dr Saqib Riaz

Islamabad