THE MILITARY, WAR AND NATIONAL INTEGRATION: SYMBOLIC TREATMENT OF THE MILITARY AND WAR FOR PURPOSES OF NATIONAL INTEGRATION IN INDIAN MASS MEDIA

The study analyzed the role of the press in promoting national integration in crisis situations (both war-time and peace-time) in India. The three case studies were: the Sino-Indian war of 1962; Prime Minister Nehru's death in 1964; and the Indo-Pakistan war of 1971. The study included an analysis of the Times of India, Illustrated Weekly of India, government press releases and public opinion polls.;The analysis established that the press did play an important role in fostering national unity, although due to its limited penetration, its influence was restricted to an urban minority.;The military has been glorified as an important national symbol. The trend has shifted from the image of the military as comprised of gallant soldiers in the Sino-Indian war to that of one equipped with good hardware and fighting equipment in the Indo-Pakistan war.;Overall, perceptions of the leadership were favorable. In spite of the fiasco of the Sino-Indian war, Nehru's image remained unscathed. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi reached the zenith of her popular image in the Indo-Pakistan war.;Three subsidiary issues were explored: (1) Press portrayal of the military as a national symbol; (2) Perception of the leadership in crisis situations; and (3) Performance of the press and its relationship to the government.;The performance of the press varied from case to case. It exhibited high journalistic standards in the Sino-Indian war and at the time of Nehru's death. But in the Indo-Pakistan war, the press willingly served as agents of national propaganda.