Wednesday, January 26, 2011

The Chastisement of Meher Bokhari

If you had any doubts about what Meher Bokhari, the recently removed host of Samaa's Newsbeat programme, is going through these days, here's an inkling. She turned up, unexpectedly, on Aaj TV's Bolta Pakistan, whose current hosts Orya Maqbool Jan and Salim Bokhari - frequent participants on her programme - probably felt sympathy for her and decided to return her favours to them. Inevitably, there was much discussion of Meher Bokhari's own predicament and, also inevitably, her (and the duo's) barely suppressed bitterness about criticism of them kept creeping out. Have a look.


Part 1: See in particular from 02:12... where Salim Bokhari claims an American plot to divide the media and society by labeling people (as right-wing and liberal), Orya Maqbool moans about Twitter and Facebook being used to defame people unlike in Tunisia, and Meher speaks in general terms about the dangerous polarization of society through labeling, the contradictions and rigidity of "the liberal class" (04:25 on). Then Orya moans about the anti-religiousness of "the secular class" but also to his credit brings up the sensationalism of the media as a factor in the polarization. Meher then leads into a refreshingly subdued assessment of the media's own immaturity and irresponsibility before her upset at her own situation creeps out (till about 09:45). If you have the patience, you can also check out Meher finally bringing out the "liberal fascist" tag (at round 12:30 onwards) and complaining of people saying she has a paet mein daarrhi.





Part 2: See in particular from 08:10 onwards... where Meher Bokhari finally refers to the Salmaan Taseer episode, where Orya Maqbool and Salim Bokhari make fun of her being called "a fundo", Meher whines about "religious" becoming a term of abuse (10:03) and all three speak about the "campaigns" against innocents such as them.





Part 3: A short one... where Meher Bokhari lets us know exactly how she was probably arraigned by Samaa CEO Zafar Siddiqui...after 1:45 Orya Maqbool and Salim Bokhari once again get on their favourite horse of how the US has it in for Muslims worldwide to boost its arms industry.





Well, we do learn one thing above all from this programme: that despite their pretense of ignoring all critique, concerted criticism does, in fact, bite our media personalities. At the very least, their egos - remember that they would like to believe they are loved by all - do take a battering. We also learn that in their quieter moments, they can also reflect on their own roles somewhat critically. Now only if they could leave their egos and bitterness aside and stay in their quieter, reflective moments more often.


24 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm sick of these so-called analysts blaming everything on the US and Israel.

I'm tired of Hameed Gul's rants.

Overall - the show was *Yawn* ... ignorable.

AI said...

Everything can be blamed on Amreeka, Israel, Yahood, Nasara, Hanood and Qadyanis...that is the answer to all worries.

Ullta Seedha said...

I tell you, all three of these asses would be right there if given the chance to bag a US visa.

And what is meher bullshitting about 'liberal fascists.' Ha! Do us liberal fascists have to go partying at the US Embessy to become more 'blanced' like Mehr. What a fraud.

Raza said...

Did you guys know about this?

http://www.facebook.com/pages/CaFe-PYaLa/124057064325601

Anonymous said...

One Bokhari (Salim) with doubtful character who has been on payroll of Sheikh Rashid in Tourism department in Musharraf era trying to comfort another Bokhari (Mehr) who glorified the assassin of Salman Taseer. After mentally polluting the mindset of ordinary viewers with her garbed up views, good to see Mehr accepting that not only she has intellectual bankruptcy but also has a "darhi in her pait" by her own admission. Strange to see the hypocrisy of Mehr exposed vis a vis her infamous Nov 25 interview with salman Taseer. Strange to see that Oriya, saleem Bokhari and mehr feel they have thick skins and need not even reply or take notice of what people say when they themselves want people to take note of whatever nonsense they throw our way. Its people like Salim Bokhari who have sired corruption in Pakistani media by blowing trumpets of different rulers and then benefiting from their largese.

Ernest Dempsey said...

Was that an analysis? This is the first time I heard Orya Maqbool Jan (the book catalogue) and the other guy and I'll make sure not to watch this show again. What a conclusin they draw - don't discuss sensitive issues on media. Very well "intellectuals"! Let's discuss our shoe sizes and our food recipes on all channels all the time. I am sure those are safe things to talk about!

zahra said...

utterly disgusted...
define yourself meher... what exactly are u? who do u represent? and why are u sooo scared now?

Qehar Alood said...

Meher Bokhari has been invited to host a live audience at Mansoora daily from 8 to 9 p.m.
Saleem Bokhari and Orya to return to their desk, clerical jobs at Aabpara.

Anonymous said...

What a bunch of juhala! Rano (meher Bokhari) is not a fundo, she is an unintelligent person, a plain idiot. And the less said about the company she was keeping in that prog the better...

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

whether someone like it or not but I think the comment on books by orya maqbool was very right..

Hameed gul was bullshitting as always..

Meher bukhari was talking decent for the first time I think..

Anonymous said...

Is the media industry making fool both the segments, the English paper readers and the urdu channel viewers?

http://www.express.com.pk/epaper/PoPupwindow.aspx?newsID=1101155310&Issue=NP_LHE&Date=20110127

http://blogs.tribune.com.pk/story/4051/leave-veena-malik-alone/

http://tribune.com.pk/story/109411/the-monster-and-the-elite/

http://tribune.com.pk/story/108489/baiting-veena-malik/

http://tribune.com.pk/story/108461/a-case-of-two-extremes/

Anonymous said...

click on the link below for a tribute to salman taseer in benazir bhutto's voice:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZK2PIAKlgnE

Magnum said...

I tend to agree with Anon @ 8:38 PM.

I too think more than anything else, Ms. Loud Bokhari is just plain dumb and that about it.

And this guy Orya - sounds like a toothpaste brand - what the fuck's he going on about Beatles. They were never banned in the US.

Man, after playing around with Islam, Islamic history and Pakistani history by completely distorting it, these ass-wipes are now on at pop history?

Shut the fuck up, toothpaste!

anchor2010 said...

SAMAA TV has issued official statement on Mehr Bokhari issue, circulated on PressPakistan Google Group of journalists.

KARACHI: SAMAA TV management refutes the claim carried by a certain section of the press that Meher Bokhari has been sacked. It is further stated that as per normal practice of other Current Affairs Anchors, Meher Bokhari has gone on leave from Monday, the 24th of Jan, 2011.

http://www.samaa.tv/newsdetail.aspx?ID=27957

Anonymous said...

She read fatwas on air in which Salman Taseer had been declared non-muslim by some unknown mullahs. Then she accused him of following a Western agenda. Whatelse do you need to provoke ordinary citizens?

A plain dumb person cant give importance to such fatwas. There are thousands of such ridiculous fatwas out there, just read the fatwa section of any madrassa website; she is a fundo of the highest order.

Its sick, how can you tell a person on his face that you arent a muslim anymore according to this fatwa.

Anonymous said...

One thing that I agree with is that the right/left or liberal/conservative divide in the country is underscored by the class differences (socio-economic status & rural/urban distribution).

The elitist attitudes of the leftists is further isolating them from the conservative majority, instead of bridging the gap.

Therefore the situation is dangerous for both left and right, and also for the country.

Anonymous said...

HE also mentions of 'a strange pleasure' of having her on this show at the beginning;)

Anonymous said...

@Anon 2:13 PM

Does Mehr Bukhari belong to the unprivaleged sections of the society?

Is the corporate media a part of the lower working class? Does the media represent the voice of proletariat?

Is Asia Bibi a part of the elite? Which class of the society becomes a victim of Blasphemy law?

CPM said...

@Anon0300: Heh heh, was hoping someone would point that out. As they say, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

@anchor2010: Thanks for pointing it out. The following update has been added to the previous post:

Thursday, January 27, 2011:

As also pointed out by one reader anchor2010, Samaa TV has officially denied last night that Meher Bokhari has been sacked. According to a brief statement on its website:

"...as per normal practice of other Current Affairs Anchors, Meher Bokhari has gone on leave from Monday, the 24th of Jan, 2011."

We have made the requisite corrections in the previous update. However, there should be little doubt that this is at least a case of enforced leave. We are not sure whether this is merely a face-saver for Ms. Bokhari. Note also that the statement does not specify how long a leave this is. The only question is whether Ms. Bokhari will actually return to Samaa in the future or find another employer.


@Anon0121: I never use the label of 'fundo' which I find not only distasteful but also without nuance. And personally, I don't think Ms Bokhari is a religious extremist of the SSP or Qadri variety. However, I agree with you that giving undue importance to the millions of irrelevant fatwas out there betrays a lack of sense and understanding more than anything else. The problem of course is that people like Ms Bokhari feed into and sometimes even legitimize the more extreme interpretations of religion because of their lack of understanding of how such interpretations are nurtured.

Anonymous said...

Back in fourth grade, I was unfortunate enough to be taught by Mrs. Bokhari, Mehr Bokhari's mother. All she did was scream and vent at us, and then call us names because we didn't meet her standards. Watching Mehr today was like reliving the horrors of the fourth grade. The apple certainly did not fall far from the tree.

Anonymous said...

@CPM 5:16

Well if you study Zakir Naik's logic, you wont find it distasteful anymore. (Someone asked Zakir about taliban and referred to them as fundamentalists. Instead of talking about taliban ideology, Zakir started telling the dictionary meanings of "fundamentalist" and concluded that everyone should be a fundamentalist. Rather than crushing his credibility as a rational preacher, this ridiculous argument became so popular that people were forced to use new words for taliban)

I appologize for my lack of nuance. My parents are responsible; they didnt have the money to put me into a good english medium school.

And about Mehr Bibi. Well if she isnt an extremist then its even worse, she is a hypocrite. She wants to party at night but likes to recite fatwas on air! If Salman Taseer was following Western agenda then what was she doing at US embassy?

Atleast Qadri didnt party before the night he killed Salman Taseer. He attended those unbearably boring sermons, he woke up all night celebrating Milads. Do you know that Dawat-e-Islami guys maintain written record of every Sunnat they perform! Qadri is a true extremist. I hate him for what he did but atleast there are no contradictions in his beliefs, words and actions.

Anonymous said...

Update:

Mehr Bukhari has joined Duniya TV.

Shajeel said...

a very confused set of people, i must say.