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A picture speaks a thousand words. Well the above photograph screams, screams words counting way beyond thousand. At first look it is the story of the victory of Delhi Police who has in record time apparently solved the Delhi blasts case and blasts in Jaipur, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad too.
With this feat the Delhi Police claims to have caught the men behind INDIAN MUJAHIDEEN, a terror group being run by college students who apparently have a bomb manufacturing expert as a 10 year old kid. (The very alert Delhi Police is on a look out for that kid too)
Have a look at it again and it tells you another story. A very important one.
The story of symbols, those play deep in our sub conscious minds and carefully shape our prejudices.
Images can be said to be a collection of signs or symbolic signs. Roland Barthes described the chain of associations or signs that make up a picture’s narrative. He uses the term CODES for the chain of associations. He says that through history and customs, a society develops a complex system of codes. Individual signs are combined to communicate complicated ideas in the form of these codes.
A metonymic code is a collection of signs that cause the viewer to make associations or assumptions. And thus, form perceptions in the minds of the viewer.
The photograph in question is a case of such a code. Here we see the alleged terrorists standing with their faces covered with a scarf that has a strong religious symbol. The Delhi police actually took pains to buy three new identical scarves for the alleged terrorists. Why?
The white and red checkered scarf is a strong symbol of the Muslim world. It is one of most visible and recognizable signs that associate any person wearing it to be a Muslim (Arab and non Arab both)
The student terrorists in question would have looked equally photogenic had their faces been covered with black or white or any other scarf. There appears to be a conscious effort from the part of Delhi Police to re-assert as much as possible the identity of the youths as being Muslims. The visual message conveyed is very strong and plays a role in creating stereotypes for the already stereotyped Muslim community in India.
As American philosopher, writer and pencil maker Henry David Thomas once said “The question is not what you look at but what you see”. And what you see is what you perceive.
Here in this image we see Muslims as terrorists, lets hope India doesn’t perceive what it sees in this image.
Photo Courtesy: The Hindu
Previously At Indian Muslims Blog: Delhi Police Looking For Bombs
