A Review by Suneet Vir Singh

'Brave and mighty Iraq battles to cleanse the Hejaz from the unholy presence of the troops of today's Yazid'. The enthusiastic headline in Siasat Jadeed (Kanpur) is proof of Saddam Hussein's spectacular victory over the Urdu press in this country. Iraq's Scud missiles may have failed to impress Israel, but they served to crown Saddam Hussein as the bravest Mujahid (Akhbar-e-Nau: Delhi) the Champion of Islam (Nadeem, Bhopal) the only one (to) challenge the powerful Zionist Satan, George Bush (Rehnuma-e-Deccan, Hyderabad).

Now that the Gulf war is over, the Urdu press continues to eulogise the Iraqi President and suspect the motives of President Bush. Nai Duniya (New Delhi) is deeply concerned at the presence of 'imperialist forces' in the region.

Has the Congress's loud condemnation of allowing the refuelling of US military planes and Mr. Gandhi's 'mission of peace' to the Gulf helped the party win back the Muslim vote? ... initial reaction indicates that now the minority press would find it difficult to write off Mr. Gandhi and his party as anti-Muslim. Faisal Jadeed (Delhi) reports that the Congress high command is delighting at the 'tremendous impact of its pro-Iraq stance' on the Indian Muslim community... Qaumi Awaz (Delhi-Lucknow) carried the same report... Significantly, Dainik Jagran (Uttar Pradesh)... carried the same report on its front page...

Akhbar-e-Nau (Delhi) edited by Janata Dal MP, Mr. M. Afzal, is wary of 'Brother Rajiv's say of winning Muslim votes' (and) denounces... the double-faced policy of the Congress president and the party's pro-Saddam meetings are only vote catching gimmicks...

(Source: The Times of India, 3 March, 1991)