Western media’s enduring bias against India: The case of Pahalgam terror attack

The brutal terror attack on April 22, 2025, in the meadows of Baisaran Valley in the Pahalgam region of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, in which more than 26 innocent civilians were killed and over a dozen others injured, has clearly exposed the bias and double standards prevalent in much of the Western media’s coverage of India. Headlines across major Western newspapers reflected not only a distortion of facts but also a disturbing pattern of narrative-shaping that undermines both truth and justice.

The New York Times headline read, “At Least 24 Tourists Gunned Down by Militants in Kashmir,” while The Washington Post echoed the similar tone with “Gunmen Launch Rare Attack on Tourists in Indian-Administered Kashmir.” Deutsche Welle (DW) and Euronews followed suit, using similarly worded headlines while avoiding the words “terrorists”. Al Jazeera, consistent with its pattern of echoing Pakistan’s narrative, framed the reporting of the Pahalgam terror attack in a manner that subtly aligned with Pakistan’s position on Kashmir.

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Perhaps the most shocking coverage came from the BBC, when it crossed all the journalistic boundaries with its reporting, as its headline read, “Pakistan Suspends Visas for Indians After Deadly Kashmir Attack on Tourists”. This framing of this terror attack in such a way blatantly attempted to totally distort the reality and create a false impression to the world—as if India had carried out an attack on Pakistani soil, necessitating Islamabad’s reprisal. Such errors are more than just editorial oversights; they show a persistent bias and deeply entrenched prejudice against India.

Innocent civilians were slain in cold blood—husbands executed before their wives, fathers murdered in front of their children, and newlywed couples ruthlessly separated. Yet, these tragic details were diluted in Western media narratives that refused to unequivocally label the perpetrators as terrorists, instead opting for sanitised terms like “gunmen” or “militants and assailants”. This linguistic obfuscation subtly diminishes the gravity of the crime and indirectly supports the narrative of those who perpetually seek to inflict terror on innocents.

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The real tragedy, however, is not simply skewed reporting but also our collective naivety. For far too long, Indian academics, policymakers, and even sectors of the media have held Western journalism in high regard, viewing it as the epitome of impartiality and truth. This misguided faith is the result of a colonial hangover and an ingrained inferiority mindset, where Western voices are perceived to be more credible and authoritative. The blame should be on us because we cite their reports as references, teach their methodologies as benchmarks, and venerate their editorial standards as sacrosanct.

It is time we shed these illusions. There is no such thing as completely objective reporting, particularly in the field of geopolitics. Power dynamics, strategic interests, and historical alignments all influence media narratives. During the Cold War, Pakistan’s strategic alliance with the US and the West provided significant military and economic aid. This partnership not only influenced foreign policies, but it also shaped media narratives, resulting in a systematic downplaying of Pakistan’s disruptive actions in South Asia.

Although the Cold War ended in the 1990s, the Western biases and soft corner in its reporting towards Pakistan have continued. Despite mounting evidence linking Pakistan to cross-border terrorism, Western media continues to shield Islamabad from global scrutiny. While Pakistani officials have themselves often admitted their country’s role in sponsoring terror. Recently, Pakistan’s Defence Minister, Khawaja Asif, admitted that the country had been doing “dirty work” for the West for decades. Pakistani journalist Najam Sethi, in his recent interview with the Indian journalist Karan Thapar on his show, openly highlighted Pakistan’s role in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, stating, “Mumbai was done by an organisation that was based in Pakistan. My newspaper was among the first to visit the village of Kasab in Pakistan and interview his mother and father and report on how he had been recruited.”

Similarly, former Director General of Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Tariq Khosa, confirmed that “Ajmal Kasab was a Pakistani national” and explicitly admitted that the 2008 Mumbai attacks were “planned and launched from Pakistan’s soil” by the Lashkar-e-Taiba, whose training camp near Thatta, Sindh, was identified during the investigation.

Former officials such as Moeed Yusuf and Asad Durrani have written extensively on Islamabad’s use of terror proxies. Moreover, in his first presidential term, US President Donald Trump, after getting tired of Pakistan’s double-crossing, stated, “The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!”

Despite these admissions, Western perceptions largely remain distorted. Due to Cold War legacies and narrow strategic calculus, Western media sources continue to downplay Pakistan’s role as a state sponsor of terrorism. Instead, they routinely target India with unfounded criticism, undercutting New Delhi’s legitimate counterterrorism efforts.

The Pahalgam terror attack coverage is not a single incident but rather a continuation of a longstanding pattern. It is critical for Indian authorities, scholars, and journalists to acknowledge this truth. We must critically analyse the so-called “objectivity” of Western journalism and be wary of embracing it as an authoritative source without critical inquiry.

The time has come for India to assert its own narrative, based on facts and national interests, and to break free from its intellectual dependence on skewed Western media sources. Indian academics, scholars, policymakers, and journalists must recognise that the media is not a neutral arbiter of truth but rather a powerful weapon of power that influences global discourse and shapes power dynamics.

India must invest in expanding our own media capacities, amplifying voices that truly portray India’s perspective, and developing a strong “strategic communication infrastructure” to fight misleading narratives.

It is a tragedy that, despite India being a major power and located in a deeply troubled neighbourhood where voicing concerns becomes even more significant, it lacks an international media platform capable of projecting its voice globally. Even a small nation like Qatar has been able to shape global narratives and pursue its interests through Al Jazeera.

The time has come for India to tell its own story itself—clearly, confidently, and independently—without allowing others to distort reality. By doing so, we can safeguard India’s national image, ensure justice for victims of terrorism, and present a more balanced and fact-based account of regional realities to the world. The sooner we recognise this imperative, the stronger and more self-reliant our nation will become.

Imran Khurshid is a visiting research fellow at the International Centre for Peace Studies, New Delhi. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.