While multiculturalism has contributed to a unique Indian experience that makes India a tapestry of harmony this experience has not been without its challenges. The conference on “Muslims, Democracy and the Media: Prospects and Challenges,” to be held March 17 and 18 at Maulana Azad National Urdu University in Hyderabad, India, is an attempt to assess these challenges. The media has the potential to influence community perceptions, and the objective of the conference is to provide a platform for a meaningful dialogue to take place between scholars, academicians, researchers, media personnel, policy makers, and opinion shapers, social activists. It is hoped that the conference will lead to the beginning of a dialogue between the media and marginalized group/s.
The conference proposes to address the following broad themes:
1. Minorities, Muslims and the Media:
• Muslims, Ethnic Media and the Problems of Marketing and Advertising.
• Muslims and Popular Cinema
• Muslims and Popular Television
• Muslims and the Urdu TV Channels: Adequacies and Inadequacies
• Challenges for Ethnic/Regional Media
• Muslims and the lack of corporatization of Ethnic Media
• Urdu Media and Secularism
• Muslims and International Media
2. Politics in Media and Media in Politics
• Muslims, Communalism and Indian Media
• Muslims, Urdu media and ‘Muslim’ politics
• Muslims, Secular Democracy and the Media