ABSTRACT
In the aftermath of the Uri attack in 2016 there were a number of vehement protests in India against Pakistani actors who were working in India as they were feared to be enemy spies. Along with this opposition and in stark contrast to it, there was also an equally intense fetishisation for these artistes which became evident in the Indian social and print media. This duality of fear and fetishisation for a Pakistani personality is not a single distinct incident; rather there is a history of objectifying Pakistani cricketers and even a female diplomat who visited India for their work. This chapter examines the gaze of the Indian media, including digital as well as social media, towards the men and women of Pakistan. It analyses online articles, discussions held in various social networking sites, along with a study of those memes and web-comics which engage in creating a fetish for the ‘body’ of a Pakistani individual. The chapter delves deeply into the kind of adjectives and phrases used by the Indian media to sexually describe the Pakistani actors, politicians as well as some sports personalities. In order to fully comprehend the gaze of the Indian media towards a Pakistani persona and the way in which power works through this gaze, the chapter employs the ‘gaze’ theories of Michel Foucault and Edward Said, as well as the feminist perspectives of Laura Mulvey, Lisa Cartwright, and Marita Sturken.
