The infamous Gurmeet Ram Rahim episode not only threw up a rapist baba, but also ‘Papa’s Angel’. Yes, we are talking about Honeypreet Insan, the adopted daughter of Ram Rahim who has become media’s latest obsession.

But not for her crimes or the fact that she has been absconding for a month. Instead, the media’s focus is her probable sexual relations with her ‘father’. 

Yes, that’s exactly what our media is most concerned about. Utter the word SEX and we go bonkers.

Of late, the media has been on an overdrive with its coverage of Honeypreet Insan, dishing out ridiculous analogies bordering on the misogynist, while ignoring the main issue at hand.

First, let’s learn the serious charges on Honeypreet: 

  • Allegedly inciting violence after Ram Rahim was convicted of rape on August 25
  • Sedition for allegedly plotting the self-appointed guru’s escape from a court in Panchkula where he was held guilty

Now, see what the media is reporting: Kya hai Honey se rishton ka sach (what is the truth of Gurmeet’s relationship with Honey?)

Take a look at this BREAKING NEWS below. The channel claims to have its hands on Honeypreet’s personal diary in which she penned her dreams of becoming an actress and her fascination with Bollywood. 

But most importantly, the diary contains the most definite hint that she might have had a love affair with Gurmeet: the songs and hymns she wrote for him, which is of course what the report is all about.

Many news channels have been giving us such wonderful headlines and stories that will even put our Hindi serials to shame. Hindi media, especially has gone crazy reporting on the issue and impressing us with their ‘investigative’ journalism.

For instance, the one below: Honeypreet ke karwachauth ka raaz (The truth behind Honeypreet’s karwachauth fast).

Here is another so called BREAKING NEWS below where a channel wasted away its prime time on Rakhi Sawant who talked about how scandalized she was upon realizing the ‘affair’ between Baba and his ‘daughter’. 

Rakhi claimed she is the best qualified person to drop the veil on both. Again, not the criminal charges on her but her amorous relationship was the news.

The ‘news break’ was followed by multiple copies which harped on the ‘big revelation’:

Rakhi’s irrelevant statement – “I realised that Honeypreet was uncomfortable seeing my close proximity with Gurmeet and even feared that I may become her ‘Sautan’ (lover’s wife) by marrying him” – was played up by many media houses:

Here is another gem by Aaj Tak, which tells us how former Dera Sacha Sauda followers and devotees claimed that Honeypreet planned to have a son from Ram Rahim. Now this was important, because for a child, you surely need to have sex, right? 

Major media houses carrying such ‘dramatic’ reports only goes on to show how childish and immature this whole coverage is.

See this report, next. What’s the point of showing her honeymoon photos and how she looked when she was of a certain age? How will this help in nabbing her and revealing her whereabouts?

 Are we bothering with this useless nonsense, just because she is a woman?

And here is yet another mindless and cringe-worthy video showcasing the ‘true’ friendship between Baba and his adopted daughter. What is it trying to insinuate anyway?

Slow claps for this one! Here is a full 16 minutes dedicated to compare Honeypreet and Ram Rahim’s wife Harjeet Kaur. As extra masala, the video goes on to elaborate how Honeypreet used to hate Ram Rahim’s wife because she considered her as ‘sautan’!

What will all this digging up stories about her alleged illicit relationship with Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh prove! At a time when the saas-bahu dramas keep hitting newer lows, seems our news channels are hell bent on giving them a tough competition.

Would the channels have used the same ridiculous analogy, were it a man in question? Watching this video is no less than watching a makeup tutorial in which the anchor discusses the many faces and disguises of Honeypreet through which she is evading the police. 

But why use the term ‘icchadhari’? Because why not, go on mislead the audience. Go call a woman ‘icchadhari’ snake, feed them with more superstitions for a few more views. 

(FYI: Ichchadhari Nagin is a mythical shape-shifting serpent creature in Indian folklore which could take the form of any living thing, but preferred to be in the form of a human being )

This stupidity reached a peak last week when Honeypreet’s ex-husband Vishwas Gupta held a completely unnecessary press conference to reveal ‘explosive’ details about the relationship between his ex-wife and Gurmeet which news channels hungrily fed on.

The whole point of the presser seemed to prove that yes, Honeypreet slept with Gurmeet, with Gupta making claims like he caught the Dera chief and Honeypreet in a “compromising position” in the ‘gufa’. 

Enough, we say!

Just for the sake of TRPs and gaining cheap publicity, such news videos and articles not only sound shoddy and distasteful but also demean the credibility of media.

The primary concern here should be to arrest Honeypreet and bring her to justice in case she is found guilty. Discussing her sex life, or any of her private life not pertaining to the charges against her, only reveals our cheap mindset. 

And can we please let go of imbecile adjectives while describing a woman?