Critical Discourse Analysis of Pakistani and Indian News on Pulwama Attack

Abstract

This research study investigates the political discourse of Pakistan and India through a comparative analysis of political ideological frames as portrayed in the news headlines regarding the Pulwama attack incident that happened in Indian administered Kashmir. The study also explores the aftermath long lasting and crucial political effects of this important incident. The sample of four e-papers from both Pakistan and India was taken for the analysis; including India Today, The Hindustan Times, Indian Express, The Hindu from India, likewise The Dawn, The Nation, The Tribune, and Pakistan Today from Pakistan. The study has a data set consisting of 10 headlines with their subsequent sub-headlines from newspapers of each country. The timeframe of the study spans from the 14th of February (when the incident occurred) to the 28th of March 2019 (when tensions de-escalated with the return of the Indian pilot Abi Nandan). The researcher employed a mixed-method approach, incorporating both qualitative and quantitative paradigms by using Van Dijk's (1993) Ideological Square and Clusivity theory proposed by Wieczorek (2013) for data interpretation and analysis. The primary objective of this study is to encourage critical thinking and foster the ability to objectively interpret news text by the common public, newspaper readership, and political analysts.