RIWO SANGCHOD: Mountain Smoke Offering

Lhatsun Namkha Jigme

Mountain Smoke Offering: from the Life-Force Practice of the Vidyādharas (Rigdzin Sokdrup)

revealed by Lhatsün Namkha Jikmé

༈ྃ བྷྲཱུྃ༔ རིན་ཆེན་སྣ་ཚོགས་དྭངས་མའི་སྣོད་ཡངས་སུ༔

droom rinchen natsok dangmé nö yang su

Bhrūṃ! In the vast lustrous vessel, made of the essence of various jewels,

འཇིག་རྟེན་སྲིད་པའི་འདོད་རྒུ་དམ་ཚིག་རྫས༔

jikten sipé dögu damtsik dzé

The samaya substances, all the desirable objects in worldly existence, are

འབྲུ་གསུམ་ཡེ་ཤེས་བདུད་རྩིར་བྱིན་བརླབས་པས༔

dru sum yeshe dütsir jinlabpé

Transformed into the nectar of wisdom through the blessing of the three seed syllables oṃ āḥ hūṃ,

སྣང་སྲིད་མཆོད་པའི་འདོད་རྒུར་འཁྲིགས་པ་འདི༔

nangsi chöpé dögur trikpa di

So that all that appears and exists becomes an offering of all that is desirable.

བླ་མ་ཡི་དམ་ཌཱཀྐི་ཆོས་སྲུང་དང༌༔

lama yidam daki chösung dang

This I offer to the gurus, yidams, ḍākinīs, dharmapālas and

ཕྱོགས་བཅུ་རྒྱལ་བའི་དཀྱིལ་འཁོར་ཇི་སྙེད་དང༌༔

chok chu gyalwé kyilkhor jinyé dang

All the mandalas of the buddhas of the ten directions,

འཛམ་གླིང་གཞི་བདག་རིགས་དྲུག་ལན་ཆགས་མགྲོན༔

dzamling shyidak rik druk lenchak drön

To the local deities of this world, beings of the six realms and the guests to whom I owe karmic debts.

ཁྱད་པར་བདག་གི་ཚེ་འཕྲོག་སྲོག་རྐུ་ཞིང༌༔

khyepar dak gi tsé trok sok ku shying

And especially to those who would steal my life and deplete my life force,

ནད་གཏོང་བར་ཆད་རྩོམ་པའི་འབྱུང་པོ་དང༌༔

né tong barché tsompé jungpo dang

To the malicious jungpo demons who inflict sickness and obstacles,

རྨི་ལམ་རྟགས་མཚན་ངན་དང་ལྟས་ངན་རིགས༔

milam tak tsen ngen dang té ngen rik

Bad signs in dreams and all types of evil omens,

སྡེ་བརྒྱད་མ་རུང་ཆོ་འཕྲུལ་བདག་པོ་དང༌༔

dé gyé marung chotrul dakpo dang

The eight classes of negative spirits, the masters of magical illusions,

ཟས་དང་གནས་དང་ནོར་གྱི་ལན་ཆགས་ཅན༔

zé dang né dang nor gyi lenchak chen

And those to whom I owe karmic debts of food, place and wealth,

གྲིབ་བདག་སྨྱོ་འདྲེ་ཕོ་གཤིན་མོ་གཤིན་དང༌༔

drib dak nyodré poshin moshin dang

To forces that bring obscuration and madness, to the shades of men and women dead.

གྲི་བོ་ཐེའུ་རང་གྲོང་སྲིན་འདྲེ་མོ་བཅས༔

driwo terang drong sin dremo ché

To all the spirits, térangs, ghouls and female ghosts!

ལན་ཆགས་དམར་པོའི་མེ་ལ་ཇལ་ཏེ་བསྲེག༔

lenchak marpö mé la jal té sek

Now all my karmic debts are paid, burnt in the scarlet flames.

རང་རང་ཡིད་ལ་གང་འདོད་འདོད་རྒུའི་ཆར༔

rang rang yi la gang dö dögü char

Whatever each one desires, may the objects of their desires rain down:

ཇི་སྲིད་ནམ་མཁའ་གནས་ཀྱི་བར་ཉིད་དུ༔

jisi namkha né kyi bar nyi du

For as far and as long as space exists

འདོད་པའི་ཡོན་ཏན་ཟད་པ་མེད་པར་བསྔོ༔

döpé yönten zepa mepar ngo

I dedicate an inexhaustible amount of sensual stimulants!

བདག་གི་དུས་གསུམ་བསགས་པའི་སྡིག་སྒྲིབ་དང༌༔

dak gi dü sum sakpé dikdrib dang

May my negative actions and obscurations accumulated in past, present and future,

དཀོན་མཆོག་དད་གཤིན་དཀོར་ལ་སྤྱད་པ་རྣམས༔

könchok dé shinkor la chepa nam

And misuse of the offerings made to the Three Jewels, in devotion and for the dead,

སྦྱིན་སྲེག་མེ་མཆོད་འདི་ཡིས་དག་གྱུར་ཅིག༔

jinsek mechö di yi dak gyur chik

Be purified in the fire of this sang offering!

མེ་ལྕེ་སྣང་སྲིད་གང་བའི་རྡུལ་ཕྲན་རེས༔

meché nangsi gangwé dultren ré

Let its flames fill the entire universe and every minute particle of flame

ཀུན་བཟང་མཆོད་པའི་སྤྲིན་ཕུང་མི་ཟད་པ༔

kunzang chöpé trinpung mizepa

Become an inexhaustible cloud of offerings like Samantabhadra’s

རྒྱལ་བའི་ཞིང་ཁམས་ཡོངས་ལ་ཁྱབ་གྱུར་ཅིག༔

gyalwé shyingkham yong la khyab gyur chik

Pervading throughout all the buddha realms!

མེ་ལྕེ་ཡེ་ཤེས་འོད་ལྔའི་མཆོད་སྦྱིན་ཟེར༔

meché yeshe ö ngé chöjin zer

May these flames, offering-rays of five-coloured lights of wisdom,

རིགས་དྲུག་མནར་མེད་གནས་སུ་ཁྱབ་གྱུར་པས༔

rik druk narmé né su khyab gyurpé

Pervade throughout the six classes of beings, down to the Avīcī Hells,

ཁམས་གསུམ་འཁོར་བ་འཇའ་ལུས་འོད་སྐུར་གྲོལ༔

kham sum khorwa jalü ökur drol

The three realms of saṃsāra be liberated into the rainbow body,

འགྲོ་ཀུན་བྱང་ཆུབ་སྙིང་པོར་སངས་རྒྱས་ཤོག༔

dro kün changchub nyingpor sangye shok

And all sentient beings awaken into the heart of enlightenment!

ཨོཾ་ཨཱཿཧཱུྂ༔ ཞེས་བརྒྱ་སྟོང་འབུམ་ཕྲག་མང་པོས་འབུལ་བར་བྱའོ༔

om ah hung

With Oṃ āḥ hūṃ, make the offering a hundred, thousand, or several hundred thousand times.

སྐུ་གསུམ་དག་པ་སྣོད་ཀྱི་གཞལ་ཡས་སུ༔

ku sum dakpa nö kyi shyalyé su

All is purified into the three kāyas: the environment, a heavenly palace where

ཆོས་ལོངས་སྤྲུལ་གསུམ་སྣང་སྲིད་གཟུགས་ཕུང་རྣམས༔

chö long trul sum nangsi zukpung nam

Dharmakāya, saṃbhogakāya and nirmāṇakāya—appearance and the form aggregates of existence

བདུད་རྩིར་ཞུ་བས་འཇའ་འོད་བར་སྣང་གང༌༔

dütsir shyuwé ja'ö barnang gang

Melt into nectar, flooding the whole expanse of the sky with rainbow light.

འཁོར་བ་མྱང་འདས་ཟག་མེད་བདུད་རྩིའི་བཅུད༔

khorwa nyangdé zakmé dütsi chü

Saṃsāra is liberated into nirvāṇa; this essence of immaculate nectar,

ཐོག་མེད་དུས་ནས་ད་ལྟ་ཡན་ཆད་དུ༔

tokmé dü né danta yenché du

I share with all those who, from beginningless time until now,

སྣང་སྲིད་མགྲོན་དུ་གྱུར་པ་ཡོངས་ལ་བསྔོ༔

nangsi drön du gyurpa yong la ngo

Have been guests in worldly existence.

ས་ལམ་འབྲས་བུའི་ཡོན་ཏན་མཐར་ཕྱིན་ཞིང༌༔

salam drebü yönten tarchin shying

Having attained all the noble qualities of the stages, paths and fruition,

ལྟ་སྒོམ་སྤྱོད་པའི་བར་ཆད་ཀུན་བསལ་ནས༔

ta gom chö pé barché kün sal né

And dispelled all obstacles in view, meditation and action,

རྨད་བྱུང་ཀུན་བཟང་ཐུགས་ཀྱི་མཁའ་དབྱིངས་སུ༔

mejung kunzang tuk kyi khaying su

Within the sky-like space of Samantabhadra’s wondrous wisdom mind,

གཞོན་ནུ་བུམ་སྐུར་གཏན་སྲིད་ཟིན་པར་ཤོག༔

shyönnu bumkur tensi zinpar shok

May we seize the stronghold of the youthful vase body!

འཁོར་བའི་རྒྱ་མཚོ་ཆེན་པོ་སྟོངས་པའི་མཐར༔

khorwé gyatso chenpo tongpé tar

And when at last the great ocean of saṃsāra is emptied;

འོག་མིན་པདྨ་དྲྭ་བར་སངས་རྒྱས་ཤོག༔

womin pema drawar sangye shok

May all beings attain buddhahood in the Lotus Net of Akaniṣṭha!

ཕུང་ཁམས་བསྲེག་རྫས་བཀྲག་མདངས་གཟི་བརྗིད་འབར༔

pung kham sekdzé trakdang ziji bar

The sang offerings of the aggregates and elements blaze in vivid, brilliant splendour!

དཀར་དམར་བྱང་སེམས་བསྲེག་རྫས་བདེ་སྟོང་འབར༔

kar mar changsem sekdzé detong bar

The sang offerings of red and white bodhicitta blaze in bliss and emptiness!

སྟོང་ཉིད་སྙིང་རྗེའི་བསྲེག་རྫས་ཆོས་དབྱིངས་གང༌༔

tongnyi nyingjé sekdzé chöying gang

The sang offerings of emptiness and compassion fill the dharmadhātu!

སྣང་སྲིད་འཁོར་འདས་རྡོ་རྗེའི་འོད་ལྔའི་གཞིར༔

nangsi khordé dorjé ö ngé shyir

Upon the ground of five-coloured vajra light of phenomenal existence, saṃsāra and nirvāṇa,

ལྷུན་གྲུབ་རྫོགས་སངས་རྒྱས་པའི་བསྲེག་རྫས་འབུལ༔

lhündrub dzok sangye pé sekdzé bul

I offer the smoke offering of spontaneously accomplished perfect buddhahood.

སྔོན་གྱི་ལན་ཆགས་ཐམས་ཅད་བྱང་གྱུར་ཅིག༔

ngön gyi lenchak tamché jang gyur chik

May all my karmic debts from the past be purified!

ད་ལྟ་རྒྱུད་ལ་མི་གནས་མཐོལ་ལོ་བཤགས༔

danta gyü la miné tol lo shak

In the present so they do not remain in my mind-stream, I confess them!

མ་འོངས་སྒྲིབ་པའི་འཁོར་ལོར་མ་གྱུར་ཅིག༔

ma ong dribpé khorlor magyur chik

In the future, may I never be drawn into the wheel of obscuration!

སོ་ཐར་བྱང་སེམས་རིག་པ་འཛིན་པ་ཡི༔

sotar changsem rigpa dzinpa yi

All impairments of the vows of individual liberation, bodhisattva precepts,

སྡོམ་བཅས་བསླབ་པ་གསང་སྔགས་དམ་ཚིག་རིགས༔

dom ché labpa sang ngak damtsik rik

And samayas of the vidyādharas,

ཚོར་དང་མ་ཚོར་ཉམས་པ་མཐོལ་ལོ་བཤགས༔

tsor dang matsor nyampa tol lo shak

Conscious or unwitting, I openly admit.

ནད་གདོན་གྲིབ་དང་མི་གཙང་དག་གྱུར་ཅིག༔

né dön drib dang mitsang dak gyur chik

May illness, harmful influence, obscurations and impurities be purified!

ནད་མུག་མཚོན་གྱི་བསྐལ་པ་ཞི་གྱུར་ཅིག༔

né muk tsön gyi kalpa shyi gyur chik

May this age of plague, famine and warfare be pacified!

མཐའ་མི་དབུས་སུ་འོང་བའི་བསུན་མ་ཟློག༔

tami ü su ongwé sünma dok

May the attacks of invaders be repelled!

ཆོས་མཛད་བླ་མ་གདན་འདྲེན་བར་ཆད་ཟློག༔

chödzé lama dendren barché dok

May the forces that create obstacles by inviting the spiritual teacher to leave this world be averted!

བོད་ཡུལ་བཀྲ་མི་ཤིས་པའི་ལྟས་ངན་ཟློག༔

böyul trami shipé te ngen dok

May inauspicious bad omens for the land of Tibet be averted!

གཟའ་ཀླུ་རྒྱལ་པོས་སྲོག་དབུགས་སྡུད་པ་ཟློག༔

za lu gyalpö sokuk düpa dok

May the planetary forces, nāgas and arrogant king-like spirits, who cut short the breath of life, be repelled!

འཇིགས་པ་ཆེན་པོ་བརྒྱད་དང་བཅུ་དྲུག་ཟློག༔

jikpa chenpo gyé dang chudruk dok

May the eight great fears and sixteen lesser fears be overcome!

བདག་ཅག་འཁོར་བཅས་བཀྲ་མི་ཤིས་པ་ཟློག༔

dakchak khor ché trami shipa dok

For me and all those around me, may all that is inauspicious be averted!¹

དམ་སྲི་འགོང་པོའི་མཐུ་སྟོབས་ནུས་པ་ཟློག༔

damsi gongpö tutob nüpa dok

May the powers and strength of samaya-breakers and gongpo demons be averted!

ས་མ་ཡ༔

samaya

ཞེས་ཤིང་སྣ་ཚོགས་པའི་བསངས་ཁ་བརྒྱ་དང་བརྒྱད། སྦྱིན་སྲེག་གི་ཆོ་ག་ལས་བྱུང་བ་ལྟར། རི་བོ་བསངས་མཆོད་འདིས་འཆི་བསླུ་དང་། དཀོར་སྦྱོང་། བར་ཆད་ཀྱི་རིགས་སེལ་བ་རྡོ་རྗེ་ཕ་ལམ་ལྟ་བུ་འདི། སྦས་ཡུལ་འབྲས་མོ་གཤོངས་ཀྱི་གནས་སྒོ་འབྱེད་པའི་ཆ་ལག་ཏུ་མཁའ་འགྲོས་གནང་བ་བཞིན་ནོར་འཁྲུལ་མེད་པར་སྦྱར་བའོ།། །།

As indicated in the ritual for the fire offering, use 108 incense burners and various kinds of wood. Through this diamond-like practice of Mountain Smoke Offering, one will be able to ‘ransom’ death, purify the misuse of offerings and avert various kinds of obstacle. In accordance with the ḍākinī’s instructions, this was set down, without any error, when revealing the hidden land of Sikkim.

Bibliography

Ri bo bsangs mchod in Rig 'dzin srog sgrub, 5 vols, Delhi: Chos spyod dpar skrun khang, 2000, (TBRC W13779) vol. 1, pp. 829–834

| Rigpa Translations, 2008. Corrected, 2016.

1.   (Ref: Lotsawa House)

RIGDZIN SOGDRUP AND RIWO SANGCHO

Lhatsun Namkha Jigme

The  famous cycle of terma teachings called Rigdzin Sokdrup (‘Accomplishing the Life-Force of the Vidyadharas’), emerged in a pure vision while Lhatsun Chenpo was in retreat in the cave of Lhari Rinchen Nyingphug near Tashiding in west Sikkim. These teachings, of which Riwo Sangcho forms the mengak or innermost instruction, are unsurpassed instructions on Dzogchen Atiyoga.

Terton Lhatsun Chenpo, Sikkim’s Patron Saint, discovered the “Attainment of the Vidyadhara Life” (rig 'dzin srog sgrub), from which the “Riwo Sangcho” (ri bo bsang mchod), meaning “Mountain Smoke Offering”, a terma hidden by Guru Rinpoche, comes from and “The Spontaneous Song of the Clouds: the Nucleus of Indestructible Reality” (rdo rje snying po sprin gyi thol glu).

Rigdzin Sogdrub (rig 'dzin srog sgrub) is a cycle of more than 800 pages in five volumes. The terma is a collection of core teachings of the Southern Treasure Text Lineage (lho gter) of the Dzogchen Tradition popular in Sikkim. The fifth volume is the famous Neysol (gnas gsol = 'Worship of the Place') often referred to in connection with the religious history of Sikkim.

Through his practice of Riwo Sangcho, Lhatsun was able to remove all human and non-human obstacles to the Dharma in Sikkim, opening it as a ‘secret land’ of the teachings. Because of this, he was able to teach Dzogchen very widely in Sikkim in the remaining years of his life, establishing a vibrant and unbroken lineage that continues to this day, known simply as ‘Sikkim Dzogchen’.

Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche

More than two hundred of Lhatsün Namkha Jigme’s writings have survived. Accomplishing the Life-Force of the Vidyadharas and The Spontaneous Song of the Clouds have continued to be transmitted and practised throughout Tibet and particularly in Sikkim right up to the present day without any decline.

THE TSUKLAKHAG TRUST

This month, under the leadership and guidance of the Chogyal Wangchuk Namgyal of Sikkim,who is engaged in the revival of Dharma, particularly the Rigdzin Sogdrup tradition,  H.E. Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche will bestow Rigdzin Sogdrup and Dorje Nyingpo Wang-Lung (empowerment and initiation) at Tashiding Monastery, West Sikkim, from November 16-22, 2017.

Dzongsar Rinpoche will also bestow Kawang at the Tsuklakhang Royal Chapel in Gangtok on November 26, 2017.The two functions are being organized under the auspices of The Tsuklakhang Trust.

NO CHANGE OF MIND

“No regrets, no hard feelings”

In days and weeks to come you may be told by some people – genuinely or mischievously - that I would be joining politics and contesting the next Assembly elections  (slated for early 2019 but may take place in 2018) from the prestigious Gangtok constituency, which has equal number of voters from all four communities – Bhutia-Lepchas, Nepalese and byaparies (business community).

This is far from the truth. I have been out of politics and political affairs of Sikkim since 2004. I made an effort to form a credible team and make a comeback in 2008 but this was unsuccessful. Since then this part of my life has been a closed chapter. I intend to keep it that way. The details of what took place are recorded in great detail in my last book, “The Lone Warrior: Exiled in My Homeland” (now unofficially banned in Sikkim) for posterity to take note of.

My political thoughts, recorded in my three books (“Inside Sikkim: Against the Tide” – published in 1993,  “Sikkim For Sikkim: Distinct Identity Within the Union” – published in 2009, and “The Lone Warrior: Exiled In My Homeland” – published in 2014), in my numerous newspapers, including Sikkim Observer, and other writings focus on preservation of Sikkim’s ‘Distinct Identity within the Union’ and restoration of the political rights of the Sikkimese people as assured by New Delhi during the ‘merger’ era in 1973-75 and reflected in Article 371F of the Indian Constitution. These are two major issues raised by the Sikkimese people through their social and political organisations in the past four decades.

But despite this New Delhi has failed to meet the hopes and aspirations of the Sikkimese people. So far we have demanded preservation of our ‘distinct identity’ within the Union and within the framework of the Constitution of India. We have never demanded Independence. And yet New Delhi has gone about eroding the credibility of our political leadership and diluting our ‘distinct identity’ and political rights, leading to their eventual death.

Let me again warn New Delhi of what Hindustan Times wrote in April 1974: “Security depends on people, not territory.”

Is it because of New Delhi’s mischievous activities in Sikkim that a people like me have given up on Sikkim and the Sikkimese people? No. I have opted out because I truly believe that our majority Sikkimese Nepalese and their political leadership have made a U-turn along the way and are now not interested in preserving their political rights and distinct identity. They have every right to pursue their own political future and objectives and we must genuinely respect it.

My dream has been that the three ethnic communities (Bhutias, Lepchas, Nepalese), the old business community and others live side by side unitedly and harmoniously with their distinct identity intact and within the bounds of India.

So, with a heavy heart I have come to accept the reality and the death of my dream and called it a day. No regrets, no hard feelings. Its over. 

TRIBUTE TO NAR BAHADUR BHANDARI

When Sikkim Humbled India
The victory of Sikkim Parishad party in the Assembly polls in Sikkim in October 1979 is a reminder that if the Sikkimese people are united nothing is impossible. The Parishad, led by Nar Bahadur Bhandari, a Sikkimese patriot hailing from the majority Nepalese community, had the tacit backing of the Chogyal of Sikkim, Palden Thondup Namgyal, who was unceremoniously dethroned by anti-Sikkimese forces projecting themselves as ‘democrats’ in early 1975. Ever since the Indian-backed phony revolution for ‘democracy’ began in the former kingdom in early 1973, Bhandari and other nationalist leaders from all three ethnic communities – Lepchas, Bhutias and Nepalese – struggled for seven long years to deliver justice to the Sikkimese people. Bhandari’s Parishad won 16 of the 32 seats in the Assembly and with the help of an independent candidate formed the government and ousted pro-India party led by LD Kazi from power. Significantly, the independent legislator was the Late Lachen Rinpoche, who won from the lone Sangha seat.

The rest of the seats in the Assembly were won by Ram Chandra Poudyal’s Congress (R) – 11 seats – and Nar Bahadur Khatiwada’s Prajatantra party – 4 seats. Poudyal won 11 seats mainly because he raised the demand for restoration of Assembly seats reserved for Sikkimese Nepalese in the Assembly, which were abolished in 1979. Kazi’s Sikkim Janata Party drew nil in the polls and Kazi himself lost from the Dzongu constituency in North Sikkim. While Bhandari’s party promised de-merger, Poudyal projected himself as a Nepali leader and focused on the seat issue. Unlike Khatiwada, Poudyal did not want merger but greater political power for the majority Nepalese. After the ‘merger’ in 1975  Khatiwada, too, revolted and said it was not the wishes of the Sikkimese people to merge its country with India. While the result of the Assembly polls in 1979 was hailed as victory of the Sikkimese people the fact that the Sikkimese people’s political leadership has failed to give justice to the people ever since is Sikkim’s greatest tragedy.

(SIKKIM Observer/Editorial)

INDIAN MEDIA FACING A CRISIS OF CREDIBILITY

Journalism in India is facing a serious crisis. The mainstream media is increasingly vested in the hands of a select few and refuses to question authority. Murali Krishnan from New Delhi examines this disturbing trend.

 Just recently Indian President Pranab Mukherjee resoundingly drove home the point to the Indian media that "discussion and dissension" are crucial for a vibrant democracy, and it must hold public institutions accountable for all their actions and inactions.

"There should always be room for the argumentative Indian, and not the intolerant Indian. The media must be the watchdog, the mediator between the leaders and the public," Mukherjee emphasized while delivering a seminal lecture honoring former press baron Ramnath Goenka.

His words could not have been timelier, with the mainstream media's independence currently being questioned, and how ultra nationalism has dominated the political narrative, refusing to accept dissent.

A mouthpiece?

Commentators criticize how in recent years the media has lowered the quality of India's public discourse. Media expansion has led to a shrinking of the public sphere, resulting in the spread of elitist and socially conservative values.

"The true test of a robust democracy is the independence of its media. Over the past few years our media has become the mouthpiece of the party in power. Coupled with the fact the corporate owners of media houses share close links with the government, the Indian media has tragically lost its voice," criminal lawyer Rebecca Mammen told DW. Mammen has defended many cases related to press freedom.

Serious issues like the beef ban, the crisis in Kashmir, dissent in universities and even the unrest in societies where Dalits - the lowest level of India's caste system - have been discriminated or killed, have received scant mention in media coverage.

Still, there hasn't been a bigger debate about why the media has failed to effectively perform the critical tasks it's supposed to do in a representative democracy.

Poor quality

India has over 400 news channels in various languages and another 150 channels are awaiting clearance. The South Asian country also has tens of thousands of news papers and magazines. But the quality of Indian journalism is poor, as evidenced by the fact India ranks 136 among 180 countries in the index compiled by Reporters Without Borders, an NGO.

When it comes to press freedom, India fares worse than even countries like Afghanistan and the United Arab Emirates.

"Over the last few years - especially after Prime Minister Narendra Modi won the general election of 2014 - the Indian mainstream media has allowed itself to be undermined by the transcendent political power that he represents,"Pamela Philipose, an ombudsman for The Wire, a media outlet, told DW.

In fact, given the current state of how the mainstream media works it will be difficult to expose tweaked data and opacity in government functioning.

"A new note of muscular nationalism has crept into media discourse.  Also conspicuous is the curbing of dissent and the rise of the surveillance state - developments that bode ill for the independence of the Indian media," says Philipose.

Giles Vernier, a political scientist, has a different take.

"One reason why we don't see much criticism in the media is that the government, in the person of the Prime Minister, has the ability to completely dominate the media's agenda, by saturating the public and media sphere with the message, image, and his voice."

"Thus the media is bound to only react to the news agenda offered by the government, rather than investigate its action independently," Vernier told DW.

Filings with the registrar of companies in the ministry of corporate affairs have revealed that five Indian news media companies - NDTV, News Nation, India TV, News24 and Network18 - are indebted to either Mukesh Ambani, the richest Indian and the owner of Reliance Industries, or Mahendra Nahata, an industrialist and Ambani associate, who is also on the board of Reliance's new telecom venture, Reliance Jio.

"What more do you expect when the media industry is dominated by such big players? The Indian media is now the B team of the Bharatiya Janata party and the Modi government," says Mammen.

 Indien Protest gegen Morde an Journalisten (Getty Images/AFP/I. Mukherjee)

At least 54 journalists were attacked in India between January 2016 and April 2017, according to a report published by The Hoot

'Sensation above sense'

According to a report published by The Hoot, a website that tracks media, at least 54 journalists were attacked between January 2016 and April 2017.

Sevanti Ninan, who runs the site, says many attacks on journalists go unreported, as reporters often succumb to threats from local politicians, policemen, and self-appointed vigilantes.

In 2014 alone, 114 journalists were reportedly attacked, but only 32 attackers were arrested or prosecuted.

Celebrity anchor and journalist Rajdeep Sardesai sees the decline and concurs that the media views the actions of citizens through the lens of nationalism, condemning those who question the state narrative as "anti-national."

"I think there is a credibility crisis, in that television news media in particular is driven by a tendency to put sensation above sense in the search for ratings," Sardesai told DW.

But he was quick to point out that there is also unwillingness across the media to robustly challenge the official narrative on key issues partly out of its own failings but also largely out of fear of being denied access to those in power.

Debates on private news channels have been censured for being strident and shrill. India has one of the world's most vibrant and competitive media environments. It is now time to conduct a reality check and ask whether all is well with it.