LONDON, Aug 11: India, with its varied life, strong democratic roots and rapid economic transformation, seems to have prevailed over Pakistan in the game of getting more western media attention on the 50th anniversary of Independence of the two countries.

With the countdown for the celebrations on August 14 and 15 having already begun, the British as well as European media, particularly television channels including BBC World and the domestic Channel Four, are running an unprecedented number of serials on India with excellent ratings from viewers' forums.

The choice of subjects with predominant Indian themes by majority of producers has irked the Pakistani lobby here which has written a spate of protest letters to television companies and the ethnic Pakistani media here, claiming the coverage is ``extremely one-sided projection of the 50 years' celebrations''.

The criticism has been brushed aside by main television channels and producers, who normally take exception to any outside interference in programme choice, and most of the producers in informal discussions commented, ``India, with its vast variety and colour, is a beacon for us and all the programmes made are keeping viewers in mind''.

During the whole of August, viewers in Britain as well as the whole of Europe will be in for an Indian bonanza with scores of serials on India on view. The climax of the Channel Four bonanza will possibly be a telecast of the recent live performance by the legendary Lata Mangeshkar.

Along with the serials, a good mix of Indian movies such as Roja, Bombay, Maachis, 1942, A Love Story and Sardar, are also being shown by Channel Four.

On Pakistan, BBC starts off with the background of India's partition, followed by a feature on Pakistan's economy, violence in Karachi, power of the feudal people.

The programmes will be rounded off with a feature on Kashmir with comments from militants and mercenaries based in the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

The choice of the television and radio producers to pick up more themes with Indian background seems to have annoyed the Pakistani lobby which said, ``Pakistan seems to be of relevance only in so far as it is the cause of fundamentalism, murder, rape and pillage that accompanied partition.''

The Pakistanis are angry at the western bias against their country's founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.