And so far, DD seems to be ahead. Its coverage of the funeral ceremonies of the soldiers in Kargil appears to have made an impact as indicated by Bansi Lal of the Central Reserve Police Force guarding the Central Bank of India and Life Insurance Corporation of India offices in a hotel in Srinagar.

``All the CRPF jawans on duty here are glued to the television sets to watch the news bulletins,'' he says.

``They don't disperse when the news are over, but stay and watch the patriotic songs on DD.''

Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamare dil mein hai is the latest hit, though many are unable to grasp the lyrics.

Women who have lost sons and husbands to the turmoil are particularly moved by the coverage of the funerals.

To counter DD, PTV regularly airs milinagmas (joint songs) portraying Pakistani military prowess, much like DD's patriotic numbers.

And in an effort to mirror DD's coverage of action in the battlefield, PTV recently showed footage of Pakistani artillery units firing the 130 mm gun accompanied by the customary "Allaho Akbar'' by the soldiers.

The channel has now scheduled reruns of Nishan-e-Hyder which highlights the actions of Pakistani soldiers in the 1965 and 1971 wars against India which earned them the Nishan, Pakistan's highest gallantry award.

And in a bid to lend credibility to its coverage, PTV has come up with the idea of showing clippings of new stories, comments and analytical reports that appear in national dailies, especially The Indian Express.

Selected portions are read from these clippings; mostly out of context, to give the wrong impression to viewers.