Apart from national security, another very important issue which Mumbai Attack has raised is about freedom of press. The live telecast of Mumbai mayhem made our security forces more vulnerable to terrorist’s firepower. The terrorist could counter every little move of forces which led to death of many of our jawans and even the casualty of civilians struck inside may have increased.
It has raised serious questions whether the media went over the edge and just to increase its TRP ratings it did which it should not have. Did it misuse its freedom? Shall there be some restrictions on media reporting? These are not simple questions to answer. Freedom of press is the most fundamental basis of a free and democratic society. And it has been guaranteed as fundamental right by our constitution under Article 19(1)(a). We should not forget that it is freedom of press only that differentiates a despotic rule from a democratic rule. The best example of this is China where the state news channel Xinhua reports what government asks it t to report. And it was through press only that our freedom struggle which was only limited to some patches of urban India became a mass struggle. Newspapers like Anand Bazar Patrika, Lokmat, shabad Kamudi etc. took the freedom message to every hook and corner of the country.
Government is deliberating on bringing a bill in the parliament to gag the media. In this regard a cabinet resolution has been passed which says that only ‘authorized officers’ (policemen or bureaucrats) will have to clear all feeds during crisis situations and, in some cases, an approved feed (that is, Doordarshan) will be provided to all channels and they will be asked to carry only that.
This sounds vaguely reasonable in the context of the Bombay operation. But these restrictions will be used to censor coverage of many other events: communal riots, police brutality, anti-government demonstrations etc.
Imagine the government censoring media in situations like Godhra riots, 84 riots etc. The truth would have never been out if there was no free media. The very apt example of this is the recent mayhem in Nandigram. There is very little we know about what happened inside, because our comrades cordoned off the area and never allowed media persons to go inside and report the true happenings. They even did not allow security personnel then what to think of media.
With gagged media it would become very easy for the state to silence its critics. Once we empower government then we cannot complain of these powers being misused by future governments whose motives are not noble.
The government can do something like delayed telecast and not the live one. But it should not stop the media from covering the various incidents. The government should impose moral and ethical responsibility on the media.
Let’s hope that government does not go with its current cabinet resolution and amends it before presenting it in the parliament.
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very true arjun...in this war weather situation recently i was surprised to see CNN-IBN showing progs of hw much old weapon and artiliary we have.....this s fine in makin this count to higher officials bt at the same time aren't they exposing it to outr world.....
ReplyDeleteHow the Press has acted in the recent past was different under the different circumstances our country faced.
ReplyDeleteThe Press showed the Mumbai attacks to every nook and corner of the country, which led to an entire nation feeling that the Govt of India is not doing enough. It has finally culminated in the pressure being applied by our country in an offensive manner( otherwise very defensive in many many occassions ) to Pakistan to act tough on Terror.
I feel that the press brought heroes like Hemant Karkare to the public limelight they deserved. We all should be very aware that people like us are risking their lives every moment as we go about our daily lives.
However the press does act irresponsibly and stupidly when it shows Sanjay Dutt's trials' day in and day out in the TV for its TRP rating.
The Govt should make the Press understand the real purpose for which it exists in any society. It is infact sad that barring a few incidents( like the Mumbai attacks ) , the Press today ohas degraded the meaning of Journalism as was defined by people like Raja Ram-Mohan Roy and Bal Gangadhar Tilak.
I reckon censoring media is not the solution. Media should be more responsible in delicate situations like terrorist attack, so that they don't play in the hands of the terrorists.
ReplyDeleteInstead of govt controlling media , their should be a independent body controlling the media actions. The body should punish or put restrictions on the media showing irresponsible behavior.
-Sunil
I feel the freedom of press is applicable to different countries in different ways. In a country like India which is so diverse and multicultural, we need voices from every section of the society or they would get lost. Press forms a very strong component of a secular and stable democratic society. However, how far can you trust the press itself ? Giving them absolute authority over everything violates the basic principles over which their freedom was granted. News channels like IndiaTV showing a live telecon with a terrorist depict our mentality of appreciating "gossips" and "masala news" over real facts. Just count the number of news channels which have mushroomed in past few years itself. So there is less to talk about the "freedom" of press but more so about the "economy" of press. A country's press is a reflection of country's philosophy and i don't see our press in pretty good shape..
ReplyDeleteyou have raised indeed a very good question pertaining to gag media.well media shows true picture of political culture,society n so on. censoring press means throttling of democracy and that would be a very hard stroke on our very existence.But one should know its limits whether government or media. media should not go after TRP ratings only. There are moral and ethical behavior also which media ought to follow.
ReplyDeleteIt is through media only from where we came to know about obsolete weapons used by our jawans. moreover how much we are vulnerable to those non-state actors and poses threat to our national security and resilience. Also why there was so much delay on arrival of commandos?Is our national security secondary?
Fine, if media is showing what actually government wants then it is appreciable otherwise misuse of liberty.well,aforesaid suggestions are actually conceivable n feasible too.
Now what is the morality of government on its part? censoring press or try to sort out d discrepancies revealed by media? It's better to think about the core issues but not deviating from the facts.