History of Indian journalism and media is no less than a prideful legacy which sets the bar of excellence and humanitarian values high when revisited and recalled. Its history is full of inspirational gestures with a deep social value but unfortunately, a rotten transition can be witnessed today when a majoritarian government is at the center for four years. Let us turn the pages of history and compare it with contemporary time.
A VISIONARY PAST-
In 1822, Raja Ram Mohan Roy’s newspaper, Mirat-Ul-Akhbar was an initiative. This newspaper was printed neither in Bengali, Hindi or English but was in Persian because that was the language of elite at that time when Mughals were around, the court language was Persian. Even thousands of Brahmins learned Persian because they had to get employed in bureaucracy. The newspaper wrote about social reforms, against child marriage and had called for widow re-marriage. Bal Gangadhar Tilak’s Marathi newspaper in 1881, Kesari was a formidable tool against the imperial British Raj. Dr. B.R.Ambedkar also played a pivot role in Indian journalism by bringing out newspapers named Mooknayak (Mute Hero – 1920), Bahishkrut Bharat (India Ostracized – 1927), Janata (Masses – 1930) and Prabudhha Bharat (An Awakened India – 1956) all of them became the voice of the suffering mass against exploitation. M.K.Gandhi too had newspapers named- Indian Opinion, Young India, Harijan, Hind Swaraj, etc which rationally took holistic view of colonial India. Even criticism made by HSRA’s revolutionary leader Sukhdev against Gandhi were published after his martyrdom. Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi, a leader of Indian freedom struggle started a newspaper called “Pratap”. It played a vital role in uprising youth section of society. The most vocal voice against oppression of peasants by zamindars, communalism, etc. He sacrificed his life while stopping a riot between Hindus and Muslims in Kanpur. Bhagat Singh, the revolutionary thinker wrote for many papers & magazines with an aim of society’s progress on issues such as communal riots, untouchability, and students’ politics. He wrote for both Hindi and Urdu weekly papers such as Pratap(in Kanpur), Kirti(in Punjab), Prabhat(in Kanpur), Maharathi(in Delhi), Chand(in Allahabad), Matwala(in Kanpur) under pen name of Balwant, Virodhi having command over five different languages namely Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, English, Bengali.
MEDIA NO MORE FOR THE OPPRESSED-
The fourth pillar of Indian Democracy in present day is proven out to be a compromised tool of selective journalism. In 1980’s there were two important bureaus in every newspaper one was “Labour correspondent” and the other was “Agricultural correspondent”. Today this concept has majorly eroded. Labour correspondent has been replaced by the Business correspondent who functions as spokesperson for business and provides his/her own narrative on labour news which is being given by PRO of the corporation. An Agricultural correspondent does not visits mandi, fields, farmers, agricultural labours rather covers agriculture ministry and Seed Company as it is related to press release. No major media house either print or electronic, today appoints a full time labour and agricultural correspondent. Why? It means the media structurally considers nation’s 75% populations are not worth talking to. Instead of discussing the reality, grave concerning issues of society it has just evolved as a narrative manufacturing unit of certain powerful lobby. Mainstream press and broadcast media coverage has tended to adopt a laudatory tone, keep out or underplay the criticisms and objections, censor the negative political and socio-economic effects, especially among the poor, and provide little space to the voices of robust criticism and opposition, including those raised from the ranks of professional economists. As rightly said by senior Journalists P. Sainath and Paranjoy Guha Thakurta– presently the media is politically free but imprisoned by profit.
KEEPING PROFIT BEFORE PEOPLE –
The Media ownership in India is out of any regulation. Report of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India of 12th August 2014 titled ‘Recommendations of Media Ownership’ with chapter 2 ‘Defining Ownership and Control’ clearly states- ‘Concentration of control has a negative impact on media diversity and plurality. Identification of who controls a media outlet is the first step in documenting plurality. There may be thousands of newspapers and hundreds of news channels in the news media market, but if they are all “controlled” by only a handful of entities, then there is an insufficient plurality of news and views presented to the people. Thus, it is essential to know the actual number of independent voices in the market to determine the extent of plurality. Also, there are numerous ways by which “control” can be exercised over a media outlet. Therefore, it is imperative to clearly define what constitutes or can amount to ownership and/or control of a media owning entity.’
These recommendations are shattered and ridiculed by nation’s corporate heads gloved hand in hand with the executive. Among the top three important names who are having a monopolistic rule in media are Mukesh Ambani, Mahendra Nahata and Abhey Oswal. Just through loan and investments, they control 20-70% media network. Mukesh Ambani invested in Network 18, a media conglomerate that owns CNN-IBN, IBN 7, CNBC Awaaz, CNBC TV18, IBN Lokmat and Firstpost and he also holds an investment in ETV channels. Even Tata Sky is joint venture between Tata and world media Mughal Ruport Murdoch having 30% stake who is known to vigorously push neoliberal policies and propaganda of Islamophobia worldwide. Often we come across the word “Crony Capitalism”. In India, “Media” is playing role of “Crony” “Capitalists” are big “Corporate house”.
FANNING COMMUNAL SENTIMIENTS–
On the other hand, affinity of Hindi media houses for Hindutva agenda have a traceable past. Here are few mind boggling derogatory decline of section of Hindi media.
- In October 1990, During Ayodhya movement, a leading Hindi daily, Aaj, in its banner headlines published: Suraksha balon ki goli se char mare, Ashok Singhal ke sar mein goli lagi, Baba Ramchandra Paramhans bhi ghayal, Ayodhya mein kar sewa shuroo, sena ka goli chalane se inkar (Four killed in the firing by security forces, bullet hits Ashok Singhal in the head, Baba Ramchandra Paramhans also wounded, kar sewa begins in Ayodhya, the army refuses to open fire).” Similarly, another Hindi daily, Nav Bharat Times wrote: “Lakhon kar sewakon ne suraksha balon ki lathi aur goli ki parwah kiye bagair vivadit Babari Masjid ko lagbhag dhwast kar diya. (Lakhs of kar sewaks defied the lathis and bullets of security forces and nearly demolished the disputed Babari Masjid).” This kind of provocative ‘reporting’ fanned communal tension in several cities of UP and Bihar. Here it would be interesting to note that the state controlled news channel Doordarshan in 1987-88 serialized the Hindu religious epic ‘Ramayan’, which chronicled the life of Hindu lord Ram. It has further enhanced an already surcharged atmosphere, and has helped Hindutava forces mobilize majority community on the communal lines. The Press Council of India conducted an investigation of the role Hindi press during the 1990 communal crisis. Its resolution states:
“There is little doubt that some influential sections of the Hindi press in UP and Bihar were guilty of gross responsibility and impropriety, offending the canons of journalistic ethics in promoting mass hysteria on the basis of rumours and speculation, through exaggeration and distortion, all of this proclaimed under screaming, banner headlines. They were guilty, in a few instances, of doctoring pictures (such as drawing prison bars on the photograph of an arrested Mahant), fabricating casualty figures (for example, adding ‘1’ before “15” to make “115” deaths), and incitement of violence and spreading disaffection among members of the armed forces and police, engendering communal hatred” (Ludden: 109)”.
A section of Hindi media did not lose a single opportunity to mark the Muslims as arch villains on temple-mosque issue. One hindi paper went upto the extent by publishing a news with the headline- ‘Mandir Nirman Shuru’.
- Early this year during Kasganj violence in Uttar Pradesh on which a senior journalist of Zee News aired a program titled- “Bharat Mein Tiranga Fehraya Toh Danga” but in reality the news channel aired the wrong, manipulated news with an aim to flare the religious sentiments.
- Couple of months ago, online media house Cobrapost did a sting operation on 26 big media houses of India were they agreed to play Hindutva agenda for Modi government through their medium with an aim to defeat the political opponents despite rejection of sting operation by senior journalists, one may ask a question-
Did representatives of all media houses were forced to answer the questions during sting operation undertaken by the Cobrapost?
- In another incident, Dainik Jagran, one of the leading daily Hindi newspaper claimed, no rape happened in Kathua although the story was pulled down later but the question remains-
In whose interest did Dainik Jagran had put up the story?
Did it not mislead entire nation on religious lines?
A section of Indian media is no untouchable to communal politics and its obsession for religious polarization is well known. Earlier, it was seen, now also with a religious majoritarian government at the center, the intentions are prominently visible. By these examples one can understand, section of media keeps both favour to the ultra-rich and hurting religious sentiments as priority. They have happily to collaborated with Modi government selling their propaganda with extreme ease. They have allowed themselves to be sucked in by the establishment. They may know inside story of the government but they have become so much insider that they won’t spell them out. Reason can be greed to be rich or fear for life. For example- The story on BJP President Amit Shah’s headed Cooperative bank received huge amounts of banned notes of demonetization, was pulled down by many media houses. There’s an aspirational degradation from sitting into the press gallery of the Parliament to sit in the House of Parliament as members. Questions to be asked while interviewing the Prime Minister is decided by his office, spells the willing compromise of today’s media.
OPTIMISTIC FUTURE-
Dr. B.R.Ambedkar said – Journalism in India was once a profession. It has now become a trade. This is turning out to be nightmare for all of us. As per the TRIA report, “what happens in the media is the concern of the entire country. There may be thousands of newspapers and hundreds of news channels in the news media market, but if they are all ‘controlled’ by only a handful of entities, then there is insufficient plurality of news and views presented to the people.” There is no crisis of intellect but there’s a crisis of soul. The print and electronic media largely is no more a watchdog against wrongdoing of corporate and the government instead have turned out to be a faithful pet of ‘Social Religious Fundamentalists’ and ‘Economic Market Fundamentalists’. The hope remains in creating an alternative media platform where- lie, flaring up religious sentiments, paid news, fake news would not be allowed to rule minds of millions keeping facts over fiction. And this trend is in full swing. The rising strength of online independent media houses have revamped all hopes which aim to keep people before profit unlike print and electronic. Equally there lies a threat to independent journalists by powerful nexus of capitalists and politicians when their anti-people politics is nailed every now and then; when they unholy money making deals are I urge my countrymen to support the online independent media houses via donations and through sharing their inputs on day to day activities. The rich legacy of visionaries like Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Tilak, Gandhi, Ganesh Shankar Vidhyarthi, Ambedkar, Bhagat Singh deserve all respect and practice in principle and cannot be undermined whose reflection toady can be seen in today’s online independent media houses. All power this force to do all good in all capacity.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of NEWSD and NEWSD does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.
