Prakash , Published on Jul 20, 2015, 7:42 am IST
whatsapp group was buzzing with feverish messages from my helpless friends. I
could not resist joining them. Sahara, one of the big media houses sent notice
to scores of its journalists who had not been reporting to duty due to non
payment of their salaries for the last 6 months. It said ‘those who will not
resume their work today will be exposed to and liable for serious disciplinary
action’, which meant they were not just out of job suddenly but had no money
till the next job coming their way. PAC was called in to handle these
peacefully agitating journalists. Striking journalists were only asking for
their justified dues. Someone suggested that the management will not listen and
that matters concerning a journalist comes under labour laws, they should
approach the Labour department authorities and then go up to govt authorities
like the DM, SP and also the CM and minister IB.
Unfortunately and shamefully a few days ago journalist Jogendra Singh of UP was
burnt alive by a minister of the state government. Some days later another
journalist in MP was killed and again the second day a Jammu & Kashmir
scribe was beaten up. We are sure such things will not cease to happen in
future too.
The pen yielding so called activist reports from the border sometimes between
bullets raining from terrorists in Jammu Kashmir, during incidents like Mumbai
attack, in war zones and riot areas, sometimes in floods, cyclone, earthquake,
and sometimes for that matter from an epidemic infested area. Many times in
death defying situations. A journalist’s contribution to the service of the
nation is no less than a soldier. Believe you me its not glamorous. In the
quest for educating people they not just tend to cultivate enemies but stretch
themselves too far for their passion. What the soldier does with his gun a journalist
does with his pen. The fire is no less.
Journalists today are threatened, intimidated, cajoled and if they do not bend
they are done away with. This has become most convenient and rather easy for
the powers that be.
How much freedom of writing do journalists have these days and how much freedom
of expression is tolerated. Govt is out muzzling the fourth estate for obvious
reasons, that asking them questions and revealing their underbelly irks them.
Ruling class most often attacks journalist for writing their mind. Dissenting
voices are crushed.
The memories of emergency have come alive. We just recently happened to
celebrate the 40th anniversary of emergency. As the situation is today it makes
one wonder whether are we heading towards another emergency! In this light what
LK Advani said expressing his concern about danger to democracy does not seem
far fetched. Journalists from small towns who are exposing corruption are being
targeted like never before. It has been proved without doubt and in many
instances the combination of politicians, bureaucracy, mafia and land mining
sharks ( to name a few sharks) are working against media.
The enemy of press as of today is highly unseen, its a hydra headed monster.
Both the managements and political establishments do not want independence of
press. On the other hand the Prime Minister of the country calls media ‘news
traders’ and his ministers calls them ‘presstitudes’. It is a sorry state that
none of us questions the PM about it. We are called cockroaches in a room and
yet no journalist objects. Are we so numb to our respect! Yes, we are
cockroaches out to clean up the system. The point is that the outrage, anger,
solidarity is missing these days. So the Modis’ and Mamatas’ will carry on
doing it. Every govt is united in muzzling media.
The sad part also is that we see journalists fighting with each other, thereby
our credibility taking a hit. These are exactly the times when journalists are
more vulnerable than ever. If after 40 years after emergency we are muzzled
then our independence and democracy needs a revisit. The date is introspective.
Forces against us are far more stronger than before. We are less powerful today
than we were before. The magnitude of the challenge that is confronting us is
much larger which is going unrealized. Social media is also united in
opposition with the establishment. If there are no journalists will democracy
be there!! We will have to protect ourselves and the community. We will have to
stand up for ourselves. We have come a long way, we have immense rights to
assert our freedom as per the constitution, examples like RTI is one of them.
We are the fourth pillar of democracy and having come a long way the
independence is irreversible now.
Its sad to see fissures and cracks within our system. The major one being the
contract system which is instrumental in pulling us down. This disallows
formation of platform of any kind to voice its genuine concerns. The non
implementation of wage board has dealt a fatal blow at strengthening the
already underpaid journalist. And to top it up contract system has killed us.
It is outright illegal. Unfortunately in most of the organizations journalists
are handpicked by owners and do what the masters want which has dealt a body
blow to our cause of integrity towards our profession. These are real threats
being faced everyday. How strong are we to deal with conflicts among ourselves.
Challenge is within as well as from outside.
The condition of journalists in town and districts is worse. They are
vulnerable to all sorts of intimidation. It is they who need security and
assurance as they are the ones who are practically reporting from ground zero
and facing threats everyday for their courage to unearth the truth about the
system. They need to be provided and ensured some kind of institutional
security.
Children in media schools are groomed for being a good journalist which
includes courage, fearless speech, going all out for a story etc. Sadly these
days, schools of journalism are teaching everything except journalism. The
result being a hybrid breed of non serious journalists out to find a place for
themselves presumably more glamorous than our own Bollywood.
Then, what are the kinds of people who run media houses? Interestingly, nothing
to do with information dissemination or interests of people and country at
large, many if not most, are run by builders with heavy coffers, public
representatives, industrialists, NRIs’. Business and political clout, thats how
it is for them, nothing more. They are, so, not accountable. Each one is more
corrupt than the other. They are very cleverly milching the government as they
are majorly thriving on government patronage.
Most of us may not be knowing that Working Journalist Act is only for print
journalist, not for electronic and online journalist. Such discriminatory laws
for journalists is to deny them their due rights which in turn empowers the
individual and the community. Its high time we fight for our rights as
journalists.
The dichotomy….we who fight for the rights of others do not fight for our own
rights and sadly are unequipped, careless to fight for ourselves. Hope we too
do not get reduced to slavery one day. The latest killings of investigative
journalists are a grave example of how vulnerable we stand among the people we
fight for.
