Indian Journalists

Many of the top journalists in India have sold their souls to Mammon. They own huge bungalows, have huge bank balances, and have fancy chauffer driven cars. One is said to have aqcuired a huge house in Delhi reportedly worth Rs. 52 crores, another has a huge farm house near Delhi reportedly worth Rs. 50 crores.
 Can one expect objectivity and fair reporting of the real problems of the people from them ? Was Gen. V.K. Singh wrong ?

My point of 90% and Gen.V.K. Singh's point of 'presstitutes'

Dhoni's birthday, Shahid's wedding SRK's follower count, Amitabh Bachchan's 42nd wedding anniversary, Rani Mukherji at Venice, Minisha Lamba gets married,  Amir Khan takes a dig at Salman's bachelorhood, Kareena's films, Karishma's divorce, IPL, reality shows,etc etc.are trending in the face of poverty, farmer's suicide, child malnutrition, unemployment, lack of healthcare and good education for the masses etc.

Proves my point of 90%, and Gen. V.K Singh's point of 'presstitutes'

Why the Indian media boycotts me

I was asked by a person in a comment on my previous fb post as to why the Indian media boycotts me. Here is the question, and my answer :

Diwaker Pant

Dear Katju sir,

 I am not getting one thing. You are daily saying something about the country and countrymen. You also blaming CJI and politicians. You are targeting each and every famous personality. But Indian media isn't giving you coverage. Why ? In India if a local leader makes a nonsense comment he will be given coverage on prime t.v. but you as ex Supreme Court Judge are just ignored by media. Why ?

My reply

 The Indian media seems to have conferred together and taken a collective decision to boycott me, apparently for two reasons :

 (1) They have received oral instructions from some very high political authority against whom I have been regularly writing not to give me any publicity, and not to publish anything I write or say. This can be inferred from the fact that I sent many articles which I had written to some leading newspapers for publication. They did not even show me the courtesy to acknowledge the email with which I sent the article.

I do not say that they are bound to publish my articles. That is their editorial discretion. But should not they at least write back saying that they are unable to publish it ( for whatever reason ) ? Do I not deserve at least that much courtesy ?

 (2) I called most media people 'presstitutes', borrowing the word from Gen. V.K Singh. There are some exceptions, some upright journalists like P.Sainath, Karan Thapar, late Vinod Mehta, Ravish Kumar, Rahul Kanwal, N.Ram, etc, otherwise most media people in India are sold out to corporates and have no shame. They have been told by their masters to divert attention of the people, and not to give publicity to the real issues facing the Indian people---massive poverty, massive unemployment, child malnourishment abysmal state of healthcare and good education, farmers suicides, discrimination against minorities, women,etc and instead to  divert attention of the people and focus on non issues like bollywood, lives of film stars, politics ( which has sunk to the lowest level ), cricket, astrology, babas, etc

Are such people not 'presstitutes' ? And no wonder they will boycott me.

Indi

 However, the Indian media does not know whom they are dealing with. I am not the kind of man who can be silenced.  I have the social media available to me, and so I will use it to spread my ideas, which I believe are in the national interest

Big B's 42nd wedding anniversary

This is why they are called 'presstitutes'. Gen. V.K.Singh was right.

The Indian media deliberately diverts attention of our people from the real problems facing the nation---massive poverty, unemployment ( see my blog 'Unemployment in India' on justicekatju.blogspot.in ), malnutrition ( see my blog ' Malnutrition in India '), lack of healthcare ( see my blog ' Healthcare in India ) and lack of good education, farmers suicides, discrimination against women, minorities and dalits, etc.--towards non issues like lives of film stars, cricket, astrology, babas, cheap politics, etc.

 The whole aim of these presstitutes is to keep the people's attention involved in such non issues so that they forget their miserable socio-economic plight. After all, 90% of the Indian people are idiots, and can easily be taken for a ride.

 A leading Indian newspaper has highlighted the news that today, 3rd June is the 42nd wedding anniversary of Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan. Is this really a  newsworthy item ? How does it concern the Indian masses who are facing terrible hardships ? But no, they are supposed to lap it up, like dogs who are being offered dogfood.

 Hari Om

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/Amitabh-Bachchan-Lesser-known-facts/photostory/47524937.cms

The Deafening silence of Media and Intellectuals

A fb message and my reply. I have deleted the name of the sender.

Jun 2nd, 1:10am

sir..good morning

sir baat jab haq insaaaf aur barabri ki aajati hai toh apne desh ke logon, buddhi jeevion, media.journalist aur netaon me ek khaaamoshii se kyun ho jaati hai...Haryana ke gaon me musalamanon ke khilaaf jo hua...uska kahin zikr nahi...koi iske upar na bolta hai na likhta hai ??

Aisa kyun sir ??

My Reply:

 It is because the so called 'intellectuals' ( buddhajeevis ) and media are all sold out to the Establishment, which means the unholy alliance and caucus of politicians and big businessmen.

A genuine intellectual is a seeker of truth, but most of the Indian 'intellectuals' are not seekers of truth, but hirelings of the Establishment, and will sing to the tune of their masters.

When I was a Judge of Allahabad High Court I came across many cases of Principals of Colleges who had criminal cases against them for embezzling the building funds, scholarship funds etc. Thus, many of those who should be role models for the youth are thieves. Most Professors are hardly interested in real research or genuine intellectual pursuits which will benefit the country, but amassing wealth by hook or crook.  Are these genuine ' buddha jeevis ' ( intellectuals ) ?

 As regards the media, most media persons know which side their bread is buttered. The well known journalists are getting huge salaries, and have acquired a life style accordingly, i.e. huge houses, huge cars, etc. They dare not risk losing their jobs by offending their corporate masters, as that will result in suddenly lowering their life styles---a thing which would be very painful and uncomfortable to them. So they will not seriously address the real issues facing the nation i.e. massive poverty, unemployment, malnourishment of 50% of our children, lack of healthcare and good education for the masses, farmers suicides, and discrimination against women, minorities, etc ( except paying some lip service ).

They have been directed by their corporate masters to avoid these real issues facing the nation, and instead focus on non issues e.g. lives of film stars (  Aishwarya Bachchan's attending Cannes film festival with her daughter, Kareena Kapoor's visit to the Maldives with her husband, Salman Khan's case, etc ), IPL cricket,  which goes on round the year, because the Indian masses have to be kept perpetually drugged lest the 'sleeping giant' awakes, to use Napoleon's words for China, and creates problems for them , astrology, babas, etc. No wonder the vast majority have shamelessly become 'presstitutes'.

 This is the real reason why 'intellectuals' and media are silent

Ethics in the Transitional Era

I am informed by some people that most mediapersons and media houses, both print and T.V., have decided to boycott me and not to publish my views or anything about me.

Probably that is because I largely supported Gen. V.K. Singh who called mediapersons ' presstitutes ', on my facebook post and blog.

Of course I had.also said that there were also many upright journalists, and I had mentioned the name of P.Sainath, whom I greatly respect. I also include the late Vinod Mehta, Karan Thapar, N. Ram, Vinod Sharma, Madhu Trehan, Krishna Prasad, Rahul Kanwal, Bhupendra Chaubey and some others whom I respect. But yes, the vast majority of Indian journalists are indeed 'presstitutes', as my experience in the Press Council showed me.

If my information is correct, and indeed these 'presstitutes' have decided to boycott me, they are welcome.

I have repeatedly said that I am not a publicity or popularity seeker, and so I am totally unaffected by such stupid 'boycotts'.

Yes, I want publicity of my ideas, not for any personal benefit but because I believe they are in the interest of the nation. However, even if my views are not publicized in the print or T.V. media, I have the social media available to me i.e. facebook, blog and Twitter. That would of course not give as much publicity to my views as the other media, but it is sufficient for my needs.

 It is also possible that some political authorities have told the mediapersons to boycott me, since I have often expressed my low opinion of most of the present Indian politicians, and the 'free media' may have loyally obeyed the diktat, but this is in the realm of speculation.

However, I am not blaming mediapersons alone. After all, they have lifestyles to maintain and families to look after. So they cannot afford to displease their owners ( and the owners cannot afford to displease the political authorities ). And so like Dr.Faust, these 'presstitutes' have sold their souls to some Mephistopheles.

However, it is the general decline in ethics in India which I would like to comment upon.

  As I have pointed out in some of my earlier posts, India is presently passing through a transitional period in its history, transition from feudal, agricultural society to a modern industrial one. At present we are neither totally feudal, nor totally modern, but somewhere in between.

 A feudal society had an ethical system, but that has largely been destroyed. On the other hand, the ethical system of industrial society has not yet been put in its place ( because industrial society has not yet been fully created ). So presently there is no ethical system existing in India, and there is an ethical vacuum. So what we have in India is a free-for-all.

  Indian society has become largely commercialized, and money has become its God. There is a Hindi film song which accurately summarises the situation " Na bibi na maiyya, the whole thing is that ki bhaiyya, sab se bada rupaiyya ". So for making money most Indians can do anything, by hook or crook.

 I remember over 20 years ago, perhaps in 1992 or 1993, when my daughter was in class 10 or so ( she would have been about 15 then ) she gave a birthday party to which she invited about a dozen school friends. I was then a Judge in the Allahabad High Court. I went and sat for about 15-20 minutes with my daughter's friends and started talking with them. I asked one girl, who was a bright student regularly getting about 90% in her exams, what she wanted to do in later life. She said seriously " Uncle I will join the I.A.S. and make a lot of money ". I was shocked ! A 15 year old bright girl was frankly saying that she would take bribes in later life  I could not even imagine such thoughts in my youth.I told her it was wrong to make money by improper means, but she replied " Uncle when I work hard to get into I.A.S. I deserve to get the good things in life "

 I do not mean to say that there are no upright people in Indian society today, but their proportion has certainly gone down drastically.

 If one's parents have instilled good values in one in one's childhood, the chances are that one will be upright in later life. But if one's parents are themselves corrupt or crooks, as more and more adults are becoming, what can be expected in society ?

So I do not blame mediapersons alone. Most of Indian society has become amoral.

Presstitutes

I would not agree with Gen.V.K. Singh if he meant that all media people are ' presstitutes '. There are some very upright media persons I know,e.g. P.Sainath. But, these are exceptions. The vast majority of mediapersons would certainly fall in the category mentioned by Gen. Singh, as my experience in the Press Council taught me. What else do paid news, Radia tapes, etc denote ?

The Indian Media

" In the First Amendment ( of the U.S.Constitution ) the Founding Fathers gave the free press the protection it must have to fulfill its essential role in our democracy. The press was to serve the governed, not the governors. The press was protected, so that it could bare the secrets of government and inform the people.

  Only a free and unrestrained press can effectively expose deception in government. And paramount among the responsibilities of a free press is the duty to prevent any part of the government from deceiving the people and sending them off to distant lands to die of foreign fevers  and foreign shot and shell.

  

In my view, far from deserving condemnation for their courageous reporting, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and other newspapers should be commended for serving the purpose which the Founding Fathers saw so clearly. In revealing the workings of the government which led to the Vietnam War, the newspapers nobly did precisely that which the Founders hoped and trusted they would do "

 ( Passage from the judgment of Justice Hugo Black of the U.S.Supreme Court in New York Times vs. U.S.,1971, the Pentagon Papers case ).

 Having been the Chairman of the Press Council of India for 3 years ( after retiring from the Supreme Court ) I had extensive interaction with media people in India, including those in the electronic media.

 I regret to say that I have a very poor opinion of most media people,particularly those in the broadcast media, though there are also some whom I respect and hold in high regard e.g. P.Sainath, N.Ram, Vinod Mehta, Krishna Prasad, Ravish Kumar,Madhu Trehan, etc. But as regards the majority of journalists, the less said about them the better. They are simply not doing their duty to the nation as journalists, and often doing just the reverse.

  It is not that they are inherently bad people. I believe, as the great French thinker Rousseau said, that people are basically good by nature. But Rousseau also said that they can be corrupted by the system and circumstances. In my opinion most media people in India ( though not all ) have been corrupted by the system and circumstances. This is mainly because they hold insecure jobs, and would not like to be fired at any cost.

 So far as the top media people, the anchors and Group Editors in  many T.V. channels, are concerned, they are often enjoying huge packages, sometimes of crores of rupees annually, and they have raised their life styles accordingly. They often have huge houses, huge cars, etc. So they do not wish to be deprived of all this, and will do whatever their masters, the corporate owners who own these channels, tell them to do, and will not do anything to displease them.

 So far as the journalists at the lowest level ( known as 'stringers', etc ) are concerned, they are usually paid a pittance ( often Rs. 10,000 per month or even less ). They too hold insecure jobs, and in the present state of massive unemployment in India, would not like to lose them. They often have families to support.

 Most Indian journalists are nowadays given jobs on contract basis, which makes them totally 

insecure and under the thumb of the proprietors. The Working Journalists Act, which was made by the Indian Parliament to give some security to journalists, has been thrown to the winds.

 As regards the proprietors, they are often big businessmen, who have close ties with the politicians, and would not like to displease them. For example, the owners of many media houses in India have issued instructions that nothing should be said against the leaders of the present ruling party and government. Many who were regarded as hostile to them have been sacked, or conditions created that they had to quit.

 This is the reality of the Indian media today. The bulk of it ( though not all ) has sunk to the lowest level. Paid news, Radia tapes, etc are well known phenomena. The Indian media, probably on instructions from the owners, usually diverts attention from the real problems facing the Indian people---massive poverty, massive unemployment, almost total absence of healthcare or good education for the masses, widespread malnutrition among children, farmers suicides, discrimination against minorities, women and depressed classes, etc and instead devotes about 90% of its coverage to trivialities like lives of filmstars, cricket, politics ( which has fallen to the lowest level ), astrology, etc

  The Roman Emperors used to say " If you cannot give the people bread, give them circuses.". The French Queen Marie Antoinette said " If the people do not have bread let them eat cake ". The circuses and cake the Indian media gives to the Indian people is petty politics, film stars, cricket astrology, etc---a splendid opium mixture to keep them drugged.

 I regret to say that most mediapersons ( though not all ) have sold their souls, like Dr. Faust, to some Mephistopheles.

Cricket: The opium of the masses in India

Much is being publicized nowadays about Sachin Tendulkar's book.

In my opinion, cricket is one of the opiums of the masses in India ( the others being lives of film stars, reality shows, fashion parades, etc ).

The Roman Emperors used to say, if you cannot give the people bread, give them circuses. The French Queen Marie Antoinette put it slightly differently. In India it is, if you cannot give the people bread and employment give them cricket ( or the lives of Amitabh Bachchan, Kareena Kapoor, or other film stars ). Keep the people involved in cricket ( or film stars ) so that they forget their socio-economic plight.

What is important is not poverty, unemployment, malnutrition, lack of healthcare and good education, etc for the masses, what is important is whether India has beaten Bangladesh or New Zealand ( or better still, Pakistan ) in a cricket match, or whether a film star is having an affair.

Hari Om !

"Media Freedom and Media Responsibility "

I had firmly decided not to write any more articles or say anything publicly or appear on t.v. for quite some time, firstly because I had already expressed my views on several issues, and secondly because some people had started accusing me of seeking popularity or cheap publicity. I regard publicity or popularity seeking as a form of vulgarity, and I never seek it. 

What I was doing was to put forward certain ideas which I thought were in the national interest, though it is quite possible that some of my views were wrong. But since I was misunderstood by many people, some of whom even started abusing me and launching personal attacks, I thought that the time had come for me to become silent. 

For this reason I said and wrote nothing for two months, and I would have continued my silence in the future too for a long time but for an event which happened recently.

On 19th June a senior journalist wrote an article entitled " Muzzling the Media--Freedom at Risk", which was published in his own newspaper, a leading English Indian national daily. His basic idea was that the government was trying to muzzle the media, and thereby violate the freedom of the press guaranteed by Article 19 of the Constitution.

I would have remained silent had he left it at that, because, after all, he is entitled to his view. However, what motivated me to break my silence is that the article specifically named and vilified me as the main agent who is helping the government in gagging the media. The article describes me as a ' terrier', though by allusion. 

Since I had decided not to write or say anything for quite some time, at first I was thinking of not replying to this deliberate, malicious falsification of my views about the media ( which are available on my blog justicekatju.blogspot.in ). It was only after several days of deliberation that I reluctantly decided to respond, though not by getting some article published in a newspaper but only on Facebook and my blog.

Here are the true facts:

(1) I have consistently supported media freedom, and condemned attacks on the media, overtly or covertly, e.g. In the cases of Aseem Trivedi, Iftikhar Gilani, Shaheen ( the girl who wrote on Facebook), Prof. Mahapatra of Jadavpur University, etc or when media persons were attacked in Maharashtra, J&K, Himachal, etc, or when media freedom was sought to be covertly suppressed in Bihar, etc. I have strongly criticized some Congress governments too in this connection, and not merely non Congress governments. So how am I a Congress agent ?

I support freedom of speech not for popularity or as a fashion but because I genuinely believe in it. Without freedom to think, freedom to speak, freedom to write and discuss, and freedom to dissent there can be no progress. It was because there was freedom in England that it progressed, whereas countries like Spain, where freedom was stifled by the Inquisition, lagged far behind.

(2) When the Times of India office in Mumbai was attacked by some hooligans, I strongly condemned the incident. When the Court imposed a fine of Rs.100 crore on the Times Now channel, I defended Times Now, saying that no doubt it had made a serious mistake, but it had apologized for the same several times, and in any case the fine was excessive.

(3) In the article in question it is mentioned that I have spoken of the need for media ethics. What is wrong in this ? Should there be no ethics for the media ? Everybody is accountable in a democracy, but for the media should there be no accountability?

(4) In the article it has been stated that the government tries to muzzle the media by cutting off advertisements. Here I entirely agree. But what the writer conveniently overlooks is that I issued a strong press note on 4.2.2013 condemning this practice of governments stopping or curtailing advertisements merely because the newspaper criticized the government or some minister or official ( see the press note on my blog). I also said that in a democracy the media has a right to criticize the government. In any case, I said, if the government wishes to stop or curtail its advertisements in some newspaper it must give the latter an opportunity of hearing, and then reasons for its decision, otherwise the rules of natural justice will be violated.

In its issues of 5.2.2013 and 7.2.2013 the Times of India complimented me, and published the views of several media persons who supported my stand ( see online).

(5) The article takes the stand that there should only be self regulation by the media. In my opinion self regulation is no regulation, it is an oxymoron. If self regulation were sufficient why should there be the rampant malaise of paid news, allegations of blackmail, Radia tapes, etc ? Why should there be laws at all ? Let everybody self regulate.

The truth is that every social activity has to be regulated in the public interest, because one's freedom cannot go to the extent of damaging society or others. A lawyer is in a free profession, but his license can be suspended by the Bar Council for professional misconduct, and a doctor's license can be suspended by the Medical Council for medical misconduct.A Judge can be impeached for misconduct.

Here I must make the distinction between regulation and control. In control there is no freedom, whereas in regulation there is freedom but subject to reasonable restrictions in the public interest. I am in favour of regulation, but am opposed to control. This regulation, too, should not be by the government but by an independent statutory authority, like the Press Council. The Press Council consists of a Chairman and 28 members, 20 of which are representatives of the press ( 5 are members of Parliament, and one each from the Bar Council of India, UGC and Sahitya Academy). The press representatives in the Press Council are not appointed by the government but elected democratically by the press bodies.Decisions in the Press Council are taken by majority vote, and not by me alone. Often I have been overruled by the majority.

At present the Press Council deals only with the print media, but if the electronic media is also brought within its purview by an amendment to the Press Council Act ( as The Press Council has recommended several times to the government) there may be 20 representatives of the electronic media also on the Council ( which can be renamed the Media Council).

Thus, 40 of the 48 members on the Council will be media representatives, and decisions on complaints will be by majority vote. This will really be a judgment by one's peers. In fact this proposal is more pro media than that of Lord Leveson, who in his report recommended that media persons should not be on the Media Council. What reasonable objection can there be to this suggestion ?

The article objects to criticism of content in the media. But what is wrong in such criticism ? Today India's main problems are socio -economic--massive poverty in about 80% of our people, massive unemployment, healthcare problems, farmers suicide, malnutrition,etc. as well as rampant casteism, communalism, and widespread crimes against women like dowry deaths, honour killings, etc.Yet the media focuses on film stars, cricket, fashion parades,astrology etc as if these are the real problems of the Indian people. Thus the real problems of the Indian people are sidelined or treated as non issues, and the non issues are projected as if they are the real issues. Sensationalism, trivialization, etc are the hallmarks of much ( though not all) of the Indian media today, obviously for T.R.P. rating and profits from advertisement revenues. Today I read that Hema Malini's younger daughter has been engaged. What a historical event !

Is not the Indian media behaving largely like Marie Antoinette who said that if the people do not have bread let them eat cakes.

The Roman Emperors used to say that if you cannot give the people bread give them circuses. Much of our media seems to say, if you cannot give the people bread give them film stars and cricket. Cricket today is the opium of the Indian masses, doled out by the media to the gullible public.

Today India is passing through a terrible transitional period in its history,transition from feudal agricultural society to modern industrial society,which in my opinion will last another 20 years or so. The transitional era is a very painful and turbulent period in history. If one reads the history of Europe from the 16th to the 19th centuries ( when Europe was passing through its transition) one finds that it was full of turmoil, wars, revolutions, social chaos, intellectual ferment,etc. It was only after going through this fire that modern society emerged in Europe. 

India is presently going through that fire. We are going through a very painful period in our history, which I guess will last another 20 years or so. In this transitional period the role of ideas becomes very important, and therefore the role of the media becomes very important, because the media is not an ordinary business which deals in commodities, it deals with ideas. It is the duty of all patriotic Indians, including media persons, to help shorten this transitional period and make it less painful, so that India becomes a modern, powerful, industrial power, with all its people ( and not just a handful) prosperous and leading decent lives, with food, employment, healthcare, education, etc available to the masses. For this it is essential for intellectuals, including the media, to promote modern and scientific ideas and combat backward and feudal ideas and practices like casteism, communalism and superstitions.

But is the Indian media doing its patriotic duty ? No doubt there are some media persons like P. Sainath who are doing a great job, but what about others ? Filmstars and cricket dominate much of or media. Many t.v. channels show astrology, which is promoting superstitions, when the media should promote scientific ideas. At a time when our nation should be united if we are to progress, a section of the media promotes communalism by demonizing Muslims and portraying them as terrorists. 

Historically, the media arose in Europe in the 18th Century as an organ of the people against feudal oppression. At that time all the organs of power were in the hands of the feudal authorities. Hence the people in England and France had to create new organs which would represent their interests. The print media was one of those powerful organs created by the people. In England, France and America the media represented the voice of the future, as contrasted to the established feudal organs which wanted to preserve the status quo. Great writers like Voltaire attacked religious bigotry, Rousseau attacked the entire feudal social and political system, Thomas Paine proclaimed the Rights of Man.

In my opinion the Indian media should give leadership to the people in the realm of ideas, the way Voltaire, Rousseau, Thomas Paine, etc did when Europe was passing through its transitional period. Instead of pandering to the low tastes of the Indian masses our media should seek to uplift its intellectual level so as to make our masses part of enlightened India.

I do not wish to comment any further on the issue. In fact it is with great reluctance that I have written this piece only because of the vicious attack on me, twisting and falsifying my views, a methodology to which I have now become quite accustomed.

Justice Katju

Narad Muni --The first Indian Journalist

Vishnu Bhagwan was lying on the great serpent Sheshnag in the middle of the sea having in his four hands a lotus, a mace (gadaa), a shankh (conch) and a chakra (wheel), when the first perpetually peregrinating Indian journalist Narad Muni came to see him. As usual, Narad was carrying a Veena in his left hand, and wearing a dhoti and with a garland of orange coloured flowers around his neck.

"Narayan, Narayan" said Narad on beholding the Lord, and he bowed and folded his hands.
"Vatsa Narad" said the Lord, "Nice to see you again. How are you ? How are you doing in your profession of journalism on earth ?"

"Narayan, Narayan" said Narad, "Lord, it is for this very reason I have come to you. Please grant me a pension as I wish to retire from journalism. 

The Lord showed great concern. " Why, what has happened Narad ?"

"Lord, I cannot face the competition anymore with these young Indian journalists."

"Oh come on Narad" said the Lord " You are such a senior journalist. How can these youngsters create a problem for you ?"

"Narayan, Narayan" said Narad, "Lord, it is not journalism anymore. What exists in India today in the name of journalism is not journalism but magic, and unfortunately I have never learnt magic. There is a new medium called television which never existed in my time. It is truly magical. The job of this medium is not to inform but to create public opinion by whipping up sustained mass hysteria over a certain issue, such as the corruption issue, the Delhi gangrape issue, the beheading of an Indian soldier issue, etc.

Most T.V. channels, hungry for higher T.R.P. ratings, and convinced that rabid demagoguery is profitable, are falling head over heels over one another to make people angry, frenzied and hysterical and go to the streets over some issue. For doing this everything goes : half truths, downright lies, sensationalism, trivialization, etc. and a meticulous search and empanelment of ' experts' and 'opinion makers', who often advocate and indulge in jingoistic chauvinism like 'unleashing the sword', anchors who instead of being neutral and objective, aggressively give a slant to a story, rudely interrupting and not allowing those invitees who disagree with their views to speak.

Some time back most T.V. channels projected Anna Hazare as a modern Moses who will lead his chosen people to a land of milk and honey (though a careful study of the man's statements show that he has no scientific ideas). The whole country was led in a frenzy by the media, somewhat like the children of Hamelin led by the Pied Piper, over the issue of corruption, but where is the issue now ? It has disappeared, and so has Anna Hazare. Obviously because the issue is now no longer profitable as it does not increase the T.R.P. rating. And has corruption dropped by even 0.1% in India ? Not at all.

Then the Delhi gangrape issue exploded. For over 2 months most T.V. channels created a manufactured hysteria which drove young people to the streets and to Jantar Mantar. Rape had become the one and only issue, a matter of life and death for the human race, while poverty, hunger, malnutrition, unemployment, price rise, lack of healthcare, farmers suicides, etc. became non issues and counted for nothing.

When this hysterical wave subsided another was created by our T.R.P.driven broadcast media : the beheading of an Indian soldier allegedly by Pakistanis. Despite offer by the Pakistan High Commissioner to India to hold an objective probe, our media whipped up jingoism and war mongering, leading to attack on Pakistani hockey players and sending them back, postponement of the agreement on visa on arrival for the elderly, etc.

"And what about the print media" asked the Lord.

"Narayan, Narayan" said Narad, "It has largely become advertisements. Many leading newspapers really begin on page 3, the first 2 pages being advertisements. And the print media is often led by the nose by the electronic media with its 'breaking news'.

Paid news is so rampant in both print and broadcast media that there is no point even talking about it.

Lord, please give me a pension otherwise I will go mad in the company of the great Indian journalists of today."

"Tathaastu" said the Lord, and disappeared, and now Narad Muni is sitting in padmasana in a Himalaya cave with his eyes closed and wishing for nirvaana!

Indian Media - Wake Up Hanuman!

The test of every system is whether under it the standard of living of the masses is rising or falling. The same applies to the Indian media too. If freedom of the media is helping raise the standard of living of the Indian people, it is a good thing and must be supported. If, however such freedom is keeping the Indian people backward and poor it is a bad thing and must be suppressed.  It follows that freedom of the media has by itself no value, and it will have value only if it helps improve the lives of the Indian masses. And the lives of our people will improve if scientific ideas are propagated and backward and unscientific ideas like casteism, communalism, and superstitions are combated. Today the Indian people are facing terrible problems---massive poverty (it is estimated that 75-80 % of our people are earning 25 rupees a day), huge unemployment, sky-rocketing prices (vegetables cost about Rs. 40 a kg. ), lack of any proper healthcare for the poor people, child malnutrition (about half our children are malnourished), farmers suicides (about 47 every day for the last 15 years, making a total of about 250,000   a world record of farmers suicides ), etc And yet our media (particularly the broadcast media ) devotes 90 % of its coverage to lives of film stars, cricket, and glamour. A few years back the Lakme Fashion parade was covered by 512 accredited journalists, at a time when the farmers who grew the cotton worn by the models in the Fashion Parade were committing suicide one hour's flight away in the Vidarbha region. Only one or two journalists covered those suicides locally.  Is this a responsible way in which our media has been behaving ? Is not our media behaving like the French Queen Marie Antoinette, who when told that the people have no bread said that they could eat cake. Amitabh Bachchan's 70th birthday, Kareena kapoor's affairs, Sachin Tendolkar's 100th century, Rahul Dravid's retirement from cricket, Dev Anand and Rajesh Khanna's death, Rakhi Sawant's swayamvar, etc-----these are depicted as the real issues facing the nation, not poverty, not unemployment, not price rise, not healthcare, not malnutrition. Several T.V. channels show astrology, which is pure superstition and humbug, and therefore tends to perpetuate backwardness of our people. In my opinion there should not be any freedom to show such superstitions. The corporatization and crass commercialization of the media is no doubt largely responsible for this irresponsible behaviour. While corporates may have a legal right to own and run the media, this freedom has to be coupled with responsibilities. There cannot be freedom to to defame, incite religious, caste, regional or racial riots, , extort and blackmail, hold media trials, practice paid news, etc Hence a balance has to be struck between freedom and responsibility. A section of the media has misunderstood me and depicted me as some sort of tyrant who wishes to muzzle or gag the media at the behest of the government, when the truth is that I have been throughout my one year as Chairman of the Press Council fighting for media freedom, and raised my voice of protest against attacks against media freedom and media persons, whether in J&K, Maharashtra, U.P. , West Bengal, Karnataka, etc. I strongly criticized the arrest of the cartoonist Aseem Trivedi, and the threat of a senior politician to break the camera of a journalist. At the same time I have been constantly advising media people to act responsibly and in a manner which will benefit the Indian people. This they can do by spreading scientific ideas among the masses as scientific thinking is the only way out to solve the country's huge problems. I regard the Indian media as Hanuman, and I regard myself as Jambawant. The Indian people are Lord Rama, and it was the duty of Hanuman to serve Lord Rama. However, Hanuman forgot his powers and duty because of the curse of a sage. Like Jambawant, I have been reminding Hanuman (the media ) of its duty to Lord Rama (the Indian people ).. The Indian media has to serve the Indian people, and if it does so it will win the respect and admiration of the people.    -Justice Katju