Media is called the fourth estate in a democracy. Print and electronic media both, has become extraordinarily influential and effective under our democratic dispensation.
Good democratic governance presupposes reasonable awareness as well as an analytical faculty among the people. Education and training in healthy social interaction sharpen these faculties. However, in assessing our current democratic standards, we are yet to go a long way. The ultimate objective of democracy is the general welfare of the people.
However, if this goalpost is shifted to focus on narrow party interests, democracy receives a setback.
Nearly 20 per cent of our voters are unlettered. It is rather a ticklish job for them to decide whom to vote. Unfortunately, our democracy has degenerated to some extent because of money power coming in to play a role. People wielding mone power use it in person and not in national interests. The main purpose of fighting an election is to serve national interests and not the interests of the individuals of a specific party. The party is an instrument for a far more important objective. The party and national interests must run in a parallel and not in a conflicting direction.
The devastating remark of a former Election Commission Shri T.N Seshan that 60 per cent of our parliamentarians have a criminal record should be an eye-opener. Under rules, a person with a criminal record cannot fight an election. But how they manage to hoodwink the rule and enter the parliament is one of the aberrations under discussion.
Another damaging aberration that has lately crept into the Indian democratic system is the creation of vote banks. Powerful persons dabbling in national or provincial politics are trying to carve segments among the voting populace that will remain faithful to the candidate not based on the principle of welfare of Indian society but just for personal affiliation and association with the candidate either for pecuniary reasons or cast, colour, region, religion and other reasons. This unhealthy trend leads to the fragmentation of civil society and is detrimental to national health.
Media is called the fourth estate in a democracy. Print and electronic media both, has become extraordinarily influential and effective under our democratic dispensation. Freedom of the press is a healthy sign and is much desirable but when it borders on slander or glorification for no sound reason, it becomes counterproductive. Social media has become powerful and omnipresent in today’s world. Videos, true or false, become viral in the twinkling of an eye. Its impact is cosmopolitan. If left unchecked and without scrutiny, it is bound to vitiate public opinion or make it imbalanced and thus become more of a harm than a benefit. There is no doubt that our electronic media has, in many instances, become more irresponsible and damaging that an asset.
The number of newspapers published in regional languages and also in English have seen an unparalleled spurt. This is because of modern printing technology that has made printing easier and more precise. However, it is depressing to note that the print media has gradually lost sight of universally recognized journalistic code and the imperative of journalism without bias or favour. In the light of print media jumping into the social arena with a bang, the moral values have degenerated and it has become very frequent for our columnists either to paint somebody black or to eulogize a crony. Both attitudes are undesirable. This is the reason that we have so many court cases of defamation, maligning and character assassination based on unconfirmed reports published in newspapers. This is a dangerous aberration with our democracy. The press is free but it cannot be unbridled.
It has been increasingly showing a tendency towards partisanship which is the bane of good journalism. Money power has wrought havoc in electronic media and every week a new TV channel is opened catering to the requirements of society. It has become irresponsible and unethical and can make or mar a character. People have lost the faculty of cool judgment and analysis and can be easily swayed by the propagandist outpourings in the television channels and newspaper columns. Viewers get confused listening to contradictory reportages and they finally succumb to the unrelenting propaganda. Even known and established criminals and anti-social elements succeed in directing public opinion in their favour by resorting to lies and canards to prove their innocence.
We may recall the Naira Radia case where the top journalist was fixing the next leader. Less educated or uneducated people not capable of even reading a newspaper are given media hype and painted in glowing colour by radio and television channels. Such audios and visuals create a profile that is not the real one. It misleads the ordinary voter who is wrongly influenced and then misuses his precious vote for no fault of his or her.
It is observed that some channels are trespassing into the areas that do not fall within their realms. In most of the national media today, we are shown the defence power of the state how we can defeat our enemy with powerfully destructive weapons. Is it the work of the media to do advocacy journalism? This exaggerated show of strength pales into insignificance when we consider that a sizable percentage of our rural and urban population does not have clean water to drink; are faced with increasing hunger day after day. Our youth are afflicted with rising unemployment and multiplying health issues, etc. These are the real issues and the media should focus on them if it likes to claim to be serving the people. In our democracy, the media appears to be catering to a specific class of people but not the general public. We should not forget that true India lives in her villages. Our media mechanism should be oriented to the needs and aspirations of the rural populace which is not at present.
The most important duty of honest and people-friendly media is to inculcate a deep sense of nationalism among the people of the country. In the aftermath of the partition of India in 1947, the ideology of nationalism received a set back in our country. Its debilitating hangover persists with most of the people, especially in Northern India. These circumstances demanded that our media should have made it a deskbook rule to promote healthy nationalism so that a new India was raised from the debris of partition, and a dedicated and deeply attached nation to the nationalistic syndrome would resurge, Unfortunately, sections of media played a negative role and continue to do so only to weaken the nation and demoralize it to the satisfaction of our adversaries. Today the sense of nationalism in our country is at its lowest. How humiliating it is that some of our leaders sitting in opposition travel to a neighbouring country to tell their leadership to help in removing the elected government in India so that their regime makes friendly relations with them. Which democracy gives the right to anybody to go to a foreign country and beg for removing the home government so that they are catapulted into the seat of power. Indian democracy will be no better than a farce if such aberrations are allowed. It is sedition and needs to be punished by the law of the land?
Democracy does not only give rights, but it also imposes duties. There has to be a dividing line between freedom of expression and abuse of that freedom. This has become a culture under the present system and bad precedence. Democracy permits demonstrating for rights but it does not permit destroying public property, burning railway stations, forcing down educational institutions and putting up roadblocks etc.
I think if there is no boundary for permissible and non-permissible in a democracy then no one can claim he is a true nationalist or a true democrat. This concept of nationalism comes from geographical and juridical boundaries. If you are an Indian your country’s boundaries do not allow you to treat the neighbouring country at par with your country in terms of allegiance. Nor does democracy permit you to create a neighbour as your enemy all the time? Nationalism means identity and personality. Even getting a job as a peon is not easy unless you declare your identity, qualify in the exam and go through the process. The British constitution is not a written one but people and the government know their duties and rights and they go by convention. Our Constitution is the bulkiest in the world yet we are the least constitution observing people.
There are millions of cases pending for judgment for decades in the courts of law in the country. Some prisoners have completed their prison terms but they are still languishing in jails. Many of them do not want to come out f jails. The axiom os that justice delayed is justice denied. Court cases are pending for decades. This cannot be called good governance and a working democracy.
Development is possible only through the cooperation of all the organs of the state. Each individual has to contribute to the welfare of the nation. If every person does his work in an honest and dedicated manner then one day we can fulfil all the basic needs of our people. It asks for a tremendous sense of responsibility and dedication.
This is where the role of the media assumes great significance. Unfortunately today Indian media is obsessed with advertisements as these ads bring them huge monies. Most of the revenue of the channels depends on advertisements, by big corporates and political parties. If the government makes media-independent that would help the impartiality of the media. The government intentionally makes the media paralyzed and dependent instead of making it strong and powerful with new policies and perceptions. Monopolizing the media should be brought to an end and small media houses should be encouraged. Big media houses never make people think a lot because they fear problems will be created for them in future.
Dhruv Rathee is a famous YouTuber making a video on current issues and failures of government policies. He gave an interview on NDTV where he said he is afraid to reveal his identity and about their profile because he got many threats from political leaders. It shows that in India we cannot express opinion and thoughts freely. Bhakat Banerjee is also another example who makes a video with a sarcastic slant. India needs an audience to raise questions on critical issues. We are wasting time on unnecessary issues. For instance, about CAA, most of the protesters do not know what the Act is and what are its pros and cons. But they are protesting because of senseless imitations. Even there are some who do not know what the abbreviation CAA stands for. Same is true about Article 370. The mainstream of Indian media had not shown the real image of the Kashmir issue. Protests and rallies by the local people are not publicized by the media. Media is silent in some matters and over-zealous in other matters. This is not balanced reporting. It’s time to work for a new era of journalism which gives knowledge, awareness, impartial and unbiased information. Our journalism needs to revive the ethics of high-level journalism.
Written by Priya Rajput
Mass Communication and New media, Central University of Jammu