Tuesday, June 09, 2015

"The Blind side of News media in India"

"Whoever controls the media, controls the mind." Jim Morrison.

Good Morning!

Do you think the news media in India is fair and just with the reporting of domestic current news and affairs? Generically, I believed the news media is not doing enough when it comes to domestic news reporting except around the time of general election. To prove my point, are you aware of the current situation concerning the north east states of India excluding the recent attack on Army convoy in Manipur killing 18 soldiers by an underground organization? Or, you are only aware of the fact that Mary Kom is from Manipur after watching the movie "Mary Kom" starring Priyanka Chopra. Then, believe me, the media has done nothing when it is concerning about the plights and the hardships of people living in the north east states of India.

However, when it comes to mainland India or the metropolitan cities, they'd even go to the length of reporting a dog killed by speeding car or a high affluent family car stolen away by thief because the driver left the car key behind. Well well, my friend, there are more important news to report like the violation of human rights by our own law approved by the Government of India which is still enforced in most part of north east India wherein the most victims of the law comes from the state of Manipur. I'm left pondering; why don't they highlights the Draconian law which is in the form of Armed Forced Special Power Act and its consequence rather than blaming the people as not co-operative? Why don't thay report about the staged encounter killings by the police and the Indian army? What is about Irom Sharmila fights? 

And why don't they expose the corrupted politicians and bureaucrats from north east India, and above all, the higher authority betrayal to people living out there? In Manipur, corruptions and its related money operates in parallel to normal business transaction. The fact is that you can literally buy a job post in state government sector. Try asking anyone from Manipur about the price tag for the post of Sub-inspector rank working for the Police department. Some will say Rs. 20 lakhs and some other will say Rs. 25 lakhs; and if you can afford the said amount, you'll get the job easily without any fuss. You can termed the corruption in Manipur as "The Wall street of Corruptions" wherein the market is always open for the rich people investing their money in government jobs and the return on investment is guaranteed. Unfortunately, the corruptions in Manipur is a topic ignored by the news media in India. It is like cutting us off from the rest of  India. But why?

Instead they'd rather stage a platform for a hot debate and telecast live on prime-time news hour slot wherein the participants and the speaker(usually the editor-in-chief) starts bullshitting each other inside the studio in order to increase TRP ratings rather than reporting the real news needing the attention of the people all over India. It means the news media in our country has its own agenda and priority which is an extreme violation of journalism and news reporting ethics. And sadly, when they do report any news concerning north east India, the news is all about music loving people, dog meat eaters, the short skirts and vice versa. The news media in India have to know that the real news of north east India doesn't originate from major metropolitan cities wherein the news source are the students and employees from north east India. 

But the real news is still out there in the region; and they need to investigate starting with the ground reality from the perspective of people living out there and identifying the root cause of corruption as well as insurgency related issue. And when the truth is exposed, only then, people all over India will realize the central government 'divide and rule policy' and also for wasting a hell lot of taxpayers money on defense budget every year. According to Union Budget for fiscal 2015-16, the central government led by Narendra Modi will allocate Rs 2,46,727 crore to defence sector even though we are officially not at war with any country. Alright, Pakistan is the only threat to our country. However is the allocated amount of Rs 2,46,727 crore justified when 179.6 million people in India are starving as per the revised methodology and the poverty rate of Manipur is 36.89 percent?

The truth is we don't deserve the cold treatment from the news media in India even though our culture and appearance are somewhat different from the mainland India. We are all humans and foremost the rightful citizens of this country. We can feel the same pain like the families of the brave 18 soldiers killed in an ambush attack in Chandel District (located in Manipur) because we too have lost our brothers and sisters to gross injustice and custodial killings. Yet the government will always stay without any remorse because the Draconian law like Armed Forced Special Power Act is valid for them and our justice system will continue to protect the government interest by hook or crook if the news media continue to watch from behind silently like an agency of the government.

My only expectation from the news media in our country is do their job honestly irrespective of people origins and regions. Only then, India can move forward as one in the right direction for progress and development. And I bet, no one will say India is a developed country whereas the north east states of India is neglected. Don't you agree? 

For your information, on 23 March, 2009, the United Nations asked India to repeal Armed Forced Special Power Act, an act that they considered to be contrary to the Article 4 of the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights. The United Nations Commissioner on Human Rights at that time, Navanethem Pillay termed the law as "dated and colonial-era law" breaching the contemporary international human rights standards." The United Nations also questioned the constitutionality of the Armed Forced Special Power Act under Indian law.

Food for Thought: "We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values. For a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people." John F. Kennedy.

Thank you. Have a good day!

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