Intimidation Of The Media
Who Gains?
The Gujarat Police has slapped sedition
charges on The Times of India, Ahmedabad, for suggesting that
Ahmedabad’s new Commissioner of Police, Mr O P Mathur , had
underworld links. If the Commissioner was offended, he was within
his rights to have initiated criminal and civil proceedings of
defamation against the publication and its employees. But sedition?
In Thane,
hoodlums claiming to represent an outfit known as Shiv Sangram
Sanghatana,
attacked
the house of Kumar Ketkar, editor of the Marathi daily “Loksatta”,
in broad
daylight
and subjected him to verbal abuse and terror before the police
arrived a full 40
minutes
later. Ketkar’s offence? In a satirical vein, he had questioned the
need for the
Maharashtra
government to spend Rs 300 crores on erecting a statue of Shivaji in
the
Arabian Sea
when Maharashtra’s
children are malnourished, have no access to schools
and our farmers are
committing suicide.
If an arm of the state can press so
serious a charge as sedition on one of India’s biggest media groups
with such impunity, what could be in store for smaller publications
and individual journalists? Is this not a direct attack on the
freedom of expression and opinion? Are the cops above criticism? Can
criticism of an individual police officer amount to sedition?
Is government policy not
subject to democratic debate and discussion?
As for the Ketkar case, time and again,
mob rule has prevented the slightest whiff of dissent when the
subject matter is even vaguely related to Shivaji. And more often
than not, these mobs have had overt or covert political support:
this is a handy device for silencing opposition to pet causes. If an
editor of Kumar Ketkar’s standing
of a mainstream publication
can be intimidated in such a brazen fashion, what hope for other
dissenting journalists?
In fact, this growing lack of tolerance
to any criticism from the media also extends to the judiciary. In
September 2007, three journalists and the publisher of “Midday”, a
New Delhi eveninger, were convicted by the High Court for contempt
of court for arguing that the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court may
have had an undeclared conflict of interest while deciding some
cases involving the shutting down of small shops and commercial
establishments. Another
senior activist and journalist was pulled up for even suggesting
that a discriminatory system of justice is prevalent in our courts
when granting bail. Remember, the judges have also
ruled that they are not subject to scrutiny under the Right to
Information Act nor are
their individual assets a matter for public scrutiny.
A clear trend is now emerging. On the
one hand, various arms of the state are cracking down on the media
whenever unpalatable facts are uncovered. On the other, bands of
ruffians are unleashed on the media, generally with the patronage of
politicians and sections of the administration, to silence even the
mildest criticism. No
political party appears above breaking the rule of law
( OR, This dangerous trend
appears backed by every political party across the spectrum).
Such intimidatory tactics also have a demonstration effect and are
intended to create a climate of fear. No disquieting questions are
to be raised regarding the economic, political and social fallout of
India’s tryst with globalization and financialisation.
Are mediapersons going to be cowed down
by such blatantly intimidatory ploys? Are we going to be content to
play the role of passive spectators? To ask inconvenient questions
is the raison d’etre of journalism. Are we a mature democracy or are
we fast becoming a backdoor banana republic?
We invite all freedom-loving citizens
and groups to attend a meeting on
“Who benefits from intimidation of the Media?” at Mumbai
Marathi Patrakar Sangh, Opposite BMC Headquarters, CST on s12th June
2008 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Among the speakers
(proposed ) are Kumar Ketkar, editor,
Loksatta, Aspi Chinoy, Supreme Court lawyer, P.Sainath, Editor (
rural affairs) The Hindu, Teesta Setalvad, Citizens for Justice and
Peace, Neelkanth Paratkar, President, Brihanmumbai Union of
Journalists.
Issued by: Brihanmumbai Union of
Journalists, Citizens for Justice and Peace, Communalism Combat