Priti Prakash
A post on my 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 democarcy 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 unrealised. 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 organisations 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 eveyday. 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 intimidations. 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 glamourous 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 amoung the people we fight for.
