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Vol.1 No.6 Pages: 32
Price: 20
DeCeMBeR 2016
editorial Advisers
S N Sinha
K Sreenivas Reddy
Devendra Chintan
l S Hardenia
editor
Printed & Published by AmarDevulapalli, Secretary-General on behalf ofindian Journalists Union from 5-9-60/BDeshoddharaka Bhavan, Basheerbagh,Hyderabad-500 001, Telangana State. Printed at Sai likitha Printers,Khairatabad, Hyderabad-500 004. Ph: 040-6554 5979,editor K AmarnathPh: 040-23232660.email: [email protected] No: TeleNG00034
fter the Supreme Court upheld the CriminalDefamation law, there is a fear among the jour-nalists that the mighty and powerful will use it
as a tool to frighten them. That fear was amply provedto be true by a court in Hubbali, in Karnataka by hand-ing down a six months jail term and ten thousand rupeesfine to Gauri lankesh, the editor of lankesh Patrika foran article she wrote in 2008. She wrote about thealleged involvement of some BJP leaders, one of themis now an MP, in a fake gold coins case. The rulingparty leaders, particularly its information Technologydepartment Chief Amit Malviya , started issuing omi-nous threats to journalists citing the Hubbali Court rul-ing. in a tweet on the morrow of the court ruling, hecongratulating the BJP MP who filed the case and added‘Hope other journos take note’.it is obvious that the ruling partywants to take every criticism bya journalist to court through adefamation case. The journalistswould be wary of such cases,leading to self censorship toavoid legal tangles. After inde-pendence, perhaps this is thefirst case of its kind where ajournalist was sentenced to jailfor his/her writings. Scores ofcases filed by some state governments, particularly theTamilnadu government, are hanging over the heads ofjournalists and media organisations as Damocles Sword.A prerequisite for a vibrant democracy is the freemedia, of course with reasonable restrictions. Butrestrictions should not be such that would stifle criti-cism and exposure of the wrong doings of the powerful.Of late there is a tendency in the ruling circles to equatetheir narrow political interests with the national interestsand dub any contrary view as anti-national and unpatri-otic. Such formulations would lead to curtailment of thefreedom of expression and freedom of the press. itwould not augur well for the democracy.
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eADeR'S
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cribe News is a very incisive and
well edited journal. it is
particularly a must-read for jour-
nalistic fraternity. its 'free, frank and
fearless' write-ups on several burning
issues is commendable and comes at a
time when the media fraternity itself is
going through self introspection.
it is perhaps among a few journals
which focus mainly on issues related to
the media and its coverage of various
issues. Articles and editorial like
'invasion of Newsroom' are not only use-
ful for journalists but media analysts and
students of journalism, as well.
Kalyan Barooah,
Chief of News Bureau,
The Assam Tribune,
New Delhi
Please give some more space for
happenings related to media in
various states particularly 'conflict'
zones such as North east and Jammu and
Kashmir.
Thank you for your write up on the
oldest working journalist in the country.
You may publish a series of articles on
great journalists of yesteryears, both
national and international to inspire
younger generation of journalists to tread
in their foot-steps. You may serialise
memoirs of great journalists.
Santosh Singh
Kolkata
It is a useful journal
Give more space tostories from States
inside
BJP's IThead issues a subtlewarning
Making of alegislative court
A blazing indict-ment of allthat's wrong with us
Modi calls for self-regulation
4
12
20
28
14
18
Welfare Fund forJournos
Forever a Times maneven after TOI moved on
19 The politician and an interlocutor
The Last PageCourtsshould rescue theScribes
30
GenderEquity A Reality & StrategiesFor Change
8
December 20164
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing the National Press Day function at Vignan Bhawn, New Delhi on 16 November. The day also marked the Golden Jubillee year of the Press Council of India, established in 1966.
MODi CAllS FOR SelF-ReGUlATiON
nAtionAl press DAy
he Prime Minister Narendra
Modi expressed grave concern
over recent murder of journalists
in Bihar and said they were losing their
lives in their quest for telling the truth.
Addressing the National Press Day func-
tion at Vignan Bhawan in New Delhi on
16 November and to mark the Golden
Jubilee of Press Council of india (PCi),
the Prime Minister called on the media to
self regulate and asserted that there was
no need for external interference or reg-
ulation.
He quoted Mahatma Gandhi who
said unregulated media was bad but gov-
ernment controlled media was worse. "if
our mother tells not to over eat, we
would not mind. But if an outsider tells
us that we are eating too much, we will
take offence," he added. He stressed the
need for regulation of the media by a
peer body like Press Council and said it
should be strengthened and all the
resources it needed should be provided.
However he did not refer to the
demand of the Press Council for convert-
ing it into Media Council by bringing the
electronic and cyber media under its
ambit. He expressed anguish over the
recent killings of journalists but
refrained from commenting on the
demand for a special law for the
protection of journalists.
Speaking earlier, M. Venkaiah
Naidu, Minister for information and
Broadcasting said that self-regulation in
the media space was the best practice
which would uphold journalistic ethics
and democratic ideals of the Nation.
"The Government does not believe in
Information and Broadcasting Minister Venkaih Naid confered awardsfor Excellence in Journalism and honoured five veteran journalists.
T
December 2016 5imposing ban on any medium of com-
munication, but necessary restraint has
to be exercised keeping in mind the pro-
tection of sovereignty and integrity of
india, security of the nation and law and
order situation in the country," he said.
elaborating on the responsibility of
Media, the minister mentioned that elec-
tronic media coverage of Mumbai terror-
ist attacks received backlash from the
Supreme Court, which said that "any
attempt to justify the conduct of the TV
channels by citing the right to freedom of
speech and expression would be totally
wrong and unacceptable in such a terror-
ist situation. He also mentioned the
recent case of Pathankote coverage and
highlighted how electronic media cover-
age while reporting could put civilians,
and armed personnel lives to danger.
Speaking about the role of Regional
Media in a diverse country like india, the
Minister said the media assumed impor-
tance at the regional level due to its prox-
imity with local communities and local
language which enhanced the participa-
tory potential of citizens. "The Regional
Media plays an important role in build-
ing participatory democracy by reaching
out to all the sections of the society and
also creates an informed citizenry. in a
federal polity, regional media with its
reach can help align the interests of
States with that of the Nation there by
enabling the Prime Minister's vision of
Cooperative Federalism," he said.
Regarding the Government's New
Print Media Advertisement Policy,
Venkaiah Naidu said it promoted equity
based regional outreach by providing
relaxation in empanelment procedure to
provide special encouragement for
Regional language/Dialects small and
medium newspapers.
On the opportunities offered by
Social media, the Minister said that it
was a new tool of communication which
was spontaneous and interactive. Such a
medium was both an opportunity and
challenge. This mode of communication
should be used judiciously for larger
national and individual good, he said.
On the future role to be played by the
Media, the minister said that Media had
a larger role to play in developmental
agenda of the Nation by proactively pro-
jecting flagship programmes of the
Government such as Swachh Bharat,
Digital india, Jan Dhan Yojana, Skill
india and Make in india as National
Programmes which has the potential to
bring change in the country. Media need-
ed to adorn the role of the stakeholder in
the entire developmental process.
chairman demands media council
The Press Council of india (PCi)
Chairman Justice C K Prasad urged upon
the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to
convert the present Council into Media
Council of india (MCi) to meet the needs
of the present day media. Presiding over
the National Press Day function, he said
when the Council was first established in
Venkaiah Naidu confering Raja Rammohan Roy award for excellance in journal-ism on eminent editor Surendra Nihal Singh while Ravindra Kumar, Rajyavardhan
Sing Rathore and Justice C K Prasad were looking on.
Venkaiah Naidu honouring eminent and veteran editor Potturi Venkateswara Rao.
December 201661966, there was only print media in
country and now it expanded into
electronic and cyber media.
He said in the last two years the
Press Council took steps to reduce the
backlog of cases by extending meet-
ing hours. "i am happy to report that
most of the old cases were brought to
a final conclusion and hopefully next
year every case that came to the coun-
cil would be addressed within three
months. it creates confidence among
the public and the working journalists
that if we approach the council, we
would get speedy justice," he added.
He thanked the members, drawn from
all categories of working journalists,
newspaper managements and the
civil society representatives for
extending their co-operation in the
last two years. He also sought more
funds for effective functioning of the
council.
Justice Prasad lamented that
some international organisations
ranked the country low on the
Freedom of the Press index very
unfairly. "when an international
Organisation ranked india above hun-
dred, i was alarmed and sought
details of their survey and its basis.
They prevaricated and did not sup-
ply me details even after a year, lead-
ing me to suspect their inten-
tions," he said.
Col. Rajyavardhan Rathore,
Minister of State for information
Broadcasting, R Ravindra Kumar,
Member, PCi, indian institute of
Mass Communictions Director
General K G Suresh, Press Council
Secretary Poonam Sibbal were on the
dais.
eminent journalist Surendra
Nihal Singh was conferred the presti-
gious Raja Rammohan Roy Award
for excellence in Journalism.
eminent journalists Mrinal Pande,
Raghu Rai, Potturi Venkateswara
Rao, Sheetla Singh and cartoonist
Kak were honoured on the occasion
of the Golden Jubilee of PCi. Renjith
John, Arvind Kumar Singh, Xavier
Selva Kumar were awarded for excel-
lence in Journalism.
INTERNATIONAL BRIEFS
TWO JOURNALISTS kILLED IN FINLAND
The chairwoman of imatra
Town Council and two
local reporters were
gunned down outside a restau-
rant in the town just before a
police patrol car arrived to the
scene at around midnight 3
December. A 23-year-old local
man with a criminal record was
detained at the scene, but the
motive for the killings remain unclear, said the Finland police.
One of the victims, Tiina wilén-Jäppinen, was the chairwoman of imatra city
council while the other two women were local journalists.
Police officer, who is leading the investigation, said the suspect had been
detained on suspicion of murder. He had a criminal record, including for violent
incidents and theft. Police said the killings seemed to be a random attack.
The international Federation of Journalists (iFJ) and european Federation of
Journalists (eFJ) in separate statements called on the authorities in Finland to con-
duct a swift investigation on the killings of two journalists and a local politician.
TWO JOURNALISTSARRESTED IN SUDAN
Two Sudanese journalists were arrested by the
state security agents on 10 November night.
The Sudanese Journalists Network (SJN) said
Amal Habani and Mohamed Amin Abdul Aziz were
subjected to thorough beating.
The SJN warned that the Sudanese National
intelligence and Security Services (NiSS) had
embarked on a crackdown against press freedoms. it
added that the government had banned all news
about the protests in Khartoum in the recent times.
State operatives last week confiscated editions of three Sudanese newspapers.
According to the Reporters without Borders, Sudan ranks among the worst
countries with regard to the freedom of the press and the freedom of expression.
The government last week tightened the security as protests against the removal
of fuel subsidy spread beyond Khartoum.
The international Federation of Journalists (iFJ) condemned the arrests and
demanded their immediate release. in a statement the indian Journalists Union (iJU)
President S N Sinha and iFJ Vice-President Sabina inderjit condemned the arrests
and extended their solidarity to the Sudanese journalists.
Mohamed Amin Abdul Aziz.
Police at the scene of the crime
December 2016 7
Demonetisation doublesHindi TV news audience
he viewership of Hindi TV chan-
nels shot up dramatically as
nervous people remain glued to
their TVs for the latest on
demonetisation.
As in every other area of national
life, demonetisation has had an impact
on the media as well. Data from televi-
sion rating measurement agency BARC
show that the viewership of leading
Hindi news channels such as Aaj Tak,
india TV, ABP News and Zee News has
gone up by a staggering 100 per cent in
most cases in the weeks post-demoneti-
sation
Consider the numbers in the period
between October 17 and November 8,
the day the Prime Minister announced
the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs
1000 currency notes, and that between
November 9 and November 25, when the
cash crunch began to bite.
The average impressions on Aaj Tak
soared from 15,684 to 31,727; it went up
from 13,686 to 25,474 on india TV; from
11,520 to 23,824 on ABP News and from
11,338 to 22,669 on Zee News (viewer-
ship data for india News is not available
for the November 9-25 period and is
hence being left out of the analysis.)
evidently, the phenomenal rise in
viewership over such a long period took
place because people were hooked to the
news about demonetisation and its fall-
out. As Milind Khandekar, Managing
editor at ABP News, says, "Possibly in a
long time we have seen a story which has
directly affected each individual in some
way or other. Hence, people could be
tuning in to get information or
understand its impact on their life."
what is also interesting is that in the
periods under consideration, viewership
of several Hindi general entertainment
channels (GeC) slipped. That seems log-
ical because if people are watching news
more, they have less time to soak up
family melodramas.
After all, when people have to line
up in front of banks and ATMs for hours
to access their own money, when people
drop dead in those serpentine queues,
when people are said to be losing their
livelihoods in the cash crisis - news
probably feels far more visceral than any
strident soap opera the GeCs have to
offer.
in the period between October 17
and November 8 and between November
9 and November 25, average impres-
sions on Colors fell from 96,582 to
92,564; from 90,978 to 90,430 on Star
Plus; and from 68,412 to 60,785 on Zee
Anmol. Zee TV's viewership went up
marginally - from 66,577 to 67,022.
(Sony Pal is the only one among the top
few Hindi GeCs that actually registered
a noticeable rise between the two time
periods - from 63,390 to 65,422.)
Admittedly, the decline in GeC
viewership is nowhere near as spectacu-
lar as the rise in Hindi news viewership.
But it is a note worthy fallout of the spike
in the consumption of news in the wake
of demonetization.
T
December 20168
nclude 'her voice',
strengthen unions by
changing with the times,
adapt to digital tools, take the
campaign on press freedom to
the internet and fight impunity
using new media, are significant
strategies that leaders of journal-
ist unions must adopt in these
challenging times. Not a sermon
but ideas which emerged after
two days each of brainstorming
during two meetings 'Making
Gender equity a Reality' and
'Strategies for Change', organ-
ised by iFJ Asia Pacific in
Kathmandu from 21 to 24
November. Senior iJU leader
and former Secretary-General K
Sreenivas Reddy participated in
Strategy meeting while Sabina
inderjit, Vice-President of iJU
and iFJ participated in Gender
meeting. Two representatives of
National Union of Journalists
(india) were also present.
Anthony Bellenger, General
Secretary of iFJ participated in
both meetings.
experiences varied as there
were participants, both young
and old, from 14 countries across
the region-india, Pakistan,
Afghanistan, Sri lanka, Nepal,
Bhutan, Bangladesh, Cambodia,
Malaysia, indonesia, Myanmar,
Mongolia, the Philippines and
Vanuatu. More importantly, the
sharing of ideas prioritised
issues; strategies debated and
plan of action agreed by the par-
ticipants, divided into different
groups. That is to say, it was not
experts giving lectures and rec-
ommending suggestions but the
journalists/unionists/activists
taking stock of the situation and
making their own call.
Though exhausted after all
the hard thinking and plodding,
there was unanimity on the pri-
orities set and resolutions were
GenderEquity:
A Reality&
StrategiesFor Change
IFJ Conclave at Kathmandu
21-24 November
IFJ Conclave on Gender Equity: A Reality discussing the issues related to women journal-ists in Kathmandu on 21-22 November. IJU leader Sabina Inderjit is seen in the picture.
IJU senior leader K SreenivasReddy at the Strategy
conclave in Khathmandu
By
SABINA INDERJIT
i
December 2016 9
adopted demanding journalists' rights,
gender equity, press freedom, and an end
to impunity. The deliberations were of
high quality and the enthusiasm of the
young encouraging.
At the Gender equity meeting (21-22
November), which was all-women, there
were no two opinions that while women
journalists were actively involved in the
profession, their presence in unions was
dismal. leadership building and having
them in decision-making positions in
unions would follow only after the
women joined unions. while women
themselves needed to carve a niche, it
was the unions' leadership, largely male-
dominated, which must make sincere
efforts and not just give lip service. The
unions therefore must "adopt gender
policies and/or amendments to
Constitution to incorporate gender equi-
ty principles."
Known issues such as lack of women
in unions, pay gap, balancing between
family needs and sexual harassment at
work place, were dealt with along with
sharing of good practices through experi-
ences of some women. importantly,
exploring challenges and opportunities
in the digital space against online harass-
ment, provided a fresh insight for many.
Sexual harassment and trolling must and
can be fought back with different kinds
of strategies and use of tools on face-
book, twitter etc.
"we, women media unionists from
the Asia Pacific region claim our rightful
place in the media and unions. For this,
media unions must effectively address
issues of gender equity and adopt best
practices in order to strengthen the num-
bers and voices of women in unions,
especially in decision-making positions.
Active mentoring; capacity building;
leadership training; family-friendly
union practices; implementation of poli-
cies against sexual harassment; and
active engagement of men can remove
barriers to women's growth in profes-
sional as well as union settings," reads
the resolution. The bottom-line: "Change
has to come from within unions in order
to make a real impact in the wider media
environment."
in the two-day Strategy Forum (23-
24 November), the participants from
South Asia Media Solidarity Network
(SAMSN) and South east Asia Journalist
Unions (SeAJU) too broke into groups,
set out what they considered were the big
issues and challenges for their unions.
But first problems had to be realised.
That done, they put together top priori-
ties and resolved to share knowledge,
make use of new technologies, and
strengthen membership to effectively
continue their struggle for press freedom
and journalists' rights. Representatives
from the international labour
Organisation and Twitter shared knowl-
edge and skills and in fact educated
many a participant to effectively use
social media in union works, combat
online harassment and remain safe in the
digital space.
Safety of journalists and the fight
against impunity for crimes against jour-
nalists was a critical issue with a presen-
tation from Pakistan, Afghanistan and
Philippines on what strategies could be
adopted to put pressure on governments.
international conventions signed by their
respective governments must be high-
lighted to make governments answerable
was a strong tool. with india being a
focus country of the iFJ in its impunity
campaign a resolution was passed
demanding: "The immediate enactment
of a Journalists' Protection Act at the
national level and other mechanisms to
address the suffering of families of slain
and attacked journalists. The impunity of
perpetrators, which has a devastating
effect on press freedom in india, must
end forthwith."
The resolution also called for amend-
ments in the working Journalists Act to
include the entire media compass; and
stringent action against earring media
management for non-implementation of
statutory wage awards. The meeting
specifically demanded the constitution of
a national level Media Commission
which has been long overdue in view of
the new media evolution and far-reach-
ing changes in the media industry. it also
demanded the inclusion of electronic
media in the purview of the existing
Participants at IFJ Conclave in Kathmandu commemorating 7th Death Anniversary of 32 journalists who were massacred on 23 November 2009 in Ampatuan, the Philippines. It is the single deadliest attack on the press on record.
December 201610press council, and make it a media council.
"we also demand immediate annul-
ment of contract appointment in media as
it is an unfair labour practice and an
infringement in the freedom of the press.
we call for the implementation of the
Supreme Court verdict on equal pay for
equal work regardless of the nature of
appointment in the media industry."
Kashmir too came into focus and in
another resolution the meeting strongly
condemned the attacks and restrictions on
media reporting of the Kashmir conflict, in
particular the arbitrary ban on the Kashmir
Reader daily newspaper. "we also con-
demn the restrictions on the use of internet
and mobile phones in the conflict-affected
Kashmir Valley, which affects newsgather-
ing and dissemination," said the resolu-
tion, which also called urgently for peace
and regretted the firings by security forces
on unarmed people, including the use of
pellet guns that have blinded many civil-
ians, including children.
it also noted "we regret the four-
month long curfew in the Kashmir Valley
that has brought the area's economy to a
standstill and has also affected the media
industry by reducing advertisements to
publications and resulting in unemploy-
ment among media workers. Curfews,
search and cordon operations make jour-
nalists' jobs harder and distribution of
newspapers extremely difficult. Finally,
we urge our media colleagues on both
sides of the india-Pakistan border to
eschew jingoism, observe restraint and
promote resolution of the conflict by talks
with all parties concerned."
The meeting stood in solidarity with
colleagues from the Philippines to com-
memorate November 23, 2009, when 32
journalists were massacred in Ampatuan,
now acknowledged as the single deadliest
attack on the press on record. A resolution
expressing solidarity with Philippine jour-
nalists was adopted. On 24th the curtains
came down on the meetings, but the entire
exercise couldn't end there. The various
groups had set out campaigns that needed
to be carried out. in fact, measurable tar-
gets for their success were also charted
out. The agenda as agreed had to be carried
forward. Back home, more work had to be
done.
Sabina addressing the NPU members. Anthony Bellanger is alsoseen in the pic
Nepal Union felicitatesSabina and Anthony
The Nepal Press Union (NPU)
organised a meeting of its
committee members with iFJ
Vice President Sabina inderjit and
General Secretary Anthony Bellanger
in Kathmandu on 24 November. NPU
General Secretary Ajaya Babu
Shiwakoti gave a brief overview of
the various activities undertaken by
the union such as upholding of press
freedom, safety of journalists, carry-
ing out regular training of journalists
etc.
The NPU, he said, is celebrating
its 25th anniversary this year and is
the only registered journalist trade
union though there are other organi-
sations, and has its presence in 73 dis-
tricts of the Himalayan country.
Addressing the gathering,
Anthony gave a brief overview of the
iFJ and the activities and campaigns
it conducts. Sabina spoke about the
indian Journalists Union and her
experience with the iFJ and the criti-
cal issues being addressed. She
stressed the need for Gender equality
in unions and cautioned against
politicisation of unions.
She expressed joy over the fact
that the NPU had a woman Vice
President and hoped that one day it
would have a woman President. The
meeting was also addressed by the
RTi Commissioner Kiran Pokharel.
The NPU felicitated Anthony with
the traditional Nepalese cap and
Sabina with a shawl.
iJU NC meeting put off The National Council meeting of the indian Journalists Union (iJU)
scheduled to be held on 17-18 December in Chennai was postponed
due to havoc caused by the cyclonic storm in Chennai. Road, rail and air
traffic to the city were disrupted and communication networks broke down
completely. in a communication, iJU Secretary-General Amar Devulapalli
said as the prospects of restoration of normalcy in the city was unlikely in
the near future, the meeting was postponed. Fresh dates for the meeting
would be intimated in due course, he said.
December 2016 11A common point
ONE DAY…JUST ONCE
o you remember the old movie "ek
din ka sultan"? and many more adap-
tations of its story in various lan-
guages wherein a commoner is made the king
but for only one day? A Tamil film with Arjun
(Mudhalvan) and a Hindi movie with Anil
Kapoor (Nayak) have the heroes becoming
chief ministers for a day. i want the media bar-
row this concept for once and experiment it in
their coverage.
imagine a day when all newspapers and
channels do not cover politicians. There will
be no coverage of ruling party politicians,
gloating over its policies and works undertak-
en, and the same being criticized by the opposition. if gov-
ernment does something in public domain it is performing its
mandatory duty, then why are bureaucrats not briefing the
press? And why are politicians doing it? And why it has
become a norm for opposition to criticize each and every-
thing that is done by government. it is mainly because of the
media coverage, through which these people try to get maxi-
mum exposure. let them discuss it on the floors of legislature
and media would definitely report it.
A Telugu channel named "Sakshi" has a political debate
show everyday named "Fourth estate," which as is the norm
nowadays, has representatives of political parties apart from
others discussing relevant issues of the day. Recently they
had the program with versatile actor Prakash Raj, and it was
a big relief and was well appreciated by viewers.
The day media realizes how it is being misused by politi-
cians and starts giving importance to public issues, where its
coverage will really matter, and not merely note down or tele-
cast what politicians are saying will be the day when media
justifies its glorified name of "fourth estate".
what is the percentage of space and time provided by
media to political news? And how much of it is coverage of
mere statements or speeches of politicians? why can't they be
relegated to inside pages and not hog limelight on front page?
May be that will be the day when true journalism would
come alive. That will in turn dissuade businessmen and
politicians from investing in media. That will be the day
when future journalists are groomed to work for public good
and become the fourth pillar of democracy.
i know that my imagination is running wild but just look
at a newspaper and watch a television news channel with this
thought in mind. it's a great feeling i can assure you.
A Media Observer
GopireddyMadhusudan
Reddy
D
Praise & be PaidTo seemingly counter the
bad publicity, social mediainfluencers have received an'offer' to make the hashtag.
AFactor Daily report claimed that several
social media influencers have been paid to
make #indiaDefeatsBlackMoney trend on
Twitter. The report says as the government has faced
a fair bit of flak and bad press on the evils and demer-
its of demonetisation ever since Prime Minister
Narendra Modi carried out his "surgical strike" on
black money on November 8. To seemingly counter
the bad publicity, social media influencers have
received an 'offer' to make the hashtag. Factor Daily
has learnt from one prominent Twitter influencer who
has over 30,000 followers on the platform.
who the offer came from could not be immedi-
ately ascertained, but there is clearly a Maharashtra
angle to it. The influencers have been asked to tag
@narendramodi @arunjaitley @Dev_Fadnavis in the
tweets - the Twitter handles of PM Modi, Finance
Minister Arun Jaitley, and Maharashtra Chief
Minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis. The
bundling of the Maharashtra CM with the Prime
Minister and the Finance Minister does stick out.
The brief to the influencers is "Our job is to share
positive effects of demonetization".
The sample tweets range from talking about how
the demonetisation move "has brought Kashmir
unrest to a halt" to how it will give a fillip to the econ-
omy.
The source who did not wish to be named, said
the directive to make the hashtag trend has been
doing the rounds among influencers. There is a whole
paid-to-tweet industry whose job is to make hashtags
trend, there are even agencies and internet marketing
servicing firms that take up projects from clients
whether it is corporates or political parties to get a
hashtag to trend.
The communication to make the hashtag
#indiaDefeatsBlackMoney trend comes with detailed
instructions, as is the case with most such of direc-
tives. it comes with a complete timetable and a warn-
ing to not "spam". it also urges the influencer to mod-
ify the sample tweets shared in the communication.
The Factor Daily said that it was trying to find out
the sum offered to the influencers and promised to
update the story once it was known. Typically it's a
two-digit sum for every tweet.
December 201612
A representative image of the gag on the media freedom
BJP'S IT HEAD ISSUES A SUBTLE WARNING
ABy
keshavaGuha
GAuri lAnkesh cAse
mit Malviya is a name that most readers,
political junkies aside, are unlikely to be
familiar with. But the banker-turned-
political worker is one of the most influ-
ential figures in our public discourse. As
the Bharatiya Janata Party's national
head of information Technology, he
directs the ruling party's digital strategy,
one that deploys hundreds of social
media influencers and tens of thousands
of (often anonymous) supporters to
aggressively defend the government and
attack its critics.
Malviya leads by example. On
Twitter and in television debates, his
rhetoric is pugnacious and often ad
hominem. He responds to criticism of the
government by impugning the motives of
the critic. And Malviya's words matter,
which is why a tweet that he issued on
29 November ought to alarm anyone
who believes in the freedom of the press.
Gauri lankesh is a veteran editor and
columnist in both Kannada and english.
Although convicted on 28 November by
a Karnataka magistrate of criminally
defaming two BJP leaders and sentenced
to six months' imprisonment, she has
been granted bail and will appeal to a
higher court.
Malviya's tweet bears only one inter-
pretation: it is a warning, and one that
appears to have been issued thoughtfully
and deliberately. The statement that jour-
nalists should "take note" - a euphemism
here for "watch out" - is a message to
journalists that if they fall afoul of the
government or ruling party, serious
Tweeting about the conviction of a journalist in a defamation suit, Amit Malviya said ominously, 'Hope other journos take note.'
December 2016 13consequences may follow. in addition,
there are implicit congratulations to
the Member of Parliament who filed the
defamation case against lankesh for
"get[ting] Gouri lankesh convicted",
thus showing the proper way to deal with
inconvenient journalists.
contempt for press freedom
Malviya may hold no government post,
but his threat is far from an empty one. it
is further evidence of the BJP's utter con-
tempt for journalists and for press free-
dom, a contempt matched by only one
previous Union government, that of
indira Gandhi. All governments, begin-
ning with Jawaharlal Nehru's, which, in
1951, introduced the First Amendment to
the Constitution allowing "reasonable
restrictions" on the freedom of speech,
have opposed full press freedom, but
only two have shown no regard whatso-
ever for this basic right.
The BJP's lack of regard for journal-
ists and their rights is expressed in vari-
ous ways. On social media, it takes the
form of epithets such as presstitute or
paid journo. Party president Amit Shah
and information and information and
Broadcasting Minister Venkaiah Naidu
have argued that press freedom cannot
be used to challenge nationalism or "the
nation's interest". Naidu's ministry was
also responsible for the one-day ban on
NDTV india that was later kept in
abeyance.
One of the most enduring and least-
remarked upon threats to the freedom of
expression in india comes from state
governments across the political spec-
trum that use the threat and actual impo-
sition of criminal cases to intimidate or
punish critical journalists or, increasing-
ly, private citizens. Only two weeks ago,
the Madhya Pradesh government arrest-
ed a 19-year-old student for social media
posts that were critical of the chief min-
ister. For the most part, Union govern-
ments have had a better record in this
regard, which is why a statement like this
from a national political figure like
Malviya is so worrying.
Freedom of speech
lankesh's conviction comes on the heels
of a Supreme Court judgment in May
that emboldens vindictive politicians at
the expense of press freedom. in
Subramanian Swamy vs Union of india,
the court upheld Section 499 of the
indian Penal Code, which criminalises
defamation, a judgment that ran counter
to a global trend against treating defama-
tion as a criminal matter. Criminal
defamation has long been a favourite
tool of revenge, used to target both jour-
nalists and political opponents.
Malviya's tweet shows how dangerous
that judgment was - the law, instead of
protecting the rights of journalists as it
ought to in any liberal democracy,
instead becomes a licence for the harass-
ment and intimidation of the press.
To be sure, politicians and the police
can be creative in their use or misuse of
statute. The Supreme Court's landmark
judgment in Shreya Singhal vs Union of
india, which struck down Section 66A of
the information Technology Act as
unconstitutional, has not ended the per-
secution of online speech. But a judg-
ment in favour of free speech in Swamy
- ironically, the petitioner seeking to
decriminalise defamation is a BJP
leader- would have meaningfully con-
stricted politicians in their attempts to
deter critical or independent journalists.
comparisons with the emergency
The BJP's contempt for press freedom
has not expressed itself in anything like
the censorship of the emergency.
emergency was imposed on a country
with no digital media, and state control
of the airwaves - print was the sole arena
of censorship. But the fact that the
emergency itself is unlikely to be repeat-
ed should not blind us to disturbing par-
allels, or enable complacency about the
present situation. Then, as now, legiti-
mate criticism of government policy was
branded anti-national.
Then, as now, pro-government jour-
nalists either watch silently as their col-
leagues' rights are trampled upon, or
even cheer on the assault.
BJP leader lK Advani famously
remarked that the Press, during the
emergency, was asked to bend and chose
to crawl. Forty years later, the play is
being re-enacted with roles reversed.
Pro-government voices, from the televi-
sion channels Times Now and Zee News
to the magazine Swarajya and colum-
nists such as Swapan Dasgupta, refuse to
defend the principle of press freedom.
Many journalists even use the term
presstitute against their own colleagues.
No pro-government journalist has
come forward to condemn or even mild-
ly rebuke Malviya's warning to the coun-
try's entire press corps. For the freedom
of the press to be protected, journalists
must stand united in its defence. Not
since the emergency have we been so far
from achieving this unity.
(Courtesy the scroll.in)
Gauri Lankesh
Malviya may hold nogovernment post, but his
threat is far from anempty one. It is furtherevidence of the BJP's
utter contempt forjournalists and for press
freedom, a contemptmatched by that ofIndira Gandhi. All
governments, beginningwith Jawaharlal
Nehru's, have opposedfull press freedom, butonly two have shownno regard for this
basic right.
December 201614
Welfare Fund for Journos he Press Council of india (PCi)
Chairman Justice C K Prasad assert-
ed that the status or wealth of a per-
son would not come in the way of the
Council for providing justice to the journal-
ists who were attacked. Speaking at a con-
clave on 'Defending Freedom of Journalists
in Digital Age' at Press Club in Mumbai on
29 November, in an obvious reference to
attack on journalists in front of the Bombay
House, the Head Quarters of the Tata Group,
he said "There was an attack in Mumbai
where few photojournalists were assaulted. it
came to my notice and we have taken a suo
motu cognisance of the matter".
Pitching for financial security of scribes,
Justice Prasad has proposed setting up of a
welfare fund for journalists. "My idea is to
have a fund run by their peers, and Press
Council of india will also contribute to that.
every working journalist shall be entitled for
becoming member of that fund. i have writ-
ten to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about
setting up of the welfare fund for journalists.
There is advocates' welfare fund, run very
nicely for last 30 years by the Bar Council of
india," he added.
Justice Prasad said killing of journalists
was a major threat to the freedom of the
press in the country. He said "threat to the
life and liberty of journalists is the most dis-
heartening and worrisome threat to the free-
dom of media. whenever such incident is
brought our notice, we take cognisance and
take action."
He said "The safety and security of jour-
nalists and media professionals are crucial
elements for safeguarding the right of the
PCI Chairman speaking at a Conclave on 'Defending Freedom of Journalists in Digital Age' at Mumbai PressClub on 29 November. S N Sinha, Kumar Ketkar, K Amarnath and Gurbir Singh are also seen in the picture.
pci chieF moots
T“Threat to the
life and liberty ofjournalists is themost dishearten-ing and worri-some threat tothe freedom of
media. Wheneversuch incident isbrought to ournotice, we take
action”
December 2016 15people to be informed. Any act of vio-
lence against journalists or media profes-
sionals, in relation to their work is a
direct violation of peoples' right to be
informed. Both at the level of the centre
and state there is the need to improvise
and employ new legal remedies and
strategies to strengthen the security and
safety accorded to journalists in india."
Justice Prasad said that in the digital
age the press and any form of digital
media could be used constructively to
tackle an adverse situation tactfully and
minimise the danger. expressing an
objective viewpoint was the biggest
card, as most of the time journalists in
sensitive and remote areas work alone
and there is no organised protection. in
such situations when journalists choose
to take an objective stand without getting
involved into any organised campaign to
malign any organisation, with ill-con-
ceived writings the threat factor general-
ly reduced, he opined.
He cautioned the journalists to keep
in mind that all rights, legal or moral
came with responsibilities. "A right can
be qualified only if it is exercised
responsibly and the right to freedom of
expression is not an exception. The
responsible section of the press must
come out strongly against evil practices,
and in support of the journalistic ethics,
devise their own means to curb any mis-
use of press and assist the Press Council
in its attempt to preserve and safeguard
the freedom of press, he said.
special law for protection of
journalists in maharashtra
Brijesh Singh, Secretary, information
and Publicity Department of
Maharashtra Government assured the
journalists that a law to protect journalist
was in the making at the state level. He
said the journalist should keep national
interest on top of their mind while
reporting events and developments.
According to him a fear that the journal-
ists were kept under surveillance was
baseless.
He said the government was commit-
ted to ensure freedom of press and
shared some valuable tips in cyber safe-
ty as he, the iPS officer, also headed the
state's cyber safety programme. He said
our neighbouring country was perpetuat-
ing attacks on our cyber space and jour-
nalists should also be careful about such
things. He denied the allegation that
there was surveillance on journalists
reporting for some Pakistan publications
and attacking their emails.
Addressing the meeting, S N Sinha,
President of indian Journalists Union
(iJU), pleaded for amendments to the
working Journalists Act to ensure
security of employment so that they
could work fearlessly and discharge their
duty to the people of the country. He
cited several cases taken up by the Press
Council of india in defence of the
freedom of the press and safety of
journalists in the country.
The iJU leader pleaded that the
journalist working in electronic and
cyber media should also be brought
under the definition of the working jour-
nalists and get legal protection as
presently there was no law to govern
them unlike those working in the print
media. He dealt on the menace of paid
news and private treatise indulged in by
some of the managements of the media
at length and said such paractices robbed
moral and ethical sheen from the
profession of journalism.
He said all the professional and trade
union organisations of the working jour-
nalists and editors should fight for a
special law to protect the working
journalists from attacks, fatal or
otherwise, so that they could work
fearlessly. He said the election commis-
sion should come out strictly against the
practice of paid news as it also involved
fair elections, a prequisite for healthy
democracy.
K. Amarnath, Member, Press
Council and Convenor of PCi's Safety
Committee, presented several case stud-
ies of attacks on journalists and suggest-
ed ways and means to ensure safety of
the fraternity. He said best way to safe-
guard frank and fearless journalism was
to enact a special law for their protection
with provisions for adequate compensa-
tion to the families of the slain journal-
ists.
He said the views and opinions being
posted in social media could not be treat-
ed as journalism as they represented the
personal or sectional interests and opin-
ions of the writers, while the journalists
exercise the right of freedom of expres-
sion on behalf of the people by giving a
perspective and contextualising the news
in their reportage. Coming down very
heavily on a section of the journalists for
accepting the narrative of the ruling
party and government of the day on
issues of national interests and patriot-
ism, he said the journalists and media
should interpret national interest from
the perspective of democracy and com-
mon man.
later there was question and answer
session. Veteran editor and President of
Mumbai Press Club Kumar Ketkar
chaired the conclave. Senior journalist
Gurbir Singh moderated the discussion.
Several senior journalists attended.
IJU President S N Sinha addressing theconclave at Mumbai Press Club
DecemBer 201616 17
Press freedom shrinks globallyhe countries where press freedom lessened last
year go beyond the usual malefactors such as
China, the Middle East, and large parts of Africa
and Latin America, to include European nations
who normally stand on high ground, above the
disappointing defaulters, proudly holding aloft
the standard of freedom.
A report by Freedom House, an independent
watchdog in the US says that press freedom
declined to its lowest point in 12 years owing to
political, criminal, and terrorist forces seeking to
co-opt or silence the media in their struggle for
power.
The curbing of press freedom by sundry
authoritarian governments is a common enough
phenomenon in most parts of the world but the
report finds that the battle against terrorism has
cast a shadow in parts of Europe with journalists
facing pressure both from terrorist groups and
from their own governments' efforts to fight ter-
rorism in the form of tighter surveillance laws,
populist measures, and curbs what can be said
and shown about the police force, often justified
in the name of striking a 'balance' between free-
dom and security.
Spain, France, Australia, Britain,
Poland….tightening the screws
For example, Spain passed a public security law
in March 2015 imposing heavy financial penal-
ties on any individuals at a protest, including
journalists, who decline to identify themselves to
authorities, fail to obey orders to disperse, or dis-
seminate unauthorized images of law enforce-
ment personnel. 'The last point in particular
threatens the work of photojournalists and others
who seek to inform the public about police abus-
es,' says the report.
In the aftermath of the Charlie Hebdo attack,
the French government passed a bill giving
sweeping surveillance powers to the authorities,
leaving journalists and their data vulnerable to
intrusive monitoring.
Britain is currently considering a bill that
would require telecommunications companies to
retain citizens' browsing histories and communi-
cations data for possible use by the authorities.
A bill passed in Australia in March 2015
requires telecom firms to store metadata on calls
and messaging for two years. 'Media advocates
warn that such measures could be used to identi-
fy journalists' sources and expose government
whistle-blowers,' says the report.
It adds: 'In another worrisome development,
some European political leaders focused their
attention on editorial control over public broad-
casters. One of the first moves of the new right-
wing government in Poland was to pass legisla-
tion that allows it to hire and fire the manage-
ment of the state-owned media.
In fact, its conclusion on media freedom in
Europe is bleak. 'Over the past 10 years, Europe
as a whole has suffered the largest drop in press
freedom of any region. This has been driven in
part by weakened European economies and
shrinking advertising revenues, which have led
to layoffs, closure of outlets, and further concen-
tration of media ownership. Other contributing
factors include new laws restricting media activ-
ity, and increases in violence against and intimi-
dation of journalists in retaliation for their
reporting.'
Turkey attracts a special comment for taking
advantage of real and perceived security threats
following the abortive coup last July to crack
down on the media. "The authorities continued
to use terrorism-related laws to arrest critical
journalists, censor online outlets, and deport for-
eign correspondents,'' says the report.
"Steep declines worldwide were linked to
two factors: heightened partisanship and polar-
ization in a country's media environment, and the
degree of extra-legal intimidation and physical
violence faced by journalists. These problems
were most acute in the Middle East, where gov-
ernments and militias increasingly pressured
journalists and media outlets to take sides, creat-
ing a "with us or against us" climate and demo-
nizing those who refused to be cowed,' says the
report.
India ranked number 80 out of the 199 coun-
tries assessed. 'Journalists have faced a wave of
threats and physical attacks in recent months,
particularly from right-wing groups, adding to
doubts about press freedom under the current
Hindu nationalist government,' says the report.
The topics most like-
ly to get journalists into
trouble were: corruption;
organised crime; envi-
ronment and land devel-
opment; disputed sovereignty; religion; and
lese-majeste. Under the last category,
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan
and Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-
Sisi, for example, have lengthy records
of pursuing insult charges against
journalists, bloggers, and social-
media users.
No guesses for the country
at the bottom of the
list…..yes, North Korea.
Other key findingsn Press freedom declined to
its lowest point in 12 yearsin 2015;
n Only 13 per cent of theworld's population enjoysa free press - that is,where coverage of politi-cal news is robust, thesafety of journalists isguaranteed, state intru-sion in media affairs isminimal, and the press isnot subject to onerouslegal or economic pres-sures;
n Forty-one percent of theworld's population has aPartly Free press;
n Forty six percent live inNot Free media environ-ments.
n Among the countries thatsuffered the largestdeclines in 2015 wereBangladesh, Turkey,Burundi, France, Serbia,Yemen, Egypt, Macedonia,and Zimbabwe.
India ranked number80 out of the 199
countries assessed.‘Journalists have
faced a wave ofthreats and physical
attacks in recentmonths, particularly
from right-winggroups, adding to
doubts about pressfreedom under the
current Hindunationalist govern-
ment,’ says the report.
By
Amrit Dhillon
The writer is a freelancejournalist based
in New Delhi.
A report by Freedom House, an independent watchdog based in US, says that press freedom hasdeclined to its lowest point in 12 years and, this time, some European countries are in the dock.
T
Biggest press freedom
declines in 2015
December 201618
ileep Padgaonkar may have once rated his
job as editor of the Times of india as the
second-most important one in the country
after the prime minister but of all the storied names
in indian journalism, he was arguably the only one
whose interests and inclinations transcended the
world of news and newspapers, politics and power.
At a time when many of his contemporaries
would have liked nothing better than to cultivate
politicians, wangle a nomination to the Rajya
Sabha and cling to the suffocating confines of
lutyens' Delhi, Padgaonkar sought personal
renewal in the company of artists and cineastes,
scholars and writers. when he felt his innings in
active journalism had ended, he cheerfully did the
unthinkable - packing home and hearth and shifting
from Delhi to distant Pune with his wife, latika, an
authority on world cinema and his conscience-
keeper as well.
Padgaonkar started writing for the Times of
india as a graduate student from Paris in the late
1960s and instantly made his mark as a thoughtful
commentator. His forte as a journalist was the inter-
view, a form he mastered and used to great effect,
introducing generations of indian readers to ideas
and personalities they were only remotely aware of.
As a journalist and editor, Padgaonkar, imbibed
the best qualities of his forerunners and peers with-
out being burdened by their angularities and
prejudices. He shared Sham lal's passion for the
world of letters and ideas and Girilal Jain's keen
eye for politics. He was an internationalist like
Frank Moraes but also a statist in the tradition of
B.G. Verghese - an editor who felt he had a better
sense of what was in the national interest than the
politicians and bureaucrats who made up the 'estab-
lishment'. He had a sense of humour as wicked as
that of Khushwant Singh and was a raconteur non-
pareil. He was a connoisseur of Hindustani classi-
cal music and wrote knowledgeably about food.
There was one final act of public service that
fell on his shoulders - when he was tasked in 2010
with heading a group of interlocutors appointed by
the Manmohan Singh government to look into the
grievances of the people of Jammu and Kashmir
and make recommendations for their resolution.
The report may not have been as bold as some ana-
lysts might have wanted but its recommendations
were just, humane and above all, politically
feasible. That the government chose to ignore the
report is a different matter.
in the last months of his life, the situation in
Kashmir remained a matter of deep concern for
Padgaonkar. The columns he wrote for the Times of
india reflected his anguish at the increasingly intol-
erant political culture that the Modi government
has spawned. He was particularly upset with the
gladiatorial nature of television news.
FOREVER A TIMES MANEVEN AFTERTOI MOVED ON
D
A TRIBUTE
Dilip Padgaonkar
1944 - 2016
As ajournalist
and editor,
Padgaonkar,imbibed the
best qualitiesof his fore-
runners andpeers without
being bur-dened by
their angu-larities andprejudices.He shared
Sham Lal'spassion for
the world ofletters andideas and
Girilal Jain'skeen eye for
politics.
December 2016 19
ho Ramaswamy often crossed
the line that divides journalists
and political activists. He was
consulted by political leaders, and there
were occasions when he played the role of
an interlocutor. His proximity to many
leaders was a key factor in shaping
alliances or bringing together diverse
forces.
Cho joined the Janata Party in 1983
and became close to Morarji Desai and
leaders such as A.B. Vajpayee, l.K.
Advani, Chandra Shekhar and George
Fernandes. However, after 18 months, he
left the party.
Cho was close to K. Kamaraj. He
campaigned for the Congress (O) in the
1971 election. The presence of huge
crowds at a rally on the Marina in Chennai
persuaded him to believe that Kamaraj
would win. But he suffered a shocking
defeat. Cho wrote a self-deprecating edito-
rial in the Thuglak magazine.
when N.T. Rama Rao was dismissed
as Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister in 1984,
despite enjoying a majority in the
Assembly, Cho rushed to Hyderabad, and
then to Delhi. He joined several non-
Congress leaders in a campaign for NTR's
reinstatement. They finally succeeded.
A staunch nationalist, Cho took a clear
stand against the lTTe and opposed the
idea of a separate 'Tamil eelam'. He
favoured retention of Article 356 of the
Constitution and argued that just because
it was misused, it could not be removed.
it was at a Thuglak anniversary func-
tion in 2008 that Narendra Modi made his
first public appearance in Tamil Nadu.
Ramaswamy had been ailing for some
time, and was admitted to hospital last
week for breathing problems and poor
intake of food.
Born on October 5, 1934, he was a
lawyer by training and later branched into
theatre, films and finally to journalism.
winner of the B.D. Goenka award for
excellence in journalism, he was
nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the BJP
government and served as an MP from
1999 to 2005.
Besides his plays, some of which were
made into successful films, Ramaswamy's
other writings covered a wide variety of
subjects. well-versed in the indian epics,
Vedas and Puranas, he wrote copiously on
religion and culture.
even before he entered journalism,
his work in the popular theatre was laced
with political and social criticism. if the
attempts of the Congress government led
by M. Bhaktavatsalam in the late 1960s to
censor the script of his play Sambavami
Yuge Yuge drew popular attention, his
political satire Muhammed Bin Thuglak
was a runaway success. it struck a chord
with the people, as through the story of a
whimsical king, it pilloried the vice of
floor-crossing that was playing havoc with
parliamentary democracy in many States
then.
C
THE POLITICIAN AND AN INTERLOCUTOR
A staunchnationalist, Cho
took a clearstand against the
LTTE andopposed the idea
of a separate'Tamil Eelam'.
Cho Ramaswamy
1934-2016
December 201620he Supreme Court of india,
on November 30, gave an
order that the national
anthem will have to be played
before feature films at cinema halls
all over the country, and that those
present in these halls are obliged to
stand up to show respect. Similar
orders on respecting the national
anthem have been delivered by two
High Courts in recent years. indeed
such an order is not in any way an
aberration in the post-emergency
trajectory of the higher judiciary. A
few months back, the Madras High
Court mandated that Thirukkural
be taught in all schools in Tamil
Nadu. Currently, in another case,
the Supreme Court is considering
making yoga compulsory in
schools. while patriotism, educa-
tion and health may all perhaps be
desirable goals, what is common
here is the court compulsorily pre-
scribing highly specific modes of
pursuing these lofty aims. Such
judicial decisions have three other
common attributes. First, all such
cases are in the Pil (public interest
litigation) jurisdiction. Second,
they rely on Fundamental Duties
and/or an expanded notion of
Directive Principles, with a barely
concealed contempt for
Fundamental Rights. Third, the
judges do not feel any need to jus-
tify their decisions in legal terms.
invitation to legislate
while Pil was defined by its
dilution of locus standi, two new
ways of conceptualising standing
in Pil were initially envisaged:
representative standing and citizen
standing. The first would be in a
case similar to a class-action suit,
except with a non-class member
representing the larger group. A
petitioner under citizen standing,
on the other hand, was to stand for
the entire citizenry of india rather
than individual victims of injustice.
while both categories have been
present since the inception of Pil,
there has been a definite trend
away from representative standing
towards citizen standing. A Pil of
the kind filed by the petitioner
Shyam Narayan Chouksey is of the
latter kind and is really an invita-
tion to legislate. in fact, an order of
this sort could only be made under
the Pil jurisdiction, as it enables
any citizen to come to court pro-
fessing public concern on any
issue, asking the court to act upon
it. it should also not be surprising
that Mr. Chouksey has had repeat-
ed success with the same judge
over the same issue. The impulse to
legislate as well as allegations of
soliciting petitioners with their pet
issues go back to the hallowed days
of Pil under Justice P.N.
Bhagwati. Passing far-reaching
interim orders without any
urgency, like in the anthem case,
rather than in reasoned judgments
is also unexceptional. Being a
frankly legislative court, the
Supreme Court does not feel the
need to give any reasons, as legal
scholar Tarunabh Khaitan has
argued. Such are the occupational
hazards of Pil.
The order of November 30
declares: "Be it stated, a time has
come, the citizens of the country
must realize that they live in a
nation and are duty bound to show
respect to National Anthem which
is the symbol of the Constitutional
Patriotism and inherent national
quality. it does not allow any dif-
ferent notion or the perception of
individual rights, that have individ-
ually thought of have no space. The
idea is constitutionally impermissi-
ble." The only statutory provisions
the order relied on are
Fundamental Duties. These Duties
are, perhaps not coincidentally,
currently in vogue even outside the
judiciary. last week, when
November 26 was celebrated as
'Constitution Day' for the first time,
the exclusive focus of the
University Grants Commission
(UGC) directive to all universities
and colleges for the occasion was
to make students and teachers
Making of alegislative
COURT
By
Anuj Bhuwania
The Supreme Court orderon the national anthem
relies exclusively onFundamental Duties. Thisis not a coincidence as it
closely follows the spirit ofthe Emergency-era 42nd
amendment
The writer is a lawyer and an anthropologist.His book ‘Courting the People: Public Interest
Litigation in post-Emergency India’ will be released in December. He teaches
at South Asian University, New Delhi.
T
December 2016 21engage in activities propagating the
Fundamental Duties.
A radical reshaping
No such Duties, however, existed in the
original Constitution adopted on
November 26, 1949. These provisions
were incorporated by the 42nd amend-
ment to the Constitution during the
emergency. it was passed by a lok
Sabha which had already finished its
term of five years. This amendment rad-
ically reshaped the Constitution, amend-
ing as many as 59 Articles. The legacy of
the 42nd amendment was partially
undone by later amendments. But it
could not be repealed in toto, and much
of it remains in the Constitution, most
prominent being its insertion of
'Socialist' and 'Secular' in the Preamble.
This is unfortunate as the 42nd amend-
ment should be undone in its entirety for
the damage it has done to indian democ-
racy. To take a less conspicuous exam-
ple, it froze delimitation of lok
Sabha constituencies, the
logic being States with
higher population
increase ought not to
be 'rewarded' with
more seats. Population
control was thus
deemed to be a more
important principle than
'one person, one vote.' As
a result, the average lok
Sabha seat in Rajasthan today
represents a much larger population
than one in Kerala.
The official aims of the 42nd amend-
ment included giving Directive
Principles "precedence over those of
Fundamental Rights that had frustrated
the Principles' implementation." indira
Gandhi had carried out a campaign for
overriding Fundamental Rights with
Directive Principles ever since her elec-
toral victory in 1971. Commitment to
Directive Principles was precisely what
was implied by her infamous call for a
'committed judiciary' during this period.
Article 31C was inserted in the
Constitution in 1971 through which any
law declared to be implementing the
socialistic directive principles of Articles
39(b) & 39 (c) could no longer be
declared invalid even if they violated
Articles 14, 19 or 31. This immunity was
extended to all Directive Principles by
the 42nd amendment in 1976. A similar
immunity was to be granted to
laws implementing
Fundamental
Duties, though this was not carried
through. This approach then prevalent
was pithily criticised by constitutional
lawyer H.M. Seervai: "it was an
unfounded assumption… that the
Directive Principles were to secure
social justice and the Fundamental
Rights were mere selfish individual
rights."
An enduring legacy
it is important to understand that this is
precisely the implicit logic of the nation-
al anthem order this week: pesky
Fundamental Rights have to be made
subservient to the higher ideals of
national integration and/or social revolu-
tion. This mode of argument, in which
alleged Constitutional goals trump
Fundamental Rights, has been embraced
by the judiciary and is an enduring lega-
cy of Mrs. Gandhi's populism of the
1970s. The apotheosis of Directive
Principles was accepted in the judicial
discourse of the post-emergency period.
while the 42nd amendment to Article
31C was struck down in 1980, even this
judgment mirrored Mrs. Gandhi's lan-
guage in astonishing fashion.
what makes the order on the nation-
al anthem so representative of Pil's
orientation is the fact of its open hostili-
ty to the Fundamental Rights enshrined
in the Constitution. it has long been a
popular misconception that Pil emerged
as a corrective to the court's capitulation
to violations of civil liberties during the
emergency. in fact, the post-emergency
court has been steadfast in its support of
such state lawlessness. in the infamous
Habeas Corpus case of 1976, the court
had upheld the constitutionality of the
draconian Maintenance of internal
Security Act. Far from departing from
this dark legacy, the Supreme Court has
since repeatedly upheld an entire alpha-
bet soup of repressive statutes from the
National Security Act in 1980 to the
Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act in
Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Amitava Roy, whose bench passed the order onplaying of National Anthem in Cinema Theatres.
December 2016221997. The populist spirit of the
emergency was never departed from
by Pil and is entirely in conformity
with its history. The underlying sense
of judicial purpose in the post-
emergency period was derived not
from entitlements drawn from rights,
but from the goals of the Constitution.
The courts had implicitly accepted the
language of legitimation that Mrs.
Gandhi's formulation of 'committed
judiciary' offered. As Professor
Upendra Baxi pointed out in 1980, the
court referred to 'the people' more fre-
quently in 1977-79 than in 1950-77.
even the so-called rights revolu-
tion of the post-emergency court has
involved an ever-expanding bunch of
unnamed rights flowing from
Directive Principles being read into
Fundamental Rights. The 'right to life
jurisprudence' under Article 21 has
been extrapolated to include all kinds
of socio-economic rights. The only
right it seems to exclude is the literal
mandate of Article 21, a negative
right against any deprivation of life or
personal liberty by the state in an ille-
gal manner. while this Article became
a receptacle for all manners of posi-
tive rights, the all-important civil
right it was meant to embody no
longer gets the respect it is due.
Rights are meant to lead to remedies,
but the proliferation of rights under
Article 21 exemplifies what legal
scholar Clark Cunningham called
'Rights without Remedies' and
'Remedies without Rights', that is,
bare enunciation of unnamed rights
without any chance of enforceability
and its converse, grant of reliefs like
state compensation as largesse with-
out fixing responsibility.
The court's deference to legisla-
tive wisdom in the case of Section
377 of the indian Penal Code, abdi-
cating its classic function of judicial
review, contrasts neatly with orders
such as the national anthem one,
where the court happily legislates.
with Pil, the post-emergency
Supreme Court is very rarely a court
for judicial review and far more often,
the court for judicial populism.
what SC said 30 years ago
No provisions of law obliging anyone to sing theNational Anthem... our tradition teaches tolerance,
our philosophy preaches tolerance, our Constitutionpractises tolerance, let us not dilute it: SC in 1986.
cently the Supreme Court said all
cinema halls across the country
should play the national anthem and
that those present "must stand up in respect" to
"instill a feeling within one a sense of commit-
ted patriotism and nationalism". The order has
touched off an old debate on whether forcing
someone to sing the anthem infringes on cer-
tain fundamental rights. in August 1986, a
Supreme Court bench of Justices O Chinnappa
Reddy and M M Dutt had, in Bijoe emmanuel
& Ors vs State Of Kerala & Ors, granted pro-
tection to three children of the Jehovah's
witness sect, who didn't join in the singing of
the national anthem at their school. The court
held that forcing the children to sing the
anthem violated their fundamental right to reli-
gion. excerpts from the judgment, authored by
Justice Reddy:
on the children and prayer
"The three child-appellants, Bijoe, Binu Mol
and Bindu emmanuel, are the faithful of
Jehovah's witnesses. They attend school.
Daily, during the morning assembly, when the
National Anthem 'Jana Gana Mana' is sung,
they stand respectfully but they do not sing.
They do not sing because, according to them,
it is against the tenets of their religious faith -
not the words or the thoughts of the Anthem
but the singing of it… The children were left
in peace and to their beliefs. That was until
July 1985, when some patriotic gentleman
took notice. The gentleman, (an MlA),
thought it was unpatriotic of the children not to
sing the National Anthem… So, he put a ques-
tion in the Assembly. A Commission was
appointed… The Commission reported that
the children are 'law- abiding' and that they
The Bench of Justice O Chinnapareddy (Above) and
Justice M M Dutt (Below)delivered the judgment 30
years ago.
R
December 2016 23showed no disrespect to the National
Anthem… (But) under the instructions
of Deputy inspector of Schools, the Head
Mistress expelled the children from the
school from July 26, 1985… Finally the
children filed a writ Petition in the High
Court seeking an order restraining the
authorities from preventing them from
attending school. First a learned single
judge and then a Division Bench rejected
the prayer of the children…"
on the high court ruling
"we are afraid the High court misdirect-
ed itself… They considered, in minute
detail, each and every word… of the
National Anthem and concluded that
there was no word or thought… which
could offend anyone's religious suscepti-
bilities. But that is not the question at all.
The objection of the petitioners is not to
the language or the sentiments of the
National Anthem: they do not sing the
National Anthem wherever, 'Jana Gana
Mana' in india, 'God save the Queen' in
Britain, the Star-spangled Banner in the
United States and so on…"
on Articles 19(1)(a) and 25(1)
"Now, we have to examine whether the
ban imposed by the Kerala education
authorities against silence when the
National Anthem is sung on pain of
expulsion from the school is consistent
with the rights guaranteed by Arts.
19(1)(a) and 25 of the Constitution."
[Article 19(1)(a) guarantees freedom of
speech and expression, and Article 25(1)
upholds the right to practise and propa-
gate one's religion]
"we may at once say that there is no
provisions of law which obliges anyone
to sing the National Anthem nor do we
think that it is disrespectful to the
National Anthem if a person who stands
up respectfully when the National
Anthem is sung does not join the singing.
it is true Art. 51-A(a) of the Constitution
enjoins a duty on every citizen of india
"to abide by the Constitution and respect
its ideals and institutions, the National
Flag and the National Anthem". Proper
respect is shown to the National Anthem
by standing up when the National
Anthem is sung. it will not be right to say
that disrespect is shown by not joining in
the singing…
"Standing up respectfully when the
National Anthem is sung but not singing
oneself clearly does not either prevent
the singing of the National Anthem or
cause disturbance to an assembly engag-
ed in such singing so as to constitute the
offence mentioned in s. 3 of the Prevent-
ion of insults to National Honour Act…"
on Article 25 of constitution
"Article 25 is an article of faith in the
Constitution, incorporated in recognition
of the principle that the real test of a true
democracy is the ability of even an
insignificant minority to find its identity
under the country's Constitution. This
has to be borne in mind in interpreting
Art. 25."
on West Virginia state board of
education v. barnette verdict
[in 1943, the US Supreme Court deliv-
ered a 6-3 opinion, holding that the Free
Speech Clause of the First Amendment
to the US Constitution protected students
from being forced to salute the American
flag. Justice Chinnappa quoted from the
verdict, which was delivered by Justice
Robert H Jackson]
"Government of limited power need
not be anaemic government. Assurance
that rights are secure tends to diminish
fear and jealousy of strong government,
and by making us feel safe to live under
it makes for its better support… if there
is any fixed star in our Constitutional
constellation, it is that no official, high or
petty, can prescribe what shall be ortho-
dox in politics, nationalism, religion, or
other matters of opinion or force citizens
to confess by word or act their faith
therein. if there are any circumstances
which permit an exception, they do not
now occur to us."
on the question of tolerance
"we are satisfied, in the present case,
that the expulsion of the three children
from the school for the reason that
because of their conscientiously held
religious faith, they do not join the
singing of the National Anthem in the
morning assembly though they do stand
up respectfully when the Anthem is sung,
is a violation of their Fundamental Right
to freedom of conscience and freely to
profess, practise and propagate reli-
gion…
"we, therefore, find that the
Fundamental Rights of the appellants
under Art. 19(1)(a) and 25(1) have been
infringed and they are entitled to be pro-
tected. we allow the appeal, set aside the
judgment of the High Court and direct
the respondent authorities to re-admit the
children into the school… we only wish
to add: our tradition teaches tolerance;
our philosophy preaches tolerance; our
constitution practises tolerance; let us
not dilute it."
The audiance standing up when the national anthem is played at a cinema theatre.
December 201624
Master of Cartoon’sGrammar
During his years in Times group Mariocreated the endearing characters of hiscartoons - the secretary Miss Fonseca,
the minister Bundaldass, and Bollywoodstar Rajani Nimbupani. He made them
household names, as his sketches captured the charm and essence of good
ole' Mumbai.
ário João Carlos do Rosário de Brito
Miranda Com, popularly known as Mario
Miranda or Mario de Miranda, was one
best known cartoonist and illustrator.
Miranda was born in Daman, then in
Portuguese india, on 2 May 1929 to
Catholic parents. At an early age when
his mother saw him drawing on his
home's walls, she brought him a blank
book, which he calls his "Diary". He
even started getting into trouble at
school, for sketching Catholic priests.
Mario Miranda's early cartoons presented
vignettes of Goan village life, a theme he
is best known for even today.
He had his schooling in Bangalore
and took his B A degree from St. Xavier's
College in Bombay.
He started his life as a cartoonist in
1949 at The Current weekly edited by D
F Karaka after working with some adver-
tisement companies and drawing
Bombay's monuments on cards for sale
to make a living. His caricature of then
Finance Minister in Bombay
Government Morarji Desai drew adverse
comment from the public. Chastened by
the incident, he never again drew carica-
tures of powerful politicians poking fun
at them.
impressed with his cartoons in the
Current, the Times of india group hired
him to do cartoons and illustrations for its
group publications such as Maharashtra
Times, Film Fare, Femina and illustrated
weekly. He became very popular with his
caricatures and illustrations published in
the iconic illustrated weekly.
During his years in Times group
Mario created the endearing characters of
his cartoons - the secretary Miss Fonseca,
the minister Bundaldass, and Bollywood
star Rajani Nimbupani. He made Miss
Fonseca and Miss Nimbupani household
names, as his sketches captured the
charm and essence of good ole' Mumbai.
Miranda went to london to earn
'name and fame' in 1959 and returned to
india in 1962. His cartoons were pub-
lished in the Punch, the flag bearer of
humour magazines and made friends
with fellow cartoonists. After landing in
Bombay, he went to Times office to find
whether his job was still available, they
M
cArtoonscope
MARIO MIRANDA1929 - 2011
December 2016 25welcomed him with open arms.
Over the years, he published several books, including laugh it
Off, Goa with love, and Germany in wintertime. Besides his own
books, he illustrated books by Dom Moraes (A Journey to Goa),
Manohar Malgaonkar (inside Goa) and Mario Cabral e Sá's
(legends of Goa). He also illustrated many children's books,
including Dul-Dul, The Magic Clay Horse, The Adventures of
Pilla the Pup, and lumbdoom, The long-Tailed langoor, all writ-
ten by Uma Anand. At the invitation of the United States
information Services, he travelled to America in 1974, which
enabled him to promote his art and interact with other cartoonists
in the United States and also got a chance to work with Charles M.
Schulz, the creator of Peanuts and met Herblock, the editorial
cartoonist of the washington Post. He travelled to more than 20
countries including Portugal, Spain besides Britain and USA.
Unlike his peers, he used pen and ink to draw his cartoons
instead of brushes. He once said "i am not a political cartoonist.
To be quite frank, i am not even a cartoonist. i draw... Give me a
pen and blank paper and i will draw... i just love to draw". His
close friend and well-known writer Manohar Malgaonkar said of
him, "He did not become a cartoonist. He
was born a cartoonist. The fact is that he has
never received any formal training in an art
institution. To draw figures has been an irre-
pressible compulsion of his life".
Veteran editor Vinod Mehta once wrote,
"Among all the contemporary illustrators
and cartoonists in india, Mario stands alone
as far as draughtsmanship is concerned. His
work shows a command over the grammar
of drawing which none of his contempo-
raries possess. Mario celebrates human
frailty. None of us, he says, are perfect.
Some of us have long ears, other have nag-
ging wives or horrible mothers-in-law; buses
never arrive on time, our bosses are foolish
and our politicians are corrupt, but life must
go on. Mario asks us not to succumb to
despair or cynicism. Tomorrow is another
day. in short he makes a plea for tolerance and understanding - and optimism."
Miranda's cartoons grace the walls of one of South Mumbai's most famous
hotspots, Cafe Mondegar, in Colaba. His caricatures are also seen in the munici-
pal market of Panjim, Goa. Miranda was also featured in the "Mile Sur Mera
Tumhara" video, which included a host of india's most notable personalities in
arts, films, literature, music, and sports. He was awarded Padma Vibhushan
posthumously.
After retiring from the Times Group, joined Mid-day. later he joined
Afternoon Despatch and Courier launched by his friend of many years Behram
Contractor, better known as Busybee.
After retirement, Miranda lived in his ancestral home, at loutolim, a village in
Salcete, Goa, with his wife, younger son and their pets. This house features in the
1985 Shyam Benegal film, Trikaal. even after he retired, Miranda's work was seen
regularly in Mumbai publications, and he was invited to travel to countries such as
Mauritius and Spain, and draw their local cultures. On 11 December 2011, Mario
Miranda died of natural causes at his home.
"Among all the contemporary illustrators and cartoonists in India,
Mario stands alone as far asdraughtsmanship is concerned. His work
shows a command over the grammar of drawing
which none of his contemporaries possess.'
December 201626
A new book of essays by insiders chronicle NDTV's role in
transforming television news. They have compelling
stories to tell
oday we take the cacophony of 400 plus news
and entertainment television channels as
essential to indian democracy. if we discount
the government-controlled news bulletins on
Doordarshan and All india Radio, it is easy to
forget how silent the airwaves were for the
first four decades of independence.
limited access to information and com-
munication technologies was not the primary
reason for the lagging television industry in
india. Rather, the television industry was a
late starter because of a culture of fear inside
the post-colonial government of the free flow
of information and news.
This was not unique to india. All over the
world postcolonial bureaucracies were scared
of news over the airwaves. They were con-
vinced that the masses were incapable of
rationally consuming news and of handling
the truth because of the hold that traditional
and mythical thinking had on their cognitive
abilities.
The fact is that, even before private tele-
vision news, people in india and in many
other post-colonial countries, had access to
international broadcasters such as BBC Radio
in vernacular languages. Not surprisingly, the
BBC was seen as the arbiter of high quality
news. One of the greatest achievements of
privately-owned television news in india has
been to break the monopoly of broadcasters
like the BBC.
NDTV started incrementally with a con-
tract to produce The world This week on
Doordarshan in 1988, and then the nightly
news show Tonight in 1995. The big break for
the fledgling organization came when it was
asked by the News Corporation to produce
24x7 news in english for the STAR satellite
network in 1998. Building on the remarkable
success the company had working for STAR,
NDTV launched its own independent 24x7
news channel in 2003. Media historians have
told this NDTV story in parts scattered here
and there, but now we have a sort of self-
assessment of the historical character of
NDTV in the recently published More News
is Good News: Untold Stories from 25 years
of Television News.
The book, through a series of essays writ-
ten by insiders, many of whom are still with
the organization and some who left to chart a
different course after gaining their experience
there, tells the story of NDTV and the dawn of
television journalism in india.
As NDTV was being built up as a garage
T
BY
The story ofNDTV,
NDTV
By
ANUP kUMAR
Book Review
The author teaches communication in the
School of Communication,Cleveland State University.This is an edited version of
the review, which firstappeared in The Hoot.
December 2016 27startup, the people working for it had to
learn fast on the job. As they ventured
into unknown territory, they also devel-
oped news routines, values and norms
for television reporting. in his opening
essay, Prannoy Roy says he sees the
NDTV story as a story of the transition
of indian journalism from a docile to a
more discerning phase. This classifica-
tion must be read exclusively in the con-
text of television journalism. in contrast,
print journalism has a much deeper and
glorious history of adversarial, investiga-
tive and explanatory reporting.
The essays in the book present each
writer's personal foray into television
journalism. The anecdote-rich accounts
bring out compellingly how NDTV in its
initial years was almost an apprentice-
ship school for television journalists
such as Rajdeep Sardesai.
The anecdotes collectively tell the
story of how the writers co-invented the
idiom of television news as they went
about doing their jobs. The most striking
thing that comes out from the essays is
that, unlike newspaper reporting, which
is mostly a solitary effort, until the copy
lands at the desk of a news editor, televi-
sion news is a team effort from the very
word go. The story of NDTV could
never have been complete without
acknowledging the camerapersons, the
drivers who ferry the equipment,
reporters, producers, and editors who
work in the newsroom and production
control room.
The team aspect of the NDTV story
is compellingly stated at the outset in the
preface written by Radhika Roy who is
acknowledged as the heart and soul of
the organization.
The highly personal essays by
Tavleen Singh, Vikram Chandra, Vishnu
Som, Sreenivasan Jain, and Maya
Mirchandani tell the back stories of some
of their most challenging assignments
covering international affairs, war, natu-
ral disaster, and social conflict. Sonia
Singh in her essay defends activist jour-
nalism in the context of the big stories on
gender-related crimes. essays by Shikha
Trivedy and Radhika Bordia cover the
challenges faced by journalists reporting
on religious communities and conflicts.
The essay by Priyanka Chopra on the
work NDTV has done all these years in
shining a light on the environment is
informative and unveils a lot that is not
known outside the organization.
Chopra's essay nicely situates green jour-
nalism in the grey area between scientif-
ic reporting and activism.
These essays should be a must read
for all young reporters in television jour-
nalism as they are not only memoir-like,
but present a self-assessment by the pio-
neers. The essays are not all about cele-
brating the NDTV story. Some are
reflective essays on television journal-
ism. Shekhar Gupta, Ravish Kumar, and
Nidhi Razdan in their essays undertake a
critical assessment of television news
and the structural impediments of the
medium by looking at how conflict and
polarized drama has come to dominate
coverage. Gupta and Razdan touch upon
how the respective roles of reporter, edi-
tor and anchor have suffered in the food
chain of news and information, especial-
ly on nightly prime time shows. The
celebrity status occupied by anchors of
prime time shows has compromised the
centrality of reporters and editors as the
arbiters of facts in news.
The phenomenon of hybrid reporter-
editor-anchor has substituted fair and
balanced reporting with polarized opin-
ion. Kumar, in his inimitable style has
highlighted how from its formative
years, television news has been lutyens-
Delhi centric, and how, in spite of efforts
by some journalists, the TV newsroom in
Delhi is india.
Criticism of the Delhi-centric world
of television is equally compellingly
highlighted by Monideepa Banerjie who
has stood at NDTV's outpost in Bengal
for all these years. likewise, Uma
Sudhir in her essay talks about the chal-
lenges a reporter representing the nation-
al media faces in the state capitals, espe-
cially when she has to navigate a com-
petitive media scene that is politically
fragmented along political and ethnic
lines.
The book appropriately ends with an
essay on NDTV's forays into online jour-
nalism by Suprana Singh. Singh talks
about how the NDTV website is not
merely an extension of the TV, but is a
separate media product. Using her expe-
rience in running ndtv.com, she high-
lights the challenges all journalists face
as they make the transition from legacy
media into the world of online media
where 140 character news bytes domi-
nate the 24x7 cycle of news.
The last 25 years of the news media's
growth has shown that, for the most part,
the initial fears of the government were
mostly unfounded. Assessing the
unshackling of the electronic news
media in india, Prannoy Roy sums it up
succinctly: "As india's media has grown
over the years, despite all the baggage,
so far more news has been good news."
The television news media with all
its faults has served india's democracy
well. And, as Shekhar Gupta has sug-
gested, along with its deeply ingrained
biases, classism, and ideological motiva-
tions, television news has nonetheless
played its role as the "watchdog and
hound at the same time" with remarkable
success.
Finally, a word about the editor of
the book. Ayesha Kagal, a longtime asso-
ciate of the Roys, has done an excellent
job in editing and putting this book
together. Kagal has a done a favour to
aspiring young journalists and media his-
torians by putting this kaleidoscope of
NDTV's collective internal memory into
book form.
Prannoy and Radhika Roy
December 201628
A BLAzINGINDICTMENT
OF ALLTHAT'S
WRONG WITH US
MO
VIE
REV
IEW
A blazing indictment of all that's wrong with us, the film Pink starringAmitabh Bachchan and Taapsee Pannu sledgehammersthe message that when a woman says no, she means no.It underlines a woman's freedom to her own sexuality.
he three female protagonists of 'Pink' are
your regular young women. Minal (Taapsee
Pannu) is an events manager, whose work
can extend into the late hours. Falak (Kirti
Kulhari) works in a corporate set-up where
image is all. Andrea (Tariang) is from the
'North-east' (Meghalaya, she says, but
clearly no one is interested in the specifics
: girls from the `North east' are fair game,
even if they are covered from top to toe).
The girls share a flat in a 'posh' South Delhi
locality, and we meet them first when they
are heading back in a cab in the early hours
of the morning, disturbed about something
that has just happened.
As the plot (oh joy, a plot, verily), terse
and on-point, unravels, we get to know that
the trio was in the company of three young
men, after a rock concert in Surajkund in
Haryana. Things take an ugly turn after the
dinner that follows. The women have to
make a run for it, and one of the young men
ends up needing stitches in a deep bloody
gash above his eye.
it doesn't a genius to discover that the
political might backing the injured Rajveer
(Angad Bedi) and his friends, Dumpy
(Raashul Tandon), Vishwa (Tushar Pandey)
and another fellow (Vijay Varma) who was-
n't there but is happy to engineer and par-
ticipate in the humiliation of the women,
will try and turn the tables: instead of being
the victims, they will be painted as the
aggressors. How do you silence a coura-
geous young woman who has the temerity
to ask questions? You label her cheap, slut,
whore: the film mutes the word 'rxxx', but
you can see it emblazoned on the face of
TReview
ByShubhra
Gupta
December 2016 29the guy who says it out loud and the girls
who have to hear it. You can see it in the
body language of the female cop (Shankar,
just so) who helps nail the wrong person for
the crime.
Pink reminded me of Jodi Foster's The
Accused in which her character is gang-
raped in a bar: because she wears a short
skirt, and has been drinking, she is made out
to be a woman on the make. Something
similar happens here, but it is all three
women who have to bear the brunt of the
rage that such male entitlement comes with:
'aisi ladkiyon ke saath toh aisa hi hota hai'.
Pannu, Kulhari and Tariang, all very
good, typify the dilemma of the modern
working young women ( they live in Delhi,
and the young men who accost them are
very much a part of a certain kind of coarse
North indian ethos-they bully but are too
cowardly to do this on their own, needing
patronage and protection from the nexus of
`netas' and police which exists only to pro-
tect them, not call them out on their wrong-
doing), but this could happen anywhere ,
and not just in india.
The young men are also spot on. Bedi
exudes menace : when he snarls out that
awful expletive during the trial, you feel
like shrinking, and wondering - how
did we fail this generation, this
youth of today, if they still feel
like this? Or is it just a continua-
tion of the way generations of
men, only surface smooth-and-
suave, have felt about women?
Scratch a little, and putrid patriar-
chal pus comes pouring out.
The other three guys are the
kind of hangers-on who slip stream
alongside a strong leader : if he is
having fun (`mazey' is the word used,
and you feel faintly grubby after hear-
ing it used in this manner), then so can
they. 'Behti ganga mein sab haath dho
sakte hain', and girls who refuse to
give in and lie back and enjoy it,
be damned. How dare they?
The major weak
link in this film is
the elderly
lawyer played
by Amitabh Bachchan. (Piyush Mishra
takes away some of the sobriety in the court
scenes by his unsubtle notes, but he is not
so germane to the film's scheme of things).
Deepak Sehgall, we are told, is suffering
from bipolar disorder, which means mood
swings, which means Bachchan alternating
between chewing out dialogue and being
growly and forced. He takes on the girls'
case, and we want to cheer because he is the
Bachchan and will make everything come
right. But because he is Bachchan, the
director handles him with kid gloves, and
there goes the naturalism with which every-
one else is playing their parts so effectively.
For the most part, the thespian comes
off mannered, and you want to shout out
and say, no, this film doesn't need Bachchan
to be in a pulpit of his own, when he is
meant to be taking apart those who are in
the witness box. Only occasionally during
the second half ( most of which is spent in
the court-room with the excellent
Chatterjee as the presiding judge), Sehgall
forgets he is Bachchan the Baritone, and
lights up the screen with a couple of superb
moments. it is in these moments you are
face to face with the One and Only
Bachchan, who should have been in exactly
that mode through the film: why are his
directors so chary about telling him what to
do and how to do it, when he never tires of
saying that he is a director's actor?
Those sporadic moments make you
nostalgic. is there anyone out there who can
craft a solid, challenging role for
Bachchan? Anyone at all? Being awe-
struck is not a good place for a filmmaker. i
am waiting for the return of the actor who,
back in his day, used to routinely blow my
socks off in a way no one has even come
close to, in all these years.
Meanwhile, Pink, perhaps called thus
because the colour is girly, subverts it and
turns it on its head. in its best bits, the film
blazes, its call-to-arms radiating outwards
and forcing us to acknowledge uncomfort-
able truths. it has something to say, and says
it with courage and conviction. Gather
everyone and go; and while you are at it,
spread the word.
(Coutesy: The Indian Express )
Pink reminded me ofJodi Foster's The
Accused in which hercharacter is
gang-raped in a bar:because she wears ashort skirt, and has
been drinking, she ismade out to be a
woman on the make.Something similar
happens here, but it isall three women who
have to bear the bruntof the rage that such
male entitlementcomes with: 'aisi
ladkiyon ke saath tohaisa hi hota hai'.
A still of Tapsee Pannu fromPink
December 201630
H
The PressCouncil of
Indiashould take
suo-motucognisance
of thecases filed
againstjournalists
with anintent to
harassthem,
withouttaking the
plea thatthe cases
are subjudice.
ow can a journalists be sent to jail for a news report?
if we want a free Press to strengthen our democracy,
then the courts have to be careful while handing out
jail terms to journalists. Recently a judicial magis-
trate of Hubballi, Karnataka convicted senior jour-
nalists Gauri lankesh, the editor of a Kannada
tabloid lankesh Patrika on 29 November 2016 for an
article published in January 23 , 2008 criticising two
BJP leaders. in a criminal defamation case filed by
them, the court sentenced her to six month jail and
penalty of 10,000. The article related to a racket of
fake gold coins which was busted by the police. A
few BJP corporators were allegedly involved in the
case. Similarly a TV journalists is booked for show-
ing Karnataka Minister Tanvir Sait viewing an objec-
tionable clip on his phone at Tipu Sultan Jayanti
function in Raichur . The opposition BJP in the state
descrbed the case as an attempt to “stifle freedom of
expression”.
in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, a student of
journalism at Central University of Kashmir, who is
associated with Kashmir Reader, since banned, as a
trainee reporter was booked for his report on alleged
excesses of security forces in a village in Kashmir
valley. He quoted villagers alleging that their har-
vested rice crop that was left to dry in sun was burned
due to firing by security forces. According to the edi-
tor of the paper, similar stories were published in
other media also, and no rebuttal was given to them.
But his newspaper was singled out for action. The
National Conference and Congress protested the ban
on the newspaper.
Again in Mumbai a young journalist Ansari
Shahid Ahamad of ‘Bombay leaks” and “Central
Observer” reported in an investigative story about the
grabbing of the land of Anjuman-e-islam by an indi-
vidual by submitting false and fabricated evidence. in
this case also a FiR was filed against the journalist
and the editor of “Central Observer” at the behest of
a senior police officer close to the land grabber.
in Punjab a journalists reported with a photo-
graph of a senior police officer keeping his leg with
shoes on the statue of Bhagat Singh. Government of
Punjab took the matter seriously and ordered an
inquiry. After the inquiry found the report to be true,
the government took action against the officer con-
cerned. Then the police officer filed a case against
the journalists in the courts to harass him.
These cases proved that vested interests, politi-
cians, bureaucrats do not want the media to be inde-
pendent and report on issues involving the interests
of the people. They want to control the media while
mouthing platitudes about freedom of expression and
media as long as they are not criticised. Once their
misdeeds are reported, they feel the media is a hin-
drance. They defend themselves by the hook or by
crook making the journalist or the newspaper/news
channel a victim of legal action or physical attacks.
But we expect the courts of law as guardians of
constitution, not allow the misuse of laws to harass
journalists or newspapers for exposing the misdeeds
of high and mighty. The courts from the lower to the
highest, have to remember that our democracy will
only survive with a free media and a free judiciary.
we know some time media also crosses line as judi-
ciary, but the intensions of the both is to serve the
cause of the people, the society and uphold the rule of
law. That’s why while delivering judgments in cases
related to media, the courts have to keep in the mind
the overall scenario, and not allow the process justice
to be misused by vested interests and groups. The
Press Council of india should take suo-motu cogni-
sance of the cases filed against journalists with an
intent to harass them, without taking the plea that the
cases are subjudice.
tHE laSt PaGE
By
S N SINHA
President, Indian Journalists Union
Courts should rescue the Scribes
December 2016 31
December 201632