OSMANIA COURIER

Bimonthly Lab Newspaper | Published by the Department of Communication & Journalism, Osmania University, Hyderabad | Vol. 65, Issue 2 | February 5, 2017 | Pages 8

Fronia Priscilla

The media’s right to freedom of expression must beupheld whether it involves

prominent media houses or lesserknown journalists working in inaccessible areas and, who are atrisk. This was one of the severalconcerns expressed through apress release at the conclusion ofthe 12th national conference ofNetwork of Women in Media,India NWMI, held at theICSSR Hall, Osmania University,from November 11 to 13, 2016.

NWMI expressed concernover growing intolerance towardsfreedom of expression, which isas much a fundamental right ofthe media as that of citizens.Journalists have been jailed forsimply doing their job of reporting, sometimes even killed, itsaid.

Further, it voiced concern overthe state of siege under which themedia finds itself, citing examplesof a journalist being shot dead inBihar; assaults by the police inTamil Nadu; the proposed oneday attempted ban on NDTVIndia; a similar ban ordered onthe Assam TV channel, NewsTime; and the overonemonthban on the daily Kashmir Reader.

“Journalists are facing threats direct or veiled from powerfulsections such as caste groups, political parties, corporate houses

and even lawyers. Several journalists have even lost their lives inthe past one year. They also facerestrictions on what they can report, with media managementsinstructing them to tailor theirstories to market demands andpolitical agendas,” the NWMIpress release said.

The NWMI hoped that society would recognise that the intimidating atmosphere in whichjournalists work today poses athreat to people’s right to be informed. The media managementsfailed to stand up for their employees and contributors thoughthey felt their stories are worthbeing published. Be it false casesfiled under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, or Section153A IPC, or defamation casesfiled by the Tamil Nadu government, the journalists are left tofight on their own, the releasenoted.

The NWMI found it unfairthat while incidents regarding themedia in Delhi and in big metrosare widely covered, assaults onjournalists in the remote areas tribal pockets of Chhattisgarhand Odisha remain relativelyunderreported.

During the threeday nationalmeet, prominent journalists likeMalini Subramaniam, AmmuJoseph, Jyoti Punwani, KalpanaSharma, Laxmi Murthy and several others spoke on the various

aspects of the media, focussing onthe challenges faced by womenjournalists in India.

Jeya Rani, Akash Poyam andJayanthi Burudu added critical insights to the discourse, narratingthe experiences of Dalits and Adi

vasis who were treated differently,and had to struggle to make amark for themselves in mainstream media. Journalists SudiptoMondal and Uma Sudhir alsoshared their experiences. Vyjayanti Vasanta, a transgender activist, condemned the“invisibilisation” of sexual violence on the queer community.

On the sidelines of the conference, the NWMI souvenir wasreleased at the Press Club, Soma

jiguda. Wellknown danseuse Rajeshwari Sainath and her troupeperformed a Bharatanatyam ballet, ‘Gandhari’, written by Vasanth Kannabiran.

The threeday conference wasflagged off with cohost Prof. K.Stevenson, Head, Department ofCommunication & Journalism,OU, welcoming the 70 womenjournalists from across the country, local journalists, and journalism students who participated.

“The word ‘transgenders’ objectifies us.We are ‘transgen

der people’”! Vyjayanti Vasanta Mogli, a transgenderactivist, was quick to correctthis student reporter duringan interview at the Press Clubof Hyderabad, Somajiguda.

Participating in the sessionon ‘Gender and Media: Continuities and Discontinuities’ atthe Press Club, the founder ofthe Telangana Hijra IntersexTransgender Samiti, Vyjayantiasserted her place as a strong

transgender woman activistchampioning the cause of hercommunity.

“The efforts started as myown struggle for identityagainst the strong backlash ofthe society. The social activismcomes along as my personalstruggle,” she said.

A postgraduate student ofPublic Policy at Tata Instituteof Social Sciences, she stressedthat there is lot of “internalisa

tion” and “invisiblisation” ofsexual violence on transgenderpeople despite media coverage.She regretted that even the educated continue to stigmatisetransgender community andshame them.

Describing the recentSupreme Court judgement,which conceptualised genderidentity as emanating from thebrain and not the genitals, as farsighted, she pointed out that

the principle of selfdetermination of gender is crucial and theverdict, despite some flaws,recognises this notion. Vyjayantipointed out that not all statesare implementing the verdict.

“The media is unaware of thecomplexities of the legal issuessurrounding gender identity,which needs to be examined.”Also, the media fails to coverdiscrimination of the community in educational institutionsand workplaces.

On many transgender peopletaking to begging and sex work,she said that these professionswere their only means of livelihood. She expressed happinessthat new avenues were openingup and credited the media forsuch a development.

Fronia Priscilla

Women journalists’ meet stressesneed for unfettered media

Transgender activist’s personal struggle spurs social activism

(From left) Linda Chhakchhuak, Malini Subramaniam, Rohini Mohan, and Nishitha Jha at the 12th NationalConference of Network of Women in Media, India (NWMI) recently.

“The recent Supreme Court judgement that re-conceptualised gender identity is far sighted.But not all States are implementing the verdict.”Vyjayanti Vasanta Mogli

OSMANIA COURIERBimonthly laboratory newspaperpublished by the Department ofCommunication & Journalism, Osmania University, Hyderabad. Registered with the Registrar ofNewspapers for India (RNI) under No. 8132/62.

Vol. 65, No. 2 | Dated February 5,2017 | Special Issue Covering the12th National Conference of Network of Women in Media,India (NWMI)

Guest EditorProf. Padmaja Shaw (Retd.)

EditorProf. K. StevensonHead, Dept of Communication &Journalism, OU.

Editorial AssociatesB. RamakrishnaAsst. Professor (C)Sneha VergheseResearch Scholar

Editorial TraineesFronia Priscilla, DavranovaMukhabbat, Fareesa Irshad, ChitraSaikumar, Sushma Nagaraju,Sriveda Baswapoor, Anantha Lakshmi Latchayya, Jeevan Shada,Amna Ummul Khair, Jacob RossBhoopag, Vennu Hitesh Kumar,Blesson Abraham, Renju JohnDaniel and Saif Wahhab Mezher

Designed in QuarkXPress 8.1Typeset in Apple Garamond, Hoefler and Seravek. Printed atKarshak Art Printers, Hyderabad.

DISCLAIMERAll opinions expressed herein arepersonal as attributed, and do notnecessarily represent the officialview of the Department or of theUniversity.

2 | OSMANIA COURIER February 5, 2017

Davranova Mukhabbat

As a foreign student at Osmania University, attending the conference on ‘Gender and Media: Continuities and

Discontinuities’ on what has changed and notchanged for women in media over the yearswas an eye opener. Discussions on diverse issues such as tribes, media law and gender inmedia challenged me deeply. Of the severaljournalists gathered there, one of the brightest, intelligent, most outstanding, and the onewho made an enormous impact on me wasNeha Dixit.

My initial impression about her wasclouded. During my background search, I discovered her to be a risk taker, selfassured,and highly motivated but after I spoke to her,I realised that she was modest, polite andkind. The twin facets fused in her personalityastonished me.

Having grown up in Lucknow and completing her school, she moved to Delhi to studyEnglish literature in Delhi University. Thisseemed to be an act of courage on her part asit is not acceptable to the typical Indian family to send their daughter to study and liveaway from them. A master’s degree in Convergent Journalism directed her to choose theprofessional path of a journalist.

What I found most exceptional aboutNeha Dixit was the sheer breadth of her interest in development issues gender equality,social justice, rights of women, sexual violence, etc. After graduating from Jamia MilliaIslamia, she started her career with Tehelkamagazine. I realised that fighting for therights of women was not an easy task forNeha.

The media and people like Neha are responsible for raising the consciousness of theoppressed and the downtrodden and showthat women are as strong as men and have

strong opinions on everything including thegovernment.

As she said, “If I have to write aboutwomen’s issues, it is necessary to understandthat women’s issues also have to do with economics, politics and social justice. I think itmay be tough in the beginning, but it becomesmore and more important eventually as youend up producing your article or journalisticpiece. Make the world understand that itcan’t keep underestimating you.”

Since 2013, Neha has been working as an independent journalist writing for the New YorkTimes, Al Jazeera, Outlook, Foreign Policy, Caravan, Himal Southasian and several other national and international publications. I wasdeeply impressed when she said that resistance is the strength and power of people tofight injustice, stressing that it is far greaterthan anything else. That is what keeps peoplegoing, including herself. That’s why reporters

should continue to keep reporting, she says,because ultimately, people are also resistingthe same injustice that journalists are throughtheir reportage.

The unfailing resistance of the people fortheir rights constantly motivated and pushedher to produce great articles over the years,she said. The stories “Lost children of theProphet”, “Operation Baby Lift”, “ShadowLines”, which are landmark achievements inher career, have received widespread acclaimand won many awards including PIIICRCAward, UNFPA Laadli Media Award andothers. The number of awards she won everyyear are proof of her hard work and her commitment to the nation and humanity. Her reports are evidence of her persistent struggleagainst sexual harassment, gender inequality,women’s rights and social justice.

I think that, in future, this selfmotivated,farsighted, driven person, Neha will continueto work for the community with her stories.Her advice to young journalists, “Always learnto enjoy the work you are doing. And neverlose hope, never become cynical, negative orpessimistic because a lot of people surviveonly on the hope that things will get better forthem.”

I believe that India should be proud of possessing such a courageous and ambitious journalist, who always keeps challenging herself,and at the same time keeps challenging othersaround her. As for me, a journalism studentin India, the first interview I did was withNeha an experience which not only showedme the initial steps to my future job, but alsohelped me understand the real essence ofbeing a journalist I am very thankful that Iwas given the privilege and opportunity to interview the strong, self confident and promising investigative journalist Neha Dixit, asshe succeeded in changing the perceptions ofa foreign student.

Neha Dixit: Gutsy andespousing social causes

REFLECTIONS

Neha Dixit

Fareesa Irshad

Tripurana Venkataratnam,Chairperson, TelanganaState Women’s Commis

sion, has called for stringent lawsto prevent crimes against womenat workplace, and regretted theunethical media coverage of rapeincidents.

Speaking at a session on ‘Understanding the Labyrinths ofLaw’ at Potti Sriramulu TeluguUniversity, she said that thoughthere are laws on domestic violence, dowry harassment, sexualand mental abuse, there is a needfor stricter implementation.Tribal women, Dalits and illiter

ates are victims in the majority ofcases.

Citing cases of women beingabandoned by their NRI husbands after marriage, she said,“We are requesting the Government of India to enter into bilateral agreements as far as NRImarriages are concerned.” In thiscontext, Ms. Venkataratnamurged participants to think ofways to force the government intotaking action.

Manoj Mitta, senior editor, TheTimes of India, recalled recent instances where police and mediaplayed a key role in influencingpublic opinion and court judgments. Referring to the contemptlaw, he questioned the system ofnot recognising truth as a defence.

Prof. S.V. Satyanarayana, ViceChancellor of Potti Sriramulu Telugu University, welcomed thejournalists and said he had greatregard for women in journalismfor their commitment to the profession despite hardships theyface in the society.

C. Vanaja, senior journalistchaired the session and Prof VSathi Reddy, Registrar, TeluguUniversity was also present.

Chitra Saikumar

Reportage of religious minorities, marginalised sections including the

Adivasis and women in the newsrooms came under closerscrutiny at a meet of 70oddjournalists at Osmania Universityrecently.

In the session on ‘InclusiveNewsrooms,’ chaired by SudiptoMondal, Hindustan Times, speakers focused on the targeting ofminorities across the countryand their portrayal in the media.Mondal pointed out that diversity in newsrooms and accommodating more people from themarginalised sections could improve the coverage.

Jyoti Punwani, a senior journalist from Mumbai who hasbeen covering issues related tominorities, elaborated on the relationship between the mainstream media and minoritycommunities, particularly Muslims.

She said that during riots,bomb blasts and terrorist attacks, reporters solely rely on thepolice for information. She feltthat police stereotyped Muslimsas proPakistan, terrorists, fanatics and violent. Several Muslimswho were arrested on serious

charges were often found innocent after years. Despite this, thepolice remain the primary sourceof information for reporters, shelamented. She pointed out howstereotypes and prejudice play agreat role in the way news isframed, presenting a skewed version of reality.

Jeya Rani, Lifestyle Editor atDinamalar in Chennai, while recounting her own battles withcaste discrimination in the newsroom, stated that crimes againstDalits have been increasing atthe rate of 10 to 20 per centevery year. In comparison,media space allotted for coveringviolence against Dalits has notincreased. Terming the presentera as an apocalypse of the mediaworld, she said that media controls the entire movement of society. She further said that today,media organisations find newsvalue even in a nonnews issues.

Ms Rani pointed out thatwhile there was a huge debate onthe suicide of Rohith Vemula,the suicide of Ayyaru, a Dalityouth, was ignored. He ended hislife as he could not bear thecasteist violence inflicted onhim, she said.

“Over 95 per cent of the owners of the mainstream media including print and televisioncome from dominant caste backgrounds. About 70 to 80 per centof the top positions are occupiedby dominant caste men. Dalitsdon’t constitute one per centwhen it comes to deciding powerin the country’s media,” she observed.

Akash Poyam, founder of thewebsite ‘Adivasi Resurgence,’pointed out that news articles onthe marginalisation and atrocities were very limited. Citing thecases of death of over 100 Adivasi children in Malkangiri anddeaths of tribal children in Maharashtra, Mr. Poyam said thatnews stories may have been objective or narrative, but theynever examined the experiencefrom an Adivasi’s perspective.

He felt that there is a need foranalytical stories which probethe root cause of the problemsfaced by Adivasis.

Call for tough law to protect women at workplace

‘Reportage on minorities skewed’

Tripurana Venkataratnam

‘Stereotypes andprejudice in the

way news is framedleads to a skewedversion of reality’

Jyoti Punwani

Can the media be appreciated for calling Muslimsminorities? Is there any

justification in blaming the entire Muslim community for terrorism?

Being a freelance journalist, Ihave been deliberately workingon Muslim issues and I havefound the media’s coverage ofthe Muslim community inadequate. It fails to get more voicesof normal people and insteadshowcases the voices of religiousleaders and intellectuals. Themedia needs to think, considering the community as a whole,before it publishes somethingabout it.

My parents were from Sind,Pakistan. But lots of our friendsand relatives were antiMuslim,and held a stereotyped notionabout Pakistanis. This aroused azeal in me to uncover the truthand bring to light the life led byinnocent people living there

who had no connection withterrorism.

In my research, I noticed thatIslamic practices differ fromstate to state. The Islamic culture seen in the north is different when compared to thesouth. The relationship betweenMuslims and Hindus is differentin the South. When I go to themosque and the others go to atemple, we still meet each otherwith a pure heart. This is particularly seen in the villages ofUttar Pradesh, but not in thecities. One should learn to accept and consider that peoplepractising Islamic faith also belong to India just like anyoneelse, and are not a separate section.

It is necessary to exploreMuslim women’s issues in different states, showcase highly educated Muslim women and theirsuccess stories. It is very important to assess the psychologicalcondition of the younger generation born much after the birthof Pakistan.

Women’s issues have, likewise, caught my attention. In myperspective, women fighting fortheir rights to be allowed intoreligious places of worshipshould be made a priority. Manyfeminists ask me why it shouldbe a priority when there are several other issues to be resolved.I say that women have everyright to worship and why shouldanyone stop them? Why shouldonly men be allowed to definewhat religion is?

As told to Sushma Nagaraju

‘Showcase successstories of Muslims’

February 5, 2017 OSMANIA COURIER | 3

Nishitha Jha

My father was also a journalist, so I tried not to be one;but I just stumbled into

the field. My life changed a great dealafter investigating Aarushi’s case. Itall started on a very personal note.Aarushi was a very good friend of mysister. Unable to see the trauma anddepression that my sister was goingthrough, I began investigating. I didnot want to look at the issue as ajournalist at all.

‘Trial by Error : The AarushiFiles’ the eightpart investigativeaudio series that I came up with,based on Avirook Sen’s book Aarushi,and also my own investigations was a new medium for me. I wondered if anyone would actually listento it, but I think I was able to bringthe same trigger in it like I dothrough my writing.

The whole idea is to try and figureout how to tell a story differently andin a simple manner for the audienceto understand without difficulty. All

newspapers should be able to tell uswhat fear, trauma, recovery, courage,etc., feel like and that’s the reasonwhy most of my writings have a humanizing element. Only when astory is dealt with a humanizingtouch, does it makes sense to thereaders, and that’s how they will beable to connect to it.

We can either report by sharingour own experiences or the family’sor friends’ experiences, but it is limited to your own world. There is ahuge scope in brave journalism. Oneshould always go beyond one’s comfort zone, digging out facts that arenotsoobvious. Curiosity is something that never satisfies you.

I really don’t believe in classifyingmy journalism as features, investigative or a particular genre it allstems from an urge of being given apremise. I believe that there is littledifference between journalists andpeople who want to do somethingfor the country. Both become voicesfor the voiceless.As told to Sriveda Baswapoor

‘It should be a voice of the voiceless’

IN FIRSTPERSON

Vasanthi Hari Prakash

Go with anopen mindand encounter

the unexpected thisis what I believe in. Ionce visited a placenear Raichur in Karnataka to report onpollution, but ended up making astory about the Devdasis there. Ihappened to find a group of themholding a protest as the governmentwas neglecting their needs. Titled“God’s Women or God forsakenWomen?”, it was a story which Ihadn’t planned at all; I just probedinto something that caught my attention, but I was able to bring outthis story to the national audience.

When it comes to my writingabout women facing sexual harassment at the workplace for Bangalore Mirror, I realised that it wasmostly to do with the mindset. It isnot straightforward as we think, itis a question of caste conflicts, aquestion of how women are treatedby upper caste men who thoughtthey could take their revengeagainst this lady and how they never

expected her to fightback. Despite the hardships, the victim foughtfor justice. All that thenled to the Visakha judgment, which has benefitted many women.

These are social ills andattitudes that we mustwrite about as journalists.

As Linda Chhakchhuak says, youshould internally believe that yourreporting can change things and thatyour journalism will make a difference to the world around you, eventhough the change might not beovernight. One thing I wish is thatyounger journalists should attendmore talks, read more books, travelmore, learn more, soak in more, absorb more and talk to the general ordinary people around them more that is the beginning of the makingof a good journalist. The biggestquality that you can have is empathyand if you also understand where theother person is coming from, thenthe story will be much deeper ratherthan just looking at it from yourview point.As told to Anantha Lakshmi L &

Jeevan Shada

‘Empathy is the best quality a journalist can have’

Raksha Kumar

Freelance wasn’tmy choice but Iwas pushed

into it. As staff, Icould not do storieslike the ones I amdoing now. I chosefreelance journalismso that I could putmy stories across. It is a different ball game for women in thisfield. Every story should belooked into from the perspective of gender sensitivity, whichis a little challenging for instance, when covering agricultural issues, where farming andagriculture are dominated bymen. There, men and womentake it in a different way whenanother woman approachesthem to learn about them andthe problems they face.

The minute a story is pickedup, it makes certain powerfulpeople uncomfortable and theymay go against it. So generally,receiving threats is commonplace for a journalist. When Iworked in Israel, the threat was

very high andthe threatthere is irrespective of gender. I havebeen lucky as Ihad supportiveeditors. I didnot writeagainst the district collectors

in my city and I live inanonymity.

I wrote stories for nationaland international media organizations. Processing of news forthe international and Indianmedia is different. While writing for international media, oneneeds to explain to readers thedetails about India.

It gives me a great sense ofsatisfaction to cover areas ofmy interest such as conflicts relating to land, mines, forests,and stories on gender. Butgiven time, logistical and financial constraints, it is difficultfor journalists to unravel all thelayers of an issue arising out ofsuch conflicts.

I have travelled extensively

and reported from 19 states.Among the states I travelled to,stories from Chhattisgarh weredifficult to ignore as the mainstream media did not pickthem up the way it had to. Inthe southern side of the state,villages are grappling with thepresence of heavy presence ofsecurity forces. Despite that,there are still ways to bypassthem and get the stories.

I had an insightful experience while covering a series ofrapes in the Jind district ofHaryana. The rapes were sanctioned by the Khap Panchayat.Even now, women there are notallowed to go out alone, speakto men, and should not ventureout after 5 p.m. I went to thatplace by myself and interactedwith men in that village. Interestingly, men welcomed me asthey wanted to share theirpoint of view on women, whichwas extremely patriarchal.Even though I wrote a negativestory on them it was an interesting experience.

As told to Chitra Saikumar

‘Receiving threats is commonfor a journalist’

Chitra Saikumar Amna Ummul Khair

Academician at UniversityCollege of Arts, Social Science and Commerce, Sa

tavahana University, Karimnagarand also an activist, SujathaSurepally has emerged as a strongvoice for Dalits and women. In aninterview to Osmania Courier, sheshares the plight of Dalits andAdivasis in the State and acrossthe country. Excerpts from the interview:

Your PhD was on Dalit Women’sempowerment. Was that yourfirst step towards becoming an ac-tivist?

No, I turned into activist in the1990s. While I was doing mypostgraduation in Sociology, Idid a lot of field work where Icame across several issues relatedto Dalits and Adivasis. This mademe take my first step towards becoming an activist. I wrote myfirst blog on the special economiczone at Jadcherla in Mahbubnagar district. I chose to work formy PhD on Dalit Women’s empowerment as I come from thesame community. I knew the issues faced by women of the community.

How have your personal strugglescontributed towards mouldingyou into a strong activist for Dalitsand women?

Being born as a woman, youhave to struggle; being born as aDalit woman, the struggle is unbearable. I used to think that youcan stand on your feet if you areeducated or employed, but it isnot true. We are still treated as

untouchables. People only like tosee you as a doctor or engineer.Nobody likes to see you as an activist. Journalism and activism arenot easy professions for Dalitwomen to choose.

Do Dalit men also face the sameproblems like Dalit women do?

Yes, Dalit men too face problems but not as much as Dalitwomen when it comes to class,gender and caste.

Do you think that the word ‘Dalit’must not be used as it leads to dis-crimination?

Gandhiji used the word Harijan but it was rejected. BabaSaheb Ambedkar did not use the

word Dalit. In India, it is commonly used and I feel that theterm has to be changed. May beone day when people’s mindsetschange, the meaning of the termwill also change.

Who do you think is responsiblefor the atrocities against Dalits,the society, or the government?

Mostly, it’s the fault of theState. Baba Saheb Ambedkar hadlot of faith in the State. Hebrought in reservation system toimprove the standard of livingand to educate more Dalits. Thedemocracy failed as caste has become a more dominating featurein society. The SC/ST budget wasnever spent properly. Girls’ hostels in Karimnagar are the best

example of governmental neglect. One cannot stay there evenfor two days because of the unhygienic food and surroundings.Students were taken to Malkangiri in Odisha to write a report onkilling of Adivasis. Why do theyneed to go till there just to file areport, when so many Adivasis arekilled everywhere? We are all responsible for this discrimination.

The 2010 July verdict regarding theKhairlanji massacre cited the inci-dent as an “act of revenge”. Whatis your take on the injustice metedout to Dalits in hundreds of casesby the Indian Judiciary?

Injustice is everywhere. Peopleare raping, selling videos ofwomen and no action is beingtaken. Take the case of Shruthiwho was killed by pouring acid onher private parts in public. In another incident, a Dalit womanwas raped in Karimnagar and hervideo was recorded. The videowas handed over to police thinking that it would be in safe handsbut it spread like wildfire once itreached the police station. Thereis no safety, security or happinessfor Dalits.

You have actively participated inthe movement for justice in Ro-hith Vemula’s case. Do you thinkthe government has sidelined theissue by getting the caste issueinto the picture?

Yes, the government has sidelined the issue by bringing incaste. The Government does italways. Rohit Vemula’s suicide isnot the beginning or the end.There are many more happeningbut they go unnoticed. Media willnot show the reality. Another ob

servation is that mothers fight fortheir children; but where are thefathers? This is due to upper layerdominance.

You have fought against thePolavaram dam project. Do youthink that the forest managementplan and rehabilitation and reset-tlement proposal put forward forthe displaced tribal families willdo justice to their cause?

Why should the tribals be displaced at all? Major dams havefailed and there is always a modelor alternative plan. Many videosshow that these displaced tribalscan’t find work. Therefore they goback to the forest.

What kind of legislative reformswould you recommend for ensur-ing dignity of life and justice toDalits and Adivasis?

Reforms are not something tobe approved on paper or to betalked about, but they have to beworked on. Telangana state happened because of huge sacrifices,not because of Sonia Gandhi’s orIndira Gandhi’s intervention.

Do you think the mainstreammedia is reporting issues relatedto Dalits in a fair manner?

No media house disseminatesnews fairly. It has been observedthat the media is progovernment.

Any new project in the pipeline?

I will be writing an article onTollywood actress Pratyusha’smother who fought for justice forher daughter who was killed byher boyfriend Siddhartha Reddy.

‘Atrocities are mostly the fault of state’

Prof. Sujatha Surepally

4 | OSMANIA COURIER February 5, 2017

Nomula Rajasekhar

“I’d be happy to be called awriter”, says Kalpana Sharma,independent journalist and

columnist.In an exclusive chat with Osmania

Courier on the sidelines of the Nationalconference of Women in Media held inOU recently, Ms. Sharma, with 30 yearsof experience in various media organizations, she recalled her career whichstarted with the Indian Express in theearly 80s under eminent journalist B.G.Varghese. “Varghese was a very democratic person and a good editor. Heused to encourage freshers to think differently when writing reports”, shesays. Working under Varghese for twoyears gave her greater satisfaction saysSharma, an activist and feminist. However, The Hindu, also allowed the samesort of freedom in work during N.Ravi’s tenure as editor”, she reveals.

In the past, women journalists wereasked to work on the editorial desk.“They were seldom allowed to go outfor reporting. We used to beg the editors to allow us to do a story”, says Ms.Sharma. Today women are filing goodreports and have become role models

for the new generation, she feels.“There are many women journalists oneditorial boards and at the top management levels in various media organizations”, she says, terming it a good sign.

On the contemporary media scene,‘The Other Half ’ columnist says thatthe media changed rapidly after liberalisation which saw the entry of privateentities. This changed the equation inmedia, as profit became the prime motive without social responsibility. Forinstance, very few media houses reportdowry cases, she says. “Earlier, the edi

tor used to assign special correspondents to cover such issues. What isnews today is what sells; what elite people do and what happens in importantplaces.”

“There is a big gap between field andstudio based reporting,” she said. That’sthe reason Trump and Modi won theelections, and that’s why the mediacouldn’t predict the election results ofthe oldest and largest democratic countries in the world.”

Though we are in the ‘BreakingNews’ era, accuracy, balance, and credibility are also important, she feels.Commenting on NDTV’s oneday banthat was later revoked, she said, “today,governments cannot digest criticismand that is the reason they want to bannews channels”

In her blog Ulti Khopdi, she toucheson every topic feminism, elections,gender inequalities, malnutrition,health and education. She has writtentwo books and edited a book alongwith Ammu Joseph, which talks of thepresence of women in media and theiropinions on society.

She recalled a conversation with awoman named Lakshmi from AndhraPradesh, a pavement dweller in Mumbai. “When I asked her why she bothered about casting her vote in electionswhen so many elite people did not comeforward, she gave a brilliant reply sayingthat ‘If I don’t vote, how will peopleknow that I exist in this country?’”

Accuracy, credibility key in‘Breaking News’ era

Kalpana Sharma

Prof Padmaja Shaw C. Vanaja

CHAIRPERSON & SECRETARY, ORGANISINGCOMMITTEE OF NWMI HYDERABAD CONFERENCE

Amna Umul KhairAbdullah Abdulrahman

Adil Taha LateefAhmad Khaled Ahmad

Ali Dawood SalwanK. Anilathmaj Phani KumarAnantha Laxmi Latchayya

Blesson AbrahamChitra SaikumarFronia Priscilla

Vennu Hitesh Kumar

Humam Saleh MustafaJacob Ross Bhoompag

S. Jeevan ReddyRenju John Daniel

Nomula Rajasekhar ReddySaadi Hussain HamelSaif Wahhab Mezher

Sharifullah AyubiSushma Nagaraju

Sriveda BaswapoorBahaa Abdul Rahman Waheeb

STUDENT VOLUNTEERS

Feedback is welcome and may be sent to:

courier.ou@gmail.com

Jacob Ross Bhoompag& V Hitesh Kumar

Ac a d e m i c i a nand politicalactivist, Prof.

M. Kodandaramplayed a prominentrole in leading the agitation for a separateTelangana. In an exclusive interview toOsmania Courier, Prof. Kodandaram, participating in a sessionon ‘Is Small Beautiful?’, aired hisviews on the future course ofTelangana’s progress and theJAC’s role.

The JAC played vital role in the for-mation of Telangana. What is thefuture of JAC?

After the formation of Telangana, we decided to continue withJAC as an organization that willwork towards peoplecentred development of the region. Someleft the JAC to join a politicalparty. But JAC believes in articulating the concerns of the people.

The session “Is small beautiful?”focussed on whether havingsmaller states was better idea forachieving good governance. In thepresent context is it true ?

Even the smallest of states arebadly administered, so you can’tsay that small is really beautiful.Secondly, small is a relative term

so how small shoulda state ideally be? Iwould say that weshould rather, focuson the process andthe dynamics ofstate formationmovements and theimpact of the current situation insuch states.

During the movement, yours wasa powerful voice against the gov-ernment. How is the situationnow?

In the integrated state, the government was opposed to the division and therefore we had tochallenge it. Now, the situation isdifferent. In a separate state, obviously we need to open a dialoguewith the government. We arehopeful that Government will listen to people’s voice and try toframe policies to fulfil their needs.

In the Telangana agitation, youwere called the ‘Telangana PoruBidda’ by KCR. But, today, why arehis followers criticising you?

It is quite natural, as we havebeen questioning the government,criticising their policies, askingfor alternative policy frameworks.Obviously, there will be opposition; those in power do not acceptcriticism, particularly in India. Weneed to fight so that our voices areheard.

‘JAC always stood for the people’

Chitra SaikumarAmna Ummul Khair

Rohini Mohan, is the recipient of the Shakti BhattFirst Book Prize and Tata

Literature Live! First Book Award.Her initiative to cover the conflict in Sri Lanka resulted in anaward winning book, The Seasons ofTrouble. She shared her experiences of undercover investigativereporting with Osmania Courier.Excerpts from the interview:

Kindly elaborate on the contents ofyour book ‘The Seasons of Trouble.’

It was an undercover investigative story on the Sri Lankan conflict and its aftermath. Before Iembarked on a journey to SriLanka, I did extensive researchabout the place and the peoplethere. It took me a lot of time tobuild trust in people and get theirstories. I spoke to several TamilTigers and gathered informationrelating to the civil war.

Women were more forthcoming with their stories, and theyprobably did so because they feltthat being a woman myself, Icould empathise better. After listening to many of them, I zeroeddown on two women and a man. Iwas able to interact better withthem, and could identify withtheir struggles. I made them feelcomfortable and won their confidence. That’s how they recounted

their experiences.

Can you shed light on undercoverreporting in Sri Lanka your eortsto gather so much data?

It was not an easy task for meto gather details. I used to observepeople, talk to them and I had tomake them feel that I was also justlike them. I used to photographeverything I saw, and take downnotes on minute details. Therewas an instance when the localssuspected me. They came to myhouse in my absence, ransackedand took away the books withvaluable information about theconflict. Luckily, I could recollectdetails from the photographs Ihad taken . They included places Ivisited and people I had met. Hadthey found my camera, things

could have gone out of hand.

Have you delved into the ways waraects the psyche of children?

Yes. They looked fearful anddisturbed while recollecting incidents. One of the protagonist inmy book is Mugil, a thirteenyearold girl , who joined the LTTEmovement as.

How do you see your journey inthis field so far?

I was just dedicated to the profession and worked very hard. Inthe beginning, my parents werequite worried about my choice ofprofession. So, when I was studying in Goa, I started working as areporter too in my free time, without my parents’ knowledge. Lateron, my husband who is also a journalist turned activist, supportedme in pursuing my passion. However, after bagging the award, myparents who had earlier been sceptical about my profession, feltproud of me. Now, they understand my capabilities and supportme entirely.

Any tips for budding journalists?Once I was told my reports

were not worth publishing and attimes I was let down. But I nevergave up. In fact, those situationsgave me more strength to work ontough reporting. So never get disappointed and leave your profession.

Under fire in the war zone

Rohini Mohan

Prof. M. Kodandaram

February 5, 2017 OSMANIA COURIER | 5

Blesson Abraham

Having smaller states is agood idea as far as themedia is concerned, said

Rama Saraswathi, senior journalistfrom Sakshi. Participating in thesession on ‘Is Small Always Beautiful?’ focused on the benefits of reorganising Indian states, sherecalled the problems faced byjournalists of vernacular newspapers who had to conform to certainformats to please the “crowd”.

Ms. Saraswathi pointed out thatin Namaste Telangana, the word‘dawakhana’ the Persianderivedterm for hospital was not encouraged internally. Even the nameof a features page, ‘Zindagi’, wasfrowned upon as being aligned toUrdu readers, despite Dakhani thelocal version of Urdu being widelyspoken by both Muslims and nonMuslims in the region.

Chairing the session, Uma Sudhir, Resident Editor, NDTV,voiced similar concerns. “WhenEnglish becomes ‘national’, everyother language becomes ‘vernacular’”, she pointed out.

Prof. Kodandaram, Chairman,Telangana Joint Action Committee, said that the fight for a separate state was a fight between theprivileged classes of coastal Andhraand the underprivileged classesfrom Telangana.

Giving a historical perspective

on the demand for a separate state,he said the demand started with anaim to promote greater people’sparticipation. Hegemonic structure in the united Andhra Pradeshstate is one of the major reasonsthat led to the fight for a separateTelangana state, he asserted.

“As long as the hegemonic relations remain unchallenged, the regional structures remainunaltered”, he added. He felt thatit was not right to measure a state’ssuccess based on its size, becauseeach region has its own distinctfeatures.

Ambedkar was the only personwho insisted that the governmentshould take account of historical,social, cultural, economical and social conditions while forming astate. If these factors are neglectedand heterogeneous groups are incorporated into a single state, thereis a danger of one group dominating the polity and social life ofpeople and reorganisation becomes inevitable.

Elaborating on the vast differences between the princely state ofHyderabad under the Nizam andAndhra Pradesh under British Raj,he said that in the princely statethere was no scope for political organisation because it denied people the power to question. Butunder the British Raj, literacy andagriculture were given due importance. This fact had a major impact

after the formation of AndhraPradesh, because the people ofAndhra became proud of theirwealth, literacy and advancedknowledge in agriculture.

Kodandaram attributed the revival of the state agitation to government policies in the early2000s, when the then Chief Minister of united Andhra Pradesh,Chandrababu Naidu, allocated resources to the elite sections fromcoastal Andhra.

Now, with Telangana State a reality, nonparty forums like TJACwould continue their role in building ‘Bangaru Telangana’ by aidingthe government in framing peoplecentred policies, he said.

“We will try to work for a completely different model of development. We are not interested inelections; we are trying to represent the people, influence the government so that appropriatepolicies are formulated.”

Krishank Manne, a studentleader associated with the Congress Party, lamented the seachange in the atmosphere on OUcampus.

“The University was the nucleusof the Telangana movement. Now,protests and slogan shouting arenot allowed on campus”, he said,adding that the presence of student political groups and JACs oncampus are in the interest of theState.

For media, small isbeautiful

Anantha Lakshmi Latchayya

Journalists have their highs andlows reporting on diverse societal issues. But some stories

give immense satisfaction and allthe travails piecing informationtogether pale into insignificancefor their impact on the lives ofpeople. Osmania Courier quizzeda few scribes at the conference onthe most satisfying assignment intheir career.

Kavita Muralidharan, AssociateEditor of India Today, feels thatthe assignment on reporting theconflict situation in Sri Lanka wasmost satisfying.

“I think the most satisfyingstory I have done was on the realagenda of the Gates Foundation’”,says Sandhya Srinivasan, Mumbaibased journalist and researcher.Sandhya’s story that delved intohow the Bill and Melinda GatesFoundation influenced public policy through Product DevelopmentPartnerships PDPs that reapedcommercial profits, while puttingat risk the health of millions in underdeveloped/ developing countries.

Suchitra, from Kerala, findsthat her coverage of the tribals inAttappady, Kerala, gave her themost satisfaction. “Kerala is supposed to be a developed state, butthere are several remote places

like Attappady which do not havebasic government healthcare services, resulting in high mother andchild mortality in these areas”, shesays. Her story, “Remote adivasisface health care chasm” appearedon the emagazine, India Together. Chitra says that her reportage of farmers’ widowsturning to organic farming for abetter livelihood was the mostgratifying of all.

While Ritusmita Biswas feelsthat her most satisfying story is“Urban Human Health”, whichalso got her the Laadli Award,Divya Arya cites that her beststory was on online shaming thatwas driving women to suicide.

Tulasi singled out her coverageof farmers’ suicides, and investigative reports on AntaraniBathukamma.

In stark contrast, “I think thatmy series of stories on castebasedhonour killings of Dalits, which Ihave been writing since 2011,made the most impact”, saysChennaibased scribe KavinMalar, who also had to face onlineharassment for her fearless coverage of Dalit issues.

Senior journalist K K Shahinaof Tehelka, says, “It was a rewarding experience to cover the‘mercy killing ritual’ of the agedpractised in Tamil Nadu, calledThalaikoothal.”

High impact stories moregratifying, scribes say

Jeevan Shada & Anantha Lakshmi Latchayya

Rajashri Dasgupta is a senior journalist who hascovered women’s issues extensively during herimpressive career. She has previously workedfor Business Standard and the Telegraph. Hercurrent focus is on sexual violence and state

impunity in West Bengal. Presently the Editorial Advisorfor Himal Southasian, she opened up about her work andopinions in an interview with the Osmania Courier.

Why are women's pages and feature pages mostly headedby women? Does it really aect the perspective?

It's been passed on since ages that women understandwomen better, therefore they would be able to take uptheir issues. But we had to fight for this space and that’swhen we felt that the women would be able to portraywomen's problems, their successes and celebrate women'slives. We would like women to head the desk for women’spages, with the decision making powers and we would alsolike men to contribute to these pages.

As a journalist working for Business Standard and The Tele-graph, did you have any dierences of opinion with your ed-itor-in-chief while covering any issues?

In fact, my first article on women was written in Business Standard and at that time in the 1980s women'sissues were never written about and Business Standard,being a business paper, couldn't even think about it. But Ibegged my boss to just have a look at the piece and it waspublished. He was quite happy about it and quite encouraging. It was also about breaking a mindset and my colleagues were quite encouraging when they read the article.It was on International Women’s Day, and how womencould be out protesting on the streets! Today, it mightseem quite routine, but in the 80s, women's groups hadjust started such protests in different cities and celebratingInternational Working Women's Day. Writing about thiswas quite new to Business papers so the Chief Editor wasvery happy about the story.

In The Telegraph, we already had a women's page forwhich I was the editor. At that time, it was a four pageweekly issue and we did get tremendous support initiallyfrom the editors because we wanted to write beyond rapeand dowry issues not only as women's issues, but as so

cial issues; about work, about everything connected towomen from art and culture to books. So we tried to expand the scope of the page, and I think to a large extentwe were successful, because there was an excitementaround those pages. They were very popular until the advertisement department felt that 'No, we need differentkinds of ads’ and so on; and those pages got shut downsince then.

Can you tell us the problems and issues that you facedwhile interacting with your sources when covering the un-ethical drug trials?

Actually these are investigative acts, so you have to besmart enough to probe this kind of issue. You have to doa lot of homework prior to setting out, you must know exactly where you must go, whom you must speak to. Andsince you are trying to uncover facts which people wantto keep hidden, these are not easy stories to do; these arenot stories the other side wants to reveal or write about.It is necessary to be strategic in your approach and collectevidence which you might not be able to write about, butyou have to retain such information to protect yourselfagainst any legal cases. It's like a jigsaw puzzle where youcollect the facts and try to fit them in. This kind of investigative journalism is very different from leak journalism,where you leak a story, and sensationalize it to break it.But this is like developing an event, taking an event or anews story and working around it, bringing a fresh perspective. I had to bring the story forward along with myarguments to show how unethical the drug trials had been,how these drugs were not supported by the government,and how the drug controller had no idea about it as it wasdone in a very stealthy manner.

Did you face any threats from the companies which werecarrying out the unethical drug trials? If yes, how did youhandle them?

These were not big companies. These practices werebeing carried out with the involvement of doctors. It wasthe doctors who were not keen to cooperate with us because they were carrying out unethical drug trials and theywere also part of the larger international medical organizations that were conducting those trials. When I spoketo a doctor from America who was promoting this inIndia, he said that, to carry out these drug trials in Amer

ica, it would have cost him 20 million; whereas in India,there are so many women who are unaware of these practices because they are poor, illiterate and under privileged.If 10 women dropped out of their trials they could get 20more or 30 more and these doctors were a part of it. Investigating the source of the drugs, I found that they weremade in different places like Baroda and Calcutta, andtransferred in the form of small pellets and used to sterilisewomen. Actually, it was not just a single drug company; itwas more like entire rightwing groups who wanted migrant population to be cut down. This idea first came fromrightwing groups in America, which was later used in Vietnam, in Bangladesh and India. Many doctors felt that thisis a very attractive model.

Was the Panos fellowship your first to covering women'sissues independently without external pressures? Howvaluable has it been as part of your career?

The Panos fellowship pushed me to continue writing onseveral women’s issues. It's a supportive companionshipthrough my career that helped me do a lot of good work.Somehow, it helped me survive when I was just embarkingupon my career. I must say that this fellowship is an honorI have received.

How was your experience working with Laxmi Murthy onthe book "Our Pictures, Our Words"?

It was utterly fantastic. Laxmi Murthy is my friend andwe are in the same field since years. We have been sharingour ideas, thoughts on par with the same strategy. That iswhy we both came together to work on the idea of OurPictures, Our Words. It is a book deeply involving women'sissues. We both have an equivalent ideology, a design onthis concept and our common interests, thus shaping thebook. Laxmi used to disagree with my thoughts sometimesto rectify the errors, thus making concepts clear. It was awonderful experience writing this book and a great timeteaming up with Laxmi on this project.

After all your eorts and years in this field, do you thinkthat the scenario in South Asia has changed with respect topeople's thoughts and stereotypes?

I am still struggling to move ahead; my past efforts willnot stop my struggle to bring out every womenrelatedissue to the fore so that they may be resolved. I believethat my struggle in this field can cause a social change andso, I will not stop till I achieve a perfect outcome. Thereis still a lot of work to be done, and the mindset of the society is yet to change. It is not over until we change people’s perspective through our work.

What made you switch from business writing to more spe-cialised and particular fields like political and social issues?

Before moving to other fields I started working for business papers. As a beginner, I got into business writing andmeanwhile tried my hand at covering political and socialissues. Though my career kickstarted with business news,it was my dream to write on political and social issues.

According to you, which is the most satisfying story thatyou have done till date?

That’s very tough to say. Because I feel that every storyis important and picking just one is very hard, because Ihave put in my best for every story.

What advice do you have for budding journalists?

Students and young scribes must be passionate aboutfulfilling their dream. Students must focus on currentevents and be able to analyze and interpret the scenarioand then give it a fine shape. They have to investigate thephenomenon, while doing necessary groundwork. Sometimes you have to overcome distractions and external pressure which can affect your career; if you succeed, consideryour challenge worth winning and a great experience tolearn from, as you may always face further obstacles.

‘We must change people’sperspective through our work’

6 | OSMANIA COURIER February 5, 2017

Rajashri Dasgupta

Anantha Lakshmi Latchayya & Jeevan Shada

Sudipto Mondal of Hindustan Times passionately reports on Dalit issues, minority rights and castediscrimination. His discerning reportage of theRohit Vemula case was lauded for its indepth inquiry. In an interview to Osmania Courier, Mondal

talks about his career, his stories on Dalits, and his upcoming book on caste atrocities.

Your story on Rohit Vemula was widely appreciated. Whydid you think of exploring his background, his family andvillage?

It is very important for Dalits to enter journalism sothat they can provide an accurate view of the lives of otherDalits. So, for me, the moment I read Rohit’s letter, I wasstirred inside that the boy was from my communityDalit. How did he come this far, and how did he writesuch a beautiful letter? Who was he?

I was sent from my office in Bangalore to Hyderabad tocover this issue and I was under pressure from my editorto file the story on time. But when I reached HyderabadCentral University, there were hundreds of journalists focusing on the next political leader as well as the views ofthe Prime Minister and the Chief Ministers of differentstates. I felt, I wouldn’t be able to file this report as breaking news. I could not stay at Velivada where the protestwas being staged. So I went to Guntur and found thatthere wasn’t a single journalist who was probing aboutRohit, his family background, etc. All that was needed wasto feel curious about this boy; and the only advantage Ihad over others was that I am a Dalit myself.

There must be a lot of Dalits who want to come forward.How do they raise their voices?

A country as racially divided as the USA could manageto organise their own important journalism collectives.The American Society of News Editors ASNE resolvedthat more coloured people and racial minorities need tobe included in the mainstream media. And in India, wherewe pride ourselves to be a country with a far more vibrantdemocracy, where we profess to be better and more inclusive than the USA, there is not one editor who will say thatin the next ten years ‘I will get at least three Dalits andAdivasis into the newsroom’. And that is where the changemust happen. It is not that there are no Dalits and Adivasisaspiring for these jobs, but there are several artificial barriers. You can’t assume that people will cross the barriersand enter the newsroom; the editors have to remove theseobstacles.

Social discrimination, casteism seem to be at an all-timehigh in educational institutions. What measures would yourecommend to improve the situation?

In educational institutions, there is a lot to feel negativeand sorry about. The next ten years will belong to Dalitand Adivasi intellectuals, whether people like it or not. Inhigher education, thanks to the efforts of student activistgroups such as the ASA, OU Dalit groups, DMSU, DSU,etc., there are Dalits, Adivasis and Muslims who are venturing into education and they are the people who will become communist intellectuals. We are poised for a majorchange in perspective on social issues by intellectuals. Forexample, Dalit issues have always been viewed from theprism of upper castes because most of the scholars belongto that caste. But in the next decade, we are sure there willbe several intellectuals who will enter the academia and

will bring a fresh perspective on society informed byAmbedkarism, Phule, Marx and Adivasi leaders. There areAdivasi intellectuals like Ram Dayal Munda who compileda lot of Adivasi literature. These intellectuals have been inspired also by other forms of knowledge, and they are theones who will change the face of academics.

Do you feel that raising awareness on Dalit issues throughmedia can bring down the atrocities against them? Will ithelp them have a more secure life or will it worsen their sit-uation?

There are multiple issues one is the language of communication. There is inadequate coverage of atrocities onDalits and Adivasis in the regional language press. Thereare small stories but these stories ought to be covered bythe mainstream English media. That is where I see thechange coming from. Secondly, Dalits and Adivasis arethemselves reluctant to join the media. Typical Dalits /Adivasis who finish their graduation want to join universities for higher education and also appear for the CivilServices exams. But very few prefer the media field because they are aware that these spaces are overwhelminglydominated by upper caste. At some point they have to takethis decision to say, “Enough. We must stop opting onlyfor civil services and academics, and join journalism.” Asmall beginning has been made but once that starts happening in the English media space, I think the issue ofcaste as a form of inhuman discrimination will be recognised the world over. Upper caste journalists have to startcollaborating and help Dalits come into journalism.

You are writing a book on Rohit Vemula's case along withother instances of caste-based discrimination. Could you

tell us something about it?

I don't know how much I can divulge at this stage.Along with Rohith Vemula’s story, I also want to tell thestories of people who did not die. When Rohith died, theJNU campus was boiling. Leaders such as KanhaiyaKumar, Umar Khalid, Shahla Rashid came out in his support. For them to be heard, all they had to do was opentheir mouth. But for Rohith Vemula to be heard, he hadto kill himself and write a suicide note. It shows that thereis greater acceptance of voices coming from a certain kindof background. Then, who will tell the stories of the boysand girls who are in the same situation as Rohith Vemula,but did not commit suicide? So through this book, I wantto shed some light from the viewpoint of those who didnot die. Apart from that, every minute detail about Rohit who he was, where he grew up, his story, all of it will bethere.

One thing I want readers to look out for is other people’s stories as well. I am trying very hard to include storiesof his comrades, friends, and people in the ASA in the University of Hyderabad. In 1987, the ‘The Liberation Tigers’,the first Dalit organisation was founded in the Universityand it has an interesting story behind it. The Dalits in theASA were in financial difficulties and weren’t paying themess bills. They survived on the leftover food. One day,the Reddy mess secretary harassed the Dalit Adivasis whoate leftovers. He snatched the plate from one particularDalit student, and said he'd rather give it to the dogs thanlet a thief eat it. “You haven’t paid your mess bills, paythem and then eat.” That Dalit boy had a muscular build,was used to hard labour in the fields, ate beef and was familiar with the ideology of Baba Saheb Ambedkar. He remained silent on that day but two days later 100 Dalit boyscircled the Reddy Mess secretary and assaulted him.

Gandhian philosophy says violence is violence, no matter who commits it. Violence is a political tool that hasbeen established across time, history to bring change, andused as a deterrent. And that is what the Dalit boys haddone. They went underground and surfaced under thebanner of ‘Dalit Boys Liberation Tigers’. I cannot judgewhether it was good or bad violence. But as journalists, wehave to put these things together and establish a story thatnarrates the victimisation of Dalits, which is what I amtrying to do through my book.

‘Social inclusion vital inmainstream media’

“Dalits and Adivasis are themselves reluctant to join the media. Typical Dalits / Adivasis who finish their graduation want to join

universities for higher education and also appear for the Civil Servicesexams. But very few prefer the media field because they are aware that

these spaces are overwhelmingly dominated by upper castes.”

Sudipto Mondal

February 5, 2017 OSMANIA COURIER | 7

Sushma Nagaraju

Journalist Malini Subramaniam, known for her courageous reportage of atrocities

committed on Adivasis in Bastar, has said it is a “dangeroustrend if journalists are not allowed to dig for facts and giveexpression to the voice of people in conflict zones.”

Speaking at the 12th NationalConference of Network ofWomen in Media, Ms Subramaniam observed that brandingjournalists as “Desh Drohi”‘antinational’ for writingabout government “atrocities” isshameful.

“The police and statesupported vigilante groups harassedand targeted us for questioningtheir actions to combat Maoistsby indulging in fake encounters.Innocent Adivasis were killed inthe process and many had to endure sexual harassment by security forces”, she said.

Ms Subramaniam, who wonthe International Press FreedomAward in 2016, remarked that

despite several laws and humanrights charters being in place,there is no respite for the Adivasi communities in Bastar.

“The saddest thing is that thegovernment itself has turned ablind eye. The police imposedall kinds of restrictions to pre

vent journalists from carryingout their operations smoothly”,she said.

According to her, Bastar isnow more or less an open jail.“The police maintains a strictvigil on the activities of outsiders and puts them behind

bars on suspicion of carrying outantigovernment activities. Adivasis are branded as Maoistsand arrested based on fake documents,” Ms Subramaniam, whowrites for the news websiteScroll.in, revealed.

Referring to her evictionfrom Bastar and chants of‘’Death to Malini Subramanian”that she faced there, she said,“It was an unpleasant and terrible situation. But I receivedtremendous support from myfamily.” But the neighboursweren’t as supportive, she said,because the police and the mobran propaganda against her, announcing that she may plantbombs in the neighbours’houses. “Efforts were made toweaken me by targeting my family,” she said.

Yet, her emotional connectwith the Adivasis is strong, andnothing can deter her fromworking for their welfare. “Adivasis are the best people to learnfrom. In spite of all their troubles, they smile, sing songs andtry to live in peace. What infuriates me is when other forcestake advantage of their simplicity.”

As to what inspired her to advocate for the rights of tribalcommunities in Bastar, she recollected her journey as a development worker on tribal issues.“I had worked with the International Committee of Red Crossin Bastar and found that the region had no basic medical, education and security services.Later, after the Red Cross discontinued its work, I continuedmy efforts to provide basic services to the Adivasi communitythere. I decided to narrate theirstories and report on the statefacilitated violence in Bastar.”

“I wish I have enoughcourage to go back to Bastar”,she concludes.

‘Wish I have enough courage to return to Bastar’“What infuriates meis when other forcestake advantage ofAdivasis’ simplicity.”

Malini Subramaniam

Sriveda BaswapoorFronia Priscilla

Jayanthi Burudu, theyoungest tribal scribe fromMalkangiri in Odisha had

to travel by boat, train and busto attend the Conference. Shespent her childhood in jungles,picking sticks and firewood.

She owes her interest inhelping the needy and socialwork to her farmer parentswho inspired her despite theirmeagre resources.

Narrating her career journey,she said she chose journalismas it would help her work forher tribe and community. Despite the backlash from people,she struggled to pursue her degree in Mass Communicationfrom Sholapur and is nowworking for her district. Shefeels that she is putting her education to good use.

Recounting her tragic experience of once picking twochildren from before thecorpses of their murdered parents, she says her communitysuffers from a fear psychosis ofpolice.

Jayanthi currently takes careof 8 10 children who were orphaned after their parents werekilled in encounters and otherviolence, and provides for theirfood and education.

“I didn’t know how resources would flow in, when Idecided to help these children,” she says.

Jayanthi’s struggle andcourage inspire many youngtribal girls. She says that it is amatter of pride for her that the

tribal community recognisesher as someone who has madeher way through in mainstreammedia. However, in her earlydays, the community had reservations about a young girl travelling by foot into Maoiststrongholds for her journalisticwork.

Her knowledge of the triballanguage facilitated better understanding of issues fromtheir perspective. She was ableto express herself in Hindi andhad no trouble relating to anEnglish audience. She expressed her happiness at beingable to participate in theNWMI conference.

From pickingfirewood tobreaking news

Jayanthi Burudu

Anantha Lakshmi LatchayyaJeevan Shada

Laxmi Murthy is consultingeditor with HimalSouthasian, the region’s only

political review magazine, published from Kathmandu. She alsoheads the Hri Institute forSouthasian Research and Exchange, a unit under the Himalbanner, conducting crossborderresearch in a region fraught withpolitical divisions. Edited excerpts from an interview she gaveto Osmania Courier:

What made you choose conflictareas, press freedom and genderand media as your subjects ofinterest?

These are areas that are lesstalked about. I started my careerdoing stories based on gender andmarginalised communities.There's a myth that India being ademocracy, there is a totally freepress. Until 1015 years ago, therewere very clear “no go” areas defined: as to what you could orcould not talk about. In India, forexample, none of the perpetratorswho have killed journalists havebeen brought to book, whichpoints to a systemic problem. Butthis is gradually changing. Also,working with the InternationalFederation of Journalists, I couldcover issues related to gender equity and press freedom.

What similarities and dierencesdo you find in the social issuesfaced by women in Nepal andIndia?

In South Asia, there are a lot ofsimilarities because of a sharedcolonial history, laws and culturalissues. In Nepal, women have always been in the forefront of

every democratic movementwithout exception; but they arefiltered out once the movementbecomes stable, especially in decionmaking. Now, there is a conscious attempt in political andadministrative bodies to includemore women. However, inclusionis viewed as a serious issue inNepal, compared to India, whereit is assumed that everybody willcome up and do well on theirown, given the opportunity.There is a lot of resistance towards the reservation system aswell, with assumptions that thereis no need for affirmative action.In Nepal, there is a conscious effort towards affirmative action.

How important do you think is therole of oral history in document-ing women's struggles and theirstories?

Oral history is extremely important and is one of the techniques to record historicalnarratives of communities thatare not so wellconnected withthe rest of the world. Using thewritten form will not achieve asmuch as oral accounts, especiallyin the case of women, indigenouspeople, and Dalits. Histories are

getting lost and dying out slowly,with the death of the older generation. A lot of stories are actuallyin people's heads, which need tobe shared.

As the head of Hri Institute forSouth Asian Research andExchange, what kind of researchdo you feel would address crossborder issues ?

Generally, even in magazinesnow, there is a perception thatpeople want shorter pieces as attention span is low. In Himal,long form journalism is preferred,with indepth, investigativepieces of 10002000 words. TheHri institute also aims to be aplatform to discuss issues whichare not commonly discussed inSouth Asia. For example, we justwound up a conference, on “dronewarfare” and had human rightsactivists and experts coming infrom Pakistan, Afghanistan, dicussing the impact of drone surveillance and drone warfare, andwhat it means to third world nations.

What advice would you give to up-coming journalists?

I wouldn’t like to call it advice.They must follow their gut, heart,conscience, and instinct alongwith being confident.I feel thatthe older journalists need to takeadvice from the younger ones instead, and make way for them!

‘Oral histories are a must todocument women’s, Dalit stories’

Laxmi Murthy

8 | OSMANIA COURIER February 5, 2017

‘Histories are gettinglost and dying out

slowly, with thedeath of the older

generation.’