The atmosphere is electric. It has to be. After all this is our war cry against corruption, the first Satyagraha movement since Independence. We owe this to Anna Hazare, the man who has made us believe that change is possible. Or atleast is worth fighting for. “Why does he have to go through this at the age of 70? Why doesn’t he just sit at home ?” is what the cynics said. We say “When he can go through all the pain at that age, shouldn’t we atleast support him ?”. This fight against corruption is certainly going to be a long drawn battle and we understand it. We are not asking for immediate action. All we are asking for is freedom to voice our opinion and fight this battle through peaceful means. That Anna Hazare was pulled out of his house even before he started his fast and was sent to the same prison where the 2G scam accused are housed shows that anyone voicing for the Jan Lokpal will be crushed by the government and branded anti-government or anti-parliment.
This brings me to the next point. The government is framing this as a battle between the civil society and the constitution. This is pure mischief. The Jan Lokpal team has only voiced its opinion against corruption inflicted upon the government machinery and the constitution by corrupt officials and politicians. Not once have they brought disrepute to the constitution framed by our founding fathers or broken the rules of peaceful protest or disrupted public life. Neither did Baba Ramdev. The government succeeded in branding his protest as illegal and convinced the people of Delhi that his protest would disrupt public life. This time around the tactic has backfired on the government, after all we realize that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to fight against corruption. This is not a media sponsored debate against corruption where 3 of the 4 honourable guests themselves lack credibility to speak on the subject.
This brings me to my final point about the Indian media. Sections of the Indian media (NDTV and CNN-IBN) are calling Anna’s movement a blackmail. I am not surprised one bit. After all, if the government is drunk with power so is the media. These media moguls considered themselves the torchbearers of modern India; the Harvard, Oxford graduates who would report fearlessly and bring about change. But power corrupts the minds of those who posses it. They eventually became power brokers. When election results were announced, they called on their preferred party spokespersons to the same show and helped them find a common ground. They are running a parallel government. Now that they see a crusader, an honest man capturing the soul of the nation, they are alarmed. Their only option is to discredit Anna and his movement. It is also disgusting that in the midst of this crisis, they report about Rahul Gandhi being the reason for Anna Hazare’s release. It seems as if the media has taken it upon itself to report about him favourably and strengthen his position as the PM in waiting. I would have been happy if Rahul himself made a statement about the crisis to the nation. After all, politics is not just about garnering votes but about being an able administrator.
This is a landmark movement for India. I am not sure what this would led to. I hope this leads to a corruption free India and a bright future for my countrymen. Hope as Andy Duffresne says,"is a good thing probably the best of things. And no go thing ever dies".
Showing posts with label media. Show all posts
Showing posts with label media. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
About snubbing and making sound financial decisions
IPL auctioned its players yesterday. As we all know, after the event everyone cried foul that none of the 11 Pakistani players was bought by any of the franchises. The Pakistani media has described this as an insult to their country and players. I found it really funny that the sports ministry of Pakistan has sent a notice to the Pakistani Cricket Board asking them as to why none of the players were bought, event hinting that the PCB is responsible for the fiasco ! It was the Pakistani govt that issued a security warning to Pakistani players for travelling against India for IPL2. The net result was the franchises that had Pakistani players suffered. KKR and their superb performance can vouch for that. :-) This has cascaded to the current scenario.
Our news channels really know how to rub it on an already furious Pakistan. They used the word “snubbed” in every sentence they used to tell this story. The Times of India went one step further and said that they suspect the Government of India asking the teams not to buy Pakistani Players. Ya rite ! Now why on earth would the GoI even bother about IPL, after all the security arrangements for players is handled by the IPL and not by the government. If anything, the govt would earn more revenue from tax in the event of greater success of the IPL. And when poor Mr Chidambaram and team are busy tacking the Naxals, they are dragged into a needless issue. Barkha Dutt of NDTV tweeted that Pakistani players should not have been invited in the first place instead of insulting them in such manner. I believe that such an action would have been very wrong on the part of the IPL. At least now, the players have a chance to being a part of the event. And if we understand the policy of IPL, the players sign a contract with IPL for which they earn a certain sum and then IPL sells them to Franchises. So in the current scenario, every player associated with the event would earn a certain base sum. Why snatch that away?
People who understand the event and the sport have rightly said that the entire event was a case people making financially sound decisions. Why invest on a player who is not sure to play? It is for the same reason that the Aussies who also are unavailable for most of the games, were not taken by any franchise. Because of immature reporting by sections of the Indian media , I am sure the Pakistani media would be printing statements such as “ The Indian media also suspect foulplay…. Sections of the Indian media have also sympathized with the ill treatment to our players….Our suspicion has been vindicated by reports in the Indian media that this was a well planned…” etc
I am pasting below one of the very few sensible tweets I read regarding this issue.
Suhasini Haidar of CNN-IBN tweeted – “I know many are upset with the IPL rejection of Pak players- but isn't that giving cricket too much leadership role in bilateral relns? “ This turned out to be one of the very few sensible opinions from the media.
Our news channels really know how to rub it on an already furious Pakistan. They used the word “snubbed” in every sentence they used to tell this story. The Times of India went one step further and said that they suspect the Government of India asking the teams not to buy Pakistani Players. Ya rite ! Now why on earth would the GoI even bother about IPL, after all the security arrangements for players is handled by the IPL and not by the government. If anything, the govt would earn more revenue from tax in the event of greater success of the IPL. And when poor Mr Chidambaram and team are busy tacking the Naxals, they are dragged into a needless issue. Barkha Dutt of NDTV tweeted that Pakistani players should not have been invited in the first place instead of insulting them in such manner. I believe that such an action would have been very wrong on the part of the IPL. At least now, the players have a chance to being a part of the event. And if we understand the policy of IPL, the players sign a contract with IPL for which they earn a certain sum and then IPL sells them to Franchises. So in the current scenario, every player associated with the event would earn a certain base sum. Why snatch that away?
People who understand the event and the sport have rightly said that the entire event was a case people making financially sound decisions. Why invest on a player who is not sure to play? It is for the same reason that the Aussies who also are unavailable for most of the games, were not taken by any franchise. Because of immature reporting by sections of the Indian media , I am sure the Pakistani media would be printing statements such as “ The Indian media also suspect foulplay…. Sections of the Indian media have also sympathized with the ill treatment to our players….Our suspicion has been vindicated by reports in the Indian media that this was a well planned…” etc
I am pasting below one of the very few sensible tweets I read regarding this issue.
Suhasini Haidar of CNN-IBN tweeted – “I know many are upset with the IPL rejection of Pak players- but isn't that giving cricket too much leadership role in bilateral relns? “ This turned out to be one of the very few sensible opinions from the media.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Debate and discuss...
“Unity In Diversity”. Any child who has attended school in India would be taught to use these words to describe India and appreciate her diverse languages , cultures etc. However it seems that we haven’t been taught to appreciate the diversity of thoughts and opinions of people. An opinion that doesn’t stick to the norm is often crushed and the person with any such opinion is made to retract.
Take the case of Shashi Tharoor and his latest controversy regarding his opinion on India’s foreign policy during the Nehru era. Sections of the media have rejected his opinion because it is against the policies of our founding father. However no one really thought of engaging him in a meaningful debate and discussing why he said whatever he did. I repeat in every of my posts that we need to think and debate if we are to grow intellectually as a nation. If we decide to suppress the opinion of the Shashi Tharoors and Jaswant Singhs we would end up much poorer.
I want to discuss the role of media in this case. First they seek out for an honest politician and when such a man does come, they drive him away. Mr Tharoor is an expert in his field and has served a countless number of years in the UN. He understands what he is speaking of and is not merely reading a speech prepared by his writer. While the US discusses Roosevelt and Lincoln, we simply seem to shudder at the thought of discussing the rights and wrongs of the Nehrus and Gandhis. The point to be understood here is the no one is out there to question the contribution of these leaders or lessen their historical importance. It is just a revaluation of our decisions that would help us avoid past mistakes. Since these decisions include several foreign policy matters , it assumes even more importance in the current scenario when in an every shrinking world , we need to carefully coordinate with other countries both politically and economically .These discussions and debates are also a means of learning for our politicians. Mr Tharoor himself would agree that he is not correct all the time and hence when we can influence him for the better through discussions , he would discharge his duties much better. Driving him away though smear campaigns certainly doesn’t help.
I also strongly believe that political parties need to be more tolerant to the views of their members. When they disagree with a member they can merely say that the views of the individual do not conform to operating principle or ideology of the party. We certainly understand that Mr Tharoor does not single handedly decide India’s foreign policy and the Ministry of External Affairs comprises of several people who would discusses the ideas with him. In my opinion , all Mr Tharoor was doing was to voice his ideas and opinion to the rest of us . We don’t want political parties to treat people like cattle and march them in a line. We want a set of people who agree to disagree and who at the end of the day can negotiate and chalk out the smartest policies and decisions.
When we are finally seeing good politicians enter the fray, we don’t want trivialities to drive them away.
Take the case of Shashi Tharoor and his latest controversy regarding his opinion on India’s foreign policy during the Nehru era. Sections of the media have rejected his opinion because it is against the policies of our founding father. However no one really thought of engaging him in a meaningful debate and discussing why he said whatever he did. I repeat in every of my posts that we need to think and debate if we are to grow intellectually as a nation. If we decide to suppress the opinion of the Shashi Tharoors and Jaswant Singhs we would end up much poorer.
I want to discuss the role of media in this case. First they seek out for an honest politician and when such a man does come, they drive him away. Mr Tharoor is an expert in his field and has served a countless number of years in the UN. He understands what he is speaking of and is not merely reading a speech prepared by his writer. While the US discusses Roosevelt and Lincoln, we simply seem to shudder at the thought of discussing the rights and wrongs of the Nehrus and Gandhis. The point to be understood here is the no one is out there to question the contribution of these leaders or lessen their historical importance. It is just a revaluation of our decisions that would help us avoid past mistakes. Since these decisions include several foreign policy matters , it assumes even more importance in the current scenario when in an every shrinking world , we need to carefully coordinate with other countries both politically and economically .These discussions and debates are also a means of learning for our politicians. Mr Tharoor himself would agree that he is not correct all the time and hence when we can influence him for the better through discussions , he would discharge his duties much better. Driving him away though smear campaigns certainly doesn’t help.
I also strongly believe that political parties need to be more tolerant to the views of their members. When they disagree with a member they can merely say that the views of the individual do not conform to operating principle or ideology of the party. We certainly understand that Mr Tharoor does not single handedly decide India’s foreign policy and the Ministry of External Affairs comprises of several people who would discusses the ideas with him. In my opinion , all Mr Tharoor was doing was to voice his ideas and opinion to the rest of us . We don’t want political parties to treat people like cattle and march them in a line. We want a set of people who agree to disagree and who at the end of the day can negotiate and chalk out the smartest policies and decisions.
When we are finally seeing good politicians enter the fray, we don’t want trivialities to drive them away.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
A Victim Of Diversity
India has been the cradle of civilization. Several religions trace their origin to India. We have more than a hundred languages with about 30 of them being recognized as official languages. Great thinkers and philosophers, the several invasions of India and travelers from far off lands have contributed to India’s diverse religious beliefs.
In a land where people of different beliefs live together, there seems to be a fear in the minds of Individuals that their beliefs and customs would not find a place in modern India. There is a fear of isolation , an isolation probably not during their lifetime but during the lifetime of their children and grandchildren. The demography of India is constantly changing. That is because unlike China, India allows the free movement of its people.
The so called original inhabitants of a land , dare I say aborigines , fear a change in the demography of their land. We have seen such behavior in North East India where in there have been clashes between Muslim migrant workers and the native bodo population. We have seen Hindu Muslim clashes in Uttar Pradesh. Even outside India we know of clashes between Catholics and Protestants in Ireland, between Sunni and Shia Muslims in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The list is endless. It is not only religion. We have seen bihari and U.P workers being targeted in Mumbai, the tamil population being targeted during the Cauvery water crisis of the 1990’s etc etc.
So what we achieved with diversity? I would really want the people who speak so greatly of India’s diversity to answer this question. They might speak greatly about the art and literature in the various cultures. Fine valid point. But is that enough? More importantly has any culture taught people that they need to respect the other cultures equally ? Great thinkers who have started religions probably never felt the need to intellectually argue and amend the flaws of an existing religion instead of starting a new faith. I wish they had!
India has been the biggest victim of diversity in religion and culture. We might have guided the world with principles and religions. Every nation chose to keep one religion and prosper. We chose to prosper with many. Unfortunately we have failed in execution.
The problem is compounded by the fact that, we have a media which is focused only on the TRP’s. It is clear to them that an issue of religion would get them more viewership and they milk this concept. The result is that we end up focusing on personalities rather than real issues which the country faces.
In a land where people of different beliefs live together, there seems to be a fear in the minds of Individuals that their beliefs and customs would not find a place in modern India. There is a fear of isolation , an isolation probably not during their lifetime but during the lifetime of their children and grandchildren. The demography of India is constantly changing. That is because unlike China, India allows the free movement of its people.
The so called original inhabitants of a land , dare I say aborigines , fear a change in the demography of their land. We have seen such behavior in North East India where in there have been clashes between Muslim migrant workers and the native bodo population. We have seen Hindu Muslim clashes in Uttar Pradesh. Even outside India we know of clashes between Catholics and Protestants in Ireland, between Sunni and Shia Muslims in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The list is endless. It is not only religion. We have seen bihari and U.P workers being targeted in Mumbai, the tamil population being targeted during the Cauvery water crisis of the 1990’s etc etc.
So what we achieved with diversity? I would really want the people who speak so greatly of India’s diversity to answer this question. They might speak greatly about the art and literature in the various cultures. Fine valid point. But is that enough? More importantly has any culture taught people that they need to respect the other cultures equally ? Great thinkers who have started religions probably never felt the need to intellectually argue and amend the flaws of an existing religion instead of starting a new faith. I wish they had!
India has been the biggest victim of diversity in religion and culture. We might have guided the world with principles and religions. Every nation chose to keep one religion and prosper. We chose to prosper with many. Unfortunately we have failed in execution.
The problem is compounded by the fact that, we have a media which is focused only on the TRP’s. It is clear to them that an issue of religion would get them more viewership and they milk this concept. The result is that we end up focusing on personalities rather than real issues which the country faces.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Movies and Indian Media. What a shame.
It is an important week for the film industry as two of the biggest productions of the year Saawariya and Om Shanthi Om hit the box office on the occasion of Diwali.For the film industry, it is extremely crucial for both or at least one of the movies to be successful. To achieve this, they must first draw the audience to the theatre with great publicity. So how do they achieve this? Simple: The actors of the movie use the Music and Dance shows of all TV channels as a platform for promoting their movie. This is a common phenomenon but of late News channels are being used for the promotion of movies.
The quality of a country's media speaks volumes about the intellectual level which the country has reached. As is write this , day in and day out news channels continue their propaganda for the two big releases and tend to ignore the emergency in Pakistan , the house arrest of Benazir Bhutto, the emergency in Georgia , the victory of the British Doctors for equal work permits in the UK etc. If the news channels argue that they are not interested in such international news, then why didn't anyone even report about the killing of 5 terrorists in J&K during which India lost five of her soldier sons?
Achieving a high TRP seems to have fogged the vision of the news channels. We need an intelligent media. As for glamour and glitz, well they can still be aired and propagated in news channels but probably for an hour or so in a separate section; not as a full time event. In a country where politicians have the least credibility, it would be sad it news channels join the same league. We certainly hope things change
The quality of a country's media speaks volumes about the intellectual level which the country has reached. As is write this , day in and day out news channels continue their propaganda for the two big releases and tend to ignore the emergency in Pakistan , the house arrest of Benazir Bhutto, the emergency in Georgia , the victory of the British Doctors for equal work permits in the UK etc. If the news channels argue that they are not interested in such international news, then why didn't anyone even report about the killing of 5 terrorists in J&K during which India lost five of her soldier sons?
Achieving a high TRP seems to have fogged the vision of the news channels. We need an intelligent media. As for glamour and glitz, well they can still be aired and propagated in news channels but probably for an hour or so in a separate section; not as a full time event. In a country where politicians have the least credibility, it would be sad it news channels join the same league. We certainly hope things change
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