– Vidya Bhushan Rawat
A ‘journalist’ was ‘manhandled’ when reporting from Shaheen Bagh and then he said that he could have been ‘mob lynched’ there. Thankfully, he remember the word otherwise they paid slaves had forgotten the terms and always blamed the victims. The new trend in India started with mob lynching was to accuse the victim and justify the killing and make the accuse killers as the ‘mass leaders’, many of who are now part of Union Cabinet and Uttar Pradesh cabinet.
The fact is instant publicity and legitimacy by media has allowed the criminals and thugs to claim to be leaders. You speak anything and media is gladly and overwhelmingly ready to provide their bite your honorable platform then we have to think seriously whether they can really be called journalists. When your platforms become an ‘adda’ of tirade against Muslims, Dalits and all those who believe in secular liberal values then you speak against constitution and people will respond you when the time come. A true media is the place to raise the voice of the people in democracies and not become the voice of powerful and ‘steno’ of the government to just ‘inform’ public about the press releases and demonise those who disagree.
A few days back, The Wire put online an interview of Naseeruddin Shah and as usual Shah was candid in his views and spoke about his film industry function. Ofcourse, he should have been a big more careful about his remark of terming Anupam Kher, a clown because clowns and jokers are far superior to crooked fellows playing victim card all the time. Why should Naseer be blamed for foul mouthing. If you follow Anupam Kher for the last six years, he is one of the most foul mouthed and over hyped actors of the Bombai cinema and stand nowhere to Naseer and Om Puri.
But what happened after that is more astonishing. A governor whose political work is not known to any one except that he was the husband of a late BJP politician another hyped leader, send a series of tweets telling Naseeruddin Shah that nobody bothered when he married outside his marriage and that he was ungrateful as the country gave so much to him. The ‘loudspeakers’ started debating the issue. To be candid, I did not like Naseeruddin Shah’s language but then this is the new trend when one provocation lead to other and then there is no control as the Sanghis in the media are ready to build a ‘new narrative’ like ungrateful. So the nation must be grateful to ‘mahan’ netas and artists of BJP that they are here to lead while every Muslim achiever must be grateful to the country. This is how the narratives are created.
The saddest part is that those in responsible position are using the most irresponsible language. So ‘azadi’ becoming the sedition and Shaheen Bagh becomes Pakistan and rest as Hindustan. Of course, the cunning foxes in the media have now left India as Bharat and are using Hindustan as Bharat is a bad word. The term being used are deliberate to ‘justify’ Hindustan for Hindus when Pakistan was meant for Muslims. The problem with these rogues is that they dont understand why Bangladesh came into being if religion was the only criteria but then when the reporter is there to not question anything and allow you to go unquestioned such things happened.
It is not the freedom of expression, it is time when we dont allow such abusive words into our discourse though ‘clown’ definitely does not come under that category but it depends on who are you are speaking against. Slowly, the debate between two individuals has been cleverly converted into a Hindu Muslim debate reminding everyone else how ‘great’ and ‘tolerant’ Hindus are and you must be ‘thankful’ to them for being ‘successful’. So, no Muslim should question Indian government, they should not question police brutalities or speak up against the ‘laws’ but a Sawarna who migrate to UK, US or any other part of Europe want to be lead the nation in just three four years, want to enjoy all the liberties and freedom there and but back home want to throw away people who have been living here for centuries.
If Naseeruddin Shah’s criticism of Anupam Kher was simple like any other citizen then there was no issue and I will stand with Anupam Kher but when the whole issue is trivialized into a Hindu Muslim issue which term Naseeruddin Shah as publicity seeker and must atone for his fulmination as India or Hindus now looking synonymous, then I must stand with Naseeruddin Shah as he simply spoke as an Indian. He is powerful enough to defend himself but those who are hiding in silence are actually part of the sinister campaigning which want to silence critical voices.
The issue has reached at the level that all are losing their credibility particularly the media which is using this ‘kabaddi’ for its own TRPs but moreso exposing its Hindutva agenda. The fact is the masters are still unhappy with them as they want no fare game but pure surrender. They want media to vilify all others who speak sanity or criticise the government and its misdeeds. Public is equally watching and they too are victim of noise. So if Arnab Goswami or others like him think they can shout out the opponents, the people also know that their public place can respond to what they speak in their studios thumping their chest and charging everyone else either anti national or paid worker. If these people can be called journalists then India has lost it. I am sorry to say, it vitiate the entire atmosphere. But I will again say that the response to them is not through their language but our language. Saner voices must not get tempt to short term publicity to legitimise these foul mouths. You can never win an ideological war through street hooliganism.
A recent interview of Justice Markenday Katju virtually abusing former Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi is only vulgar. Ranjan Gogoi came from the same system which also selected Katju for the highest court. Now, media and we all enjoy according to our taste and who said what but that is where the arguments disappear and become useless.
It is time for all of us including in the media to mind our languages. Dont give legitimacy to the goons masquerading as politicians. Our media failed in nailing them and political parties are ready to embrace them. When the top leadership of parties actually give them ticket and media just lick their feet, it is unambiguous message to all that we dont care. Since our institutions have failed we have likes of those who are making these statement and yet remained free threatening and abusing others. Why to blame Kapil Mishra or Tejinder Bagga when they know it well that what they speak and noise they make, ‘pay’ politically’, when a terror accused can become MP and people are ready to defeat a former chief minister who is known for delivering, then we must realise that things have been damaged beyond control and it is time for India’s institutions to assert and act otherwise we are in a deeper chaos as The Economist suggest. The down fall of our institutions has actually endangered democracy in India and it is time for them to stand up and act.
