A frightening level of indifference
iour, the entire community will unite to challenge the person. Why don’t the self-styled guardians of morality take lessons from this?
The social media explosion has begun to dismantle all established norms. Where does the media stand a chance against it — religion, power structures, styles of governance, nations and clans — have all fallen victim to this epidemic. Unfortunately, these social media soldiers are bent upon destroying the edifices of propriety built by their forefathers. The responsibilities of every individ- ual increase in such a scenario. The media and its supporters are no exception to this.
After the departure of the British Raj, in independent India, there have been several proclamations of emergencies whether official or unofficial. For journalists — neither bestowed with any special rights by the constitution nor with any special resources by the society — the times are particularly challenging. Governments, politicians and devotees of power have always been inimical to them. Who wants to look at one’s own reflection in the mirror? That’s why there are attempts to shatter the mirror from time to time.
With respect I would like to state that the English media is relatively luckier than its vernacular counterparts because English is still the language of the cities. The responsibility of telling the truth to make a living is carried out by vernacular journalists on their own. They have to work in terrain and circumstances that are often labelled as ‘jungle raj’ by their urban brethren. The venomous backlash for this is also borne by the language press.
The question is: What does society give in return to journalists who make numerous sacrifices trying to uphold societal values? Our fellow travellers in society tolerate the excesses of tyrants but pretend to be oblivious to the excesses on journalists and unblinkingly move on. I take strong objection to their indifference.