Ideological clashes only dishonour what Gauri Lankesh stood for
Lankesh wrote and said and I am sure she didn’t always like me or my work. But that’s the whole point of freedom isn’t it? That we speak for the rights of the individual? That every citizen is entitled to her views, within the width provided by the Constitution?
The real danger to Indian journalism today is the pressure to be popular. I have seen younger colleagues, not as thickskinned as some of us are able to be, modulate their opinions to what they think the majority wants to hear. They worry about being called ‘presstitutes’ or ‘anti-nationals’, they want the comfort of being accepted. It may be a natural human instinct, but a reporter’s job is to stand alone when needed and to be disliked when necessary. It is also our job to speak — not just for those we agree with, but especially for those we disagree with.
Gauri’s death warns each one of us to not to take online threats of violence and abuse lightly. I received a tweet soon after her murder telling me it should have been me instead of her, a blasé death wish that got many ‘likes’. But I will not allow the toxicity of Twitter and the poison of slander to become an instrument of censorship. That, if anything, is what we owe Gauri and the other journalists, who died in the line of duty. population via regular markets and alternate channels like civil society organisations.
The government of India is about to launch a nutrition mission that focuses its efforts on the poorest and most vulnerable populations in high-burden districts. Additionally the government has developed the National Strategic Plan (NSP) for TB Elimination to accomplish its vision to eliminate TB by 2025. It includes measures to provide nutritional support to TB patients through direct benefit transfers, nutritional assessment and counselling. This is indeed a step in the right direction. Successful implementation of this could benefit nearly nine million TB patients.
One of the most gratifying features of the NSP is adequate financing for implementation. The plan proposes a budget of ₹12,327 crore for the first three years which is a fourfold increase from the previous plan’s budget. Approximately 22% of these funds have been earmarked to implement measures to link TB patients to social welfare schemes including nutritional support.
We know from past experience that the best policies and intentions have not found faithful implementation on the ground. Nutritional intervention is a critical weapon in the fight against TB; its importance in the overall treatment of patients battling the disease cannot be overemphasised. While the NSP is well structured to address the barriers to TB diagnosis and treatment and to improve nutrition security of patients, its success would ultimately depend on its execution. If implemented properly, the National Strategic Plan may well sound the death-knell for TB in the country.