Boycotting TV anchors: What else INDIA alliance could do?

Many people argue that corporate media have always been within the line of the ruling establishment. This is only partially true. We have seen how the media exposed the 2G scam, coal-gate, and other scams fearlessly and portrayed Manmohan Singh as a failed prime minister. The leaders of the Congress were grilled in TV programs. Can we compare two media scenarios-one during Manmohan Singh and the other during Narendra Modi?

The decision of the INDIA alliance to boycott a section of TV hosts has generated a huge sensation in Indian media and the political arena of the country. These TV anchors have been unhesitatingly identifying with the ruling BJP and unabashedly spreading hate. Their negativism has not been limited to the content of programs but extended to format as well. They use foul language, openly target minorities, and deride opposition parties. Defenders of the boycott rightly accuse them of being discriminatory. They refer to on-screen insults and mistreatment they have been facing during the last nine years. They say fraud is being done in the name of debate.

However, many journalists and intellectuals have decried the move and said that this is against the democratic spirit. They say that undemocratic behavior should not be retaliated in the same manner. They suggest that INDIA alliance partners should continue to participate in TV debates hosted by these anchors and present their views with all their might so that they should be able to make their views known to the common people. They say that by boycotting they are losing an important platform for spreading their ideas. Are these points relevant to the situation the opposition parties have been facing since 2014? Could the wrongdoings of Indian media be stopped by any small intervention?

A closer look will reveal that the opposition parties had exhausted all such options. People involved in dealing with the media reveal that owners of this TV channel were approached and requested to treat the opposition parties fairly. They were requested to give some space to the programs and views of opposition parties. However, these initiatives did not yield any results. This is common knowledge that owners of TV channels and newspapers are hardly ready to desist from spreading the ideas of division and hostility between communities.

If we look at the whole scenario, it is utterly disappointing. The question is not only of denying space to the programs and views of opposition parties but also of contributing to the decline of democracy. Many are arguing that media should be free to hold the view it thinks to be right and that nothing is wrong in siding with the ruling party and the government. These arguments must keep in mind that siding with some ideology is one thing and becoming a propagandist is something else. If one chooses the latter, he must not claim to be a journalist. Most of the political organizations have their mouthpiece and many of them are widely circulated. Can this part of media be considered part of mainstream media? Could editors of these party organs claim to be independent journalists? We know political leaders including Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, EMS Namboodaripad, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia, and others have been published in journals.

Could they be compared to practicing journalists? Many practicing journalists abandon their vocation and become full-time politicians or public relations managers. We never find them to claim the position of journalist. There is a thin line and this is important that it should not be crossed. Just have a look at TV programs. At times, the BJP spokesperson becomes speechless to hear the anchors’ arguments in favor of their party. They behave like party workers. The atmosphere is full of deceit and fraud. Some guests are affiliated with the ruling party and the RSS but are called as political experts. Initially, they were invited as supporters, and later they turned into political experts. This was done to mislead the people so that their views would look independent and non-partisan.

Is the issue limited to the bashing of the opposition parties? Is the Indian media not involved in an attack on the idea of India and democracy? Are minorities and weaker sections of the Indian population not being targeted? Earlier, the media was propagating hyper-nationalism by attacking Pakistan and terrorists. Now it has turned its focus and openly targeting minority communities in the country. We see how a local controversy over a festival or religious march is broadcast and discussed to spread hatred. Minorities are openly portrayed as anti-national. We have seen how during the Covid pandemic, Tablig Jamat was portrayed as a super-spreader. Members of the organization were imprisoned. The allegations were found to be baseless and the court acquitted them.

The media’s abandoning its democratic ideals is affecting its coverage of rights issues. We have seen it in the coverage of the G-20 summit in the national capital. Some slums were demolished and others were put behind curtains. Roads were blocked for the common people. The capital city was in complete lockdown. However, the newspapers and TV channels completely blacked out the news of the sufferings of the people. It is an alternative media that accommodates their voice.

Many people argue that corporate media have always been within the line of the ruling establishment. This is only partially true. We have seen how the media exposed the 2G scam, coal-gate, and other scams fearlessly and portrayed Manmohan Singh as a failed prime minister. The leaders of the Congress were grilled in TV programs. Can we compare two media scenarios-one during Manmohan Singh and the other during Narendra Modi?

People consider the action of INDIA of boycotting 14 TV anchors as an undemocratic move. What else could they do?

“If a neighbor unleashes ferocious dogs on me every day and I finally choose to stop going that side, is that anti-democratic?” Says senior journalist Sanjay Jha.

The analogy seems to be correct! How can the INDIA alliance abdicate from its responsibility of saving democracy?

(The author is a senior journalist. He has experience of working with leading newspapers and electronic media including Deccan Herald, Sunday Guardian, Navbharat Times and Dainik Bhaskar. He writes on politics, society, environment and economy)