April 25, 2020
India Muzzles Fourth Estate
By Syed Rifaquat Ali
Freedom of expression in India is a thing of the past. The Fourth Estate ---Thomas Carlyle attributed the origin of the term to Edmund Burke, who used it in a parliamentary debate in 1787 on the opening up of press reporting of the House of Commons of Great Britain --- is today in peril.
The Bharatiya Janta Party ( BJP) has muzzled the press freedom, both print and electronic, to a great extent. The cronies of BJP in print and electronic media have contributed greatly to biased reporting and are dubbed as Godi media.
In fact, a slew of journalists in the country are doing PR exercise for Modi government which is detrimental to freedom of expression. Journalists opposing the debased government policies and ideology, are either indirectly sacked or carry out reporting on national issues under fear of losing the job.
Only a handful of journalists are boldly confronting the central government on national issues. The journalists in Jammu & Kashmir are worst hit. The BBC has reported that journalists in Indian-administered Kashmir have expressed alarm at reporters being investigated by police under s stringent anti-terrorism law.
The other day, BBC reported that Gowhar Geelani is the third journalist in recent days to face such an action. He is accused of glorifying terrorism through his social media posts. The Editors Guild of India warned such cases are a great misuse of power aimed at striking terror into journalists.
Power in most democratic countries is divided between the legislature, executive and judiciary, which function independently. Media, the Fourth Estate, too functions with total freedom. But today, the BJP government has turned authoritarian and care less for all the four pillars of democracy.
The judges and top bureaucrats in India are today at the feet of the Modi drawing huge criticism from all shades of top people in various fields. But prime minister Modi is unmoved and carrying out his agenda of Hindu Rashtra without taking into account its repercussion.
After the Partition of India in 1947, the renowned journalist, Durga Das, who died on May 18, 1974, wrote a column 'Delhi Diary' in The Hindustan Times. Durga Das wrote fearlessly against Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India from 1947 to 1964, and his policies.
Pandit Nehru discussed this with Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and both decided to invite Durga Das for lunch every weekend to brief him on national and international issues so that he does not distort the realities. Such was the democratic attitude of the Nehru government.
Pandit Nehru was a highly educated political thinker which is evident from his books Discovery of India and Glimpses of World History.
Pandit Nehru had great respect for opposition leaders in the Upper and Lower Houses of Parliament.
He even sent the late Ataj Behari Vajpayee, the Opposition leader in the Lower House, to various international fora to represent India. Such was the democratic tradition of India.
Incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi is altogether cast in a different mould. He comes from the RSS background: an organization which is dead against the Muslims and Muslim culture. Modi understands this very well.
He cannot take one step forward without RSS stamp, and is caught in a piquant situation. And he cannot wriggle out of this malarkey till he is the prime minister of India and RSS at the helm in the backdrop.
In short, RSS-backed Modi has no respect for the opposition leaders and their views which is detrimental to the national cause and unity of ‘secular’ India.
Syed Rifaquat Ali is Sydney-based journalist
The Journal of America Team:
Editor in chief:
Abdus Sattar Ghazali
Senior Editor:
Prof. Arthur Scott
Special Correspondent
Maryam Turab
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