Don’t
murder Democracy
We should stop the erosion of the legitimate
role of a free press. Journalist Gauri Lankesh who was assassinated remains
alive in public memory. The Lankesh
assassination has brought together a range of civil society groups, including
journalists who are disturbed by the violence against Journalists.
This is not just a threat to the lives of
journalists, but also a threat to the very meaning of a free media in a
democracy. During the Emergency Indira Gandhi used existing laws to invoke the Emergency and impose press censorship.
Today, we have an “undeclared”
emergency.
In April this year, Maharashtra passed the
Maharashtra Media Persons and Media Institutions (Prevention of Violence and
Damage or Loss to Property) Act, 2017. The demand for such a law raises several
critical questions in the context of a free media. Should a media, often in
conflict with the state, ask for this kind of special treatment?
Surely, the best protection for journalists,
and activists, is a society that recognises their legitimate role of speaking
truth to power.
In addition to a government that denies media
the right to ask it legitimate questions, media freedom has been eroded in
other ways, through takeovers of inconvenient media houses by businesspersons
close to the government and the reining in, or even dismissal, of editors
considered too critical of the government.
Though many journalists lost their lives
exposing the state, the protests arising from brutal killing of Gauri Lankesh
indicate the pent-up anger of people of all walks of life against
usual growth of corruption in state
controlled organisations. The killing has brought together rationalists, human
rights activists as well as leftist elements. It's important though that
dissenting voices continue to be heard.
No comments:
Post a Comment