“बिना सूचना के कोई लोकतंत्र नहीं हो सकती है”
Ravish Kumar spoke out this interesting fact while he was still in a haste to travel to Delhi Police Headquarters to protest for acts of violence against Journalists.
The fact checks are clear when we say “no democracy can function efficiently without information” and the information is the base when it comes to the functioning of constitutional pillars of democracy. The media isn’t the fourth but the first pillar of democracy. The media is the saviour of the judiciary when the judges need to express their distress. The media is the one who builds and demolishes the legislative and the media is the one who serves as the information source for the executive.
Media might not be a constitutional entity while counting the bases of Indian democracy, but it is the most prominent pillar build up with the public prominence and trust. These points were well put up by the agitated Ravish Kumar in agony to Delhi Police’s deeds.
But the facts and incidents prove that the Indian democracy and its people don’t respect the most prominent pillar of democracy and powers of influentials are dealing with the inducement of terror in media. The act is clear-to create an atmosphere of fear for the ones against the government or to kill the critic in most cases.
Killing someone in the exercise of the profession is murdering the article 19 of our constitution which clearly mentions the preserving of one’s right to freedom to practice any profession or to carry on any occupation, trade or business.
UNESCO in its 29th session adopted resolution 29 which expresses crime against journalist as crime against society.
Safety of journalist in the largest democracy is still an ambiguous terminology. In fact, the largest democracy has dwelled itself to be the most hazardous place for the journalists to live in. We no more count the services of a good journalist as we are busy making death certificates for them. The previous year had HARI PRAKASH, SHYAM SHARMA, BRIJESH KUMAR SINGH, KAMLESH JAIN, SURENDER SINGH RANA, GAURI LANKESH, SHANTANU BHOWMIK, RAJESH MISHRA, SUDIP DUTTA and many more. This year we are already on the list of SANDEEP SHARMA being crushed by a truck in Bhind. Not only the name we are already ready with the excuse of Sandeep Sharma being a road rage victim.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists report, not a single journalist’s murder in India had been solved over past decade.
Murders often go unattended. Local journalists are generally the most vulnerable to this murder mystery India needs to decode. They are often attacked for being passionate about their job even in the regions where it isn’t even sufficient to earn wholesome bread. They are journalists who are far away from the reality of nanochips in 2000 rs note or the ones who do not dive in Dwarka in search of Lord Krishna or not the ones who are ready to jump in bath-tub to prove how Sridevi died. They suffer for lashing out at corrupts with the reward of death from society.
The job of a journalist is not easy and it involves a heck lot of patience to deal with sources and their information, interviews, multi-tasking from being investigators to taking up rivalries with influential, connecting missing dots and a lot more. It takes a lot of risks and hard work. But these are just underlying concerns for the most essential element of our democracy as we are busy evolving means to move towards dictatorship or maybe, anarchy.
Its high time we introspect.
