Avoidable Distraction
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Established 1946 1 Pages 16 Price : Rupees Five Vol. 71 No. 23 Avoidable distraction July 3, 2016 Sandeep Pandey Quality of journalism Kuldip Nayar On 21 June, International Yoga for the achievement of Sustainable Day was celebrated with much Development Goals' this time. SDGs Negotiating with fanfare utilizing the popularity of were adopted by UN General undeclared Emergency Yoga which already existed Assembly on 19 July 2014 as a Pushkar Raj worldwide before the present BJP desirable set of 17 goals which the government came to power. The countries around the world would Ecological protection Prime Minister may have just like to achieve by 2030. These goals and justice consolidated the self-motivated mainly include ending of poverty Bharat Dogra separate efforts and has been able to and hunger, achievement of food market it as of uniquely Indian security, promotion of sustainable origin. The United Nations has also agriculture, ensuring healthy lives, M.M. Thomas and Emergency acknowledged it by agreeing to ensuring inclusive and equitable Varughese George dedicate June 21 for this cause since quality education, achievement of the last year. It definitely holds a gender equality, ensuring The idea of India - II great symbolic value. Its main availability of water and sanitation Irfan Habib attraction is its offer of mental and for all, promoting inclusive and physical well being, which are sustainable economic development, increasingly becoming scarce in the ensuring work for all, reducing BJP/RSS icon modern society globally. Otherwise inequality, ensuring sustainable was a collaborator it is like any other stream of production and consumption, Shamsul Islam spiritualism which offer solace at an combating climate change, individual level. But what is the conserving oceans and forests and achievement beyond that? How is providing access to justice for all. It Editor : celebrating Yoga internationally is not clear how Yoga is going to G. G. Parikh going to solve any of our achieve this ambitious set of agenda. Managing Editor : Guddi international or national problems? From among the above set of Does it even have a collective value? objectives it has a direct role in D-15, Ganesh Prasad, Most people take it up for purely 'ensuring healthy lives' only and that Naushir Bharucha Marg, individual health reasons. too only for a very restricted section Mumbai - 400 007. of population as we'll shortly see. India's Permanent Mission to the The danger is Yoga can give us a Email : [email protected] UN organised an event titled, 'Yoga sense of complacency. Most of the 2 JANATA, July 3, 2016 abovementioned problems require Between The Lines serious policy making exercise based on concrete research followed by strong political will for Quality of journalism implementation of right kind of policies and programmes. In spite of Kuldip Nayar best of our efforts we're going to fall ruefully short of the declared goals When l was studying in a understand the judges having by the time 2030 arrives. Creating journalism school abroad, l was told commitment to the Constitution, but confusion that Yoga has any role in by my professor that a news story not to a person however high he or solving these problems will only be should be like a skirt: long enough she might be. an avoidable distraction. This is a to cover the subject and short enough typically Narendra Modi to be attractive. Over the years, the What Indira Gandhi was programme - high on publicity, low story has assumed the shape of demanding from the judges was a in content. pontification and inevitably padded. commitment to follow her way of thinking. That is the reason she 90 percent of Indians and When senior journalists are appointed Justice Ray, a junior judge significant population around the kicking the bucket, the question that in the Supreme Court, as the Chief world which is engaged in hard stares at us is what kind of Justice, ignoring the seniority of labour to earn its living doesn't need journalism will be there in future. Of three others. She did not show even Yoga nor will you see them in any course this is not confined to India. the courtesy of informing them of the high profile collective All countries, whether in the West beforehand. They heard the news on organisation of Yoga sessions or any or the East – barring the totalitarian All India Radio. of the paid or unpaid Yoga classes. regimes – are asking the same It is only the educated class, and only question: which is the Lashman This kind of political 10 percent of Indian students make rekha that journalists should not manipulation runs contrary to the it to college level education beyond cross? Or should there be any transparency that a democratic their schooling, which constitutes Lakshman rekha at all? system cherishes. Indeed the the middle class still dominated by structure of democracy stands on the upper caste, which willingly or Individuals are increasingly pillars of both the division and unwillingly becomes part of the posing the question why journalists limitation of power. For example, ruling elite, who have been cut off are prying into their private affairs. the army does not interfere in the from physical labour because of the Journalists in turn defend themselves affairs of government because it is a nature of education that s(he) has on the grounds that if they were not force under the civil administration. received, who need Yoga to keep to probe, the skeletons would not Some countries like Pakistan have themselves fit. Most of the people come out of the closet. The gone under because the military, belonging to this category have government has a standard reply: although it has recently gone back sedentary jobs or jobs involving some things cannot be disclosed in to the barracks, is still very much little physical work. Or their nature the public interest. In this way even there. The same is true of of job is too mundane. Therefore big scandals are covered up. Bangladesh, although in that country they need to take time out to engage some journalists do dare to criticize in physical activity or an activity I recall that when l wrote against the armed forces. which can be mentally refreshing. the supersession of three Supreme Court judges, Hegde, Grover and Democracy expects all its wings Some of them play some sports or Shalat, l was criticized by the then to function independently but still in do jogging in the morning or prime minister, Indira Gandhi, who a way that sovereignty stays with the evening. Some prefer cycling or argued that journalism did not mean people. It is another matter that swimming. With increasing prices of preaching about the "commitment" rulers themselves become fossil fuels now more bicycles can of judges. She did not elaborate what authoritarian and behave like the (Continued on Page 4) that "commitment" was. I can worst of the Mughal emperors. JANATA, July 3, 2016 3 Those who ensure that democracy Negotiating with functions in the interests of the people are the judges who even have undeclared Emergency power to go into the pronouncements of the legislature. Pushkar Raj The debate about whether the judiciary is supreme or the executive is an ongoing discussion. Last month, Hyderabad police a condescending view of them. If there is criticism of what judges registered a case against Prof. According to a US based democracy do, or even the manner in which the Kancha Ilaiah for writing an article advocacy group, Freedom House’s legislature functions, that comes in a Telugu daily, entitled ‘Is God 2015 report, after the 2014 elections, from journalists. It is the duty of not a democrat’? The article at least 18 people were arrested and journalists to do so. If they are afraid questioned inequality in society and questioned for anti-Modi posts on of carrying out what is expected discussed concept of god. For doing online forums such as Twitter and from them, it is unfortunate for the so the professor was reproached for Facebook. system. I have experienced how insulting sentiments of a community during the Emergency, which and charged for promoting enmity Arundhati Roy has rightly said completed forty-one years this week between different religious groups that one is unable to say things that on June, 26, the entire Press caved under section 153 (A) and 295 (A) Dr. Ambedkar could say in 1936 as in. Initially, there were protests and of Indian Penal Code. one risks being put into jail (Janta a large number of journalists – ka reporter, 31 May 2016). It is including editors – assembled at the This is an example of hundreds apparent that there is an atmosphere Press Club in Delhi to pass a of incidents that take place in of fear, where journalists, writers, resolution that Press censorship, an different parts of the country artists, intellectuals feel defenseless integral part of the Emergency, was revealing absurdity to which a law and dispensable leading to engaging not acceptable to them. Yet, as days in India could be interpreted and in what Human Rights Watch terms went by, fear gripped them and they applied to target an individual or ‘self-censorship’ (Human Rights became part of the system, even civil society organization (CSO) Watch Report release press accepting the orders of Mrs holding a dissimilar view on an statement, 24May, 2016). Gandhis’s son, Sanjay Gandhi, an issue or advocating a different extra-constitutional authority. narrative of history and society. At the same time, the government is not secretive about its resolve to I recall that as a member of the Last week, Prof. Mahesh suffocate and persecute the Press Council of India, I went to its Chandra Guru of Mysore University CSOs that oppose its ideology, then chairman, Justice Iyer, to urge was charged for insulting Prime policies or actions.