'Scribes, be adversaries to those at the helm'

Rachana Ramesh

Bengaluru: Gauri Memorial Lecture was held on Sunday, on the occasion of the slain activist Gauri Lankesh's birthday. The lecture was delivered by Sashi Kumar, titled 'Silenced voices: The Threats to Journalism in New India'.

Sashi Kumar is a senior journalist and founder of Asianet, India's first regional television channel and currently chairperson of the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai. The talk was also presided over by Teesta Setalvad, who has been at the forefront of seeking justice for Gujarat 2002 riot victims. She is also the president of Gauri Memorial Trust.

"The category of truth itself is being interrogated. Our sense of truth is being upended by a deliberate and meticulous process which we are seeing playing out around us," said Sashi. He said that journalists must be adversaries of those in power to fulfil the duties of the fourth pillar of the nation. He noted that the fall of India's rank in the various press indexes has been dismissed as a lie.

Sashi explained that silencing takes place in two situations – one is when a media outlet chooses to stay silent on its own accord due to fear of the system. While this might not be as alarming, the second must cause concern – when a media outlet voluntarily shows enthusiastic support for the system. "They create a political flux. It is only in this climate, the climate of polarisation, can the mindless agenda of majoritarianism flourish," he said.

The role of journalism is to provide a vast spectrum of information in order to create informed citizens, he said. It acts as an invigilator to the other three pillars – the executive, legislature and judiciary. He also noted that the executive power has significantly grown and ordinances passed through them have been dominating, while dismissing the judgments of the other two wings.

He spoke of Articles 14, 19 and 21 which promise various rights. He noted that clause 2 of article 19, which allows certain restrictions on freedom of speech and expression, is being used as a leash and the clause has been used for "sheer distortion".

He added that the constitution has become an inconvenience to the "proto fascist regime" whose objective is to turn the minorities into second-class citizens. He concluded his speech by saying that there is a pressing need to retrieve true journalism and this can be done by recognition and intervention by the common public.

Teesta Setalvad noted the "weaponisation of the criminal justice system" and called for the repeal of UAPA which has led to the incarceration of many intellectuals in the nation.