Freedom of Speech or License to Kill ???

 

A war of words between speakers few months ago, followed by an ugly TRP war, how long we can trust many of Media Houses for pure news and unadulterated views ???

Respected Mr. Arnab Goswami has this amazing knack for hitting the headlines, not just by breaking the news but by becoming a part of the negative headlines as well. It became evident recently when the Broadcasting regulatory authority of the UK stamped a huge fine on his on-air program “Nation wants to Know ( Poochta hai Bharat)”.  

For more details

https://thewire.in/media/uk-govt-body-slaps-20000-fine-on-republic-bharat-for-hate-speech-against-pakistan

“Pakistani scientists are terrorists, all the scientists in Pakistan are thieves, every Pakistani is a beggar”, were few sentences that were “quoted as offensive, provocative and derogatory by the regulatory authority. The worst opinion that can bring humanity to shame was mentioned by a speaker on the same show when he said, “every kid in Pakistan is a terrorist in making (Staff, 2020).”  

News Channels of India are already passing through the worst phase where an undeclared war has already enveloped the trustworthiness of these mediums. We should not forget that almost a month ago Indian broadcasting authorities have banned all the channels to get access to the TRP reports. The battle for TRP has already reached its ugliest crescendo and most of the channels are all set to leave no stone unturned in this battle of brick batting.

According to Indian broadcasting authorities, they are planning to launch a purification trial for the Indian media which is forgetting the basics of the reporting and acting as an agent to distribute vested interests of power groups with the help of “special interest messages.”

The time has come when we need to resettle the norms for the media, otherwise it will be too late for the biggest democracy of the world to preach and practice right values and support the spirit of our constitution which gives us a freedom to speech. 

It is not official but, one can smell a rat in the closet. It is true up to a great extent, media personals and editors are employing the technique of hedges to the interest of their “behind the scene masters.” This indeed is a tough time for a democracy that considers Media as the fourth pillar.  

Recently, during a live debate unofficially anchored by Mr. Sambit Patra, soft-spoken late Mr. Rajeev Tyagi passed away. Ironically, then he was having a healthy discussion in the favor of democracy for the greater interest of citizens of this country (Buearue, 2020).

This “live heart attack” has already become a viral post on the internet, please watch it again if possible and rethink the aggression and selection of words made by Mr. Arnab Goswami. After spending more than one decade in Media, television news channels, and News Papers, I find his language offensive on many occasions.

Right now, when Mr. Arnab Goswami has already become a part of a charge sheet filed under the sections of abetment of suicide, it is my serious concern that whether an accused of this caliber should continue on public platforms or he should take an exile from his aggressive style of presenting insignificant and baseless adjectives as he did in the case of an above-said episode of “Poochta Hai Bharat” where British authorities slapped a fine on him.   The case of Mr. Arnab Goswami and certain other anchors have proved a time tested idiom which says, the “words can kill.”

 And if words can kill then we should make sure that “white collar murderer” should be refrained from imposing this intellectual terrorism, where wizardry of provocative words is acting as a weapon of mass destruction.

Bibliography

Buearue, P. (2020). https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/india/wife-of-deceased-congress-leader-rajiv-tyagi-squarely-blames-bjp-spokesperson-sambit-patra-for-his-demise. National Herald , https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/india/wife-of-deceased-congress-leader-rajiv-tyagi-squarely-blames-bjp-spokesperson-sambit-patra-for-his-demise.

Staff, W. (2020). The Wire . UK Media Watchdog Fines Arnab’s Republic Bharat £20,000 for 'Hate Speech Against Pakistanis', https://thewire.in/media/uk-govt-body-slaps-20000-fine-on-republic-bharat-for-hate-speech-against-pakistan.