The Fourth Pillar of ‘Democracy’.

 They are behind scoops, scandals, breaking news(?) and glamour. They don’t need the facts. But these are known facts. If you have some distant relative or a friend in the field of journalism irrespective of whether she/he is corrupt or non corrupt [ luckily i have a non corrupt friend] you can analyse the depth (atleast partially) of corruption in the field of journalism which is highly regarded as the fourth pillar of democracy. As can be expected in a rottening democracy the fourth pillar is crumbling.

Recently there were 2 imortant issues in regard to whistle blowing and journalism, one in the international concept and other in our own nation. Wikileaks which has acclaimed international whistle blower title has ‘leaked ‘ the cables of USA embassy which is embarrassing various nations including US. Inspite of the constant threats from the governments The Gaurdian, The New York Times, El Pais, Der Spiegel, Le Mondel have shown enough courage to publish the articles. The news also made the headlines in almost all national media in India.

On the other hand Broker / Lobbyist Radia’s tape got leaked in India. The tapes clearly showed to whom this India belongs and who is ‘ ruling ‘ the country. We just have the right to vote. But the country’s future is decided by those who have a vision of their own welfare. The tapes exposed the nexus between the corporate – political and Journalism world. Many from the latter field also got naked. But what was the response of our media? Just because there were journalists involvement in the infamous 2G scam either directly or indirectly most of the main stream media kept their mouth shut. It was 2 magazines which dared to publish the tapes, one is outlook and the other a new magazine Open. Following the enormous pressure from the bloggers, twitters other news agencies were forced to carry the article at least in the inner sheets of the paper. The response from the Television media was worse in its history. The technology which is used by the ‘ ruling class’ to create an Utopian world of ” everything is fine” is now haunting the `rulers` and forcing them to get naked.

Will everything get changed by these? The ‘rulers’ always thinks of new ways to suppress the whistle blowers and fact finders. Interpol has issued warrant for Wikileaks Julian Assange [charges of rape; he claims that he had sexual intercourse but after their consent]. Ratan Tata , self proclaimed decent and pro people capitalist has moved the court against Open and Outlook magazines. Ratan Tata should remember that his private chat with Radia may be a matter of entertainment for some people for few days but with all his influences and lobbyists if he succeeds in gagging the democratic voices for justice the people will inevitably have to opt for other modes of struggle.

CONDEMN THE CONSPIRACY OF THE RULING CLASSES AND THE MEDIA HYSTERIA TO IMPLICATE MAOISTS IN THE JNANESWARI EXPRESS TRAGEDY

COMMUNIST PARTY OF INDIA (MAOIST)

CENTRAL COMMITTEE

Press Release: June 1^st, 2010

CONDEMN THE CONSPIRACY OF THE RULING CLASSES

AND THE MEDIA HYSTERIA TO IMPLICATE MAOISTS IN

THE JNANESWARI EXPRESS TRAGEDY!!

The removal of panroles on the railway track near Jhargram in West Bengal leading to the accident of Kurla-bound Jnaneswari Express and consequent deaths of 150 innocent civilians and injuries to over 200 passengers is highly condemnable. The CC, CPI(Maoist), expresses its deep sorrow at the tragic incident and shares the suffering and pain of the families of the deceased. Strangely, the tragic incident which took place on the intervening night of May 28/29 is being used by West Bengal government, the police and some ruling class parties like the Hindu fascist BJP and the social fascist CPI(M) to tarnish the image of our Party—CPI(Maoist)— and gain legitimacy to the counter-revolutiona ry war unleashed by the Indian State against the poorest sections of the Indian society led by the Maoists.

Baseless accusations against the Maoist revolutionaries are part of the dirty disinformation campaign let loose by the reactionary rulers through their police-intelligence agencies and their pet media. For two days after the incident the police did not even confirm whether a blast had occurred at the site let alone finding any clue about the involvement of the Maoists or the PCAPA. However, they came up with the theory of Maoist involvement with the argument that the area is a hotbed of the Maoists, and Maoists had been targeting trains for some time. The entire media has been playing to the tune of the conspirators by running banner headlines that “Maoist terrorists” had taken the lives of innocent people, Maoists are blood-thirsty hounds and such trash which only insane people can say. Would anyone in his senses ever imagine that the CPI(Maoist), which had been fighting for land, livelihood and liberation of the people for over four decades, which had sacrificed thousands of its leaders and cadres for the cause of the oppressed, which has no other interests than the interests of the people, can harm the lives of those very people?

It is the reactionary rulers who would stop at nothing to acquire power and retain it. They would set fire to their own houses to discredit others and gain the sympathy of the people. It is universally known how Hindu fascists like Narendra Modi had engaged VHP, RSS and Bajrang Dal hoodlums to unleash attacks on Muslims; how a Sri Ram Sene is hired to create riots in Karnataka; how a Raman Singh kills adivasis and accuses the Maoists of having committed the crimes. A fascist Hitler had set fire to the Reichstag, to put the blame on the Communists and begin a witch-hunt. Likewise, these reactionary rulers themselves had organized the sabotage of railways with the aim of discrediting the Maoists. With an eye on the elections and unnerved by their fast-eroding social base, the social fascists think they can gain sympathy through such dirty tricks. The reactionary ruling class parties have degenerated to such a low level that they will go to any extent to be in power.

Strange is the manner in which most of the media had reported on the tragic incident. While they ran headlines attributing the cause of the sabotage to the Maoists, they report in their columns that the enquiry is on and that Maoist involvement is suspected. How can the media deliver its judgement even before any evidence is found or enquiry conducted? What morality do these reporters, some of them quite renowned at that, possess when they pass judgements based on their own ideological biases? Worse, some media sources have not even published or aired the statement issued by our Party representative in West Bengal denying our involvement. The media is becoming increasingly anarchic, irresponsible and unaccountable. While propagating falsehoods without investigation, the media does not even have the courtesy to admit its gross mistakes and irresponsible accusations when the truth comes out in the open. It had done the same kind of false propaganda against the Muslim community after the blasts in Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad, Ajmer Dargah blast, Goa blast and so on and remained unapologetic about its false and biased reporting even after it was clearly proved that these blasts were the handiwork of Hindu fascist gangs.

The CC, CPI(Maoist), condemns this kangaroo trial by the media and its irresponsible accusations against our Party’s involvement in the train tragedy. We consider this as a deep conspiracy by the rulers to defame the Maoist revolutionaries and gain legitimacy to their suppression campaign. We warn the reactionaries who have been vomiting venom against Maoists to stop their vicious campaign and hurling false allegations. We call upon the democratic and progressive forces, civil rights groups and people at large to see through the intrigues and diabolic designs of the reactionary rulers in spreading such lies and falsehoods against the Maoist revolutionaries. We demand an impartial enquiry into the incident to bring out the truth. Our Party will never hide the truth from the people. When we commit a mistake we frankly admit it, apolgise to the people from the depths of our hearts, and assure them that we would not repeat such a mistake. This has been the hall-mark of our Party in all its history. In this particular incident of the Jnaneswari express the Party leadership so far is not aware of any involvement of its cadre but if it is found that anyone close to our Party had indeed carried out the sabotage of the railways, then we will take stringent action against them and openly admit the lapse on our part. We will investigate into the incident and come out with the facts in the shortest time. We assure the people of our country that there will not be any attacks on trains in future and we will instruct our Party cadre to abstain from such acts as they can cause loss of ordinary lives.

Azad,

Spokesperson,

Central Committee,

CPI(Maoist)

Indian media must wake up to violence committed by the state

The Asian Human Rights Commission says in a statement:

The existence of independent and strong media is a prerequisite for the working of a free and just society that governs itself by the rule of law. The role of media in establishing such a society is to act as the eyes and ears of the people, forming the collective conscience of the nation. After all what else does a democracy mean than letting its citizens make decisions that affect their lives? Independent media help the citizens in making informed choices by bringing news and perspectives to them. In short, free and impartial media is an important component to a democratic framework like its justice institutions.

The relative success of the democratic experiment in India in comparison to its neighbors owes considerable debt to its media. The robust resistance of the media to the declaration of emergency, one of the darkest hours in Indian democracy, is an example. It was the media that had the courage, augmented with exemplary resistance put up by all political and social forces, that openly opposed the dictatorial declaration of the emergency by the then prime minister, Mrs. Indira Gandhi.

The Indian media did not spare even Jawaharlal Nehru, the first and perhaps the most loved prime minister of the country, when few of his cabinet colleagues were accused of corruption. It was the media that had courage to expose the gruesome events during the Gujarat state-led pogrom of innocent Muslims in that State. Bringing out the fascist nature of the rightwing Hindutva groups leading the carnage was perhaps the singular achievement of the media, leading to the erosion of support for the politics of hatred in India.

Viewed in this context, the recent developments in the Indian media are worrying to say the least. This is in spite of the contributions the media have made in exposing corruption, for instance, the shady arms deal during the National Democratic Alliance regime by the Tehelka, the petrol pump allotment scam during the same period by the Indian Express and the telecom allocation scam by the current United Progressive Alliance regime.

Similarly unambiguous is the media’s role in fighting against communalism, by continuously reacting against the witch hunt of the minorities by some political groups. Equally substantial is the role the media played in publishing the criminal and financial backgrounds of many candidates, who contested and eventually lost, in the recently held parliament elections. While the media has definitely held its ground and stood true to its prestigious past, on many current issues it has been regularly faltering.

Unfortunately, the media do not appear to be caring for its own record when it comes to the reporting of acts of terror committed by the state, while it comes down heavily on those committed by non-state actors. The media, both electronic and print versions, have been instrumental in enlightening the citizenry about the use of dastardly and mindless violence committed by non-state actors upon innocent civilian populations.

The argument put forward by the media to condemn the violence is plain and simple, that there are no issues in a democracy which cannot be sorted out by deliberations and peaceful means of protest, and that dissent can always be dealt with politically and democratically and violence, not sanctioned by the law, is intolerable in a democratic set up.

The media however appear to be swallowing its logic by failing to give equal seriousness against state-sponsored violence. Extrajudicial executions, torturing of suspects, murder of prisoners and under trials, and disappearances are quite rampant in India. These characters of a failing state require equal treatment or probably more attention than that is given to violence committed by non-state actors. Yet, the media do not give enough time and space to discuss these issues.

India has witnessed more than 1184 deaths in police custody according to the data published by the National Human Rights Commission. The data is concerning cases reported to the Commission between April 2001 and March 2009. Of these, 601 custodial deaths have taken place in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal, all peaceful states with no insurgency or other armed militia operating within. Yet, this news appeared in an almost invisible corner in the print media as a single column news in the inside pages. The electronic media ignored the news all together.

Similar is the case of fake encounters. Instead of condemning it and demanding prosecutions the media have actually been instrumental in the glorifying the killers in uniform. ‘Encounter specialist and super cop’ are media inventions in their attempt in showering accolades upon murderer police officers for ’successful’ encounters. Some of these media heroes are now in jail or killed. For instance, the former Assistant Commissioner of Delhi Police, Mr. Rajbir Singh, was killed by a friend allegedly over disputes regarding his illegal investments, Mr. Daya Nayak of Maharashtra police, is in jail facing corruption charges and for his alleged nexus with the underworld. Mr. D.G. Banjara, Deputy Inspector General of Gujarat Police is in jail for his proven role in fake encounters. Even after the exposure of the real faces of these murderers in uniform, the media have singularly failed to get its act together barring a few exceptions.

After all, just how many times can one find such brazen acts of lawlessness like a live recording of the murder of two civilians by the police as it happened in Manipur? Just how many times the police, paramilitary forces and the army will let the media impartially cover their operations exposing their utter disregard for the rule of law as well as the constitution?

Any act of terror, violence, and extrajudicial executions is a crime against humanity. The question who did it is irrelevant.

No law or ideology can legitimise the killings of innocent civilians, unfortunately caught between the state and its opponents. Murder or other forms of violence by the non-state actors based on whatever justifications – religion, ethnicity or ideology – should be unambiguously condemned. So should be the case with extrajudicial and illegal killings and other forms of violence committed by the state.

For one fact, unlike the non-state actors, the state warrants even sterner criticism for torture, killings and disappearances of its citizens as it is the state’s duty to protect, promote and fulfil constitutional guarantees.

The state deserves a far stricter scrutiny as it derives the legitimacy to use force by being the custodian of the law, guaranteeing to use it only for the protection of the citizens and not for killing them.

The studied silence maintained by the media, in this context, is unfortunate. A single murder, unsanctioned by the law, committed by state agents should let the press hit the panic button. 1184, is an exception.

Yet the country’s media chose to observe blissful silence. This prevents the possibility of exposing the countless unreported ones, which the media could have exposed.

The Asian Human Rights Commission expects that this silence is not from complicity, and that the Indian media will wake up to its legacy of standing by the people and the truth that they have the right to know.
Indian media must wake up to violence committed by the state