The dull depressive lockdown blues were dispelled suddenly, as I sat up electrified and with alacrity. The self-styled Hindu saviour, Arnab Goswami, the anchor of Republic TV was at his worst shouting at someone who was not even present before him. He was yet again angered, as he always is, over Sonia Gandhi’s silence over the lynch attacks on two sadhus and a driver.
They were on their way to attend a funeral and were in Palghar, when they were stopped and beaten to death by a mob, mistaking the trio as whatever. The sad part is the police were present on the spot and at the time of the attack and were mute witness to the horrendous crime. A lot of noise broke out all over the country, not from media but Social networks, ostensibly that the Sadhus were Hindus and Maharashtra was presently ruled by a Congress alliance.
Republic kept the pressure on and demanded as to why the ‘Italian Sonia’ is silent about the lynching, in one of his blatant attacks on the acting Congress President. He was attacked at his parking lot, allegedly by Congress supporters, many of who are arrested. Law might take its course in case of those arrested.
The divisive status of the chilling quietness of the media and the society was glaring, with most keeping mum and some going to the extent of even questioning the motive behind travelling, while the lockdown was in place. Some started analyzing the anthropological origins of the victims and a few others, the community orientations of the attackers.
It is not only the Sadhus were murdered in cold-blooded horror, but dying speedily is also the quality and ethics in journalism. To survive, keeping in the limelight and notching a high TRP, it requires a crafty and devious means to demonize a segment of our society. Media houses are vertically divided, either being supportive of the majority Hindutva, as in the case of Arnab or the long list of others, espousing the causes of minority and the opposition.
My post condemning Arnab for his lowly outburst met with a deluge of protests, a few who eternally fear that Hinduism is just about to crumble and justifying what Arnab is doing is correct. I respect individual opinions and do not argue with any, but the falling standards of journalism cannot be doubted.
Cho Ramaswami differed with the ruling dispensations many times, with his scathing attack on the policies, but never hit anyone below the belt. The same is about Late CR Irani, the indomitable editor of the Statesman or Barun Sengupta of Bartaman of yesteryears. Why are we failing to chase the high benchmarks set? Are we to live with only barbs and insinuations as to the mainstay of the media in the future?
Despicable!
Sampath Kumar
Intrépide Voix
