Future of Journalism
*G.N. Ray
Jan Morcha is set up in 1958, to the envy of many, occupies a unique and unparalleled position as the only newspaper successfully run by its employees for the last fifty years. That Jan Morcha is constantly marching ahead on its journey overcoming all the obstacles on the path of positive journalism of truth, fearless reporting and secular principles stands testimony to the power of the people. India is a vast country with different shades of language, religion & culture etc. and a shining example of unity in diversity.
So is reflected in the press and media. It is a truism that media is the mirror of society and reflects the contemporary needs, mores and aspirations. But equally it is also a trend-setter and has its own impact on all the above. Press in India is fast growing ahead of its
counterparts in several western and developed countries. Here comes the responsibility on the shoulders of journalists to ensure that while marching on the road to growth it preserves its values and heritage that have given our country a unique place in the world.
Press Council of India
A Brief Biography of Contribution to Defence/Promotion
of Freedom of the Press
The Constitution of India gives its people a government which is of the people, for the people and by the people. It ensures for its citizens as a fundamental right, inter alia, the total freedom of speech and expression subject only to reasonable restrictions specified in Article 19(2) of the Constitution.
Post-independence, a Press Commission was set up to take stock of the functioning of the press – its standards, its freedom and its further growth. The Press Council in India was born in 1966 out of the Recommendations of this First Press Commission that examined in-depth the role and responsibilities of the press in the new democratic set up. The Parliament of India debated for long on the mode and modalities of the constitution of the regulatory body of the print media and by enactment of 1965, formally brought the Press Council of India into existence.
The founding fathers had clearly legislated that the body, despite being a creation of the statute will function totally free of government interference and thereby even though a large part of the funds of the Council is sanctioned by the Parliament through the nodal Ministry of Information & Broadcasting of the Indian Government, there has been no effort by the state to interfere in its functioning. In the past eventful 40 years with a break of three years between 1975 to 1978, the Council has worked with as much force for the freedom of the press as its standards.
The Press Council of India now functions under the Press Council Act of 1978. The Council has by convention being headed by a sitting or retired Judge of the Supreme Court of India and who is selected by an independent Committee of three members consisting of the Vice-President of India, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha and one member nominated by the twenty eight members of the Council from among themselves. He is ably supported by 20 members of different categories nominated by the press organizations and eight members nominated by the Parliament and the country’s apex literary and legal bodies to represent the readers’ interest.
The unique feature of our Press Council, unlike many others, is that it enjoys the statutory status with compulsive jurisdiction on all newspapers while retaining its character as essentially an internal self-regulatory mechanism of the Press. This is abundantly clear from its objects, its composition and its actual functioning. It has been entrusted with the task, among others, of promoting the freedom of the press and independence of the newspapers and the news agencies, of raising the standards of journalism, of keeping under review any development which may interfere with the free flow and dissemination of information, of monitoring developments such as concentration of ownership of newspapers and news agencies which may affect the independence of the press and at the same time, of building up a code of ethics in accordance with high standards of journalism and of fostering a sense of responsibility and public service among all these engaged in the profession of journalism. Its composition makes it completely independent of any outside authority including the government.
The Press Council of India functions like a Court of Honour, guiding the print media along the path of ethical conduct through its adjudications and other pronouncements building up simultaneously a code of conduct for the press, the emphasis being on ‘building up’ to allow it the flexibility against laying down of a rigid code.
The Press Council of India is required under the statute not only to promote the standards of the press but also to protect it from any onslaught or threats to its freedom. Such threats may emanate from the authorities of the governments, the public or even from within the press itself. The statute empowers the Council to make observations against the conduct of any authority including the government. These have at times fallen from the Council in discharge of its adjudicatory functions vis-a-vis complaints made against public or governmental authorities by press for curtailing the freedom or in its advisory capacity in giving out opinion or action on matters impacting press freedom. In the course of the above, it has laid down important principles and guidelines for the authorities in their dealings with the press.
The Press Council as advisory body to the government on matters affecting press freedom has rendered valuable advise on several legislations proposed or in force. These cover the areas of libel, invasion of Privacy, Right to Information, Parliamentary Privileges, Prevention of Terrorist Activities, Official Secrets Act, and many more. Lately, the Press Council had advised the Parliament on ‘Truth’ being accepted as a defence in contempt of court proceedings, and the enactment incorporating these provisions in Contempt of Court Act has recently been passed.
The Council believes that the press and the authorities are not adversaries in the task of nation building but partners in trying to promote a better society and give a better administration to the citizenry which is the ultimate sovereign in a democracy. To this end, it has organized workshops and created platforms to sensitize the authorities on their relationships with the members of the press in the interest of free and unrestricted flow of
information.
The Council is quick to take cognizance of and launch immediate inquiry into incidents which could pose threats to the free functioning of the press, prominent among them being its assessment of the situations in Punjab, J&K and Ayodhaya at the hands of separatist forces or in times communal tensions.
Of vital importance have been Council’s attempts to raise awareness against the inroads into editorial freedom by managements of the paper. Thus, while the Press Council of India has, as a Court of Honour guided the press into the path of ethical rectitude, it has successfully stood up against any attempts that tended to make inroads into its free and
independent functioning.
The State- The Main Threat
This insistence is necessary because experience all over the world, as well as our own experience since Independence, suggest that the State remains the source of the most potential threat to Press freedom. It cannot be overlooked that, within a short time after passing the Constitution, those in power - who used to swear by Press freedom before Independence-put in provisos to Article 19 (1) of the Constitution so as to clothe Government with powers to curb Press freedom. This was defended on the ground that these powers were likely to be necessary on occasions when the security of the State was threatened; it was emphasised that the powers will not be normally used. But a special legislation called the Press (Prevention of Objectionable Matters) Act was put on the statute book soon thereafter in 1951. No steps were taken to remove the lacunae which gave Government powers to intercept material going to the Press through the Posts and Telegraphs. Some Chief Ministers thought it proper to take steps against newspapers whose policy they did not like, whether it was a Morarji Desai in Bombay or a Charan Singh in U. P.
A persistent attempt to curb Press freedom how ever really began only after 1969. Indira Gandhi felt that the Press was too critical of her ways and she sought to change its approach. Various threats were held out by Government and steps proposed to curb that section of the Press which was thought to be the most independent. With the aid of some native leftist organisations, a propaganda barrage was mounted against the Press as well as the judiciary both of which appeared to be not easily amenable to the wishes of Government. apparently the only reason why the idea of spreading the equity ownership of newspaper companies especially among the workers and the journalists employed therein was not pursued was the feeling that such a measure would give more power in the hands of trade unions who were opposed to the ruling party. On the other hand, arm-twisting of capitalist owners, especially of those who had many other industrial interests and were not very much concerned with the freedom of the Press, was thought to be not so difficult. The antipathy to the Press however continued and got further intensified, especially as most of the important papers expressed their dislike of the acts of the ruling establishment, and many of them advised the Prime Minster to resign after the Allahabad High Court Judgement in 1975. The antipathy culminated in the pre-censorship imposed in the country for the first time during the internal Emergency. That the pre censorship was used for partisan ends is sufficiently exemplified by the data published as a result of the various enquiries made in 1977-78.* The misuse of powers like pre-censorship was a adequately envisaged by the fact that these powers were even used to black out some unpleasant news about the criminal convictions of an actress, and of some businessmen.
The experience of the Emergency also provided enough evidence to show how weak-kneed a very large part of the Indian Press was when it felt really threatened. One would not have believed that, during the independence movement, a much larger proportion of newspapers had faced difficulties and shown courage. The poor morale of many editors and others concerned was aptly characterised by the Janata Government's Minster for Information and Broadcasting who told the Press that, when they were only asked to bend, they crawled! Nevertheless, there were brave exceptions; and it is important to note who they were. Two of the so-called monopoly papers resisted encroachment on their freedom and faced considerable risks. These were the Statesman and the Indian Express. Of course even a more valiant attitude was shown by independent, small journals like Sadhana (Marathi), Bhoomiputra (Gujrati), Seminar (a monthly journal) and Opinion (a weekly sheet); but these were run by individuals or groups who had a commitment to certain values and where the overall financial stake, the number of employees etc., was not very large. A very large proportion of the regular Press offered little resistance and gradually accepted a kind of self-censorship. That the ruling group was thinking of controls over the Press as a permanent measure was indicated by the putting on the statute book of the Prevention of Publication of Objectionable Matters Act in 1976. It was also known that the spokesmen of Government were threatening newspapers about "consequences", after the censorship was lifted and general elections announced. These threats indicated what might have been in store for the Press in the Congress party had won the elections in March 1977.
The Press began to act with great vigour almost as a rebound after the Emergency was lifted in 1977, and especially after the change brought in as a result of the elections in March 1977. The Janata Government and the short-lived Lok Dal Government, felt the thrust of this vigorous assertion of independence by the Press. This was also the time when the Press specially developed new traditions of investigative journalism, which has now become a major feature of an increasing number of important newspapers.
Since January 1980, with the change of Government, the attitude of the Government of India toward the Press has reverted back to one of antipathy. Many of the new State Governments which came to power in the middle of 1980 have shown active hostility. Instances of threats to the free functioning of the Press are not uncommon. There was the instance in Bangalore when, as a result of the publication of a press report which was disliked by the Chief Minister, there was a kind of gherao of important papers so as to prevent their publication on one day and the police practically pleaded helplessness to do anything about the matter. There was another instance of a former Chief Minister who compared the Press to snakes and scorpions. The Tamil Nadu Government, belonging to a different political party, has put special curbs on contacts between Government officials and the Press, and has stiffened the Cr. P. C. in a manner which would make "scurrilous" writing a nonbailable offence and also one where imprisonment on conviction is made obligatory as a punishment. The Prime Minister herself has indicated more than once her dislike of the manner in which what is called the National Press operates
Importance of Constitutional Amendment
All these difficulties in the way of ensuring that the Press can have the maximum freedom to carry out its function of collecting facts about different facets of national life, analysing them and commenting upon them so as to keep the general body of citizens in our young democracy well informed show that the Press requires some special protection. Many authorities have held that the Right to Freedom of Speech conferred by Article 19(1) of the Constitution is adequate to protect the freedom of the Press. Judicial decisions have however made it clear that the Fundamental Rights are conferred only on citizens and not on associations of citizens. In the present times, no newspaper or other periodical can normally be brought out by individuals; it can only be brought out by corporate bodies. Moreover, it has also been held by Courts that, in view of the limitations put under Article 19 (2) etc., pre-censorship can be imposed on newspapers even when the country is not faced by an Emergency due to external aggression or internal rebellion or similar circumstances. That governmental authorities can be tempted to use such powers purely for partisan purposes was adequately proved in 1975-76 and, more recently, in Assam. There is also some uncertainty about whether some provisions in the Indian Penal Code cannot be used as a coercive instrument against the Press. It appears therefore necessary that a specific Constitutional amendment so as to confer the right of Freedom on the Press in particular and on media of communication in general needs to be taken up in right earnest. If the general body of citizens in a vast country like ours is to be kept adequately informed both about the actual events and about alternative approaches to meeting the country's problems, it is essential that the freedom of the communication media is protected by a specific Constitutional provision to that effect.
Such a specific provision will enable newspapers and journalists to obtain judicial protection from direct as well as indirect threats. It would not then be impossible for a newspaper which may receive unfair treatment from those in charge of functions like import control, power supply, bank credit or communication facilities to obtain judicial redress if it can be shown that the discrimination is due to its being a newspaper which is critical of those in power.
Role of press in controlling communal riots in India after the independence
Communal riots feared in India
BOMBAY: There is “now a plan worked out by the RSS, Jan Sangh and the Hindu Mahasabha to spread the communal scourge throughout the country in the name of the dead college girl of Jabalpur”. The weekly news magazine Current said yesterday in a front page article: “… officials, who have probed the allegation that Pakistan agents instigated the riots, found no evidence to justify this communal canard”.
The paper blamed the MP government, particularly the police, for the spread of the rioting. The Jabalpur police force appears to be affected by communal propaganda, it said. The press relations office of the state government also miserably failed to carry out its duties. They did not contradict false rumours.The officials responsible for issuing the press-note “describing clashes on the night of Feb 7 in an irresponsible manner should be severely punished”, the paper added. It quoted the father of the girl who committed suicide, a poor school teacher, as saying that “the dying declaration of the girl had not referred to rape nor were any names mentioned by her”.
“Had the postmortem report been published or produced in court, a great deal of tension caused by it could have been avoided. The people have established that at least one of the boys arrested in the case was friendly with the Bharagava family and was a casual visitor to the house,” the weekly said.
“There is no doubt that the communal organisations exaggerated out of all proportions the episode and gave it a definite communal slant,” it said.
The local Police acted indiscreetly in withdrawing curfew restrictions between Feb 5 and 7, the weekly said, adding that Jabalpur is notorious for communal clashes since 1956. There have been four communal riots here with a population of less than five lakhs.
Science cess
RAWALPINDI: The government has accepted in principle recommendations of the Scientific Commission under which the Ministry of Industries will levy a ‘science cess’ on all industrial products. This was announced here yesterday by Industries Minister A.K. Khan while addressing a news conference. The revenues realised through the levy of the cess will be used for financing industrial research.
RAWALPINDI: The government has accepted in principle recommendations of the Scientific Commission under which the Ministry of Industries will levy a ‘science cess’ on all industrial products. This was announced here yesterday by Industries Minister A.K. Khan while addressing a news conference. The revenues realised through the levy of the cess will be used for financing industrial research.
Popular passages
Page 154 - Whoever, with the deliberate intention of wounding the religious feelings of any person, utters any word or makes any sound in the hearing of that person or makes any gesture in the sight of that person or places any object in the sight of that person, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both.
Page 55 - The next day great crowds of Hindus attacked the mosque of Aurangzeb, set it on fire and put to death every Muslim of the neighbourhood who fell into their hands. The entire city was given up to pillage and slaughter; and order was not restored by the troops until some fifty mosques had been destroyed and several hundred persons had lost their...
Page 137 - Muslims and examine the causes underlying their growing estrangement in the political field from the beginning of the nineteenth century up to the time of partition. Second, he can consider all the different forms of social group conflicts which existed in Indian society during the same period as a single social phenomenon and then go on to analyse the conflict between Hindus and Muslims as a manifestation of the phenomenon of social group conflict and violence.
Page 93 - ... sense of self remains bound up in the gross actualities of blood, race, language, locality, religion, or tradition, and because of the steadily accelerating importance in this century of the sovereign state as a positive instrument for the realization of collective aims. Multiethnic, usually multilinguistic, and sometimes multiracial, the populations of the new states tend to regard the immediate, concrete, and to them inherently meaningful sorting implicit in such "natural...
Page 47 - Among the many lessons the Indian mutiny conveys to the historian and administrator, none is of greater importance than the warning that it is possible to have a Revolution in which Brahmins and Shudras, Mahomedans and Hindus were united against us...
Page 74 - Division by creeds and classes means the creation of political camps organised against each other, and teaches men to think as partisans and not as citizens; and it is difficult to see how the change from this system to national representation is ever to occur.
Page 151 - ... shape of a long scarf of rich silk, of bright florid colours, embroidered very deep at the ends, which are finished with gold and silver bullion fringes; it is caught together near the middle, and tied with rich gold and silver cords and tassels to the top of the staff, just under the hand or crest. The silks, I observe, are of many different colours, forming an agreeable variety, some blue, purple, green, yellow, &c. Red is not used; being the Soonies...
Page 38 - Communal tension arises as a result of the skilful manipulation of the religious sentiments and cultural ethos of a people by its elite which aims to realise its political, economic and cultural aspirations by identifying these aspirations as those of the entire community.
Page 47 - The mutiny reminds us that our dominions rest on a thin crust ever likely to be rent by titanic fires of social changes and revolutions.
Page 56 - The Moplahs were bitter ; bitterly anti-Hindu, bitterly anti-British, bitter against the world that gave them only misery. Their ardour was the ardour of an oppressed class...
Partition
In presenting the discussion of what actually happened and how it happened, this article will proceed from the general to the particular, from the national to the regional to the local to the individual. First to the question of the overall magnitude of the migrations and the casualties associated with them. It is possible to be more confident about the approximate size of the former than the latter. Most estimates of the numbers of people who crossed the boundaries between India and Pakistan in 1947 range between 10 and 12 million, which have led many commentators to describe the movement as the largest migration of its kind in world history to that point. It has proven much more difficult to arrive at a consensus figure on the numbers of persons who died as a consequence of violence that occurred during the impending partition, the partition itself, and after it in the misery of the refugee camps. Estimates range from around 200,000 at the low end to a million and a half at the high end. A consensus figure of 500,000 is often used, but the sources that are most likely closer to the truth give figures that range between 200,000 and 360,000 dead.
The lower figures are certainly high enough to suggest the magnitude of the disaster when it is kept in mind that these were “peacetime” deaths, that is, there was no declared or even undeclared war between India and Pakistan in the Punjab area where the migrations and violence mostly occurred, though war was imminent further north in Kashmir.
Second, it must be kept in mind that the migrations and the violence were regionally confined. They were not all-India phenomena, though there was a great fear at the time that all the Muslims of India, not just those in the Punjab, would begin to move from every point in the country to Pakistan. But it is also true that the violence and migrations were not confined only to the Punjab. There were riots in many parts of northern and western India, some of which led to migrations, and there were major disturbances in other regions than the Punjab, especially in Bengal.
There were several sites of extreme violence in 1946 and 1947 that were of a magnitude not witnessed before in communal riots that had occurred previously during British rule. Because there is some time as well as considerable spatial separation between several of the major outbursts of violence, many commentators have seen them as a kind of phased and escalating sequence of revenge and retaliation. Moreover, they are all perceived as subsets of a broader
communal conflict between Hindus and Muslims over the future of the entire subcontinent. Both these points of view are distortions of what happened.
It is certainly the case that the partition of the Indian subcontinent into two separate sovereign states rather than one was a consequence of a long list of both deliberate actions and failures to compromise on the part of the three principal parties who created the political present of India and Pakistan, namely, the British authorities, the leaders of the Indian National Congress, and Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the leader of the Muslim League. In the course of their deliberate actions and failures, all three participated to a greater or lesser extent in the creation of a communal discourse of Hindu–Muslim relations characterized by difference, antagonism, and the potentiality and actuality of communal violence.
Moreover, all three were responsible for deliberate or misplaced actions that contributed to the major occasions of violence that did occur before and after partition. Further, in the last days of the British Raj, it was not only the case that violence occurred as a consequence of partition, but violence was a principal mechanism for creating the conditions for partition.8 Violence instigated by the political leaders of the country was itself integral to the political process that everyone knew had been brought into play in the past and could always be brought into play when bargaining and compromise failed. It was also used before elections and influenced their results by contributing to the formation of communal identities and the consequent consolidation of the votes of Hindus and Muslims behind opposing political parties.
For example, serious rioting in Calcutta—a thousand miles from the major centres of violence that occurred later in the Punjab—at the end of November 1945 and the middle of February 1946 preceded the provincial elections held in Bengal in February. The Great Calcutta Killing of August 1946 was an immediate consequence of Jinnah’s call for “direct action” for the achievement of Pakistan, which he certainly knew meant violence here and elsewhere in the country. The call for direct action followed the breakdown of negotiations among the three principal parties over the Cabinet Mission Plan.
The violence that followed in Calcutta occurred during the tenure of a Muslim League ministry in the province of Bengal, in which government ministers and Muslim League leaders were implicated. The Calcutta violence was mimicked in many other places in northern and western India thereafter and was the principal factor in winning finally the acceptance of the Congress and the British for the partition of the country and the creation of a Muslim-majority state of Pakistan.
In Punjab, which was to be the storm centre of partition, the 1946 elections failed to produce a majority for a single party in the provincial legislature, although the Muslim League emerged here as the largest single party. Efforts to form and maintain a coalition government in the province and the final breakdown in March 1947 of the coalition that was formed without the League’s participation were accompanied by mass agitations that turned violent in the capital city of Lahore and in Multan and other towns in West Punjab. In the aftermath of killings of Sikhs and Hindus that occurred in Rawalpindi, Attock, and Multan districts, including massacres in “several villages,”10 the Sikh leaders and the Congress demanded the partition of the province.
Then, in a stance that many at the time considered foolish but all were soon to feel the consequences of, the Sikh political leaders made it clear that, though they themselves had demanded partition, they would not tolerate a division of the province that went against the interests of their community. Herein lay the crux of the disaster that was to unfold, for there was in fact no possible division of the Punjab that could prevent the division of the Sikhs, and the loss of their rich agricultural land and of numerous shrines they considered sacred. Further, the Sikh leaders also made it clear, though all the other principal actors failed to take it seriously enough, that they anticipated an exchange of population on both sides of the border to be created between the West and Wast Punjab that was also to be the western border of India and Pakistan. Nor did the Sikh leaders hide the fact that they intended to bring this about by violent means, although
they sometimes phrased their intentions vaguely and indirectly. In February 1967, however, Master Tara Singh, whom I interviewed then and who was the principal political leader of the Sikh community 20 years earlier, said to me in words I have never forgotten: “We took the decision to turn the Muslims out.”
By this, he meant the decision to attack violently the Muslim population in East Punjab to force them to migrate west so that the entire Sikh population in West Punjab would be able to migrate east to replace them and take their lands and property in exchange for what they would lose in the west.
General elections to the first Lok Sabha since independence were held in India were held between 25 October 1951 and 21 February 1952. The Indian National Congress (INC) stormed into power with 364 of the 489 seat. With this, India's grand old party managed to secure 45 per cent of the total votes polled. An electoral participation of 44.87 per cent was reported across the country. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru became the first elected Prime Minister of the country, his party winning 44.99% (47,665,875) of the votes cast. Voter turnout was 45.7%.
Parties
Before Independent India went to the polls, two former cabinet colleagues of Nehru established separate political parties to challenge the INC's supremacy. While Shyama Prasad Mookerjee went on to found the Jana Sangh in October 1951, Dalit leader B. R. Ambedkar revived the Scheduled Castes Federation (which was later named the Republican Party). Other parties which started coming to the forefront included the Kisan Mazdoor Praja Parishad, whose prime mover was Acharya Kripalani; the Socialist Party which had Ram Manohar Lohia and Jay Prakash Narayan's leadership to boast of and the Communist Party of India. However, these smaller parties knew that they really didn't stand a chance to win against the Congress.
Constituencies
The first general elections, which were conducted for 489 seats in 401 constituencies, represented 26 Indian states. At that time, there were 314 one-seat, 86 two-seat and even one three-seat constituency.[2] The multi-seat constituencies were discontinued in the 1960s. There were also 2 nominated Anglo-Indian members.
Five-Year plans of India
The economy of India is based in part on planning through its five-year plans, which are developed, executed and monitored by the Planning Commission. The tenth plan completed its term in March 2007 and the eleventh plan is currently underway.[1] Prior to the fourth plan, the allocation of state resources was based on schematic patterns rather than a transparent and objective mechanism, which led to the adoption of the Gadgil formula in 1969. Revised versions of the formula have been used since then to determine the allocation of central assistance for state plans.[2]
First Five-Year Plan (1951-1956)
The first Indian Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru presented the first five-year plan to the Parliament of India on 8 December 1951. The plan addressed, mainly, the agrarian sector, including investments in dams and irrigation. The agricultural sector was hit hardest by the partition of India and needed urgent attention.[3] The total planned budget of 
206.8 billion (US$23.6 billion in the 1950 exchange rate) was allocated to seven broad areas: irrigation and energy (27.2 percent), agriculture and community development (17.4 percent), transport and communications (24 percent), industry (8.4 percent), social services (16.64 percent), land rehabilitation (4.1 percent), and for other sectors and services (2.5 percent).[4] The most important feature of this phase was active role of state in all economic sectors. Such a role was justified at that time because immediately after independence, India was facing basic problems—deficiency of capital and low capacity to save.
206.8 billion (US$23.6 billion in the 1950 exchange rate) was allocated to seven broad areas: irrigation and energy (27.2 percent), agriculture and community development (17.4 percent), transport and communications (24 percent), industry (8.4 percent), social services (16.64 percent), land rehabilitation (4.1 percent), and for other sectors and services (2.5 percent).[4] The most important feature of this phase was active role of state in all economic sectors. Such a role was justified at that time because immediately after independence, India was facing basic problems—deficiency of capital and low capacity to save.The target growth rate was 2.1% annual gross domestic product (GDP) growth; the achieved growth rate was 3.6%. The net domestic product went up by 15%. The monsoon was good and there were relatively high crop yields, boosting exchange reserves and the per capita income, which increased by 8%. National income increased more than the per capita income due to rapid population growth. Many irrigation projects were initiated during this period, including the Bhakra Dam and Hirakud Dam. The World Health Organization, with the Indian government, addressed children's health and reduced infant mortality, indirectly contributing to population growth.
At the end of the plan period in 1956, five Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) were started as major technical institutions. The University Grant Commission was set up to take care of funding and take measures to strengthen the higher education in the country.[5] Contracts were signed to start five steel plants, which came into existence in the middle of the second five-year plan.
Working Groups /Steering Committees / Task Force
for the Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-2012)
Land reform (also agrarian reform, though that can have a broader meaning) involves the changing of laws, regulations or customs regarding land ownership.[1] Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution, generally of agricultural land. Land reform can, therefore, refer to transfer of ownership from the more powerful to the less powerful:such as from a relatively small number of wealthy (or noble) owners with extensive land holdings (e.g. plantations, large ranches, or agribusiness plots) to individual ownership by those who work the land.[2] Such transfers of ownership may be with or without compensation; compensation may vary from token amounts to the full value of the land.
Land reform may also entail the transfer of land from individual ownership — even peasant ownership in smallholdings — to government-owned collective farms; it has also, in other times and places, referred to the exact opposite: division of government-owned collective farms into smallholdings.[4] The common characteristic of all land reforms, however, is modification or replacement of existing institutional arrangements governing possession and use of land. Thus, while land reform may be radical in nature, such as through large-scale transfers of land from one group to another, it can also be less dramatic, such as regulatory reforms aimed at improving land administration.[5]
Nonetheless, any revision or reform of a country’s land laws can still be an intensely political process, as reforming land policies serves to change relationships within and between communities, as well as between communities and the state. Thus even small-scale land reforms and legal modifications may be subject to intense debate or conflict
History of Bhoodan movement
On April 18, 1951, the historic day of the very genesis of the Bhoodan movement, Vinoba entered Nalgonda district, the centre of Communist activity. The organisers had arranged Vinoba’s stay at Pochampally, a large village with about 700 families, of whom two-thirds were landless. Pochampally villagers gave Vinoba a warm welcome. Vinoba went to visit the Harijan (the Untouchables) colony. By early afternoon villagers began to gather around Vinoba at Vinoba's cottage. The Harijans asked for eighty acres of land, forty wet, forty dry for forty families that would be enough. Then Vinoba asked," If it is not possible to get land from the government, is there not something villagers themselves could do?" To everyone's surprise, Ram Chandra Reddy, the local landlord got up & said in a rather excited voice: "I will give you 250 acres for these people." At his evening prayer meeting, he repeated his promise to offer 250 acres of land to the villagers. This incident neither planned nor imagined was the very genesis of the Bhoodan movement & it made Vinoba think that therein lay the potentiality of solving the land problem of India. This movement later on developed into a village gift or Gramdan movement. This movement was a part of a comprehensive movement for the establishment of a Sarvodaya Society (The Rise of All socio-economic-political order), both in India & outside India.
Controversy on effectiveness
As an experiment in voluntary social justice, Bhoodan has attracted admiration throughout the world. There is little question that it created a social atmosphere in India that presaged land reform legislation activity throughout the country. It also had a tangible effect on the lives of many people: over 5 million acres (20,000 km²) were donated. However, it failed to meet the more ambitious goal of 50 million acres (200,000 km²) that had been set for it.
The initial objective of the movement was to secure voluntary donations of land and distribute it to the landless, but the movement soon came out with a demand of 1/6 share of land from all land owners. In 1952, the movement had widened the concept of gramdan (village in gift) and had started advocating commercial ownership of land. The first village to come under gramdan was Mangroth in Hamirpur Dist of U.P. It took more than three years to get another village in gift. The second and third gramdans took place in Orissa and the movement started spreading with emphasis on securing villages in gift.
The Changing Face of Indian Media - Implications for Development Organisations
As India concluded its celebration of 50 years of independence this year, having initiated a process of economic reform in the early part of the decade, the forces of privatisation and globalisation have unleashed dramatic changes in the country's media. Amidst a deluge of film-based entertainment, news and current affairs provided by private channels, All India Radio and Doordarshan, once the country's officially anointed public service broadcasters, have become undecided incarnations of their former selves.
This time in the history of Indian media is critical: it's overwhelming in the quick and dramatic changes over the last few years, and frustrating in the current impasse thanks to the imbroglio over the newly instituted Broadcasting Authority of India (for key features and landmarks in Indian media history refer Box 1)
For those in the business of renting eyeballs, the delinking of radio and television from direct state control has given endless joy. But media analysts and NGOs have varied responses. Some see the deregulation of broadcast media as potentially aiding the emergence of community radio and other forms of more democratic, participatory communication. Others despair that Indian audiences have been, to borrow a phrase, amused to death. They observe that market imperatives have already forced the once state-owned AIR and Doordarshan to abdicate their responsibilities, ringing the death knell on the state's role in public service broadcasting.
That role has been one of mixed successes. Over the last four decades, the state's forays into development communication, the ruling communication paradigm at that time, have been significant. But then the successes of SITE (Satellite Instructional Television Experiment) or the Kheda Communications Project are offset by the phenomenal failures of other projects such as PREAL, and in the long run, undermined by the vacillating fortunes and commitments of rapidly-changing governments.
Today's vastly changed media scenario calls for a recasting of the role of media in promoting prosocial change. This paper discusses the prevailing media trends in India in a historical context, highlights the issues being debated and describes the responses of NGOs and development agencies to the changes and the new opportunities they present. An underlying premise is the need for some of the key stakeholders for social change communication – donor agencies and NGOs -- to strengthen the linkages between the discourse on media trends and their own investments in communication, whether to promote child rights, HIV/AIDS education, women's empowerment or the environment.
Media Scenario
An index for radio, TV, print media and telecommunications is presented in Box 2. A quick overview indicates:
- Radio having the maximum population reach (97.3%) followed by television (425 million)
- The unmatched reach of Doordarshan (350 million), especially in rural areas, despite the rapid increases in satellite television reach (70 million).
- The very low reach of print media, thanks to a literacy rate of 64% for men and 39% for women, characterised by an almost exclusively urban, educated readership profile.
- The low access to telephones (13 per 1000) and email
- The flagging fortunes of traditional and folk media, street theater
Some key factors to bear in mind is that despite the leapfrogging in satellite television, and the significant trends in that brand of programming, the majority of the population has access only to All India Radio and Doordarshan, which are merely trying to catch up with the private channels. A second factor is that much of this analysis indicates trends mostly among English and Hindi programmes – the predominant languages of the media discussed – to the exclusion of 25-plus other languages and dialects in the country.
BOX 1 The Media in India: Key Features and Landmarks All India Radio and Doordarshan were state owned until 1997 under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting; primary declared aims of promoting the social objectives of the nation such as literacy and family planning. 1960s- 1990s: Government efforts at using radio and TV for development communication have met with varying degrees of success. Major projects include rural radio forums for agricultural development (1967), SITE (75-76), and the Kheda project (1976-1989) and the 1995 GRAMSAT experiment using radio for training of women panchayat (local village level governance) members. These large-scale projects to meet core development needs yield valuable lessons on the software, hardware and organisational management needs of such efforts. 1981-1985: Rapid increase in the number of TV transmitters from 21 to over 400, and a corresponding commercialisation of Indian television by the mid-80s. 1984-85: Launch of India's first major prosocial soap opera Hum Log (We the People). The much-studied 156-episode, 17-month series promotes issues such as family planning and education for the girl child. This coincides with the rise of the middle class as a dominant force in the country, with an increase in film-based entertainment programming, private sponsorship and consumerism. 1985-90: Doordarshan outpaces radio and print media as the first choice for advertising, hiking its ad rates thrice between 1985 and 1988. By 1987, there are at least 40 serials on air. A media boom sees an increase in the number of publications, and a preponderence of TV and cinema-based reporting. 1990: The Government of India initiates an economic reform process, heralding an era of privatisation and liberalisation. The Prasar Bharati Act is passed, delinking broadcasting from direct government control. The act is notified only in 1997. February 1991: The Gulf war creates an unprecedented demand for cable television among Indian viewers wanting to follow the CNN coverage of the war. The demand for cable television continues after the war ends. May 1991: Launch of satellite television in the form of the Hong-Kong based Star TV with its 39-nation footprint. Star TV transforms the face of Indian television, with its multiple channels and aggressive market-driven entertainment programming. Other private channels follow such as Zee TV, Sony TV, Sun, and Gemini. Doordarshan's revenues are fast depleted. February 1995: A landmark Supreme Court judgement ruling declares that " airwaves are a public property. They have to be controlled and regulated by a public authority in the interest of the public and to prevent the invasion of their rights." The judgement outlines autonomy for Prasar Bharati and opens broadcasting to private players. 1996: A Broadcasting Bill is drafted which is an apex legislation on broadcasting. The Bill subsumes the Prasar Bharati Act of 1990 by spelling out autonomy for the Broadcasting Authority of India (to replace the role of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting) to regulate public and private broadcasting. The Bill also lays down guidelines for granting licenses to satellite, terrestrial and cable broadcasters to establish and operate radio and TV channels to the "highest techno-commercially acceptable bidder." It is yet to be tabled in Parliament. August 1998: the Prasar Bharati Act is passed by the lower house of parliament, with an amendment that the Broadcasting Authority will be overseen by a 32-member parliamentary committee. The broadcast media stands poised on the brink of autonomy, awaiting the President's signature. |
Broadcast Media
Radio
The number of radio stations has increased from about 100 in 1990 to 209 in 1997, and the land area covered from 84% to 91%. However, despite its tremendous reach and the fact that it presents the best option for low-cost programming, radio has been treated as a poor relative for over two decades. Listenership has either dropped or reached a plateau. In some cases listenership has risen, although very negligibly, in some urban areas, thanks to the recent time allotment to private companies on five FM stations. Film and other popular music constitute the main fare of such stations, contributing to an increase in commercial time and ad revenues from Rs. 527 million in 1991-2 to Rs. 809 million in 1995-96.
Some efforts have been made to use radio for social change, as in the case of the state-supported radio rural forums for agricultural communication in the 1960s, or to promote adult literacy in the 1980s. More recently NGOs have helped broadcast programmes on women and legal rights, emergency contraception, and teleserials advocating girls' education. But it is clearly a medium waiting for a shot-in-the-arm.
A key need in India is for local broadcasting that reflects issues of concern to the community. In this regard, some communication experts believe that an increased and accelerated commercialisation of radio will eventually drive down the costs of FM radio sets, thus facilitating local radio. The increasing devolution of political power initiated through the 73rd and 74th amendment to the constitution in 1988-89 has also set a climate conducive for the empowerment of communities and local governance. A key area requiring attention, therefore, is advocacy for community radio and the provision of training to NGOs and communities to use this medium for articulating their concerns, as one Bangalore-based NGO is currently doing.
Television
The number of private television channels has increased from none in 1990 to more than 50 this year. Entertainment constitutes about 51% of the total programme content, even though some channels such as Star Plus follow CNN's example in delivering "news on the hour, every hour." News and education constitute a mere 13.3% and 9.6% of programme content.
However, in a bid to give themselves a halo of social responsibility, some channels broadcast programmes with a veneer of public interest: soaps that incorporate socially relevant themes such as women's education and empowerment, interactive talk shows on whether smoking should be banned, and open forums with government representatives responding to audience queries on human rights abuses or consumer rights.
These programmes combine varying degrees of social value with commercial appeal in a competitive market. The open forums, in particular, have played an important role in familiarising the public to the political and legal system and in building a demand for political transparency and accountability.
Another genre, that of the "edutainment" prosocial soap continues with serials such as Tara which dealt with the life of a strong-willed woman. However, while the first Indian edutainment soap Hum Log (1985) transfixed much of the nation (to a lesser degree in the southern non-Hindi speaking part of the country) the audiences for subsequent edutainment serials have been comparatively smaller. There is no longer the captive audience of the mid-80s, and there are several competing channels and soaps to choose from. These include reruns of long running teleserials of the late 1980s such as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata which enjoy cult-like status.
An emerging trend – and one that also reflects the current programme focus of development agencies – is the targeting of specific segments of the audience, in particular, young adults (children and youth in the age group of 10-29 years constitute about 40% of the population). Urban, middle to upper class youth, especially, constitute a key target group for private channels. Music channels such as MTV and Channel V, which rank among the top ten favorite channels, feature VJs who are popular role models for a young generation (One such popular VJ coos: "Being fit is cool; not smoking is cool").
Cashing in on this trend, UNAIDS, India initiated in 1996 a collaboration with Channel V for an on-air and on-ground campaign for HIV/AIDS awareness. The collaboration includes training and sensitisation of VJs on issues relating to HIV/AIDS. In another effort, the Ford Foundation, India funded a BBC training for radio and television producers on reproductive and sexual health. The six project proposals shortlisted for additional funding, all of which target children and youth, are in entertainment formats of musicals, talk shows and animation.
Print Media
Given national literacy rates as low as 51%, the very limited reach of newspapers and magazines, and the distinctly urban educated readership profile, the role of print media has been defined more in terms of information dissemination and advocacy. The picture is a lopsided one: circulation figures are rapidly increasing as are advertising revenues, but this is especially true of English publications (refer Media Index, Table 2), which account for 71% of the total ad revenue of members of the Indian Newspaper Society.
A key feature of these publications, unfortunately, is the increasing preponderance of glossy, ad-friendly film and TV-based reporting. That the sole trendsetter in this increasing corporatisation of the fourth estate, the Times of India, also ranks 10th among the top-selling newspapers in the world, is no coincidence. Given the increasing costs of newsprint and production, and the pressure of market imperatives, newspaper houses have followed the piper in carrying ad -friendly fluff at the cost of more serious development and health reporting. Leading dailies have over the last few years dropped their special sections devoted to development and health. The low literacy rates and high production costs have also stymied the possibilities of smaller alternative publications that could potentially reflect the concerns of the development sector.
The Internet
Recognising that access to information and information technologies play a key role in development, especially given the constraints of the mass media, groups of non-profit documentation centers in the country have developed communications systems such as Indialink and Dianet that are focussed solely on development issues. By providing connectivity to grassroots NGOs and emphasising the documentation and information from within the country (refer case description Democratisation of Information), these efforts have facilitated greater grassroots involvement in development and South-South dialogue. However, the extremely low access to internet – there are a mere 90,000 internet subscribers in the country, bringing the density to below decimal points – is a key hindrant.
A World Bank funded project for National Agricultural Technology envisages a similar democratisation through the establishment of "information kiosks" in rural areas (refer interview with Kiran Karnik). The proposed project sees the expansion of public pay-phone offices that have mushroomed all over the country, including rural areas, into centers with computers for the inputting and accessing of data relevant to rural populations.
Traditional theater/media
Traditional folk media forms, once a favorite for communication efforts, are today precariously placed. Some agencies and NGOs continue to use street theater, magic, puppetry, traditional folk dances and melas (fairs) especially in rural areas. Some of these efforts are hugely successful in awareness creation, social mobilisation and in facilitating interpersonal communication. However, the absence of funding and technical support, their inherent fluid structure and the difficulty in monitoring and evaluation have rendered them near-relics in today's environment. So much so that one Bangalore-based NGO, while using such traditional folk forms, also feels compelled to address the basic survival needs of folk artistes such as provision of basic wages, training, pensions and other schemes.
Development Organisations: ResponsesThe current media trends indicate three broad areas of need in terms of social change communication:
- increasing the quantity and quality of media reporting and programming on development issues;
- creating a demand for these programmes;
- creating and facilitating media space for such materials
The efforts of most development agencies and NGOs are focussed primarily on the first area, increasing media coverage on specific subject areas. Workshops and fellowships for information dissemination and upgrading of knowledge continue to be the stock-in-trade strategy, and have yielded positive results, especially with print media. But they do not address the need to institutionalise these efforts. How effectively stories and programmes on diarrhoeal control or microcredit will survive in the media marketplace continues to be a hazardous guess.
But the marketplace is defined by demand – and it was precisely to increase the demand for quality, need-based programming that a Delhi based-NGO established media Viewership Forums. Through these forums audiences from both lower and middle classes are taught media literacy, recognise their rights as media "consumers" and are beginning to demand better, socially-relevant programming (refer case description Media Education and Literacy). In a country which has never really had exposure to, or experience with, public service broadcasting, such as effort is critical.
A significant breakthrough was made in creating a public space for social communication in the mid- 1980s with the establishment of the Doordarshan-affiliated Lok Seva Sanchar Parishad (LSSP). The LSSP-Doordarshan mandate was to promote the production and airing of programmes and spots on social issues. Further, a Ford Foundation grant to Doordarshan promoted the production of programmes and spots on issues such as the status of women, legal rights, education, environment. The close LSSP-Doordarshan link ensured – for a while at least – that this worked. However now with the imbroglio over media deregulation, the status of the LSSP is in limbo.
Recommendations
Given the current media scenario, and the needs of the development sector, the following recommendations can be made:
- Develop a regulatory framework that defines public service broadcasting to include not only state-owned media but all non-commercial broadcasting. This would empower non-profit institutions such as universities, community organisations, local bodies and NGOs to participate in development communication. This was suggested in a privately drafted, more holistic, alternative to the current Broadcasting Bill, the Prasar Sewa Bill, which was drawn up by a group of communication and media experts in 1995. This draft bill suggests that there should be three streams of broadcasting – public service broadcasting funded by the state, market-driven satellite broadcasting including cable, terrestrial and satellite services, and community service broadcasting by autonomous citizens groups, universities, trusts and NGOs to make more programmes reflecting local realities. However, the draft bill has not been taken into consideration.
- Media education and literacy to create demand for better, need based media stories and programmes
- Decentralisation and provision of training for communities to enable local broadcasting and community media. Putting communication resources in the hands of the community is a sine qua non for participatory communication.
- Sensitisation and training of media professionals from print, radio and television (the broadcast media are often excluded from such efforts) in social development issues
- Strengthening linkages between media trends and communication investments of development organisations
In the absence of a concerted effort by media analysts, NGOs, donor agencies and the public to support need-based, socially relevant media, the current waves of, and I borrow a phrase here, the "LPG mantra"* will drown the impulse for a media with a conscience. The oft-cited cliché then, of the dichotomy between India and Bharat,** between the cyber-savvy Indian elite and the monsoon-dependent farmer, will unfortunately ring true.
* LPG: liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation
** Bharat: vernacular for India
** Bharat: vernacular for India
BOX 2 MEDIA INDEX Some of the following data is gathered from government sources and market research predominantly in the Indian metros. They may hide huge variations stemming from language differences and a stark urban-rural divide Media Exposure Television has the highest number of "heavy viewers" (43.6%) while the press has 41.1% non-readers, and radio 70.6% non-listeners, according to a study conducted in the metros of eight most advanced states. There are 31 newspapers per 1000 people in India 61 in 1000 people own a television. 81 in 1000 people own a radio. 13 in 1000 people have access to a telephone. Average hours a week an Indian spends reading a newspaper/magazine: 2.1 Average hours a week an Indian spends watching television: 8.4 15 out of every 100 Indian women watch a movie at a theater once a month. 50 out of every 100 Indian women watch TV or listen to the radio regularly. Print Media The number of dailies has increased from 2538 in 1989 to 4043 in 1994 Their combined circulation has increased from 20 million to 32 million. Number of non-dailies has increased from 25,000 to 31,000 between 1990 and 1997 Circulation of non-dailies has decreased from 43 million to 41 million in the same period. One Indian newspaper – The Times of India – ranks 10th among the top-selling newspapers in the world (all other nine newspapers are Asian). Cost of press advertising has increased by 906% since 1985. The press accounts for 66% of total media ad revenue, down from 75% in 1985. One out of every two publications is either in Hindi or in English 25% of member-publications of the Indian Newspaper Society (INS) are in English. English-language publications account for 71% of the annual advertising revenue of INS-members. 70 % of the country's newspaper circulation is controlled by 7 families or groups. Foreign print media are not allowed entry into print media, but this is thought to be inevitable. Television and cable 65 million of the 170 million households in the country, or approximately 38 percent, own televisions. Of this, 17 million homes have cable connections. 40 percent of Indian homes in towns below 100,000 population are connected to cable TV 31 percent of Indian homes in 8 ‘advanced' metros are connected to cable TV. Doordarshan has a population reach of 330 million. Satellite channels reach a population of 70 million. The number of satellite channels has gone up from none in 1990 to 50-plus in 1997 Number of programme hours increased from 1500 per month to 25,000 50.8% of TV programme content is entertainment, followed by 13.3% of news and 9.6% education. There are 70,000 cable networks in the country. 1 out of every 3 Star TV viewers worldwide is Indian. 40 percent of Star TV's revenue comes from its Indian operations. Cost of TV advertising has increased by 329% between 1985 and 1997. TV's share of advertising revenue has gone up from 12% to 25%. 53.1% of Doordarshan's programmes are in Hindi, 21.2% in English and 25.7% in other languages 28% of the programmes of other satellite channels is in Hindi, 40.6% in English and 31.4% in regional languages. Radio There are 104 million radio households in the country, and approximately 111 million radio sets. Radio covers 97.3% of the country's population and 91% of the country's geographical area. There are a total of 186 radio broadcasting centers (March 1996). There are 148 medium wave transmitters, 51 short wave transmitters and 94 VHF/FM transmitters. The number of radio stations has increased from about 100 in 1990 to 209 in 1997. Radio broadcasting is done in 24 languages and 146 dialects. Listening hours per week in 1991 as compared to 1995 are: regular (6-7 days) 54.1 and 49.3 hours; frequent (3-5 days) 23.2 and 27.3 hours; occasional (1-2 days) 14.8 and 15.7 hours; Advertising revenue has increased from Rs. 527 million in 1991-92 to Rs. 809 million in 1995-96. Telecommunications Between 1947 and 1997,
42855 villages have been provided with public telephones in 1997-98. 18.5 million additional lines are planned by the year 2002; private operators are to provide 5.2 million of these lines. There are 90,042 Internet subscribers (March 31, 1998). Of this, only 45,000 are paid subscriptions; annual revenue to VSNL, the top internet service provider, is $20 million The GOI announced plans to open the internet to private ISPs by November 7, 1998 Ownership and Control A February 1995 Supreme Court judgement ruled that the airwaves are public property and no longer under government control A Broadcasting Bill was formulated in 1996 which rests regulatory powers with an autonomous Broadcasting Authority and lays down guidelines for granting licenses to private broadcasters. The Bill has not yet been tabled in parliament. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting announced its decision in June 1998 to allow private Indian satellite channels to uplink from India |
It can change opinions because they have access to people and this gives it a lot of strength. This strength can either be used constructively by educating the people or it can be used destructively by misleading the innocent people.
Power of the media can transform the whole society especially in the developing countries it can be used as a 'weapon of mass destruction'. But I think the most important use of media is to educate the people about the basic human rights.
The dilemma of the developing countries is that people are not fully aware of their basic rights and if they know, they don't know about what to do and where to go. They don't know their collective strength. Even they don't know how to protest and what is the importance of protests. Media should portray the facts. They should not transform the reality.
Education and discipline is key to progress. This is the difference between a nation and a crowd. Media men have access to people and they have an audience. Their programs have an impact and people listen to them.
That's why they are more responsible for the betterment of the society. They should work to educate the people, to help the people and to liberate the people and to empower the people
Media plays a very important role in the building of a society. Media has changed the societies of world so much that we can't ignore its importance. First of all we should know what the media is. Media is a source of information or communication.
Media includes sources like print media and electronic media. Newspapers, magazines and any other form, which is written or printed, is included in print media and in electronic, media radio, television and Internet etc. are included.
When there are so many channels and newspapers we cannot ignore its importance in the society. Media has lot of responsibility on its shoulders as today's society is very much influenced by the role of media. We believe in what media projects to us. We change our minds according to the information provided through it.
In the past when the media was not so strong we were quite ignorant about what is happening around us. But today we come to know very quickly what is happening around us. We have the access to all the international news channels that provide us the facts and figures.
Considering this fact that media has the power to influence society, it should know its responsibility towards society. It should feel its responsibility to educate the society in a positive way. It should be giving us fair analysis and factual information
Media plays a vital role in every one's life. In today's modern society media has become a part and parcel of our life. Its duty is to inform, educate and entertain. It is considered as the 4th pillar of our society.
They put their lives in danger like in times of terrorist attacks or natural calamity just to inform us about it. Media is a bridge between the governing bodies and general public. It is a powerful and flexible tool that influences the public to a great extent. Media is voice of the voiceless and a great force in building the nation
The newspapers can play a very vital role in the reconstruction and regeneration of a nation by highlighting and pin-pointing the social, economic and moral evils in the society. Can be helpful in eradicating these evils from the society.
They can also start propaganda against the economic evils like short-weights and measures, smuggling. Black-marketing income tax evasion hoarding corruption and bribery. THUS the newspapers can help greatly in the nation- building activities.
Newspapers provide some material for every type of interest. They give us stories, the crossword puzzles, the post page, the expert's comments on certain affairs of national and international importance.
Some pages are meant for women and children as well. Newspapers also provide us information about various matters and things through advertisements. They can help the advertisers to boost up their sale and the consumers to consume the new goods.
In other words, newspapers provide a wholesome intellectual food, trade contacts and also job opportunities. It is through the newspapers, many a time that marriages are arranged, and lost things are found. People pay homage to their dead relatives through the obituary notes in the newspapers.
In short, newspapers contain all what is needed and desired by every person relating to any field of life. Newspapers play manifold character in almost all fields of life and are becoming more and important day by day. Education plays a vital role in the all round development of the society. Educated masses help in the development of a civilized society wherein they carry on their activities smoothly and hassle-free.
People in a educated society communicate with each other, understand each other’s problems and provide solutions. An educated society, city, state, and country lay the foundation of a great world. Education plays the biggest role in society because without it, we wouldn't have doctors, lawyers, etc...Plus, some people who don't have education usually end up as delinquents.
We commend the people of Bong County for many contributions to the Press Union of Liberia as it celebrated its 45th Anniversary in Gbarnga. We say Bravo! Bravo!! to the Press Union of Liberia and the People of Bong County.
Newspapers have a social commitment too'
Sensationalising news
Television channels may have started it. Now, a section of the print media is also into sensationalising news.
Often trivial matters are made to appear more important because some self-styled "celebrity" is involved.
There can be separate sections for entertainment, but not at the cost of hard news which people look for in the print media at least.
S. Arokiaraj,
Banaswadi
Social commitment
The "Page 3" type of news or rather non-news with gossip and unwanted information about the jet set can appeal only to a limited number of readers.
Of course, many of us are interested in news about films and actors, but not all the time.
Newspapers have a social commitment too.
Mamta K.S.,
Indiranagar
Good balance
If the print media are to serve as a pillar of democracy it should give up "key hole" journalism.
Intruding into the privacy of celebrities, including film stars and politicians, may create a sensation for a limited time.
In the long run, the credibility of the newspaper or the TV channel may suffer. A good balance between what is informative and entertaining is the hallmark of a good newspaper or a television channel.
B. Amar,
Jayanagar
Intrusion into privacy
There are enough film magazines in the market for those eager to know more about their favourite actors.
Some months ago when a popular actor chose to host a wedding reception quietly at a club, press photographers shot the photographs of the couple from atop a nearby building. Is this kind of intrusion into the privacy of others, even if they are celebrities, necessary?
Sheila Raj,
Cox Town
Judicious mix
An actor getting married, divorced or having a baby is not the kind of news most of us want.
There could be entertainment or lifestyle sections where such news can fit in but not on the front page.
A judicious mix of entertaining and informative news is followed in practice only by a few newspapers and TV channels. We hope their numbers will increase.
Latha Venkatesh,
Jayanagar
Rarely found
There is a whole new generation of readers and viewers whose taste may not conform to that of the older generation. There is nothing wrong if dailies and television channels cater to their interests also.
The youth also want more news about employment opportunities and developing career strategies, and communication and interpersonal skills.
Articles or features on such subjects are rarely found in newspapers.
Karen Anand,
Austin Town
Strike a balance
Even mainstream newspapers can have sections such as careers, personality development and entertainment devoted to younger readers without sacrificing hard news coverage.
News about film stars or celebrities need not be looked down.
A few newspapers have managed to balance informative and entertaining news without sacrificing the quality of contents or style of presentation.
K. Mohan Ram,
Lingarajapuram
Good sign
It is a good sign to see the media moving away from too much news about politics and politicians, good news or bad. The media should also try to give more news about positive happenings and not only about scams and disasters.
The Indian print media, like their counterparts elsewhere, has good and mediocre elements.
Mediocrity and sensationalism will not survive in the long run.
Neha Mendes,
Benson Town
there are many other tasks for media to accept. some of them are given :
1) media ought to work for the formation of public opinion.
2) media should throw light on issues.
3) media has to do something for the solution of issues by presenting the opinion of experts.
4) media ought to work for culture.
5) media should provide guide line to the youth.
6) media should condemn criminal activities.
Press Council of India
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Press Council Of India is a statutory body in India that governs the conduct of the print and broadcast media. It is one of the most important bodies that sustain democracy, as it has supreme power in regards to the media to ensure that freedom of speech is maintained. However, it is also empowered to hold hearings on receipt of complaints and take suitable action where appropriate. It may either warn or censure the errant journalists on finding them guilty. It did so on 21 July 2006, when it censured three newspapers — Times of India (Delhi and Pune), Punjab Kesri (Delhi) and Mid Day (Mumbai) — for violation of norms of journalistic conduct. The press council of India is protected by the constitution and its actions may not be questioned unless it is proved to be in violation of the constitution, which makes it exceedingly powerful a body.
Powers, Practice and Procedure
The Press Council of India was first set up in the year 1966 by the Parliament on the recommendations of the First Press Commission with the object of preserving the freedom of the press and of maintaining and improving the standards of press in India. The present Council functions under the Press Council Act 1978. It is a statutory, quasi judicial body which acts as a watchdog of the press. It adjudicates the complaints against and by the press for violation of ethics and for violation of the freedom of the press respectively.
The Press Council is headed by a Chairman, who has, by convention, been a retired judge of the Supreme Court of India. The Council consists of 28 other members of whom 20 represent the press and are nominated by the press organisations/news agencies recognised and notified by the Council as all India bodies of categories such as editors, working journalists and owners and managers of newspaper; 5 members are nominated from the two houses of Parliament and 3 represent cultural, literary and legal fields as nominees of the Sahitya Academy, University Grants Commission and the Bar Council of India. The members serve on the Council for a term of three years. The Council was last reconstituted on 22 May 2001. The present Chairman is Ganendra Narayan Ray.
The Council is funded by revenue collected by it as fees levied on the registered newspapers in the country on the basis of their circulation. No fee is levied on newspapers with a circulation of less than 5000 copies. The deficit is made good by grants by the Central Government, through the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
Complaints Procedure[1]
A complaint against a newspaper for any publication the complainant finds objectionable and effecting him personally, or for non-publication of any material, should first be taken up with the editor or other representative of the publication concerned.
If the complaint is not resolved satisfactorily, it may be referred the Press Council of India. The complaint must be specific and in writing and should be filed/lodged within two months of the publication of the impugned news item in case of dailies and weeklies and four months in all other cases, along with the original/photostat copy of the impugned clipping (an English translation if the matter is in a South Asian language). The complainant must state in what manner the publication/non-publication of the matter is objectionable within the meaning of the Press Council Act, 1978, and enclose a copy of the letter to the editor, pointing out why the matter is considered objectionable. The editor's reply thereto or published rejoinder, if any, may also be attached to it. A declaration stating that the matter is not pending in any court of law is also required to be filed.
If a newspaper or journalist is aggrieved by any action of any authority that may impinge on the freedom of the press, he can also file a complaint with the Council. The aggrieved newspaper or journalist may inform the Council about the possible reason for the action of the authorities against him i.e. if it is as a reprisal measure taken by the authorities due to critical writings or as a result of the policy that may effect the freedom of the press (supporting documents, with English translation if they are in a South Asian language, should be filed). A declaration regarding the non-pendency of the matter in any court of law is also necessary.
On receipt of a complaint made to it or otherwise, if the Council is prima facie satisfied that the matter discloses sufficient ground for inquiry, it issues a show cause notice to the respondents and then considers the matter through its Inquiry Committee on the basis of written and oral evidence tendered before it. If, on inquiry, the Council has reason to believe that the respondent newspaper has violated journalistic norms, the Council keeping in view the gravity of the misconduct committed by the newspaper, warns, admonishes or censures the newspaper or disapproves of the conduct of the editor or the journalist as the case may be. It may also direct the respondent newspaper to publish the contradiction of the complainant or a gist of the Council’s decision in its forthcoming issue.
Similarly, when the Council upholds the complaint of the aggrieved newspaper/journalist the Council directs the concerned government to take appropriate steps to redress the grievance of the complainant. The Council may, if it considers necessary, make such observations, as it may think fit, in any of its decisions or reports, respecting the conduct of any authority, including Government.
Press Regulations in India
This codebook is divided into two sections. Section A is on what the press should be and do in society while Section B is on what the press should not be or do in society.
A. Please quote from the press laws regarding what the press should be and do in society. Use the original words or phrases but do not paraphrase in any case. Use dots to indicate the omitted words or phrases.
A.1 Legal statements regarding what the press should be and do in society (actor specific)
General
1) Publish any report, paper or proceedings of Parliament and the State legislatures under the authority of those bodies
2) Deliver, free of charge, copies of newspaper to the National Library at Calcutta and the other public libraries […]
3) To prevent incitement to or spreading of communal violence
4) Protection of official secrets
5) The unhindered publication of substantially true reports of proceedings in Parliament and the State legislatures
Broadcasting (general)
1) Objective presentation of news and fair and unbiased comment
2) Promote advancement of education and culture
3) To raise and maintain high standards of decency and decorum in all programmes
4) To provide programmes for the young which, by variety and content, will inculcate the principles of good citizenship
5) To promote communal harmony, religious tolerance and interational understanding
6) To treat controversial public issues in an impartial and dispassionate manner
7) To respect human rights and dignity
Advertising must be clearly distinguishable from news content in news programsRadio
1) Objective presentation of news and fair and unbiased comment
2) Promote advancement of education and culture
3) To raise and maintain high standards of decency and decorum in all programs
4) To provide programmes for the young which, by variety and content, will inculcate the principles of good citizenship
5) To promote communal harmony, religious tolerance and interational understanding
6) To treat controversial public issues in an impartial and dispassionate manner
7) To respect human rights and dignity
Advertising must be clearly distinguishable from news content in news programsTV
1) Objective presentation of news and fair and unbiased comment
2) Promote advancement of education and culture
3) To raise and maintain high standards of decency and decorum in all programmes
4) To provide programmes for the young which, by variety and content, will inculcate the principles of good citizenship
5) To promote communal harmony, religious tolerance and interational understanding
6) To treat controversial public issues in an impartial and dispassionate manner
7) To respect human rights and dignity
Advertising must be clearly distinguishable from news content in news programmesPrint (general)
1) Publish any report, paper or proceedings of Parliament and the State legislatures under the authority of those bodies
2) Deliver, free of charge, copies of newspaper to the National Library at Calcutta and the other public libraries…
3) To prevent incitement to or spreading of communal violence
4) Protection of official secrets
5) The unhindered publication of substantially true reports of proceedings in Parliament and the State legislatures
Newspaper
1) Deliver, free of charge, copies of newspaper to the National Library at Calcutta and the other public libraries…
A.2 Legal statements regarding what the press should be and do in society (relation specific)
Press & Public
1) Deliver, free of charge, copies of newspaper to the National Library at Calcutta and the other public libraries […]
2) To prevent incitement to or spreading of communal violence
3) Objective presentation of news and fair and unbiased comment
4) Promote advancement of education and culture
5) To raise and maintain high standards of decency and decorum in all programs
6) To provide programmes for the young which, by variety and content, will inculcate the principles of good citizenship
7) To promote communal harmony, religious tolerance and interational understanding
To treat controversial public issues in an impartial and dispassionate manner9) To respect human rights and dignity
10) Advertising must be clearly distinguishable from news content in news programs
Press & Government
1) The unhindered publication of substantially true reports of proceedings in Parliament and the State legislatures
2) Publish any report, paper or proceedings of Parliament and the State legislatures under the authority of those bodies
Press & Nation
1) Protection of official secrets
A.3 Legal statements regarding what the press should be and do in society (environment specific)
Social environment
1) To prevent incitement to or spreading of communal violence
2) Objective presentation of news and fair and unbiased comment
3) To raise and maintain high standards of decency and decorum in all programs
4) To provide programmes for the young which, by variety and content, will inculcate the principles of good citizenship
5) To treat controversial public issues in an impartial and dispassionate manner
6) To respect human rights and dignity
7) Advertising must be clearly distinguishable from news content in news programs
Cultural Environment
1) Promote advancement of education and culture
2) To promote communal harmony, religious tolerance and interational understanding
Political Environment
1) Protection of official secrets
2) The unhindered publication of substantially true reports of proceedings in Parliament and the State legislatures
3) Publish any report, paper or proceedings of Parliament and the State legislatures under the authority of those bodies
B. Please quote from the press laws regarding what the press should not be or do in society. Use the original words or phrases but do not paraphrase in any case. Use dots to indicate the omitted words or phrases.
B.1 Legal statements regarding what the press should not be or do in society (actor specific)
General
1) Should not present misleading advertisements
2) Should not produce several acts which have a bearing on national security and public order
3) Incitement to or spreading of disaffection among members of the police force by spoken or written words or actions
4) Printing of election pamphlets, posters, or other forms of appeals involving certain kinds of references, e.g. to religion, race, caste, community, etc.
5) Importation of publications likely to affect the security of India or the maintenance of public order in the country.
6) Publication of certain matters deemed prejudicial to the civil defence
7) Publication of comments likely to incite or encourage the practice of ‘untouchability’
Harm to personal reputation (defamation)9) Dissemination/ transmission of obscene matter
10) Dissemination of publications deemed to be harmful to persons under the age of twenty years
11) The depiction of women in an indecent or derogatory manner in the mass media
12) Disclosure of the name, address and other particulars of any children involved in certain proceedings.
13) The use by any private party of certain names, emblems, etc
14) The bringing into contempt of the national flag or the Constitution of India in any manner.
15) Advertisements for products and services claiming to cure certain medical conditions
16) The publication of matters connected with unauthorized lotteries.
17) Prohibition on the transmission by the post of such matter [unauthorized lotteries]
18) The publication of appeals using national symbols for furthering the prospects of any candidate at an election
19) Publication of matter concerning certain prize competitions, prize chits and money circulation schemes
20) The reporting of legal proceedings under the Act [Hindu Marriage Act] [privacy in respect of matrimonial matters]
21) The publication of reports of legal proceedings involving sexual offences against women
22) The publication of certain matters concerning the judiciary and judicial proceedings
23) No report in any newspapers, magazine or newssheet of any inquiry regarding a child under this Act shall disclose the name, address or school or any particulars calculated to lead to the identification of the child, nor shall any pictures of any such child be published […]
24) Printing and publication containing matters prejudicial to civil defence
Print (general)
1) Should not present misleading advertisements
2) Should not produce several acts which have a bearing on national security and public order
3) Incitement to or spreading of disaffection among members of the police force by spoken or written words or actions
4) Printing of election pamphlets, posters, or other forms of appeals involving certain kinds of references, e.g. to religion, race, caste, community, etc.
5) Importation of publications likely to affect the security of India or the maintenance of public order in the country.
6) Publication of certain matters deemed prejudicial to the civil defence
7) Publication of comments likely to incite or encourage the practice of ‘untouchability’
Harm to personal reputation (defamation)9) Dissemination/ transmission of obscene matter
10) Dissemination of publications deemed to be harmful to persons under the age of twenty years
11) The depiction of women in an indecent or derogatory manner in the mass media
12) Disclosure of the name, address and other particulars of any children involved in certain proceedings.
13) The use by any private party of certain names, emblems, etc
14) The bringing into contempt of the national flag or the Constitution of India in any manner.
15) Advertisements for products and services claiming to cure certain medical conditions
16) The publication of matters connected with unauthorized lotteries.
17) Prohibition on the transmission by the post of such matter [unauthorized lotteries]
18) The publication of appeals using national symbols for furthering the prospects of any candidate at an election
19) Publication of matter concerning certain prize competitions, prize chits and money circulation schemes
20) The reporting of legal proceedings under the Act [Hindu Marriage Act] [privacy in respect of matrimonial matters]
21) The publication of reports of legal proceedings involving sexual offences against women
22) The publication of certain matters concerning the judiciary and judicial proceedings
23) No report in any newspapers, magazine or newssheet of any inquiry regarding a child under this Act shall disclose the name, address or school or any particulars calculated to lead to the identification of the child, nor shall any pictures of any such child be published […]
24) Printing and publication containing matters prejudicial to civil defence
Newspaper
1) No report in any newspapers, magazine or newssheet of any inquiry regarding a child under this Act shall disclose the name, address or school or any particulars calculated to lead to the identification of the child, nor shall any pictures of any such child be published […]
2) Printing and publication containing matters prejudicial to civil defence
Magazine
1) No report in any newspapers, magazine or newssheet of any inquiry regarding a child under this Act shall disclose the name, address or school or any particulars calculated to lead to the identification of the child, nor shall any pictures of any such child be published […]
2) Printing and publication containing matters prejudicial to civil defence
Newssheet
1) No report in any newspapers, magazine or newssheet of any inquiry regarding a child under this Act shall disclose the name, address or school or any particulars calculated to lead to the identification of the child, nor shall any pictures of any such child be published […]
2) Printing and publication containing matters prejudicial to civil defence
B.2 Legal statements regarding what the press should not be or do in society (relation specific)
Press & Public
1) Should not present misleading advertisements
2) Printing of election pamphlets, posters, or other forms of appeals involving certain kinds of references, e.g. to religion, race, caste, community, etc.
3) Publication of certain matters deemed prejudicial to the civil defence
4) Publication of comments likely to incite or encourage the practice of ‘untouchability’
5) Harm to personal reputation (defamation)
6) Dissemination/ transmission of obscene matter
7) Dissemination of publications deemed to be harmful to persons under the age of twenty years
The depiction of women in an indecent or derogatory manner in the mass media9) Disclosure of the name, address and other particulars of any children involved in certain proceedings.
10) The use by any private party of certain names, emblems, etc
11) Advertisements for products and services claiming to cure certain medical conditions
12) The publication of matters connected with unauthorized lotteries.
13) Prohibition on the transmission by the post of such matter [unauthorized lotteries]
14) Publication of matter concerning certain prize competitions, prize chits and money circulation schemes
15) The reporting of legal proceedings under the Act [Hindu Marriage Act] [privacy in respect of matrimonial matters]
16) The publication of reports of legal proceedings involving sexual offences against women
17) No report in any newspapers, magazine or newssheet of any inquiry regarding a child under this Act shall disclose the name, address or school or any particulars calculated to lead to the identification of the child, nor shall any pictures of any such child be published […]
18) Printing and publication containing matters prejudicial to civil defence
Press & Government
1) Incitement to or spreading of disaffection among members of the police force by spoken or written words or actions
2) Printing of election pamphlets, posters, or other forms of appeals involving certain kinds of references, e.g. to religion, race, caste, community, etc.
3) The publication of certain matters concerning the judiciary and judicial proceedings
Press & Nation
1) Should not produce several acts which have a bearing on national security and public order
2) Importation of publications likely to affect the security of India or the maintenance of public order in the country.
3) The bringing into contempt of the national flag or the Constitution of India in any manner.
4) The publication of appeals using national symbols for furthering the prospects of any candidate at an election
B.3 Legal statements regarding what the press should not be or do in society (environment specific)
Social environment
1) Should not present misleading advertisements
2) Incitement to or spreading of disaffection among members of the police force by spoken or written words or actions
3) Importation of publications likely to affect the security of India or the maintenance of public order in the country.
4) Publication of certain matters deemed prejudicial to the civil defence
5) Publication of comments likely to incite or encourage the practice of ‘untouchability’
6) Harm to personal reputation (defamation)
7) Dissemination/ transmission of obscene matter
Dissemination of publications deemed to be harmful to persons under the age of twenty years9) The depiction of women in an indecent or derogatory manner in the mass media
10) Disclosure of the name, address and other particulars of any children involved in certain proceedings.
11) The use by any private party of certain names, emblems, etc
12) Advertisements for products and services claiming to cure certain medical conditions
13) The publication of matters connected with unauthorized lotteries.
14) Prohibition on the transmission by the post of such matter [unauthorized lotteries]
15) Publication of matter concerning certain prize competitions, prize chits and money circulation schemes
16) The reporting of legal proceedings under the Act [Hindu Marriage Act] [privacy in respect of matrimonial matters]
17) The publication of reports of legal proceedings involving sexual offences against women
18) No report in any newspapers, magazine or newssheet of any inquiry regarding a child under this Act shall disclose the name, address or school or any particulars calculated to lead to the identification of the child, nor shall any pictures of any such child be published […]
19) Printing and publication containing matters prejudicial to civil defence
Cultural Environment
1) Printing of election pamphlets, posters, or other forms of appeals involving certain kinds of references, e.g. to religion, race, caste, community, etc.
Political Environment
1) Should not produce several acts which have a bearing on national security and public order
2) Printing of election pamphlets, posters, or other forms of appeals involving certain kinds of references, e.g. to religion, race, caste, community, etc.
3) Importation of publications likely to affect the security of India or the maintenance of public order in the country.
4) The bringing into contempt of the national flag or the Constitution of India in any manner.
5) The publication of appeals using national symbols for furthering the prospects of any candidate at an election
6) The publication of certain matters concerning the judiciary and judicial proceedings
Press Commission set up for India
New Delhi: In what could be a good news for Media organisations across the country, the South Asia Free Media Association (SAFMA), the SAARC-recognised body of journalists, on Thursday announced the formation of a Press Commission for India.
The Commission will be charged with the task of protecting free flow of information and promoting cooperation in the region in an atmosphere of tolerance and trust.
The Commission, headed by Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu, N Ram and 25 other distinguished media personalities, will be part of the apex organisation comprising media representatives in South Asia.
SAFMA, in a release in Delhi said, the Commission will identify laws and regulations in different countries that evade the right to freedom of opinion.
It will also look into the performance and role of both state and private media on matters like promotion of mutual trust and understanding.
The Commission will identify violations of professional code of ethics about honest, objective and unbiased reporting and comment, and also keep a watch on measures by the state and other players to punish media economically or through other means.
It will also scrutinise cases of atrocities on journalist in discharging their duties.
N Ram welcomed the decision of SAFMA to set up national and regional press Commissions with a wide mandate and clear terms of reference.
“They will take comprehensive and objective look at the situation in our countries of freedom of press and the restrictions, both reasonable and unreasonable on this freedom,” news agency PTI quoted Ram as saying.
He added that the Commission would also objectively look at performance of the press, its editors, working journalists, proprietors, business managers and other players.
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