A soldier dies and there’s absolutely no coverage in visual media (maybe a times new roman 8 with 20 words in print) but an anti-national (stone pelter, maoist, militant etc.) dies and the media goes into a frenzy. They go to the extent of showing their families wailing and air it prime time. It’s not that the soldiers (Army, BSF, ITBP, CRPF etc.) don’t have families or that their families don’t shed tears.
Barkha Dutt (who I respect and thus warrants space here) wants to give prime time to the anti nationals while happily painting the Indian soldier with one common brush..rapist, killer of innocent people, misuser of AFSPA. Barkha Dutt’s claim to fame is her brave and unprecedented (in India) coverage of the Kargil war but do give it a second thought while we are at it. She wasn’t there serving the nation or doing her normal duty. That was her chance to claim lime light and reach newer heights in her profession and she took it well. The ones she was covering fighting for the country were doing their duty. It wasn’t a shot at fame for those soldiers like it was for Barkha Dutt. The soldiers (women included) were not there because they got 'an opportunity of a lifetime' rather just because the bugle called. Barkha Dutt, through her exploits, earned the highest order of respect (deservedly so) and ears everytime she spoke or interviewed. The stature that she has earned should not be wasted on prejudiced TV shows or news reports and it would be in the best interest of India and journalism itself if she didn’t take sides and showed both sides of the story. Instead of empathizing with loss of life of an anti-national she should do journalism favour and take a more balanced and objective view. A life is a life..whether that of an anti-national or that of a soldier but think about it - the anti-national died working against the sovereignty of the country while the soldier died defending it. So you decide.
I don’t deny some (very very few actually) soldiers have wronged the society (for which they have been duly punished or are being tried) but to paint all of them with the same negative brush is treason of the highest order. And when the ‘responsible journalists’ do that they also show the plight of the ‘affected’ people thereby creating victims out of the culprits (if u go shooting or stone throwing at a soldier you cannot expect flowers in return). As a result the soldiers become the culprits.
On another day, I would recognize the important work that some journalists are doing but today I want to highlight what the majority of the TRP hungry journos are doing. I wish they would get out of their air-conditioned lives and see what a soldier goes through on just a normal day at his/her work. Instead of realizing AND recognizing what heroes our soldiers are they leave no stone unturned in making them the villains and creating heroes out of the anti-nationals.
This country has gone to the Dogs and the politicians and journalists are mainly to blame. Can’t expect better from politicians as most just care about votes, but again, most journos just care about TRPs. Cheap bloody journos!!!
Tarun Vijay has wonderfully put in words the feelings I have regarding this matter..read the poem at the end, brings tears to my eyes.
http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indus-calling/entry/whose-man-is-that-soldier-fighting-in-kashmir
Barkha Dutt (who I respect and thus warrants space here) wants to give prime time to the anti nationals while happily painting the Indian soldier with one common brush..rapist, killer of innocent people, misuser of AFSPA. Barkha Dutt’s claim to fame is her brave and unprecedented (in India) coverage of the Kargil war but do give it a second thought while we are at it. She wasn’t there serving the nation or doing her normal duty. That was her chance to claim lime light and reach newer heights in her profession and she took it well. The ones she was covering fighting for the country were doing their duty. It wasn’t a shot at fame for those soldiers like it was for Barkha Dutt. The soldiers (women included) were not there because they got 'an opportunity of a lifetime' rather just because the bugle called. Barkha Dutt, through her exploits, earned the highest order of respect (deservedly so) and ears everytime she spoke or interviewed. The stature that she has earned should not be wasted on prejudiced TV shows or news reports and it would be in the best interest of India and journalism itself if she didn’t take sides and showed both sides of the story. Instead of empathizing with loss of life of an anti-national she should do journalism favour and take a more balanced and objective view. A life is a life..whether that of an anti-national or that of a soldier but think about it - the anti-national died working against the sovereignty of the country while the soldier died defending it. So you decide.
I don’t deny some (very very few actually) soldiers have wronged the society (for which they have been duly punished or are being tried) but to paint all of them with the same negative brush is treason of the highest order. And when the ‘responsible journalists’ do that they also show the plight of the ‘affected’ people thereby creating victims out of the culprits (if u go shooting or stone throwing at a soldier you cannot expect flowers in return). As a result the soldiers become the culprits.
On another day, I would recognize the important work that some journalists are doing but today I want to highlight what the majority of the TRP hungry journos are doing. I wish they would get out of their air-conditioned lives and see what a soldier goes through on just a normal day at his/her work. Instead of realizing AND recognizing what heroes our soldiers are they leave no stone unturned in making them the villains and creating heroes out of the anti-nationals.
This country has gone to the Dogs and the politicians and journalists are mainly to blame. Can’t expect better from politicians as most just care about votes, but again, most journos just care about TRPs. Cheap bloody journos!!!
Tarun Vijay has wonderfully put in words the feelings I have regarding this matter..read the poem at the end, brings tears to my eyes.
http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indus-calling/entry/whose-man-is-that-soldier-fighting-in-kashmir
2 comments:
Damn U beat me on this one..But I totally second you on this one mate!! The country has really gone to the dogs...Disgusted to have "Leaders" like Raj Thakerey taking that b@$t@rd's side for 26/11 comment..
Superb comment by Tarun Vijay..."In the secular sultanate of Delhi’s power brokers, a soldier is just another babu, another employee to be denied a justifiable demand of "one rank-one pension" by those politicians who raise their salaries 300% in a jiffy."..Absolute Classic!
Excellent thoughts mate...television journalism is not about news anymore...its about sensationalism...its not about giving credit where people deserve it, but about how can you bring something negative about a perfectly clean person...all in all..the arnab goswamis and barkha dutts of this world are so loud because that's the only way they think they can manipulate our mind...
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