The Minister of
Information and Broadcasting, Smt. Sushma Swaraj has called upon
the PIO Parliamentarians as well as members of Indian Parliament
to ensure that their thought processes should climax into positive
action and intervention for fortifying our links and exchanges
for the benefit of young generations and posterity.
Delivering
the keynote address on ‘Culture, Education and Media Exchange’
at the Second PIO Parliamentarians Conference, here today, Smt.
Swaraj listed three areas for which concerted thinking is required.
First, the preservation and development of our rich diversity
of languages which require to be protected from the adverse effects
of globalisation. Second, the tradition of classical and folk
performing arts. She said, though she was not against the pop
music but she cautioned that the backdoor entry should not be
provided to the advertisers to decide on consumer’s taste and
the profit making electronic media, dancing or singing to the
tune of advertises. Third, she said, is the attrition of reading
habits amongst the youth. Internet should not be at the cost of
three ‘R’s, Reading, Writing and Arithmetic. We should not forget
that the success of our human brains in the developed world is
also because of the rigorous training received by the young minds
during childhood.
Drawing
attention to the need to ensure that our films, TV, newspapers
and magazines do not respond to commercial signals alone, Smt.
Swaraj expressed confidence that ‘our cultural identity can never
be lost or swept away’ and culture has to be viewed in a dynamic
and not a static context. While expressing her opposition to Government
control or blind censorship, Smt. Swaraj said that some kind of
content control is required and the rules of the game must be
clearly defined and posterity should not blame us for not taking
the right steps at the right time.
Inviting
the diaspora to board the vehicle of media and entertainment development
in India and fortify links with motherland, she envisaged a two-way
travel, from India and to India and also profits to be made in
the process. Media will be the only logical vehicle of our links
with the diaspora. The media and entertainment revolution has
enabled us to realise that media is a strong and vibrant vehicle.
The ethnic media abroad has done a great service in this regard
by ensuring that unbiased information of development in India
is given to the Indians staying abroad. For the Parliamentarians,
no doubt, the ethnic media must also be playing a very important
role of enabling them to reach their constituents.
Smt.
Swaraj repeated her proposal to have greater interaction with
the ethnic media later this year by organising a conference of
the leaders of the ethnic media to interact with the leaders in
this field in India. The conference could focus on both the print
and the electronic media, she concluded.
