NEWSPAPER SHOULD BE THE VOICE OF THE VOICELESS - SHRI VAJPAYEE

PRIME MINISTER'S SPEECH AT THE 125TH ANNIVERSARY OF "THE HINDU"

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The Prime Minister, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, has said that there is an increasing tendency in a section of the media to project trivial things in life, to give more importance to certain aspects than is intrinsically due, to highlight the fads and fashions of the rich and the over-privileged and to aggressively advertise a consumerist lifestyle which is simply beyond the reach of the majority. Speaking at the 125^th anniversary of "The Hindu" newspaper at Chennai today, the Prime Minister said, "All this happens to the exclusion of attention paid to the problems of the masses, their sufferings and their aspirations, even their courageous – and often successful – efforts to overcome their odds." A newspaper should be a voice of the voiceless. It should be the hope of the hopeless. But this is not always the case. The common man is often invisible in the pages of our glossy newspapers and magazines, he added.

Shri Vajpayee said that he did not mean that the Indian newspapers do not highlight exploitation in society or corruption and wrongdoing in the corridors of power. They indeed, have a long and proud tradition of doing so. Such exposure of corruption and wrongdoing forces those in government to be vigilant. It also assists the self-corrective mechanism of a democracy. He cautioned that vigilance must be based on veracity and verification.

The Prime Minister said that he would like the media to play its part in communicating the vision of India as a Developed Nation and enriching this vision with substantive intellectual content drawn from both Indian and international sources and motivating the people around this vision. He said that in doing so the media would not be supporting any particular party, government or ideology, for the vision of India as a Developed Nation transcends party politics. He also said that the media could take care of its responsibilities and professional ethics. However, it should draw its own ‘Lakshman Rekha’ , he added.

Following is the text of the Prime Minister’s speech :

"I am very happy to join you at this important milestone in the journey of The Hindu.

It has indeed been an impressive journey : starting with a print-run of 80 copies. The Hindu is one of our principal newspapers today.

Some of us have had occasion to differ with some of the admonitions of the paper from time to time.

The paper itself would have had occasion to review some of them.

But even those who differ with it on issues, agree that The Hindu has been one of the leaders – in the comprehensiveness of its coverage; and in the way it has combined editorial content with technological innovation, professional management and commercial acumen.

I join all who are here in wishing it the best for the coming years.

Friends, on an occasion like this, which is historic in the annals of the Indian press, it is natural for us to think of certain fundamental issues and challenges before the Indian media. It is equally apt for us to reflect about the role of the media in our democracy and society. Here I would like to speak not so much as the Prime Minister but as a concerned citizen and as one who has devoted a long time to public life. My observations are also shaped by my formative years as a journalist. But that was a long time ago.

Truly, a long time ago, the media scene around me has changed beyond recognition. Like all of you, I am amazed at the breathtaking technological advances in media and communications. These advances have been most welcome. They have improved design and production qualities beyond belief. They have helped in the geographical and social spread of the media. This is clear from the rapidly growing circulation of newspapers – especially non-English newspapers. Many of them have set up editions even from district centres.

No doubt the spread of literacy has helped. But even the limitation of literacy has been breached by the dramatic spread of television in recent decades. The Internet has come as yet another gift of technology, increasing our access to globally generated information in ways that no one could have imagined.

All this has resulted in a democratisation of the media. I say so because information is a basic need and a fundamental right of citizens in a democracy. It is also a tool of empowerment. Therefore, the technology-driven growth of the media that we see today must by considered one of the most decisive developments in the history of mankind.

However, parallel to this development of the mass media for the masses, there is, to some extent, a contradictory process as well. It is what some critics have called ‘the mass media without the masses’. There is an increasing tendency in a section of the media to project trivial things in life, to give more importance to certain aspects than is intrinsically due, to highlight the fads and fashions of the rich and the over-privileged and to aggressively advertise a consumerist lifestyle which is simply beyond the reach of the majority.

All this happens to the exclusion of attention paid to the problems of the masses their sufferings and their aspirations even their courageous – and often successful – efforts to overcome their odds. A newspaper should be a voice of the voiceless. It should be the hope of the hopeless. But this is not always the case. The common man is often invisible in the pages of our glossy newspapers and magazines.

It is not my case that Indian newspapers do not highlight exploitation in society or corruption and wrongdoing in the corridors of power. Indeed, they have a long and proud tradition of doing so. Such exposure of corruption and wrongdoing forces those in government to be vigilant. It also assists the self-corrective mechanism of a democracy. But vigilance must be based on veracity, on verification.

The freedom of the press is an integral part of Indian democracy. It is protected by the Constitution. It is guarded in a more fundamental way by our democratic culture. This national culture not only respects freedom of thought and expression, but also has nurtured a diversity of viewpoints unmatched anywhere in the world. Persecution on account of one’s beliefs and insistence that all must accept a particular point of view is unknown to our ethos.

We must also remember that every freedom comes with responsibility. What I have observed in the way the media often looks at the political class and the government, is a tinge of negativism. There is a tendency to be hastily judgmental, with a weakness for sensational headlines and editorialising in news columns. Sometimes, an objective reportage of facts is compromised in the process.

After having had first-hand experience of governance for the past five years, I know the shortcomings in our system better than before. The media is welcome to expose these shortcomings. The point I am stressing is that the approach should be fair and balanced.

We have full faith in the Indian media. It can no doubt take care of its responsibilities and professional ethics. The media should draw its own Lakshman Rekha.

Let us also highlight legitimate causes of national pride. Good work is being done in every nook and corner of the country. Sometimes in the face of great odds. Some of it by the Government, but some also by private individuals and non-governmental organisations. I believe that success stories need at least as much attention as failures or disasters.

I have observed that many constructive debates in Parliament and developmental initiatives of the Government are routinely ignored, or only scantily covered, by the media. It especially happens in the case of issues concerning the poorer sections of our society or the remote and underdeveloped areas of our country. The largeness and diversity of India is often clouded by an obsession with personality-based politics or the narrow concerns of the metropolitan elite.

Friends, I also have a favour to ask of the Indian media, which is home to one-sixth of humanity, is engaged in a gigantic undertaking. Armed with the rich and useful experience of nation building in close to six decades after Independence, we now want to transform India into a Developed Nation in the next two decades. Achieving complete freedom from poverty, unemployment and regional and social disparities is an essential part of this project.

This is not an over-ambitious project. We have all the natural and human resources to realise it. What India has already achieved in diverse fields is there for all to see. To all these achievements must be added our crowning success in remaining a democracy against all odds. I disagree with those who say that Indian democracy is in danger. There is also no need to be skeptical about Indian secularism. In spite of unfortunate aberrations, whose recurrence must be prevented, India will always remain an open, inclusive and tolerant nation, with the freedom of faith guaranteed to all not only by the statute book but also by the living traditions of this ancient civilisation.

It is within this matrix of resurgent nationalism and a vibrant democracy that we have to implement our vision of India as a Developed Nation. Providing a high standard of material and cultural life for all its citizens, compassionate towards the needy, caring for the environment, proud of its spiritual and artistic heritage, and playing its rightful role in the affairs of the world, it will truly be a Developed Nation in the right sense of the term.

I would like the media to play its part in communicating this vision, enriching this vision with substantive intellectual content drawn from both Indian and international sources, and motivating the people around this vision.

In doing so, you would not be supporting any particular party or government or ideology. For the vision of India as a Developed Nation transcends party politics. It is also, clearly, beyond the means of any single government. Rather, like the idea of India as a Free Nation in the first part of the last century, this idea expresses the collective will, aspiration and determination of all Indians in our times, cutting across political, ideological and other barriers. Precisely for this reason, it is an idea pregnant with immense transformative power.

I urge all sections of the Indian media to participate in the adventure of this social transformation with a sense of mission. Indeed, all sections of our society have to plunge into this project with a sense of mission. It is by no means an easy task. We have to unlearn many habits. We have to learn new constructive ones. Above all, we have to learn a certain discipline and readiness for cooperation and hard work, without which no nation can achieve great feats.

I have no doubt that a serious and progressive newspaper like The Hindu will play an honoured role in this national endeavour.

With these words, I once again convey my very best wishes to all the members of the distinguished family of The Hindu, for the onward journey of this great Indian newspaper."