‘A Dog With a Bone in Its Mouth Can’t Bark’: Arun Shourie on Mainstream Media
New Delhi: Speaking at The Wire Dialogues on September 2, Arun Shourie came down hard on mainstream media. “It is the fourth estate of democracy. It is the institution designed to hold the government to account. But, sadly we have not seen that happen,” he said.
Shourie elaborated on how the media – barring a few publications – has not followed up on important stories. “In the story about Jay Shah, The Wire only documented what is on the department of company affairs website. And you say that nobody should talk about it,” Shourie said. “The media is not following up. Its duty would be, if there is a stay order against The Wire then everybody else should print it.”
Shourie cited the example of the Pentagon papers where the The New York Times was served a restraining order barring the newspaper from publishing further after it had broken the story. As the Times could no longer publish, The Washington Post, a competitor, followed up on the story and published several articles. Both the Post and the Times were taken to court by the government, where the newspapers eventually won in a landmark decision for press freedom.
“In any country with a free press, if one paper publishes one aspect of a story, twenty others will start digging and publish other things. Here the twenty ran away. Only The Caravan followed up on The Wire’s story,” Shourie said highlighting The Caravan’s investigation into the business fortunes of Amit Shah’s son, Jay Shah.
Karan Thapar, the interviewer, asked Shourie if he thought that the media was deliberately not following up. Shourie responded by recalling a Zulu proverb, “A dog with a bone in its mouth can’t bark.”
Shourie explained that he did not believe that the media is not speaking truth to power out of fear. “I feel they are not following up out of greed. The accounts of fear are an excuse that the media is using.”
Responding to Thapar’s question on whether he was disappointed or disgusted with the media, Shourie said, “I have sort of passed all that. There is such a great change in the media, you are wasting your emotions being either disgusted or disappointed.”
The former minister in Atal Bihar Vajpayee’s government, however, stated fear and intimidation also played a role in muzzling the media. “There is no doubt that there is also an attempt to intimidate the media. ABP news sacked some of its journalists. You [Karan Thapar] are not on the main channels as you should be. NDTV is also facing pressures. The strategy is to kill the chickens to frighten the monkeys. You don’t have to do it to everybody,” Shourie said.
Shourie also had a few words of advice for readers. “My advice to readers is that you should support The Wire. There are only a few publications like Scroll, Altnews, The Wire and one newspaper, The Indian Express, which are telling the truth.”
“Mahatma Gandhi used to say that the hands of copyists are our printing machines. Today you have the internet. If some story is blocked by a court order, let us all circulate it. A hundred thousand people circulate it and it will reach all across India,” Shourie said.
courtesy : thewire.in
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7 held in election-related violence in Assam: Police
Guwahati, Apr 9 (PTI) Seven people were held in connection with election-related violence at two places in Assam, officials said on Thursday.
Besides, minor clashes also erupted at several polling booths after voting began in the morning, with people suffering minor injuries, they said.
Inspector General of Police (Law and Order), Akhilesh Kumar Singh, told PTI that violence took place in Tamulpur and Sivasagar on Wednesday night, hours before polling began for the assembly elections at 7 am.
"We got reports of a clash between two groups at Tamulpur last night. Police reached the spot immediately and tried to control the crowd. When they did not listen, a few rounds were fired in the air to disperse the mob," he said, adding that four people were arrested from the site.
In another incident, two to three members of a political party were attacked in Sivasagar, the IG said.
"We have detained three persons there. The investigation is going on," he said.
Akhil Gogoi, who is seeking re-election from the Sibsagar seat, alleged that BJP nominee Kushal Dowari was behind the incident.
In a series of social media posts, Gogoi claimed two people were injured, and their vehicles were also damaged in the attack.
Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) Chief Executive Member Hagrama Mohilary said a detailed enquiry will reveal the cause of the clash in Tamulpur.
"The situation is normal now. We are monitoring it, and there is enough security presence to avoid any untoward incident," he said.
Polling is underway for the 126-member assembly to decide the electoral fate of 722 candidates. It will continue till 5 pm, with May 4 scheduled for the counting of votes.
A number of minor clashes have erupted at several polling stations in Sribhumi, Golaghat and Nagaon districts.
"Most of the clashes took place due to heavy rush, with people fighting over breaking the queue," an official said.
At some polling booths in places like Patharkandi, Merapani and Raha, supporters of ruling and opposition parties clashed, he said.
"However, police were already present in those areas, and the situations were handled instantly. The polling is going on uninterrupted," he added.
The BJP-led NDA is seeking a third consecutive term in power in these elections, while the Congress is looking to reclaim the state it lost a decade ago.
