News these days is more about shouting, cross-talking and exchanging insults than honest debates and civilised analyses of data
Ira Pande
Diwali is over and thanks to the Supreme Court order banning firecrackers, Delhi was largely peaceful. Of course, there were some who chose to disregard the order and one did hear the occasional pataka, but such was the general level of awareness of the environmental pollution that such rowdies were shamed. The result has been perceptible and for the first time in years, one was greeted by a blue sky and bright sunshine on the morning following the festival.
Perhaps the same can also be said of several of our own high-minded citizens and political leaders. In the name of social justice and secularism, unspeakable crimes have been committed by those who are slowly being revealed to us as practising the exact opposite of what they publicly preached.
I wish I could say the same about the noise pollution that is unleashed upon us every evening by the high-decibel debates that rage on our news channels. Have we lost all civility in public debates? It took Mr Pranab Mukherjee to tell a prominent news anchor how rude it is to interrupt a guest who has been invited for a conversation, particularly if the guest is the ex-President of this country. I find that more and more people have stopped following news programmes, preferring cookery shows or some TV serials instead. The declining interest in watching prime time news should be a matter of serious concern to our news channels, for this means less revenue for them in ads. Yet even more dangerous is the confusion they have created between news and views. I can think of practically no news channel that does not promote one or the other political view, ranging from ultra left to ultra right. I was recently sent two articles that appeared in the New York Times and The Guardian, both publications popular among academic and discerning readers. Significantly, both were completely wrong in their predictions of the US Presidential elections and Brexit, but let that pass since those are now history.
Ira Pande is the writer of this article
The point I wish to make is that today they feel compelled to write about two of the 'heroes' valorised in their pages. The first is Hillary Clinton (whose autobiography is being slammed for being less than truthful, given the facts that have now emerged) and the other is the renowned Hollywood film director, Harvey Weinstein, whose sexual misdemeanours have assumed epic proportions. He seems to have groped and sexually harassed almost every well-known Hollywood film actress, even as he was cheered as the upholder of feminism, human rights and other worthwhile causes. Hillary Clinton was cheered by the feminists and those who stood for clean politics. The same people are now questioning her role in destabilising Libya and the Middle East, where hundreds of women and children became unfortunate collateral damage. People are now beginning to see how these two events ultimately led to the refugee crisis that has driven Europe and her own country into a serious crisis and turned many liberal democracies into bigoted nations.
Perhaps the same can also be said of several of our own high-minded citizens and political leaders. In the name of social justice and secularism, unspeakable crimes have been committed by those who are slowly being revealed to us as practising the exact opposite of what they publicly preached. The rampant misuse of quotas and reservations has ruined our educational institutions, hospitals and public services. How many of our privileged and pampered people send their children abroad to study, how many go to government hospitals for treatment and how many use public transport? When we have turned our backs on our own country and run it down constantly, how will we ever instil a sense pride in being Indian?
I am beginning to get tired of listening to the unending litany of insults that one party hurls against the other. We are quick to point out the shortcomings of our country but never spend any time on the good that is also being done. Disasters, rapes, murders and scams - is this all there is to report? I was horrified this evening as I watched the news being signed off by the anchor, saying that she was looking forward to a lot of fun in the days ahead (leading to the Gujarat polls). So we have made viewing elections as enjoyable as an ODI between India and Pakistan, have we? Hours are spent on prime time news programmes on the authenticity of CCTV footage to determine whether this person met that leader or not, while the true issues that ought to be highlighted lie forgotten under a mound of trivia. Shouting, cross-talking, exchanging insults - this is what we now prefer to promote, not honest debates and civilised analyses of data and information. We live in strange times indeed. In the passing away of Girija Devi, we have lost the last of the great musicians of Banaras. Renowned for her poorvi ang style thumris, Girija Devi (or Appaji as she was fondly called by her countless fans) divided her time between Kolkata's ITC Sangeet Akademi and Banaras.
Old timers of Chandigarh will remember the thrilling concerts she gave at Chandigarh Sangeet Sammelan when it used to be held in the Rose Garden. Even more delightful were her private baithaks at her host's home when she sang compositions that she had often composed herself. Her charming personality, with its sweet Banarasi lilt and the fragrance of her Banarasi paan are an unforgettable memory. RIP, Appaji.