Casteism & Media Mayhem

Note: The views expressed in this blog are just the blogger’s opinion and are not meant to hurt the sentiments of any person.

Welcome to my blog. Here you can read about my views on various topics like Politics, Sports, Social Issues, Media, etc. I will post a blog atleast once in a month.

In my very first blog let me express my opinion on the various happenings in the recent weeks and related topics.

1) The clashes in Rajasthan: This incident really brought shame to the whole country. Casteism is a shame for a country like India boasting a population of over a billion. Among the bigger economies of the world , only in India will you find people rioting and killing each other for the supremacy of the castes and communities they represent. Politicians from all walks of life talk endlessly of creating a casteless society but only end up with increasing the number of castes with their activities. The chief among them is a man who is highly respected in the political circles- The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. He is seen as a man who has worked tirelessly for the upliftment of the needy and the abolishment of castes. But in reality his work has only increased the number of castes. He speaks of creating a casteless society, then why there is a column with the caption-Caste & Community, in all application forms in the state – ranging from an LKG application form to an IAS form. If enquired about this the obvious reply would be Reservations. Here too a failure on their part is exposed. You provide the needy with reservation, allright, but why do you need the caste of the person to provide reservation. You only need the person’s community- whether he is an OC or BC or MBC or SC or ST. Here too Tamil Nadu stands exposed as the rest of the country provides reservation on the basis of only 2 communities- OC or SC/ST (3 if u take OBCs into account). Like in the Tamil movie MUDHALVAN, if u start asking for Community alone in Application forms, people will no longer need to remember their castes as it would serve no purpose (provided people stop looking into the caste of a person for the purpose of a marriage) and eventually the number of castes will start to decline generation after generation till there is only one caste left-Human Beings. I don’t see any such move to curb casteism happening, atleast in the next 10-20 years. Now that our Honourable yet detestable HRD Minister has sparked off another debate with his malicious intent on vote bank politics, there is no end in sight for this problem. In my view reservation should be made available only to the economically backward and not to the socially backward. Bravo to Ms.Mayawati for giving a voice to the need for reservation for the poor among the upper castes and to the Supreme Court for making a proposal to exclude the creamy layer from enjoying the benefits of reservation. Shame on you Col.Kirori Singh for bringing the country to shame. And for the CM of TN and the founder of the PMK, who both called for the inclusion of the creamy layer in the list for reservation, let them know who really needs reservation and who are unworthily enjoying the benefits of it. Thanks to you gentlemen that TN is a 69% reserved state. Let not the whole country suffer a similar fate. Jai Hind!!

2) Media Mayhem: I felt that there is a need to discuss the state of media in our country- especially the digital media. Ever since NDTV launched its private news channel- 24x7, there has been a spurt in the no. of news channels and the competition for news is now hotter than ever. But in their pursuit for hot news, do these news channels maintain the degree of decorum that is required for high class journalism? The answer is a definite NO. Recently when Indian cricket team toured Bangladesh, there was a hot discussion as to whether Dav Whatmore could be the next Indian coach. One news channel- Times Now, in its breaking news stated that Mr.Whatmore has been appointed as the coach with a one year contract quoting some sources within the BCCI. While all other news channels kept mum by only stating that he is a frontrunner, Times Now went a step ahead in order to sell its news assuming that Mr.Whatmore would surely be appointed the coach. But now that Mr.Whatmore is out of the race, what does Times Now has, to say to its viewers? An apology? Nay, they never do that. Such cheap tricks, to sell news, are not good for journalism itself. Now another channel too has resorted to such cheap tricks. I’m talking about CNN-IBN. This channel headed by the eminent journalist, Mr.Rajdeep Sardesai, has so far been an example of good journalism, but not anymore. Two days ago, when the BCCI officials met to decide on the next coach, it was stated by an official itself that a second person, apart from Graham Ford, will be invited for further talks and his name could not be revealed. The news channels immediately went on a rampage stating that Arjuna Ranatunga was the unnamed person quoting some sources. While all news channels stated that he could be the man, CNN-IBN, in its headlines of the morning news bulletin stated that “Arjuna Ranatunga is the next Indian Coach, the BCCI’s man under the covers”. The very same day it was revealed that the X-man was John Emburey. Another news channel that I would like to talk about is Headlines Today. It is going from bad to worse. Recently I learnt from a friend’s blog that they had invited Sania Mirza to be an expert in a panel to discuss India’s chances at the World Cup. Now today morning I wake up to find that the breaking news in this channel is Smriti Irani leaving the serial Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Ti. Very important news for the whole country, isn’t it? And worse, they air that same news for half an hour. TV Today network can’t get any worse. Their magazine- India Today sells only because of the glamour pics strewn across the pages & not because of the news it offers. That leaves me with only NDTV as a respectable channel. But over a period of time even NDTV has started resorting to cheap tricks to sell its news. News will sell if a high degree of professional journalism is maintained and not by resorting to cheap tricks. All news channels must realize this.

That would do for my first blog. I will come out with my views on a different topic in my next blog.