Economic emergence for all

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Saturday , May 03, 2008 at 2305 hrs It is interesting to see the next-to-nothing coverage in the media, particularly electronic media, of Rahul Gandhi’s gruelling forays into India’s tribal areas, as he and his team see for themselves the terrifying result of non-governance and absence of appropriate administration. It is easy to mock and belittle those who are actually out there, trying to get a grip of the realities that confront this nation, truths that have been aggravated over the years by sheer neglect and complete government denial.

It is much too hot at 40-plus centigrade temperatures for those “pretty” faces that adorn our small screens to follow a real and challenging “story”. It would call for some intelligent reading, some study of historical facts, some basic comprehension about government functioning and social upheavals that represent the aspirations of people who politicians have perversely taken for granted, to be able to ask serious questions and knowledgably probe the countryside crisis. But the familiarity and comfort of cricket and cinema in cool studios have proven too alluring for the media to give up. This makes for unintelligent and superficial mouthing of current political jargon, fed to robotic anchors by editors sitting at desks in comfortable offices. Any wonder that news viewers are being dumbed down so relentlessly?

Surely, there is space for “stories” ranging from the sublime at one end, to the ridiculous at the other and much else in between. If India is to take off, her diverse constituents need to connect. Governance has to address both types of needs and aspirations, not ignore one and live off both, which is what the trend has been thus far. The eruption of what is now termed “Naxalism” is a reflection of marginalised people asserting themselves, asking for their due rights, and this is a direct result of governance in denial. This is just one example.

It is a shame that the electronic media has no commitment to the inclusive growth India so desperately needs. What would dignify this great country would be TV as a technological tool that connects our diverse polity and alters the course of our political and social narratives, yielding a public domain that is inclusive and humane, shorn of the fancies and follies of urban spoilt brats.