An Independence Day Wish

Twenty years after the assault on the Sikh community following the assassination of Indira Gandhi, it was salutary to have a Congress Party Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, a Sikh, address the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort. Absent was the false and pompous political rhetoric that had become the speech norm over the last many years. It was a clean, honest and deliberate address. It had no trappings of superficial slogans.

Juxtaposed to that image was the recent memory of Sonia Gandhi?s renunciation of raw power and her commitment to working for the renewal of the party. A remarkable difference from the political jockeying we have witnessed over the past decades. A happy relief.

But, for some, old habits die hard. Arjun Singh could do what he has set out to do without all the accompanying blah…it would have been dignified. The reassuring signal that has emanated from the office of the Prime Minister is that there is no intention to carry on a witch hunt, something previous governments have indulged in and, as a result, ended up polluting the space of governance. The disease has to be fumigated. The country is sick of old time political posturing by doddering men and women, hanging on to their gaddis for dear life…those who should have graciously retired and set new standards by doing so.

When our television press was desperately trying to fill space for independence day specials, they went about asking Harkishan Surjeet what he thought of the speech of the Prime Minister. I asked myself why any viewer would be interested in the response. And, it would be predictable to boot…his rhetoric has not changed in eons. Why not ask the young, those in their 20s and 30s, the future of India? Why look for reactions from the petrified, fossilised characters of the past?

Our press is equally to blame for the constant coverage they give to the 70 pluses. It is the same old faces, the same old views, the same club of 50, maximum 100, we have to tolerate day in and day out. This overwhelming inertia to go out there and search for fresh faces, people, minds, attitudes and positions in an attempt to go beyond the mental levels of the reporters themselves, to generate intellectual excitement, to comprehend what people are really thinking, is why the press got it wrong in the last election. They had begun to believe in and perpetuate through the medium, their own personal perceptions! Dumbing down is just plain easy, requires no hard work, no real thinking, and most can indulge in it with success.

Maybe it is this attitude and unfortunate calibre that makes Indian news channels so dull and boring when compared to any international current affairs channel. By and large, our anchors invariably interrupt the guest when (s)he is saying something important or unexpected. These young men and women cannot bear to be overshadowed. Maybe they are insecure about how little they know and that they could well be exposed. I have not heard any truly sharp questioning in any of the shows, any unusual insights. Everyone is let off, the real questions are never addressed or asked, all a soft sell with a veneer and pretence of being ?hard hitting?.

BBC does so many great shows, documentaries both historic and contemporary, most of which are at least an hour long and riveting. Their debates and discussions are lively, their anchor men and women all people of great personality. How one misses similar programmes about this country, its history, its people, its great personalities, its politics and its myriad cultures. The strengths just do not come across the footlights. Nor does the excitement of a layered society and culture. We seem to ape the lowest common denominator from across the globe, believing that our audiences know no better. The condescension of our press is inexplicable.

Let us hope that in the 58th year of freedom, the institutions in this country will grow creatively and emerge from the stagnation that they have become victims of…that they will generate a new energy.