Hindu’s Readers’ Editor Flawed


Click to read full text of Panneerselvam's column in the Hindu: 





The Hindu’s Readers’ Editor A. S. Panneerselvan again let down the readers:

I had come to this feeling on his observations published in the Hindu dated 9th September 2019 while dealing with Vijay S. Raghavan’s complaints, a reader from Navi Mumbai.

Raghavan expressed his serious concerns to Panneerselvan’s last column titled – “Selective Silence Leads to Calamities” (September 2, 2019).

Readers’ Editor said:

“After criticizing the role played by the political families of Jammu and Kashmir, including the Abdullahs and Mufti Sayeeds, Raghavan contended that the Modi Government should be given a long rope to bring about law and order in the region. He then spoke of THE EXODUS OF PANDITS FROM THE VALLEY AND SAID THAT NO MEDIA CAME TO THEIR RESCUE THEN. He cited cross-border terrorism to justify the curbing of freedom of both the citizens of Kashmir and the media. He declared that there is “no use in lamenting on the freedom of press under these unusual circumstances in Kashmir”.

Panneerselvan contented that Raghavan’s remarks are a flawed argument and that they go against the grain of responsible journalism and the commitment of the state to its own citizens. 

Then he was quoting Economic Slow Down, Failure of Foreign Policies, Fall of GDP to all time low of 5% and many more. He points out that ‘the government’s control of the communication processes is intrinsically undemocratic and harmful, as it privileges voices of authority and weakens those who speak truth to power.

Readers’ Editor concludes with the following sermon: “It is the duty of the press to point out the failure of the state to be on the side of the citizens when their fundamental rights are being trampled upon.”

Actually I was frantically searching in Panneerseval’s rejoinder what was his comments and reactions to the most tragic events happened in Jammnu and Kashmir resulting in the exodus of pundits from the valley and most importantly the deaf, dumb and blind roles played by the Media then which includes even the Hindu.

In those periods of Massacres, lacs of Kashmir Pundits who are sons of soil, were terrorized to leave their homes by Muslims and their sufferings, their tale of rapes, their destructions of houses were simply ignored by the Press then. 

Hence, the State had failed to save those Pundits and the Press had not stood with those poor pundits, when “their fundamental rights were trampled upon.”  

The Press’s failure then was unpardonable and hence equally Panneerselvan’s skipping Raghavan’s observations about Kashmir Pundits now.

Compared to the sufferings undergone by Pundits, the situations now where no single bullet was shot are not alarming.

I am not justifying the curbing of freedom, but, I am only questioning why Panneerselvan had not uttered even a word about the role played by the Press then at the time of Kashmir Pundits’ Massive Exodus.

“News behind the barbed wire” should be seen in the light of “Press Hiding under Purdah during Pundits Exodus”.


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