Channel surfer
By
Randeep
Wadehra
Agni-5’s test-firing triggered
off an unprecedented round of waffling on the idiot box. Experts of various
shapes, sizes and proclivities proclaimed that now India could hit any target
in China. Rudimentary calculation would have enabled anyone to reach the same
conclusion. We all know that still more time and efforts are needed to make
Agni-5 a credible deterrent. So, why single out China and do a George
Fernandez?
By an interesting coincidence mainstream
television featured two centurions on April 27. Rajya Sabha nomination of
Sachin Tendulkar elicited mixed reactions laced with doubts whether the scorer
of hundred centuries was elderly enough for the House of Elders. Then, there
was Zohra Sehgal on CNN-IBN and Headlines Today, sprightly enough on her
hundredth birthday to look at the funnier side of life. April 29 saw another
legend, Jagjit Singh, being featured on Colors TV wherein who’s who of the
subcontinent’s music and film worlds paid tributes to the late ghazal singer.
But, not all was celebratory. The
Dirty Picture failed to sizzle on Sony TV. Instead, Three Idiots was
telecast. The touted reason was: the movie shouldn’t be beamed into our
sacrosanct drawing rooms at prime time. This, after 59 cuts were undertaken to
obtain the UA Certificate; and Vidya Balan was conferred with the National
Award for Best Actress for her performance in The Dirty Picture, thus
acknowledging the artistic quality of her histrionics!
However, sex is not such a dirty
word for our media pundits although they had turned up their supercilious noses
at the Bhanwari Devi scandal. But when it came to the Singhvi sex CD
tittle-tattle they promptly organized talk shows, not to discuss ways and means
for restoring probity among our political classes but to berate the “menace”
that internet, especially social media, posed to individuals’ reputations. Even
the issue of judicial appointments becoming amenable to political influence was
ignored. Justice Katju went from channel to channel (CNN-IBN, Times Now,
Headlines Today, NDTV etc) reiterating his pet theme of regulating the social
media. When pointed out that there is no technology available for the purpose,
the Justice remarked that all this could be done “in the future”. But how? In
reply, he held forth on the virtues of scientific research. Obviously, we
cannot ban or regulate social media in India. Besides, various TV talk shows
have been exaggerating the social media’s power for creating mischief like
communal riots in the country. In fact, the cyber world has been doing more
good than harm. When the mainstream media become complicit in odious activities
in high places the internet invariably comes in handy for revealing the truth
as has happened in the Bofors case. A website, www.thehoot.org,
has come up with revelations that are going to impact the public perception of
the way crime in high places is investigated in our country. Moreover, it has
redeemed Amitabh Bachchan’s reputation who was, now we learn, unfairly targeted
both by the mainstream media and various investigating agencies. Also, let us
not forget the Wikileaks’s salutary impact on international diplomacy. Regulating
the internet is technologically and administratively unfeasible and banning it
goes against our democratic-liberal grain.
Published in The Tribune dated
May 13, 2012
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