|
India's Hall of Shame http://dailypioneer.com/columnist1.asp?main_variable=Columnist&file_name=prasad%2Fprasad179%2Etxt&writer=prasad |
| The
Hindu priestly class, or Brahmins, would almost instantly earn top
honour in India's Hall of Shame. Spiritually stripped, and ritually
bare-bodied, Brahmins pronounced a class of people as impure and
polluting - even their shadows ought to be avoided. |
| In
some parts of India, untouchables can't venture into non-untouchable
habitat. Landlords can easily win the second place who see the rule of
law with contempt. Often they would not pay minimum wages to labourers.
Some times, they would expect labourers' children to work for no
payment. |
| Malaria
can easily claim the third place. Since NMCP (National Malaria Control
Programme) was started in 1953, millions of people are saved from the
deadly endemic. Despite the fact that about one fourth of country's
health budget is spent on malaria control since 1977, it continues to
haunt India. |
| Child
prostitution wins the fourth place in India's Hall of Shame. According
to a UN study, India ranks first in child prostitution. The saving
grace - brothel owners don't claim any progressive distinctions. |
| India's
private sector would easily grab the fifth position for its merit war
cry on the question of desegregating Indian society. |
| With
Dr JJ Irani committee report, however, India Inc has tried to wriggle
out of that Hall of Shame. India Inc is promising to integrate
untouchables/adivasis in their workforce and business chains. How far
they are truthful to their words will be known in a year's time. |
| Needless to say, India Inc too has never claimed any progressive distinction. All they say is that "we are nation-builders." |
| When
I spoke to some of my Dalit friends about the ranking of the Indian
media in India's Hall of Shame, almost all gave it the highest points.
And the priestly class slipped to the second position. There are two
reasons why the Indian media is ranked number one in India's Hall of
Shame. |
| First,
like any profit making enterprise, media too is an industry. Second,
unlike rest four in the Hall of Shame, the morality gown the Indian
media adorns can far outstrip coronation gown of the Queen Elizabeth II. |
| As
legally authorised opinion police, the Indian media is notoriously
known for abducting public mood. With that might, the media extorts a
host of subsidies from the State. Despite all that, the media remains
overwhelmed by caste apartheid. |
| The
race-split American media faced a similar question. When the issue of
desegregating American society came in post Civil Rights movements in
'70s', the ASNE (American Society for Newspaper Editors) was the first
to launch in 1975 a race/ethnicity head count of journalists. It was
discovered that Blacks/Native Americans/Hispanics were only 3.95 per
cent of the total journalists employed by mainstream newspapers/TV
channels. |
| The
ASNE in the year 1978 decided to embrace journalists from Blacks/other
ethnic groups, and the "Diversity & Year 2000 Goal" was set. |
| Today,
Black/other minorities comprise about 14 per cent of the total
journalistic workforce. Almost every American newspaper/TV Channel has
Affirmative Action/Diversity Board with the task of recruiting
journalists of colour. |
| What
about India? Legendary journalist BN Uniyal in his pathbreaking, well
researched article In Search of a Dalit Journalist (November 16, 1996)
in this very newspaper had discovered that there was no Dalit
journalist in Delhi's media establishments. |
| Has
anything changed since November 16, 1996? Of course, the Dalit Diary
was born on April 4, 1999 in this very newspaper as India's first
weekly Dalit authored column. |
| Well,
there may have been a couple of Dalit journalists till November 16,
1996, a few more today, but with camouflaged identities. The fact that
Dalit journalists need to camouflage their identities shows how racist
the Indian media is. |
| What
Indian editors/News Channel profiteers should know is that the air
outside India's Hall of Shame is quite stimulating and enjoyable. |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Ours is a battle not for wealth or for power.
It is a battle for freedom. It is a battle for the reclamation of human personality."
- Dr BR Ambedkar
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