*
Dear Friends, By now the Nityananda case is known to everyone including, perhaps, the baby-in-the-womb. We have learnt the lesson (the same lesson) once again about the blind-following of self-styled god men with high rhetoric talents. This particular episode needs more scrutiny from a different perspective. It is not the exploitation of gullible persons (including the educated public) in the name of religion by Nityananda and his ilks to their advantage and to quench their sexual and other needs, it is not the sting operation that brought to light the nauseating act in the Ashramam, it is not the ire of the public on Nityananda for the outrage on their faith on him and the vandalism that followed, it is not the usual statements after such revelations from politicians led by a chief minister condemning and threatening such godmen of severe consequences, it is not whether the authorities concerned will go through proper investigation and bring the criminals to book and suitably punish them, that merits our concern. Which one has done more damage to the society -- Nityananda with his nefarious activity or the media that brought the gutter in to the main hall of our homes? This is a subject of debate, though. What is more important at this moment is the manner in which and the zest with which this matter was taken to the public merits condemnation. Granting that such sting operations are legal and are meant only to cleanse the society of such abominable characters, the good old dictum that "End cannot justify the means" is totally defied en route the goal. Were there not other means to launch a case against such criminals using those video clippings? Are the people the only resort to bring every such act for justice? If so, why do we unnecessarily have the police and justice departments in our scheme of things? Can anyone, in such a case, take any problem to the streets? The amount of damage that this revelation has done to the morale of the society, than any service that it had claimed to have been done, is enormous and irreversible. Repeatedly telecasting the scene at nausea right in to the drawing/dining room of households where invariably children stay to complete their school-work is highly condemnable. Who had given these media moguls the right to do what they want. No Sir, they do not have to get it from anyone; they can usurp it! That is the type of misplaced notion that they have created among the public. On the one side we have the 'checks and balances' among the three wings of parliamentary democracy (the president, the parliament and the judiciary) and on the other side we have absolute freedom to the so-called fourth-estate, the media. Whereas our Constitution has envisaged 'checks and balances' for the rest it is perhaps silent about the media or perhaps wants the people to issue the mandate. There is one way by which the people can show their power and curtail the high-handedness of the media. This should have been done many decades back when we graduated from the print media to the Audio-visual media which is more powerful and can reach even the illiterate and uneducated who cannot distinguish between the chaff and the grain. We had travelled long miles from the big screen to the small screen that dominates the central hall of all our homes. It is not without reason that the chief minister of Tamil Nadu introduced the free Colour TV issuance programme to the public! He knew fully well the power of this screen. To put an end to this menace and to make sure that the present incident is one of its kind and does not form a precedence to more such shows, we have to take immediate action within our means (how much so ever slender that one may try to argue and try to prove that we are helpless). One immediate thought that crosses my mind is to boycott the channel and all its tributaries/subsidiaries under the same management that brought this scene in to our homes for a period of one year or till such time the channel ranking falls steeply, whichever is more. As I type these statements I have resolved in my mind NOT to view this channel as said above though I have a few unfinished serials that I have been viewing lately. I appeal to all my friends, who contribute to and share my views, to ponder over the issue and the remedial measure as a baby's step and resolve to boycott the channel as suggested. Please pass on this mail to as many friends as possible to spread this message. If need be, mark a copy also to the channel concerned. This is one way we can show our power as a citizen of the land of Gandhi for whom "End cannot justify the means but means are equally important" Thank you all and with best wishes, Ramakrishnan *
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