NEW DELHI: Scores of journalists and media persons gathered at a protest and panel discussion held at the Press Club of India in the evening of May 9th. The meeting was held to address the increasingly overt measures taken to muffle Indian media in light of the CBI raid of NDTV co-founders Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy’s home.

As the growing horde of journalists settled down , the panel discussion commenced with a video message from journalist Rajdeep Sardesai, in which he claimed that he has “never met anyone with the integrity of Prannoy and Radhika Roy.” Sardesai had worked at NDTV for eleven years prior to starting his own media company in 2005. He continued however, to suggest that this protest is not about NDTV and that “ [He is] not here to defend the Roys.”, but to present that the media needs to be united and speak against the censorial efforts of the current regime. “In the present atmosphere, silence is not the answer”, he concluded.

In fact, almost every speaker in the panel stated that the problem to be addressed here is not the isolated case of the CBI raids on NDTV, but of a larger trend of nationwide gagging of the media. Fali Nariman, a member of the panel and a noted legal expert echoed Sardesai by stating : “This is not to contest whether the raid is legitimate. It is about the events that unfolded here”. Nariman was referring to the conflict that occurred between NDTV journalist Nidhi Razdan and BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra, the latter of whom was asked to leave the debate for making groundless allegations against NDTV on television. Nariman drew a causal link between this conflict with a representative of BJP and the subsequent decision to raid Roy’s house four days after the argument.

Most of the panellists emphasised on the need for press unity and an active and vocal media, which does not bend to the will of the government. Armed with a humorous quip against the government, fellow panellist and renowned journalist Arun Shourie remarked on the need for a united media by saying that we should show “deep gratitude to Modi, he brought us all together.” Punctuating the conversation with humorous remarks, Shourie effectively delivered his opinion on the growing infiltration of government ideology in the media. He critiqued the amount of space that the media, especially in print, gives to government officiated statements and reports. He ended his speech quite powerfully, suggesting that the media needs to boycott and show non-cooperation towards the current “totalitarian government”, and not give in to the small concessions that the government provides.

The need for a toughened approach towards an oppressive regime was also highlighted by journalist Shekhar Gupta, who declared from the onset that “we should not get distracted by the merits of the NDTV case”, as this is the time for the media to form a united front. Turning towards the seated Prannoy Roy, he says grimly: “Prannoy needs to be thick skinned”.

As Roy got up to speak, the audience erupted with applause to welcome the ‘man of the hour’. Roy reverberated the words of his fellow panellist by beginning his speech with the declaration that “this is not about NDTV”. “Radhika, NDTV and I have never touched a rupee of black money. Nor have we bought any house with black money. It is all white.”, he stated somberly but firmly. Roy urged the audience to not let this issue slip away and reinstated that this issue is not circumscribed solely by the incident of the CBI raid, but extends to a general need for a free media to thrive in a successful democratic state.

Despite many assertions that the meeting was not called to solely discuss the details of the CBI raids or contest Prannoy Roy’s innocence, the conversation always veered in that direction. Many of the panelists began their speech by propounding that they have known Prannoy and Radhika Roy since a long time and vouching that the raid is merely a smear campaign to intimidate the media. Though such assertions might be true, and the unity showcased by media persons at the protest was commendable and crucial, diversity of thought and the discussion of other cases where local journalists have been harassed or even murdered, would have made the event feel more inclusive and less elitist. The panel itself could have further represented this diversity by including at least one woman speaker.

However, as Shekhar Gupta suggested, this should not turn into a “partisan issue”. We can only hope that significant media congregations in the future represent more members and opinions of the media than it did this day.

Latest News