When the country is severely reeling
under endemic corruptions and politicians have taken a ride on the
sentiments of citizens of this nation, the very naive idea of pushing
a private bill (by a first-timer MP Meenakshi Natarajan) to regulate
media not only indicates how ignorant the MP is about the very basics
of Indian Constitution that enshrines freedom of speech as
fundamental rights, but also she intends to advocate a democracy to
function without freedom of press. In a democratic setup, media is
the only institution outside governance that acts as an independent
watchdog and brings truth to the fore.
Freedom of expression is the corner
stone of democratic evolution. Conventional media run by professional
journalists and editors represents the pillar of free speech.
Although recently few media houses have crossed their ethical limit
and displayed downgraded standards in reporting biased, frivolous
news pieces; nevertheless, the idea of regulating media by state
agencies is altogether an untoward move.
As law makers, the legislators have the
privilege to bring in any draconian law which would suit their
political objective; however, in a functional democracy, the most
stringent, anti-democratic law is even subject to complete abrogation
when the government changes. India has already witnessed the fate of
a draconian law like TADA in the last decade.
The developed democracies like US, UK,
and France are the greatest upholders of the principle of freedom of
speech and expression. Despite myriads of exposes against the ruling
class in press, these nations have even ensured free and independent
media. The law-makers of these nations are true
democrats who believe in freedom of expression. A self-regulated media is undoubtedly a great partner in a long, meaningful democratic journey.
However, in India,
majority of politicians are tainted, corrupt, and law-breakers, so a
free press becomes a huge roadblock for their escapades. In the history of
high-decibel scams in India, whether it's Bofors, 2G, or CWG, it was
only media that exposed the matter in public domain first, and then
the police or judiciary executed their responsibilities later.
With regulated media, the freedom of
speech will be strangled and every report that will be published in
media will be nothing more than a public relation exercise because of
excessive state monitoring and hegemonic bureaucracy. Post enactment
of law, no government would like to support an independent media, and
eventually state-run media will take the lead. Are we heading to
transform such a vibrant democracy into a communist country like
China? Maybe, that could be the hidden agenda of many political
parties. Nevertheless, India as a nation of great political diversity
won't afford to take that route.
