 There's
courage and colour
Dr. Jangid is a specialist in Indian Language Journalism and a patriotic
Indian who considers western press to be trash. He says that Western Press
will never be successful without sex, violence, gossip and celebrity life.
According to Dr. Jangid the tree of yellow journalism was planted in
India by the Britisher Hicky who started the first newspaper in India in
1780. It was called Calcutta Gazette and Bengal General Advertiser. It
had created history because the paper had reported in its first issue the
Love affair between the then British Governor Hasting's wife and the Chief
Justice. Once the news was out the Governor had filed a libel suit which
was heard by the man in the news, the Chief Justice who sentenced Hicky
to six months in jail and fined him Rs. one million. The courageous Hicky
had gone to jail and continued to publish the paper until the Governor
General burned his press. Thereafter Hicky had died a sad death. Dr. Jangid
agrees that Hicky lit a flame which is burning somewhere in the world.
Dr. Jangid's advice to all Editors -"Learn to use a revolver and learn
to swim because it helps"
Today India boasts of 3740 newspapers, 275 weeklies and 29,597 periodicals
with a literacy rate of 52%. Over 24,000 newspapers, weeklies and periodicals
combined are owned by individuals. The Central and State Governments have
stakes in only 700 combine publications. Television has made inroads to
45 million households out of a population of 900 million. This is the scene
today.
Most of the people spoke well of Indian Express and their Journalism
of courage. They still remember how the paper refused to bow down to Indhira
Gandhi's Press censorship and pressure tactics. It is definitely a vibrant
newspaper with a good layout. Most of the Sri Lankans enjoy reading Indian
Express as they give more news from Lanka, thanks to Nirupama Subramaniam
the Sri Lankan correspondent who refuses to give her pen a break. The Times
of India openly challenges the other newspapers claiming higher circulation.
However I feel that the paper has lot to improve specially the layout.
Delhi Times is colourful and takes on the city well. Asian Age is another
paper I enjoy reading, well presented, good material and covers the world
like nobody does. "If you want to know the BJP's point of view read
The Pioneer" a Senior Indian journalist commented.
I met the First Asian to win CNN's George Falk award Anita Pratap. She
is a Keralite who loves Sri Lanka and Indiappan and Appa. She is articulate,
aggressive and petite. A newshound of our times she has done much to put
CNN on the Asian Map. I am sure she will be in Sri Lanka when this article
appears, covering the SAARC Summit, interviewing the Presidents or buying
ceramics. M.R.Narayan Swamy special Correspondent for AFP for the past
11 years and the author of ''Tigers of Sri Lanka'' is another great friend
and fan of Lanka. He greets any Lankan with a ''Kohomada''? and puts you
at ease within minutes. A Hyper active Journalist who rides a scooter with
a pollution mask is always at hand to help Lankans. He took me to meet
eight Sri Lankans in Delhi recently and asked me to talk to them. He said,
speak to them in Sinhalese Machan, they will be OK''.
Former Indian Premier Vishwanath Pratap Singh who has now retired from
active politics has taken up painting. V.P. Singh who had been encouraged
by eminent artist M.F. Hussain has experimented with water colours and
sold 11 out of the original collection of 35 oils. When questioned whether
politics and art could blend he admits that it does not blend. V.P. Singh
has an interesting comment to make. All politicians please note. "In
politics the satisfaction comes only from the grass root level, where you
enjoy a person to person contact. At the middle or the top level of politics,
this feeling begins to dissipate. That is where the leg pulling begins.''
Reading out her new essay against Nuclear Weapons 'The End of Imagination'
Arundhati Roy says, ''While coke is western culture and must be banned,
the nuclear bomb is an old Indian tradition. This is so Funny. It can bring
only a smile to a skull''.
Stop over: I visited a Sikh/Hindu family and spent one evening
with them. The lady of the House Mrs. Kapoor commented, ''My brothers work
for the Electricity Board and the Water Board. But they have no electricity
and water. Varma's are known as worms in the west and Sharmas have no shame.
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