Cartoon is an essential and artistic ingredient of free speech. Cartoonists are obvious part of the free press. The arrest of Cartoonist Aseem Trivedi on “sedition” charges is not a mere arrest, but a loot on the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression. A painful reminder of the fight for press freedom in India which goes back to the days far beyond the freedom struggle. It was not an accident for many of the stalwarts in the freedom movement to be writers and journalists. They meant and showed “pen is mightier than sword”. The Indian national press emerged gloriously out of the bitter struggles for freedom. The Imperial regime directly targeted top freedom fighters like Mahatma Gandhi, Lokmanya Tilak amongst others for their allegedly “seditious” articles, and slapped other laws to shackle the fighting press, though is now history, nevertheless a part of human memory.
The real tragedy is that the government of free India instead of scraping the anti-press laws is still actively pursuing its anti-(ex)press(ion) stance. The Indian press continued to face onslaughts from the government and other quarters. To remind the history of not such a distant past, the infamous 1982-Bihar Anti-Press Bill not only sought to deprive the freedom of speech and expression to journalists, but also the right to information. The Bihar government introduced the black law because of its commissions and omissions like the leadership’s corruption including mortgaging of railway platforms, atrocities on the Dalits, the Bhagalpur blindings, the exploitation of adivasis, mafia in the coal collieries … to name a few, were exposed by the print media.
For the sake of his own survival, the then Bihar CM Dr. Jaganath Mishra thought it better to gag the press. The Press hit back, became conscious and blatantly refused to submit to the dictates and encroachments, any more. I vividly recall that senior journalists like Arun Shourie (Indian Express), M.J. Akbar (The Telegraph) ….. and many more created the right momentum to the cause. The post-independence euphoria of attacking the Freedom of Press continues in different forms like selectively withdrawing government advertisements, imposition of levy on the newsprint …… The attack on the Kanpur cartoonist is the latest victim in the list. The struggle for the press freedom started with its birth. With all its pangs, it continues….
The press should grab it as an opportunity to stand like a garrison squad, gear up to fight the fresh encroachment bid. A very good space to redefine and enhance the level of Investigative reporting. The extra advantage we now have in relation to the earlier fights is the electronic and the social media who can play an even more a decisive role to expose the atrocities of those at the helm. If this freedom is to have more than just a symbolic meaning, its problems are worth sensible discussion in terms that the masses will believe, appreciate and understand.
The PRESSing need!
(Ref.article: Aseem Trivedi's arrest shows how colonial-era sedition laws lend themselves to abuse http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/Aseem-Trivedis-arrest-shows-how-colonial-era-sedition-laws-lend-themselves-to-abuse/articleshow/16341516.cms
http://kmurthy608.blogspot.in/2012/07/aversion-to-cartoons-publish-and-be.html http://kmurthy608.blogspot.in/2012/07/say-no-to-corruption-says-justice-hegde.html
The real tragedy is that the government of free India instead of scraping the anti-press laws is still actively pursuing its anti-(ex)press(ion) stance. The Indian press continued to face onslaughts from the government and other quarters. To remind the history of not such a distant past, the infamous 1982-Bihar Anti-Press Bill not only sought to deprive the freedom of speech and expression to journalists, but also the right to information. The Bihar government introduced the black law because of its commissions and omissions like the leadership’s corruption including mortgaging of railway platforms, atrocities on the Dalits, the Bhagalpur blindings, the exploitation of adivasis, mafia in the coal collieries … to name a few, were exposed by the print media.
For the sake of his own survival, the then Bihar CM Dr. Jaganath Mishra thought it better to gag the press. The Press hit back, became conscious and blatantly refused to submit to the dictates and encroachments, any more. I vividly recall that senior journalists like Arun Shourie (Indian Express), M.J. Akbar (The Telegraph) ….. and many more created the right momentum to the cause. The post-independence euphoria of attacking the Freedom of Press continues in different forms like selectively withdrawing government advertisements, imposition of levy on the newsprint …… The attack on the Kanpur cartoonist is the latest victim in the list. The struggle for the press freedom started with its birth. With all its pangs, it continues….
The press should grab it as an opportunity to stand like a garrison squad, gear up to fight the fresh encroachment bid. A very good space to redefine and enhance the level of Investigative reporting. The extra advantage we now have in relation to the earlier fights is the electronic and the social media who can play an even more a decisive role to expose the atrocities of those at the helm. If this freedom is to have more than just a symbolic meaning, its problems are worth sensible discussion in terms that the masses will believe, appreciate and understand.
The PRESSing need!
(Ref.article: Aseem Trivedi's arrest shows how colonial-era sedition laws lend themselves to abuse http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/Aseem-Trivedis-arrest-shows-how-colonial-era-sedition-laws-lend-themselves-to-abuse/articleshow/16341516.cms
http://kmurthy608.blogspot.in/2012/07/aversion-to-cartoons-publish-and-be.html http://kmurthy608.blogspot.in/2012/07/say-no-to-corruption-says-justice-hegde.html
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