Height of hooliganism - another crime commited.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Well some would say that this is nothing new for a city like Patna. But this was no ordinary crime. There were 5 top 10 men molesting a young girl in broad daylight. Also there were 100 odd spineless men watching this in complete apathy. Not to forget a road safety policeman also getting involved in this dastardly act in a wrong way. Very little can be expected from others when people meant to protect the weak try and take advantage of the misfortune of the sufferer.

As the whole incident was caught on camera this would have been an open and shut case. But in India the story is a bit different. The absolute inertia of the judicial system in our country is well known. The fact that people have to wait years and sometimes decades for justice is abysmal. This is not just unfortunate for the victim but also serves as a motivation to the perpetrators to commit more heinous crimes.

Is this the problem of weak laws, or lack of effective implementation? We all know in a country like ours it all boils down to political will. This is an acid test for the pro-reform, pro-change, and pro-development Nitish Kumar government at the state to provide justice to the victim. Any lethargy on the part of the administration would be appalling.

The most depressing aspect is the sheer forgetfulness of the media on such issues. The footage of this incident1 was flashed repeatedly and the swanky news readers put up a great show on the day of the crime as they talked about the public morality and other things. But we live in an era where even celebrity gossip fissile out in some days and news like this can best be a one day wonder. And so it was. Right from the very next day we saw the same news channels dishing out the usual. We have seen this kind of media behavior over and over again as in the news world new is hot and old is not. What about the higher social responsibilities of the media? It can be instrumental in forming public opinions and should direct its energies in the right direction. But can’t really blame them you see as they have to maintain the TRPs, don’t they?

It’s the time to remind the newsrooms that their role is not just to raise the flag when something is going wrong but also to follow-up on such incidents so that they just don’t end up into a mere file in a police station.

Link to the video –
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBqFgk8wmf4

7 comments:

Flying Star said...

Yes Man !!!
I'm agree with u !!!

ArUn ShArMa said...

Srini, I completely agree with you on the irresponsible behaviour of media in our country. There are two points that I'd like to make here:
1. Ironically, Nitish Kumar has been invited by London School of Economics to present his views on the turn-around of Bihar that has been brought by him.
2. The media in India never highlights the achievements or accomplishments of India. I still remember that the news of India launching Chandrayan was posted on the third page of HT whereas the accident news or small but destructive news are posted on the front pages. Media should censor itself if it wants to sustain its credibility.

Manasa said...

Yes sri, You are right!
Once Dr.Abdul Kalam noted that a newspaper in Iraq highlighted an chievement of an old man on the front page during the wartime in the country and called out for such an attitude among Indian media.
But I dont understand what we are going to achieve by writing blogs blaming someone and asking someone to change!!! Will someone change just because we are asking or shouting??? Its time to think what I should do, what you should do and what we should do!!!

Gaurav Sharma said...

Hi Srini..would be happy to also hear about the good things that are happening in India and the world around us.
cheers

PS said...

Did Times Now or other media channel follow up with that case later?

Unknown said...

Hmm indeed media focuses on business than ethics and morality. TRP's are always a prime concern irrespective of the news, but to some extent this over hyping does benefit certain sections of society. I will exemplify this wid the Prince's case - The kiddo who had fallen in a man made hole and media hyperbolized the issue. Had media not telecasted this issue repeatedly, I doubt Indian officials would have been that proactive to get the kid out. So somewhere down the line media did benefit that family

Just a thot..Think over it!

Unknown said...

Hi shrinivasan....i totally agree with you and wud like to add one past instance here:-
In Jaipur some people from BJP has badly beaten up a principal in his house,in front of his old mother, helpless wife and innocent kids....No surprise, news channel was covering it live.They were informed beforehand and not the police. people got the victim and media got a story to live with....!! There are some very good issues which could be highlighted but media only want spice...!!!!!!!!

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