By TCN News,
Hyderabad: Underscoring the need to undertake research studies on the deviation of the media from the guidelines enshrined in the Constitution, N Ram, former Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu, on Tuesday said few studies that have been done in the aftermath of the demolition of Babri Masjid in 1992 and the pogrom that took place in Gujarat in 2002 have indicated the heavily biased role played by a section of the media then.
“Hindi and Gujarati media agencies did not realize that they have to present an objective picture of the situation. Both took sides that inflicted immense damage to the secular ethos of the country. But no proper study was taken up to find out why that serious deviation of the principled path had taken place,” Ram said.
Mr. N. Ram addressing international conference. (L-R) Mr. Najam Sethi, Mr. Shekhar Gupta, Mr. Zafar Sareshwala, Prof. Mohammad Miyan, Mr. Andrew McAllister, Mr. Imtiaz Alam, Dr. Khwaja M. Shahid, Prof. S. M. Rahmatullah.
Ram was speaking as the chief guest at the inaugural session of the two-day international conference on ‘Muslims, Media and Democracy – Prospects and Challenges’ at the Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU) here.
He offered assistance from the Chennai-based Asian School of Journalism to MANUU for taking up research on issues of national importance, particularly related to minorities and their language.
Ram advised the Muslims to follow the model of Tamil speaking Muslims in Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka who have become some of the finest scholars in that language.
Four eminent journalists from Pakistan have joined their fellow Indian professionals to discuss issues related to Minorities.
Shekhar Gupta: Mr. Shekhar Gupta addressing international conference. (L-R) Mr. Najam Sethi, Mr. Zafar Sareshwala, Prof. Mohammad Miyan, Mr. N. Ram, Mr. Andrew McAllister, Mr. Imtiaz Alam, Dr. Khwaja M. Shahid, Prof. S. M. Rahmatullah.
In his keynote address Shekhar Gupta, senior editor, spoke about the inclusiveness and sweetness of the Urdu language and said that its speakers should try to enlarge the audience base by writing the language in Roman script too.
He said that the allegation that Urdu was a foreign language which was exported to Pakistan during partition has no basis at all. It is a language of emotions that connects people with words of love.
Gupta who is also a popular TV personality said that the movies in Mumbai have played a negative role in projecting the image of Muslims as extremists and perpetuating them. The movie makers and media organizations should not indulge in maligning a community. They should be careful when they are dealing with sensitive subjects such as communalism.
Rajdeep Sardesai: Mr. Rajdeep Sardesai addressing international conference. (L-R) Mr. Najam Sethi, Mr. Shekhar Gupta, Mr. Zafar Sareshwala, Prof. Mohammad Miyan, Mr. N. Ram, Mr. Andrew McAllister, Mr. Imtiaz Alam, Dr. Khwaja M. Shahid, Prof. S. M. Rahmatullah.
He said that the Muslim in India have followed leaders from other communities to resolve their social, economic and political problems. This positive sign should be highlighted, he suggested.
Noted TV personality Rajdeep Sardesai said that the TV channels are more worried about increasing their TRP and in the process consolidating negative images of groups of people including the Muslims.
He advised media to strike a balance in reporting and should stay away from targeting or praising one political party or the other.
Leading Pakistani journalists Najam Sethi and Imtiaz Alam expressed apprehensions over growing intolerance in India and said that the country should learn lessons from Pakistan in not following the path of secularism and democracy.
Audience
Zafar Sareshwala, chancellor of MANUU, asked Muslims to undertake introspection with a view to finding out why there is so much of gap between Islam as a religion and its practice by the followers.
Professor Mohammed Miyan, Vice Chancellor, said that the Muslims should demonstrate that they have imbibed the spirit of moderation found in their faith.
Professor Ehtesham Ahmed Khan, Dean School of Mass Communication and Journalism and Convener of the conference explained the theme of the conference while Professor Khwaja M Shahid, Pro Vice Chancellor welcomed the audience. The vote of thanks was proposed by Professor S M Rahmatullah, Registrar.