What withholding ban on NDTV India says about this government
After days of uproar in the Indian media and condemnation across the board, the Union ministry of information and broadcasting has now “put on hold” the one-day ban on telecasting of NDTV India.
This partial turn-around happened when the head/s of NDTV met Venkaiah Naidu, and the fallout of the closed-door meeting has resulted in the postponement of the diktat, and not the complete withdrawal.
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| Anchor Ravish Kumar brought in mime artists on "Prime Time" as a sign of protest. [Photo: NDTV] |
What does it say of the government?
Well, for one, it shows that the government under Narendra Modi is utterly bereft of any conviction whatsoever, and can only function as a blunt instrument of state power, into which not much thought goes.
Secondly, the postponement of the order means that the government has decided to keep dangling the Damocles’ sword above the media houses, since there’s no unequivocal revocation of the order, which has been dubbed draconian and “emergency-like” by many in the public sphere.
Thirdly, it must be remembered that while the ban on NDTV India has been temporarily lifted, it might be unleashed any time depending on the whims and the fancies of the I&B ministry. Given that Kashmir Reader still remains banned, while journalists in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Assam are being hounded every single time they report on state atrocities, it is obvious that ministry wants to retain this vaguely worded weapon whenever it wants to clamp down on newspapers, news channels and publications that bare the truth instead of toeing the government line.
Fourthly, the deferral is intended to keep NDTV India, and indeed other news channels, on the edge, so that they bring in a greater level of self-regulation and self-censorship and do not make questioning the government and holding it accountable a matter of institutional priority. This sits well with the myriad pronouncements by the members of the Union cabinet condemning the media coverage on surgical strikes, SIMI encounter, JNU fiascos, detaining of opposition leaders or the award wapsi campaign last year as being anti-national on the part of the media.
A ban on hold is a noose held back for later. The ill-advised ban should be called off, not put 'on hold.'
— Rahul Kanwal (@rahulkanwal) November 7, 2016
Sense has prevailed at last!NDTV India Ban Put On Hold By Government https://t.co/UFo096ohTb
— Malini Parthasarathy (@MaliniP) November 7, 2016
Suspended means nothing either the #ban should be withdrawn or @ndtv should make SC tell GOI #emergency won't work!
— Swati Chaturvedi (@bainjal) November 7, 2016
A media owner turned MP calls for a life ban on NDTV. How low will people stoop to ingratiate themselves with the 'establishment'?
— Rajdeep Sardesai (@sardesairajdeep) November 7, 2016
Thats people's power. Govt forced due to strong public uproar. Never take injustice lying down. Shout, scream, resist, fight. Congrats NDTV https://t.co/DySJvU7t1l
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) November 7, 2016
As news of I&B ministry putting on hold the one day #NDTV ban trickles in, where does it stand with the ban on the channel in #Assam? #media
— Chitra Subramaniam (@chitraSD) November 7, 2016
For example when MoS home Kirren Rijiju says media mustn’t ask questions because that might compromise national security, that itself becomes a tentative indication of the “guidelines” the government wants the media to follow while reporting and commentating on the events of the day. Similarly, when BJP spokespersons directly or indirectly malign journalists and reporters for asking questions, or unleash their social media troll army on them, it becomes imperative for the media organisations to renew their efforts to carry on the journalism of substance.
A deferred ban is just a postponed punishment. The government has made it clear that it intends to remain as punitive and vindictive as ever, preferring the media to crawl and remain a mere appendage of state propaganda. That this arbitrary and unjust manner of imposing censorship on gritty news channels would be realised in installments is a given.
It’s not a question of only NDTV India. It’s a question of the integrity of the fourth estate. This deferral is merely an eyewash and must be called out.