TV Channels ban in Telangana: Press is not God

Dear Mr.Nayar,

Once again your frankly speaking in ‘And not a dog barked!’ makes us wonder, if you have understood the problem in the ongoing spat or simply trail the ‘Andhra Press’. These two channels TV9 and ABN-AJ are not the Press and their behavior is not the freedom of Press you are so painstakingly trying to explain. Your being in Hyderabad and knowing the ground realities, yet choosing to champion this yellow press in the name of Indian Press makes a sad reading. Your discourse on freedom of press sounds misplaced here. For Telangana people are as democratic as any other people in the country. They know what freedom of press means. Their denouncing these two bigoted channels is not attacking freedom of Press. It is actually trying to save the Indian press from the ignominy of bigotry.

The freedom of Press and freedom of expression might be sacrosanct in democracy but Press is not God. As you have said the press and government should complement each other. Whether pygmies or giants we need CMs also to run governments. All the press bosses cannot be said as giants. There will be pygmies and skunks among them also. The people do not need to put up with such pygmies and their abuse of freedom of press. CMs are temporary like the TV Channel heads; government is permanent like the press. The CM, just because you do not like his criticism of your press, will not become a pygmy. But whether KCR is a pygmy or a giant is not the point here.He is the representative of 4 crore Telangana people and he can question the press if they are erring against the people of his constituency. It cannot be seen as blasphemy.

If it is ‘sheer arrogance on the part of KCR’, what is it on the part of those two channels? TV9 says that all the Telangana legislators in the maiden assembly are uncouth ignoramus and do not deserve to be in an Assembly, meaning Telangana people do not deserve a state.ABN-AJ comments on insultingly on the physical features of KCR and calls him all kinds of obscene names in the name of press freedom and freedom of expression. You approve them nonchalantly as political satires. It is not a sporadic happening. It is a credo with them to constantly spike the self-respect of Telangana people and have become thorns in their flesh over the years.You are taking cudgels on behalf of these two yellow channels to defend their uncouth acts, in the name of freedom of press in India.

A CM who was elected by Telangana people cannot be an idle spectator, if they are insulted so blatantly by TV channels even if it is part of your powerful press. Added to this he was personally targeted by these paragons of your press. It should also be the concern of the PCI if the people of Telangana and its CM are being insulted by the Andhra colonial press as a regular practice.It cannot be like some human rights professionals who defend the human rights of extremists only not the rights of the common people who are their victims. You cannot support the press who are transgressing in to the rights of common people, because they are simply the press.

Thanks to your appreciation of Shakespeare in KCR and for your respect growing many fathoms up. Then what about the ‘pygmy’ thing you have said earlier?

You talk of freedom of Press. In seemandhra Telangana newspapers are not allowed.Telangana news channels are permanently banned by their MSOs.Even they are not allowed to cover the proceedings of A.P.Assembly and you are not concerned about it.But if these two Andhra chauvinistic channels are taken to task by MSOs of Telangana you are making a big hue and cry about it. What are the anti-media unwarranted actions by the CM and the government? CM had said several times that the government has nothing to do with TMSOs boycott of the two channels.CM and his government will definitely have the right to comment on the anti-telangana tirades of the press.Like the press they also have freedom of expression. He has commented on these two anti-telangana channels for their vulgar and xenophobic satires. These horrific misdemeanors by these channels cannot be called critical scrutiny and constitutionally mandated norms of freedom of expression by any stretch of imagination. These sermons by you and your editor’s guild sound very hollow here in this context.

KCR is not targeting Andhra press; his ire is directed at those who revel in insulting Telangana State and its people in the name of ethnicity and personal defamation. He and the people of Telangana will continue to do so, what ever be the diktats from the Press and its council, till the Andhra chauvinistic press gives up its anti-telangana campaign. Whatever press indulges in such sordid activity will be challenged. After all Press, freedom of expression, PCI all come after the self-esteem of people. Nobody has any right to attack the self-respect of people under any act or rules. Your expectation of all others joining the chorus of anti-telangana barking of your Andhra chauvinistic mutts is unfounded.Your denigration of local press as ‘And not a dog barked’, also does not enhance the prestige of press.

Frankly speaking,the only solution to this cantankerous problem would be to permanently ban these incorrigibly recalcitrant TV channels from Telangana, as they have banned Telangana press and channels from seemandhra.There cannot be two solutions to one dispute.