Jo tumne wo dekha suna, Sach tha Magar ye Kitna tha Sach ye kisko Pata…
Ramnath Goenka award for best journalism in hindi went to Sudhir Chaudhry, editor of Zee news. He is the one who was accused in Jindal extortion case for 100 crores, caught on camera related to coal block scam. Will this remove the tainted tag from the underbelly of corporate war ?
No doubt, it went to him under the BJP government. Subhas Chandra, the major stakeholder in Zee news has been closely associated with BJP for long time and has even campaigned for the party during elections.
Zee news keeps a keen eye on ‘anti-national ‘ people, and especially Sudhir. It did question the intentions of Rajdeep Sardesai, a renowned journalist, when he was asking questions in New York which became uncomfortable for PM Modi. And questioning an Indian PM by an Indian reporter became a question of media ethics and eventually anti-national.
From the controversy of killing of Yakub Memon to Aamir Khan’s statement on intolerance during the award ceremony, for anyone who is questioning the state, Sudhir Chaudhary drew parallel a story of army men, who died near the border, and why the people in the debate were not grieving for them.
These are typical characteristics of traits of media person like him. Retweeting all the appreciation by his followers. Reminding viewers every other minute, that all other media is anti-national and Zee news is the only channel which cares about media and have concern for common people. The obsession with self and selfie run across the DNA of his double strands (which is also the name of his nationalistic show). It keeps on feeding the nation – state masculinity of the consumer in different ways. Victimising them for not speaking earlier and dissolving any rational argument to the logic of un-patriotic nationalist.
We have to distinguish between the two, a patriot and a nationalist.
Referring from the notes of George Orwell on Nationalism: Nationalism assumes that human beings can be classified like insects and that whole blocks of millions or tens of millions of people can be confidently labelled ‘good’ or ‘bad’. It recognises no other duty than that of advancing one’s interest by identifying oneself with a single nation or other unit. Patriotism has opposing ideas. It is devotion to a particular place and a particular way of life, which one believes to be the best in the world but has no wish to force on other people. Nationalism, on the other hand, is inseparable from the desire for power. The abiding purpose of every nationalist is to secure more power and more prestige, not for himself but for the nation or other unit in which he has chosen to sink his own individuality.
The prestigious award, Padma Bhushan to Rajat Sharma (whose channel covers why aliens try abducting cows and Himesh Reshamiya) and (Journalism of courage) Goenka award to tainted Sudhir Chaudhry reflects the advancement of nationalism over patriotism. It not only undermines the basic idea of media, to question the state but also keeps on labeling the people who raise their voice as bad and anti-national : forcefully, making people to adhere to a certain way of life over others is the core of its nature.
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