SILVER JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS OF PRAJASAKTI

Social Responsibility Of Media Emphasised

M Venugopala Rao

THE national seminar on ‘Press and The Nation’, organised by Prajasakti Sahithi Samstha in connection with the silver jubilee celebrations of Prajasakti Telugu daily at Ravindra Bharathi in Hyderabad on August 21, attracted attention of a wider section of people and evoked keen interest, with the participation of the prime minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, several dignitaries and editors of Telugu and Urdu dailies in Andhra Pradesh and N Ram, editor-in-chief of The Hindu.

Koratala Satyanarayana, chairman of Prajasakti Sahithi Samstha, presided over the well-attended seminar and Sitaram Yechury, member of the Polit Bureau of the CPI(M), chief minister Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, union minister for information and broadcasting S Jaipal Reddy and minister of state for coal Dasari Narayana Rao participated.

Inaugurating the seminar, the prime minister said that he believed that to be relevant and meaningful, any publication must have a social conscience. Social responsibility of media was an extremely important issue, especially in a developing democracy like ours, he said.  Dr Manmohan Singh recalled the pioneering role and the intellectual leadership provided in the early years of Prajasakti’s publication by “one of Andhra Pradesh’s greatest sons, a patriotic Indian, Comrade P Sundarayya”.  The prime minister said that Comrades M Basavapunnaiah, M Hanumantha Rao and L B Gangadhara Rao had shaped Prajasakti and through it had influenced intellectual discourse in the state.

Andhra Pradesh had been fortunate to have had several generations of patriotic and forward-looking leadership, both in government and in opposition, the prime minister said.  He referred to the former president of India, Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, whose statue he unveiled just before the commencement of the seminar, as a freedom fighter, a political visionary, a keen administrator, a highly admired parliamentarian and Speaker of  the Lok Sabha.

“Our vast, varied and vibrant media was a national asset and a pillar of strength for our democracy which had been made richer by the plurality of our free press”, said Dr Manmohan Singh. Pointing out that in a diverse nation of a billion people, there were bound to be differences in taste and opinion, in attitude and ideology and in linguistic and political preferences, he maintained that the plurality of our society was reflected in the diversity of our media.  Believing in the importance of a free press, the prime minister felt that it was the ultimate check against the tyranny of authority and a mirror that enabled people in authority to get a continuous reality check.  It remained an important role for the media, despite the increasing pressures of commercialisation, he said.   He recollected how the media played the constructive and socially responsible role of sensitising authorities to the urgency of providing relief when it had alerted the government  to agricultural distress in Andhra Pradesh and worked as “our best early warning system” when the tsunami had struck our coastal regions.

Noting that Prajasakti took a definite political view, Manmohan Singh underlined that this was the role of any publication associated with a political party or movement. The media had a crucial role in tracking the process of creating a modern, progressive, inclusive and dynamic society, built on a rapidly growing economy and in guiding it as well through reportage and criticisms, he said.  Hoping that Prajasakti would strengthen the processes of our democracy and empower our citizens so that they could take more informed decisions in life, Dr Manmohan Singh underlined that the information and opinion purveyed by it should be credible, balanced and well-researched.  Further hoping that Prajasakti would aim high, the prime minister wished it a long future and many years of purposive and socially useful journalism and complimented all those who had been associated with it.

Contending that there was no grievance that could not be redressed through democratic means and through dialogues, Dr Manmohan Singh said “Every political group that claims to represent the interests of people, or of a section, must test its popularity at the hustings, in the polling booth.  Go, ask the people to vote for you and support you.  Come to the legislature and enact the laws that you wish to see in place.  By all means, use the media to convey your views.  By all means, use the legislature to convert them into policies.  In a democracy the power of the people flows through the ballot box, not from the barrel of a gun.”

In his brief presidential address, Koratala Satyanarayana explained that after starting off as a weekly in 1942 and steeling itself in the patriotic fight for freedom and the movements of peasants and workers, Prajasakti had made an indelible mark on the socio-cultural and political history of the Telugu people. Relaunched as a daily in 1981, Prajasakti continued to uphold the glorious traditions of Indian journalism  and the values of freedom struggle continued to guide it, he pointed out.  Koratala asserted that the management and the staff of Prajasakti considered journalism as a mission and refrained from sensationalism and scurrilous writing.  Prajasakti had left no stone unturned to uphold the values of secularism, social justice, equality and democracy, rising above all forms of parochialism and continuing to work for the all-round development of Andhra Pradesh, he said. Koratala announced: “We rededicate ourselves to the noble causes for which we stood all these years, despite several constraints, and carry forward the rich legacy of the legendary leader Comrade P Sundarayya, whose vision Prajasakti was, and of Comrade Moturu Hanumantha Rao, who shaped it as its founder editor, and rededicate it to the cause of the toiling millions.”

Chief minister Dr Rajasekhara Reddy asked the media to reflect the feelings of the people and publish public opinion with reality.  Noting that the role of the press in a democracy was most crucial, he said it was one of the four pillars required for flourishing democracy. Underlining the importance of freedom of the press, Rajasekhara Reddy hoped that the problems of the press would be discussed in the seminar and solutions found. Pointing out that 25 per cent of the world’s  poor were in our country, the chief minister asked the media to give due importance to their feelings.  He complimented Prajasakti, saying that it has been working with sincerity, conveying facts to the people and reflecting the feelings of the voiceless people.  Working with social responsibility, Prajasakti has been publishing news and views with facts, with a distinct identity of its own in the matters of editorials and news, said Rajasekhara Reddy.

Sitaram Yechury asked the media to give importance to the problems of the people and allot more space for publishing news relating to the people. He regretted that the world over more importance was being given in the media for sensationalism.  Giving some examples, Yechury recollected that when Bill Clinton, the then US  president, visited India, his morning walk and playing with dogs had figured prominently as headlines on the front pages of newspapers, while starvation deaths in Andhra Pradesh and rape of dalits in Karnataka had found place on inside pages the same day insignificantly. He said that Prajasakti has been expanding during the recent period, increasing its editions and working on the side of the people. The UPA government, headed by Dr Manmohan Singh, had successfully been able to bring about a change in national discourse whereby the issues relating to the lives of the people are being discussed rather than the divisive issues like the temple-mosque disputes. Yechury explained that a bill for employment guarantee was introduced in the parliament and efforts were being made for achieving consensus on the bill intended for providing reservations for women in the legislative bodies.

S Jaipal Reddy said that the UPA government had pushed the cause of freedom to the fourth estate further by passing a bill ensuring right to information.  He suggested to the media to make use of the freedom to control corruption. He gave a call to the press not to give importance to glamour and sensationalism, but to pay attention to the problems of the people. Underlining the need for serious journalism, the union minister asked the press to observe ethical values.  When the mainstream newspapers were working against the people, Prajasakti was standing by the people, attracting their attention with facts, comprehensive information and comments with social responsibility, said Jaipal Reddy.  He recollected the key role played by Comrade P Sundarayya in establishing Prajasakti.

N Ram released a souvenir brought out by Prajasakti on the occasion.  V Krishnaiah, general manager of Prajasakti, welcomed the dignitaries and the invitees, while Chandana Chakravarthy managed the function and S Vinay Kumar, editor of Prajasakti, proposed a vote of thanks.