Media's feigned slumber can be suicidal

There have been widespread attempts by the mainstream media to trivialise the immolation of UP’s social media activist Jagendra. He was not spared even after his death as several of his brethren in the traditional media questioned whether his exposure of graft by using social media can be called journalism

Why did they have to burn meIJ If the Minister (Ram Murti Verma, Minister for Backward Classes Welfare in Uttar Pradesh) and his goons had a grudge, they could have beaten me instead of pouring kerosene and burning me,” Jagendra, a digital journalist 

and activist, had said in his dying declaration.

Though the hullabaloo over the alleged immolation of digital journalist Jagendra Singh on June 1 by policemen and the alleged goons of a Uttar Pradesh Minister has died down after the Akhilesh Government promised to compensate the bereaved family with `30 lakh financial aid and Government jobs for the two sons of the slain journalist, the callousness in the coverage of the issue in the mainstream media is likely to pester for long time those who are concerned about the safety and security of journalists, particularly those who dare to expose the powerful.

Rather than condemning the horrific incident and highlighting journalistic work done by Jagendra in strengthening local governance and digital inclusion, the Indian media sat on the report for days until it was published by london-based left-leaning The Independent. The growing chorus on social media platform against the gruesome murder of Jagendra over his Facebook post that threatened to blow the lid off the misdeeds of the Minister — alleged illegal mining and land encroachment — forced the mainstream media to give some space to the report, albeit a bit too late and at an inconsequential corner. The report was relegated to inside pages of most of the dailies.

Also, to balance the news ostensibly to curry favour with the Government, a prominent national daily gave a display to a report quoting a top State official that Jagendra might have set himself on fire.The release of the video footage of Jagendra’s dying declaration — a cognizable and sufficient proof to nail the murderers — on social media points the finger at the mainstream media’s alleged covert design to suppress information

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Moreover, for days many even questioned whether Jagendra can be called a journalist. No doubt he had no press card and he was not withdrawing fat salary as many celebrity journalists do, but Jagendra indeed was serving the cause of journalism by making bids to lay bare corruption at the grassroots. And therefore, he was trying to strengthen local governance.

Unlike many superstar journalists, who are known to be hanging around the powers that be, this digital journalist was carrying quality and independent journalism with the latest tool available and that too without being co-opted by the system. Despite all odds stacked up against him — no revenue model, no advertisement — Jagendra honestly discharged his self-imposed duty of highlighting the local issues through social media. The Facebook page run by Jagendra, Shahjahanpur Samachar, was quiet popular as it had 4,915 followers.

Jagendra’s death is a great loss to independent journalism. People like Jagendra are the future of Indian media. At a time when the big media houses have been corporatised, the young generation has found smartphone communication more handy as here the people find themselves as information givers as well as receivers.Considering the exponential growth of social media through smartphone, digital journalism is set to take over the traditional media in a few years time.

Probably, the Minister concerned understood the depth of social media and could not resist himself from teaching the journalist a lesson.To encourage journalists from carrying more such reports, it is incumbent upon the Press Council of India and Government to press for a CBI probe into the matter so that the culprits are not let off the hook. Failure to do so will send out a wrong message and will only endanger independent journalism with scribes surrendering to the risk of reporting against the mighty.

The incident highlights the danger looming over digital journalists and other journalists who are unwilling to go the flow. India’s press freedom index is not very encouraging as the 2015 World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders has ranked India at 136th out of 180 countries. In 2014, about 32 journalists were killed, 4 Netizens and citizen journalists killed, 153 journalists imprisoned and 176 Netizens imprisoned (even for posting newsy aspect of an issue), according to the Press Freedom Barometer lists.

Reporters Without Borders noted: “(Jagendra) Singh named police inspector Sriprakash Rai as the person who set him on fire. Relatives and other eyewitnesses confirmed his version. Singh also accused Verma (the Minister) of subjecting him and his family to a ‘reign of terror’ because of Singh’s investigative reporting and comments about him.”

Jagendra is not one-off case as after that incident a few more journalists have been attacked in UP, Madhya Pradesh and Kochi. A few days ago, a journalist was burnt to death by mining mafia in Madhya Pradesh. The body of Sandip Kothari, 40, a former journalist who had turned a freelancer, was found near the railway tracks close to the station at Sindhi in Wardha district of Maharashtra. Reports pointed out that he was abducted from Balaghat district of Madhya Pradesh. He paid with his life for his bid to expose the sand mafia.

Former Balaghat MlA Kishore Samrite was quoted by the PTI as saying that Kothari was exterminated as he wrote against and lodged complaints against manganese and sand mafia and other mighty people involved in organised crimes. To scare him into submission, the mafia tormented not only him but his family members by falsely implicating the slain freelancer in more than 12 criminal cases.

On June 11, journalist Deepak Mishra was shot at in Kanpur for allegedly complaining against local gambling dens. He was lucky to survive the attack. On June 15, another report surfaced from UP’s Pilibhit about an attack on a journalist. After being attacked, Haider, a journalist associated with the electronic media, filed a complaint that he was attacked for filing a report that was not liked by the accused. “I got a call regarding a robbery case. But when I reached the spot, Anand and some 3-4 others surrounded me and started beating me up. They hit me with the butt of a revolver and dragged me for 100 m by a car,” alleged Haider, who claimed he was left unconscious in the attack which took place in the Puranpur area in Pilibhit. However, as the incident had just come a few days after the “murder” of Jagendra, police swing into action and arrested a few accused

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According to a media report, the Noida Police have filed a non-cognisable report after city-based journalist Jagat Awana, who claims to be the editor of Dainik Saranjana Times, lodged a complaint that he had received threat calls after running a report critical of Aam Aadmi Party leader Kumar Vishwas. Though the allegations have been trashed by Vishwas, the journalist has stated that on May 5, he received threat calls thrice from two numbers (a mobile and a landline) with the mobile caller asking him not to carry anti-Vishwas stories and threatened him with dire consequences.

The signs are ominous. Rather than shying away from raising such issues of onslaught on journalists, the mainstream media should take the bull by its horn. If today it is Jagendra, Sandip, Deepak, Haider, tomorrow it could be you.