Former Speaker of the Assembly Inder Singh Namdhari said that situation within the media and politics are similar in many ways and both the professions have to pass through same conditions during their respective careers.
Speaking on the occasion of releasing a book — ‘Beyond News’ — on Thursday Namdhari, however, stressed that inner instinct should not change despite odds. “DNA of both legislature and journalism is the same. Both have to face several odds and stresses. Journalists have to even face greater challenge as they are ‘swayambhu’ or self-born as there is no mention in the constitution about it. But the status comes with great deal of responsibility,” said the former Speaker.
At the same time he also cautioned against decay coming in the profession and termed it graver than the others for the larger interest of the society. “We need people both in the media and politics who can stand against the stream. Deterioration in the media is very dangerous among all the four pillars,” he said and lauded the book for its contemporariness and relevance.
Also present on the occasion was former Chief Minister Arjun Munda who termed the narration a feeling of an insider. “The writers have experienced different tastes of their career and have expressed their feeling in words. There are few who muster courage to say something that has been experienced. They have shared dark shades of journalism which is not something new for politics either. By reading the book, I think I should also share the mine,” said Munda in a lighter vein.
One of writers of the book Sanjeev Shekhar underlined the need of writing the text. “The idea behind was to let others feel the pain and agony the journalists have to face during their professional life. They have to live and work under tremendous pressure and the feeling haunts every now and then which have be shared,” he said. Shakti Vrat is the co-author of the book published in English by a Penguin related publishing house ‘Partridge’.