If you agree please do something towards chastising the irresponsible Channel.
Vyasamoorthy
======= Now the Post ========================================
Dear Friends,
By now the Nityananda case is known to everyone including, perhaps,
the baby-in-the-womb. We have learnt the lesson (the same lesson) once
again about the blind-following of self-styled god men with high
rhetoric talents. This particular episode needs more scrutiny from a
different perspective. It is not the exploitation of gullible persons
(including the educated public) in the name of religion by Nityananda
and his ilks to their advantage and to quench their sexual and other
needs, it is not the sting operation that brought to light the
nauseating act in the Ashramam, it is not the ire of the public on
Nityananda for the outrage on their faith on him and the vandalism
that followed, it is not the usual statements after such revelations
from politicians led by a chief minister condemning and threatening
such godmen of severe consequences, it is not whether the authorities
concerned will go through proper investigation and bring the criminals
to book and suitably punish them, that merits our concern.
Which one has done more damage to the society -- Nityananda with his
nefarious activity or the media that brought the gutter in to the main
hall of our homes? This is a subject of debate, though. What is more
important at this moment is the manner in which and the zest with
which this matter was taken to the public merits condemnation.
Granting that such sting operations are legal and are meant only to
cleanse the society of such abominable characters, the good old dictum
that "End cannot justify the means" is totally defied en route the
goal. Were there not other means to launch a case against such
criminals using those video clippings? Are the people the only resort
to bring every such act for justice? If so, why do we unnecessarily
have the police and justice departments in our scheme of things? Can
anyone, in such a case, take any problem to the streets?
The amount of damage that this revelation has done to the morale of
the society, than any service that it had claimed to have been done,
is enormous and irreversible. Repeatedly telecasting the scene at
nausea right in to the drawing/dining room of households where
invariably children stay to complete their school-work is highly
condemnable. Who had given these media moguls the right to do what
they want. No Sir, they do not have to get it from anyone; they can
usurp it! That is the type of misplaced notion that they have created
among the public. On the one side we have the 'checks and balances'
among the three wings of parliamentary democracy (the president, the
parliament and the judiciary) and on the other side we have absolute
freedom to the so-called fourth-estate, the media. Whereas our
Constitution has envisaged 'checks and balances' for the rest it is
perhaps silent about the media or perhaps wants the people to issue
the mandate.
There is one way by which the people can show their power and curtail
the high-handedness of the media. This should have been done many
decades back when we graduated from the print media to the
Audio-visual media which is more powerful and can reach even the
illiterate and uneducated who cannot distinguish between the chaff and
the grain. We had travelled long miles from the big screen to the
small screen that dominates the central hall of all our homes. It is
not without reason that the chief minister of Tamil Nadu introduced
the free Colour TV issuance programme to the public! He knew fully
well the power of this screen.
To put an end to this menace and to make sure that the present
incident is one of its kind and does not form a precedence to more
such shows, we have to take immediate action within our means (how
much so ever slender that one may try to argue and try to prove that
we are helpless). One immediate thought that crosses my mind is to
boycott the channel and all its tributaries/subsidiaries under the
same management that brought this scene in to our homes for a period
of one year or till such time the channel ranking falls steeply,
whichever is more. As I type these statements I have resolved in my
mind NOT to view this channel as said above though I have a few
unfinished serials that I have been viewing lately.
I appeal to all my friends, who contribute to and share my views, to
ponder over the issue and the remedial measure as a baby's step and
resolve to boycott the channel as suggested. Please pass on this mail
to as many friends as possible to spread this message. If need be,
mark a copy also to the channel concerned. This is one way we can show
our power as a citizen of the land of Gandhi for whom "End cannot
justify the means but means are equally important"
Thank you all and with best wishes,
Ramakrishnan
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