New Delhi: A
high level delegation of National Union of Journalists (India) called
on President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee and demanded enactment of a
Journalists Protection Law and constitution of Media Commission and
Media Council. The delegation, led by NUJ(I) president Ras Bihari, also
presented him a memorandum containing major demands of journalists. The
delegation consisted of eight members including former NUJ(I) president
Dr Nandkishore Trikha, National Treasurer Dadhibal Yadav, Press
Association secretary Manoj Verma, DJA president Anil Pandey, general
secretary Anand Rana, NUJ national executive member Pramod Majumdar and
Sushri Seema Kiran.
Ras
Bihari informed the President that the NUJ(I) has been demanding
enactment of a Journalists Protection Law and constitution of Media
Council and Media Commission for the last five years and it has staged
several demonstrations also. On December 7, 2015 more than 2000
journalists from all over the country protested outside the Parliament
and presented a memorandum to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said
the NUJ(I) state units also staged demonstrations at more than 100
places and presented memorandums to Governors and Chief Ministers. The
memorandums to Prime Ministers were submitted through the authorities
concerned at district level.
Referring
to the attack on journalists in Patiala House court recently the NUJ
delegation said such attacks can be curbed through a Journalists
Protection Act. The enactment of the Act will help in speedy action
against the culprits and the mediapersons will be able to work more
freely under the protection of the Law.
Dr
Trikha apprised the President of the necessity of constituting the
Media Commission and Media Council. He said the nature and the scenario
of the media have totally changed after the second Press Commission
Report submitted in 1982. Hence, there is dire need to study the ground
reality of the media today through a Media Commission.
(Office Secretary)
==============================
MEMORANDUM
February 29, 2016
His Excellency Shri Pranab Mukherjee,
President of India,
Rashtrapati Bhawan,
New Delhi
Subject: DEMAND FOR JOURNALISTS PROTECTION ACT
Honourable Sir,
Working
journalists in national capital New Delhi as well as all over the
country are extremely concerned at the rising trend of physical assaults
on them and their killings in offices, homes and in the streets over
the last several years. For the last over 15 years, the free and
fearless pursuit of the profession to expose the faultiness of the state
and the society, have met with the proverbial shooting of the messenger
rather than attending to the message itself. Attacks are mostly carried
out by individuals and groups often supported and backed by political
parties and influential persons wielding power, who fear exposure of
their wrong deeds and true selves would jeopardise their hold on the
lever of power and influence.
Recently,
in West Bengal, the ruling party workers assaulted two TV journalists
from ‘ABP News’ and ‘24 Ghanta’. In Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh, a
journalist was shot dead in broad day light. Even in Patiala House Court
in Delhi, some lawyers assaulted journalists and cameramen covering the
court proceedings.
Over
200 attacks on journalists have been documented in different States in
the recent past. In Assam alone, for instance, at least one journalist
has been fatally attacked every year during the past 14 years for
refusing to file report as per the instructions of either the terrorists
or the police. Last year in Shahjahanpur (UP), a posse of policemen
attacked the house of a journalist, who had exposed the misdeeds of a
local politician. Reports of similar attacks are flowing in from most
states. The attackers are sometime the hired bad characters of the
localities behind whom the actual perpetrators seek to hide their
identity. Many a time the journalists who insist on doing their duty by
the public are sent threatening letters or calls, but the NUJ(I) salutes
them for refusing to yield to such threats and placing their lives on
the line of their public duty as the watchdogs of society and public
interest. In Assam, for instance, our members rejected the demand of
both militants and the authorities to report as dictated by either party
even as many were silenced by the practitioners of the gun culture.
The
situation is no different in the naxal-affected areas. It has worsened
with the rise of what is called ‘conformance’ in political parlance,
threats from mafias that grab land and other resources with political
support, blind hero-worship of political personalities and the general
atmosphere of intolerance and appeasement. Reporters, cameramen and
other media personnel are always exposed to vandalism and physical
assaults by groups feigning victimisation. The police do not intervene
in time or effectively—more often they reach the spot much after the
occurrence despite getting informed. In many cases as in the
Shahjahanpur incident, it is the police, who are acting to silence the
journalists in order to suppress truth.
The
National Union of Journalists (India) and its affiliated State units
have on different occasions brought it to the notice of the authorities
concerned and sought immediate redressal. But, we regret to state that
such individual instances are generally being dealt with as merely a law
and order issue, and are invariably lost in police records sans any
concrete action. Everyday, journalists are facing new types of threats.
The situation has become so drastic and critical that it now requires
drastic solutions to protect journalists, which only the Central
Government and Parliament can provide.
We take this opportunity to make it very clear that we are not asking for police protection for every working journalist.
The
lack of a specific legal mandate to the authorities responsible for
maintaining law and order to protect working journalists and other media
staff compels us to demand protection from vandals and mafia-paid
criminals for our tribe. To obviate this lacuna and demand entitlement
to protection against physical assaults the journalists need a specific
and comprehensive law to be enacted. There is need for a comprehensive
Journalists Protection Act with clear provisions of registering
complaints in police stations on intimidation, attacks or torture of
journalists and also that all such complaints should be investigated by a
SP/DCP level police officer. Failure to nab the culprits should be
turned into a black mark on the concerned police officer’s ‘Performance
Record’.
We also want that the investigation of all such complaints should be conducted within two days
and action taken/ensured against the culprits. Moreover, whenever a
journalist is assassinated or attacked, the case should be heard in a
fast track court to ensure timely justice. It is essential keeping in
view the fact that no action is taken against culprits for months and
sometimes years even after registration of FIR.
It
is imperative to mention here, as also demand, that in grave situations
of any type the mediapersons covering them should not be treated as
crowd. The police should be directed to help and provide complete
information to the media so that all concerned persons get correct
information.
A
rising trend has been noticed in the recent past that racketeers –
social, commercial as also religious – have started launching newspapers
with the twin nefarious designs i.e. to become self-appointed editors
or to put a ‘YES MAN’ of their choice as dummy editor to misuse the
privileges to their benefit as also to be fool the masses by casting
their spell over them. The most funny side of such ‘editors’ is that
they have no professional standing.
The
NUJ(I) condemns such racketeers and, to protect the professional ethics
and standards of Indian journalism, demands that the definition of a
journalist should be described in unambiguous terms in the proposed
Journalists Protection Act. The NUJ(I) is determined to press for such
national legislation.
Keeping
in view the present media situation, the unhealthy trends in both the
print and electronic media and the new challenges of the online media as
well as the emerging trends in various sections of society impacted by
the media, we feel the Government of India should take early steps to
set up a Media Council to help, guide and make the fourth estate strong
and ethical. The Government can summon various journalists bodies for
consultation regarding provisions of the Media Council. However,
alternatively, the present Press Council Act could be amended to include
in its scope electronic media.
Newspapers,
in most cases, apparently on the behest of their owners have stopped
reporting Press Council’s decisions as they often tend to expose the
weaknesses and creeping viruses in the Press. In electronic media, the
so-called publishers’ regulatory bodies have been ignoring the emerging
basic trends and only dealing with peripheral wrong doings. The Central
Government as well as State governments are making either desultory or
politically motivated moves in their relationship with media. The
Centre’s weakness was recently exposed when it quietly withdrew
instructions to the electronic media in the context of the public
concerns about certain events in the TV coverage.
The
NUJ(I), therefore, strongly stresses the demand for Media Council being
set up by a new law expanding the Press Council legislation to take
care of the emerging media environment. We want the provisions in the
proposed Media Council, which not only helps in keeping a watch on the
media but also protects the interests of the working journalists. Such
an effective body can be created within the Journalist Protection Act
only.
We are sure
that you will agree with us that unless journalists are free to
fearlessly pursue the truth the entire edifice of democracy may
collapse. The strength of the edifice is the relentless exposure of the
reality behind the showpieces of society. This constitutes the public
interest. And it is working journalists as the trench soldiers of the
public interest who alert the people of the truth. The anti-social
elements in many sectors are hell bent on blocking this vital function
of exposure. Hence, it is the bounden duty of the State to ensure the
environment that enables working journalists to pursue their
professional work freely and fearlessly.
The
enactment of a Journalists Protection Act is an immediate necessity.
The Central and State Governments at the highest level must immediately
start consultations with journalist representatives to place such a
legislation on the statue book that makes public authorities sensitive
and responsible specifically to this need.
The
NUJ(I) staged a massive dharna and demonstration at New Delhi on
December 7, 2015 and submitted a memorandum of its demands to the Prime
Minister. The NUJ(I) demanded immediate enactment of a Journalist
Protection Act, creation of Media Council and constitution of Media
Commission and immediate curb on the retrenchment of journalists in
media houses. Its state units had already submitted memorandums to Chief
Ministers, Governors and Prime Minister through the authorities
concerned in 22 states capitals and also at over 100 district
headquarters. A large number of journalists from Delhi, Uttar Pradesh,
Haryana, Chandigarh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan,
Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Assam. West Bengal,
Tripura, and many other states joined the protest. Earlier also the
NUJ(I) and its state unit has submitted memorandums to earlier
government regarding above demands.
The
National Union of Journalists (India) is a premier working journalists
organisation of the country. It is a representative body of working
journalists spread all over the country. It has on its roll over 15,000
journalists, including top leaders in the profession. It is a member of
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Brussels that has members
in more than 100 countries with a membership of 6 lakh.
Expecting immediate action
Sincerely yours
(Ras Bihari)
President
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