Face2News/Chandigarh
There is an urgent need to uphold the indepence of the media amdist diverse challenge, coming either from the business house or the powers that be, said Rahul Singh, an accomplished journalist who has traversed his media journey through the turbulent times of militancy in Punjab and therafter.
Delivering the inaugural memorial lecture at the Chadigarh Press Club, which he anchored as its president during the turbulent times of militancy in the mid-eithties, Rahul Singh said the transformation of times for journalists has been quite challenging over the year.
The lecture, dedicated to the club's founders, president and senior members, who are no longer wth us, recalled tellingly Rahul Singh's contribution as a promenenet medai personality and as a head of the Press Club which saw the participation of a good number of mediapersons at the launch event.
Speaking on the topic, Is the Media playing the role as a Watchdog of the nation?, Rahul underlined that challenges for the media persons are so diverse today as compared to the period of Emergency. " But there is a big hope in the way social media has been holding the flame for the cause of the society", he said.
Recalling his personal career as a journalist, he said, after graduating from Cambridge University in History Honours, there was a pssion that took him to the coridors of the Times of India where he started his career as an assistant editor at a young age of 23.
Thereafter he set many milestones, including becoming the Editor of Readers' Digest and Resident Editor of Indian Express in Chandigarh to establish new norms in the ethics of journalism.
He recalled The Times of India was then a true powerhouse of writers and commentators, read by the high and mighty. As the future editor, Dilip Padgaonkar, upon being appointed as editor, rather bombastically, said that he was occupying the second most important position in the country. Though an injudicious statement it had more than a hint of truth. I have mentioned Sham Lal, who would succeed Nanporia.
However, Rahul recalled it was turbulence in Punjab during his innings as a Resident Editor that exposed him to the disturbing narrative in the society causing a challenge in the society.
Appreciating the team of Indian Express journalists that touched milestones during those disturbing times to keep the truth above all, he said ethics were held high by the media persons in spite of the challenges.
Though there were many memorable reports we carried in those three years that I was an editor in Chandigarh, let me mention one more he said recalling once again it was about one of the sons of the then Chief Minister, Surjit Singh Barnala. The report said that the son had links with a terrorist. Somehow, Barnala, got to know the night before the story was due to appear, probably through his own grapevine in the Indian Express. Late at night, after I was fast asleep Barnala rang me up, telling me not to carry the story. I told him that I was helpless as the paper had already gone into print. Early next morning, I got a call from the Punjab Chief Secretary, Vaishnav, asking me what he should do since the story had already appeared. Call a press conference, and deny the report if you want to, but we will stand by it. No press conference took place. Let me add here that I think Barnala was perhaps the best chief minister Punjab ever had, except for Pratap Singh Kairon. And Vaishnav, a Gujarati who spoke fluent Punjabi, was an outstanding civil servant, one of the best I have encountered. Along with the head of police, Julio Ribeiro, who had been especially brought from Bombay to help tackle terrorism, three of them made a terrific trio who turned the tide against terrorism. I wrote an edit page article, lauding them, saying that this was Indian secularism at its best in a moment of great danger for the country. A Sikh, a Hindu, and a Roman Catholic, fighting for a united nation. Barnala circulated that article to all the members of Parliament. The trio reminded of another golden moment in India’s history as an independent nation, when the Indian army defeated Pakistan in 1971. Then, too, secularism triumphed with the army chief, Sam Manekshaw, a Parsi, the General who was at the surrender signing ceremony, Arora, a Sikh, and the overall commander, General Jacob, a Jew.