Students should have Knowledge of Country’s Freedom Struggle – Magsaysay awardee P Sainath
Udupi: “The stories of freedom fighters should be narrated to students and children otherwise they cannot be connected to the freedom struggle for Independence”, said Senior Journalist and Ramon Magsaysay awardee Palagummi Sainath. He was speaking on “Rural India in the digital age” at the endowment lecture series ‘Talluru Nudimale – 2017′, being hosted by the Tallur Family Trust (R) at the Town Hall, here August 20.
Addressing the gathering Sainath said, “Students now do not know much about the Independence struggle. The media is totally disconnected from the events that brought us Independence. There were no news reports on newspapers on the freedom struggle or the stories of the heroes who fought for Independence. There are still a few freedom fighters living in the country and after some time we will not have anyone left. They should be recognized for their efforts in bringing Independence to our country. He quoted what a freedom fighter said, “We were looted by the British, now our money is kept in banks”.
Sainath further said, “The media concentrates only on the big cities neglecting other urban and rural areas. It is not just bad journalism but also bad for democracy. The media is devoted to New Delhi, Chennai, and Mumbai. 70% of the population is marginalized by the media. There are 46 cities, 53 urban areas which are neglected by Media. The rural area is the most complex part of the planet earth. The rural population of 833 million should also be given importance by the media”.
The Media has witnessed a tremendous growth and reach over the past decade. News has become an integral part of every citizen of India. Mass media caters primarily only to the rich and the political class.
The five-year average reports on agriculture in the Indian national dailies equal to 0.61 percent, which includes politics and the agriculture ministry, while the village-level stories appear on an average of 0.17 percent. Only last year the number rose to 0.24 percent.
Our culture has taken the beating. In urban cities, Mumbai dominates because of Bollywood and the Dalal Street, followed by Tamil Nadu because of Chennai’s IT dominance and the large Tamil bureaucracy, which is present in every media sector.
Our aim is not merely to facilitate coverage of rural issues but also document the regional and occupational diversity that India is home to. There are still thousands of potters, weavers and tree climbers in India. But the definition of skill development has become convoluted now.
Sainath recalled an instance to prove how the ruling government has diverted attention from the real issue to mere tokenism and rhetoric. “We met a woman in Tripura who had a furious message for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. She complained that though new toilets were built in the village as part of the Swacch Bharat Abhiyan, the rural employment guarantee act was compromised. ‘What are you building toilets for, if you can’t even get our stomachs filled?’, she asked.”
The gap between the rich and poor is widening. The media has failed to stand with 70% of the Indians. The masses are grasping false views over knowledge. The educational sector is limited to the rich, the textbooks are not available to the poor. The ruralindiaonline is publishing the content from rural areas to reach the youth, he added.
Senior journalist Nagesh Hegde, Writers A Narayan and Sriram participated in the interaction session with P Sainath, Reporter G N Mohan moderated the interaction.
The book ‘Nunnane Betta’ a collection of columns written by journalist Rajaram Tallur was released. The organizing committee member Dr P Bhandary welcomed the gathering.