Return
to Story Page
To print: Select File and then Print from your
browser's menu
Pramod Mahajan
``In occupied Kashmir, Indian military operations in Kargil have suffered a severe setback due to the alarming rate of desertions from the Army. Having no cause to fight, Indian soldiers are fleeing from the units in sheer panic...''
-- Report on Pakistan Television -- May 29, 1999, at 6.30 p.m.
Day after day, reports such as these have been beamed into our country. Spreading lies and falsehood, mocking at our soldiers who fight with almost superhuman courage in hostile conditions, and ridiculing the sentiment of each and every Indian who stands behind his country.
It is not enough to say that these reports are so ludicrous, so nauseating and so obviously biased that they will never be given credence by any sane viewer. A lie repeated a thousand times can create a doubt in even the most patriotic heart. Especially so, when it is told on a powerful visual medium like television.
I have no doubt that such reports are not temporary aberrations. They are part of a propaganda war being wagedagainst India. And Pakistan will leave no stone unturned to win this war. They will try (in however ham-handed a manner) to flood the air waves with false and virulent propaganda while preventing opposing points of view to be expressed. So while Pakistan selectively bombs Doordarshan and AIR transmitters in Kashmir, and bans Indian films and television, are we supposed to turn the other cheek?
What Pakistan has done is wrong. And no one in this country or in any country around the world will condone it. There is overwhelming public outrage in India for these actions. In fact, when faced with something like the bodies of six soldiers coming back with their eyes gouged out, I think our media has done a remarkable job of exercising restraint. Yet, Indians want firm action and have a right to demand firm action from their government.
To those who question the legality of my decision, I say that not only did I have the legal right to ask for a ban on PTV, I had the legal obligation to do so. Section 19 of theCable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995, empowers the government to prohibit the transmission of programmes which are likely ``to promote, on grounds of language, caste or community or any other ground whatsoever, disharmony or feelings of enmity, hatred or ill-will...or which is likely to disturb public tranquility.'' As Minister, it is my duty to implement the law.
To those who say that my decision is against the principle of freedom of speech, I wish to ask -- whose freedom of speech? Free speech is the right thing of all Indians. Not a hostile power which seeks to belittle and denigrate India, especially in such circumstances.
To those who say that I was wrong in banning Pakistan TV, I can only say -- ask the widow of Lt Col Vishwanathan. Ask the aged parents of Major Saravanan. Ask the orphaned child of Sqdn Ldr Ajay Ahuja. Ask the families of all those who have sacrificed their lives for India. Ask them if what I did was wrong. Why them? Ask the international community which has isolatedPakistan and has been taken aback by its completely uncalled-for action.
And it's not as if this is all that we've done to counter Pakistani propaganda. We've also sent teams to border areas to assess the condition of radio and television transmitters, which, by the way, Pakistan has taken special care to target. In addition, we've also started special programmes for the armed forces. We're al-so trying to counter all the nonsense that is being put out on the Internet. We're setting up Internet sites of our own and are trying to respond to every statement that hurts our interests.
We're doing this from a position of strength, of confidence in the rightness of our actions and of respect for the armed forces which have shown an overwhelming resolve to take on the aggression. We are also doing this keeping in mind our tradition of democracy. We believe in the freedom of speech and expression, but we also believe it should not be abused.
The writer is Union Minister of Information &Broadcasting
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
------------------------------------------------------------
This story was printed from Net Express located at http://www.expressindia.com. Net Express provides a portal to India, with news from The Indian Express and The Financial Express along with sites on travel and tourism, the entertainment industry, the power sector, the environment and much more.
------------------------------------------------------------