Presenting the first Ramnath Goenka Awards for Excellence in Journalism to 16 journalists from the print and broadcast media this morning, the Prime Minister told a packed audience that the most important idea sustaining India’s democracy was ‘‘the idea of building a consensus.’’ It was an idea that should inform the media as much as the political class, he indicated. (For key text of his speech, CLICK HERE)

Pointing out that in free societies ‘‘there are bound to be extreme positions taken on many issues,’’ the Prime Minister—who has on many past occasions distanced himself from the ‘‘fundamentalisms’’ of both the Right and the Left—said the ‘‘great majority of people occupy a consensual middle ground.’’

Those who articulate extreme views tend to be vocal and ‘‘their voice is heard more often on television and in newspapers,’’ he said. But, in what seemed a veiled criticism of the manufactured rage against ‘‘Mandal II’’ in sections of the media in recent days, the Prime Minister made it clear that this outburst would not be allowed to hijack the resolve of political parties or the government.

To quote his exact words: ‘‘Mass media may give greater expression to those who are vocal and articulate but it is the electoral process that reflects the will of the silent majority. No democratically elected Government can ignore the interests of the silent majority.’’

In a message ostensibly directed at the media—but aimed, perhaps, equally at alliance partners and supporting parties—Singh underlined the importance of ‘‘discussion’’ as opposed to ‘‘debate.’’ A discussion, he said, ‘‘ can facilitate a consensus’’ while a debate ‘‘invariably divides opinion.’’

Gently attacking the mock political battles increasingly orchestrated in TV studios, the Prime Minister said, ‘‘Getting rivals to disagree and turning debate into a gladiatorial sport may be entertaining and commercially rewarding. But does it help society move forward? Our democracy may be better off it we can increase the area of agreement rather than sharpen disagreements.’’

And at a time when the Left is raising the pitch against the government’s economic and foreign policies and regional parties reviving dreams of a ‘Third Front’, the Prime Minister—making no mention of either phenomena— chose to focus on the areas of agreement rather than the brewing differences that could cast a shadow over his government.

Pointing out that the democratic process ‘‘forces every extremist political formation to moderate itself and to move to the center to be able to move to the center-stage’’, the Prime Minister, very significantly, chose to cite the DMK and CPI(M) as examples.

‘‘Who could have imagined 50 years ago that a political party in Tamil Nadu created to champion secessionism would one day move to the very heart of our national politics? Who could have imagined 50 years ago that a Communist leader, belonging to a party that pledged itself to overthrow ‘bourgeois democracy’ and establish ‘the dictatorship of the proletariat’ would so proudly and dignifiedly occupy the chair of the Speaker of our Lok Sabha?’’ the Prime Minister asked.

Although meant to be a compliment, the above remark could well ruffle Left feathers, particularly when taken in conjunction with the Prime Minister’s subsequent comment of the need to ‘‘overcome the hurdles at home and the roadblocks in our mind’’ to realize our full potential—an apparent dig at the Left’s refusal to go with the current ‘‘consensual’’ flow.

But then, Singh went beyond his favourite quote from Victor Hugo (‘No one can stop an idea whose time has come’) to invoke Karl Marx today. Referring to Marx’s famous ‘‘when an idea captures the minds of men, it becomes a material force’’, the Prime Minister said the media was in the business of capturing the minds of people and transforming society.

But whether the idea of consensus will capture the minds of the political class and become a material force to guide the

UPA’s future remains a challenge that the Prime Minister chose not to dwell on today.

And the awards went to
(From left to right)
• Varghese K George; Journalist of the Year, Print (The Indian Express)
• Praveen Swami; Journalist of the Year, Print (Frontline)
• Punya Prasun Bajpai; Regional Award, Hindi, Broadcast (Aaj Tak)
• Barkha Dutt; Journalist of the Year, Broadcast (NDTV, 24X7)
• Sopan Pandharipande; Regional Award, Print (Lokmat)
• Sutapa Deb; Regional Award, North-East, Broadcast (NDTV 24X7)
• Swati Thyagarajan; Environmental Reporting (NDTV 24X7)
• Ratna Bharali Talukdar; Regional Award, North-East, Print (Freelance)
• C Vanaja; Uncovering India Invisible, Print (Freelance)
• Vikram Choudhary; Regional Award, Jammu and Kashmir, Broadcast (NDTV 24X7)
• Shikha Trivedy; Uncovering India Invisible, Broadcast (NDTV 24X7)
• Vikas Dhoot; Business and Economic Journalism, Print (Business World)
• Mir Ehsan; Regional Award, Jammu and Kashmir, Print (The Indian Express)
• Menaka Doshi; Business and Economic Journalism, Broadcast (CNBC-TV18)
• The two other recipients were Ramesh Menon; Environmental Reporting, Print (Freelance); and Somini Sengupta, Foreign Corres-pondent Covering India, Print (The New York Times)