Freedom of expression ?

People with the power to reach a wide audience abuse this power of theirs all too often. I have been wanting to write about it ever since I saw the ‘the need for revival of interest in PAF’ performance at the Performing Arts Festival in the institute about a year ago. The theme revolved around how the hitherto most important event of the institute cultural calendar was drawing lesser and lesser participation and showcased the lament of the PAF creators towards the lazy bums who have no passion towards it. As a matter of fact, the prevalence of computers in student rooms has resulted in dwindling attendances in most extra-curricular and social activities on campus. A couple of years back, there was a lengthy discussion in the Institute Sports Council regarding the glaring dearth of students using the plentiful sporting facilities on campus. Sadly, sports-lovers never got a chance to sing about their grievances owing to the lack of a medium. And the writers of the aforementioned PAF, who had that medium, never felt the need to address the larger issue.
Well, this isn’t all that surprising. We find the mass media, both print and electronic, using this power to much greater effect all the time. If one remembers, the Government boycotted the broadcast of all news channels for a brief period during the recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai when it was thought that the television footage was potentially aiding the assailants. I was left stunned when the usually excellent Arnab Goswami launched a scathing attack on the administration accusing them of intruding on fundamental Constitutional rights and hailing the media as saviors. On the contrary, the completely irresponsible live telecast of the detailed movement of the commandos should have brought remorseful apologies from the man.
Over the years the media has displayed their tremendous intolerance towards any criticism and ridicule quite a few times. A few years ago they were up in arms against the Shah Rukh Khan starrer ‘Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani’ which sarcastically showed the no-holds-bar battle between two power and money hungry media barons; the extensive bad press causing the movie to be a box-office disaster. I agree that although the movie had some refreshingly funny moments, overall it was quite a shoddy piece of cinema. But much worse has been dealt with much less severely by our self-righteous newsmen.