Fight for respect in a polarized society

Earlier it was different. When a famous editor of a TV news show passed away in 1997, there was an atmosphere of mourning in the editorial department. Even the anchors were not able to prepare themselves for the evening bulletin but the show should go on. A renowned journalist who used to be young at that time, he took the responsibility and performed with full dignity, grit and seriousness, which used to be the hallmark of our profession.

Without going too far, let’s look at the 20-year-old debate in Parliament since the start of live telecast of proceedings in 1994. Even then, ‘walkouts’ were common, with the proceedings of the House being adjourned and sometimes the debate went ahead of the debate. limits of decency. As the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Somnath Chatterjee had made a strong comment on this. Some columnists at the time said that such MPs should be reined in, but this was very soft compared to what is happening today. In the last decade, those watching the proceedings of Parliament have been disappointed. We expect much better from our honorable MPs.

The expectation from the people of this prestigious house is not unreasonable – we must not forget that, the MPs guided the society by banning child marriage, female feticide, child labour, dowry system and triple talaq. What a big change these MPs have brought in the society, it should be felt. This is the same Parliament where the Untouchability (Offences) Act 1955 was passed and equal rights were given to men and women. It was here in November 1949 that the original copy of the Constitution was presented. Just imagine if all this had not happened then what would India be like today? Today MPs start their term by taking oath of the same constitution. But do they live up to their promises?

The monsoon session of Parliament was to run from July 19 to August 13, but was adjourned indefinitely on August 11. Lok Sabha worked for only 21 hours 14 minutes or only 22% out of the stipulated 96 hours. Rajya Sabha could utilize only 28% of the time. The Lok Sabha passed 14 bills in the session, which were discussed for an average of 10 minutes.

In the current winter session also we have lost a lot of time due to disruptions. The people who are being accused of disrupting today were in the government seven-and-a-half years ago. Today’s ruling party used to sit in the opposition benches then, behave like that. So how can we tell who is right and who is wrong? We have a foundation of glorious traditions, but what are we doing with it? This collapse is not unique to journalism and politics. Our educational institutions are also in this quagmire. The divergent statements of Vice Chancellors, academicians and professors show that the ideological divide is now out in the open. Same is the case with government machinery. This happened sometime back in a town in the Hindi belt. A police officer was trying to prevent a fierce clash between two bloodthirsty groups. They found that a section of policemen was not making the necessary effort. Subsequently, during investigation it was found that the inactive policemen belonged to one of the groups. He did not want to be strict with his own people. How far and to what extent are we divided?

Ideas have now been replaced by concoctions. Truth is the first casualty of this war in this era. Every political party is involved in this crime. How can it be stopped?

With all due respect, I would like to remind the political fraternity that in a democracy, the people are ruled by elected representatives. It is the responsibility of the honorable representatives to run the country. We abolished the monarchy, but governance in that system had some good lessons that we failed to learn. There was a time when kings above worldly charms plowed the fields only to convey a meaningful message. Will those backed by a favorite interpretation of history’s stories ever learn from them?

Shashi Shekhar is the editor-in-chief of Hindustan. Views expressed are personal.