Just finished watching the recetly released bollywood movie 1971. The movie is about 6 Prisoners of War (POW), who were part of the many other such brave soldiers of Indian Army, held captive by Pakistan after the 1971 Bangladesh War. The movie tries to depict the glorious efforts of these men, who try to escape from Pakistan, so as to be able to reunite with their motherland- INDIA !
I was surprised by the fact that like all other Indian movies, this movie did not have a happy ending. An ending, like all other bollywood movies, where the hero after facing hundreds of bullets, lands safely in the arms of his fellow brethren and is able to live happily ever after with his beloved sibilings back in his motherland. Surprisingly, its one of the rare occasions where an Indian movie has presented truth, how so callous and horrendous it be. And beleive me, this time I hate this truth ! I wanted this to be framed like a perfect happy ending, but the fact is that I cannot change it, and I am feeling helpless about it. It makes my blood boil, when I absorb the fact that what the movies shows very emotionally and melodramatically is nothing but truth, or at least close to truth. Many such brave Indian soldiers who are rotting in Pakistani Jails, quite unforgotten by their own country, comes as a reality shock to me. And I am forced to ask the big question- WHY ???
Why on this earth does a nation like ours has to appeal diplomatically for 30 years to get our own brave sons? Why can't we simply barge-in with our entire armed force and tear every wall in pakistan apart to locate our countrymen ? Why do we have to keep quiet and wait for an affirmative action from the other side, and not make a violent and committed pursuasion from our end ? I don't have an answer, and neither do you have. And the big problem is that those who have an answer will never face this question ! This makes me even more outraged and frustrated, that being an Indian citizen none of us is able to do anything for such people. The insensitivity and patriotic character we have as a nation is probably depicted by the fact that this movie could not even manage a sustainable business in theatres across the country , and was wrapped up soon, probably to vacate the audi for a better entertaining movie. Please do appreciate the intended pun in the last line !
I am deeply moved by this heart rendering saga, and am unable to provide myself with a justification for this inaction from our government. All initiatives like the Lahore Bus, or the Samjhauta Express or innumerous social delegations that crossed border time and again, lose their meaning to me. Its simple hypocracy and nothing else, and I can not even think of calling it diplomacy. No parents can ever afford diplomacy at the cost of the lives of their children. Surprisingly over motherland is doing exactly that, or at least it seems so to my immature mind. Just to enhance our image as a peace loving nation, and to substantiate our efforts for mutual harmony with pakistan, we are trying to take such initiatives one after the other. Yes indeed, this will prove our commitment to peace and prosperity in south asia, and enhance our image in the eyes of the world community. However, no body has ever thought-where do we stand in the eyes of those old parents who took their last breath dreaming to be cremated by their loving son? How do we answer the craving eyes of that child who matured from his childhood to teenage to marriage, dreaming about his loving father to be back by his marriage day? And above all, where do we stand in the eyes of those brave men who have lost their vision trying to locate the shades of their tri-colour national flag amidst the four walls of some god forsaken jail in pakistan?
I guess we stand nowhere because this is what the truth is....and thats why I hate this truth !!!
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
What a Good Morning
I have been thinking of writing these thoughts from the last many days. Although I was intentionally delaying it , but every passing morning enforced by viewpoint, so much so that I could hold no longer, and thought of sharing my worry. "Worry" sounds like a contrasting word, if you match it with the topic of the blog "What a Good Morning"....but then the feeling of well being is the last thing that is communicated to me, or for that matter to all of us, by the newspapers early morning !
Since I don't have any charming kid or a beautiful wife as of now ( its not that I regret this!), its the sweet smell of the newspaper ink and lovely view of its masthead that wakes me up every morning. But frankly speaking, now I am fed up of getting up day after day with horredously regular news reporting of bizarre incidents of murder, fire, controversy, rape, adultery, scam and political mismanagement. There is a limit to everything, and I guess our national media is just on the brink of crossing that limit of public tolerance. I am surprised how positivism and factual reporting have very easliy been replaced by the news that sell, and help them in creating further panic so that the readers wait with bated breath for the next days edition....much like the sizzling "sansani" !
Suddenly I start getting a feel that its the national media that manages the mood and temperament of the nation. I have a specific example of a national daily in mind. Few months back, this national daily was going ga-ga over how "poised" India was ( is it now also ???), and in that "golden" era, one could read article after article on the positive developments in the country. Surprisingly, during that period, when the newspaper even launched a special website, everything was supposedly going great in the country, or at least it was being reported as being great, and even the biggest of unscruplous activities or greates of national developments got the least of attention. This was for the simple reason that majority of the article space was pre-assigned for the specially "poised" articles. However, as the launch got over and it was "regular" days for the newspaper, one suddenly noticed a storm of "spicy" reporting incidents that had the propensity to rock the nation, be it the dreaded "Nithari Kand" or the "Shilpa-Gere" imbroglio, or the relatively regionally concentrated "Kauserbi" episode from Gujarat. Was it just a coincidence that these events occured at this time, or is it a reality that any other incident would also have been equally reported, just to create the regular "spice" in the newspaper , on regular days!
Its not that the media has always been like that. In fact, historically speaking, some of the regional and vernacular newspapers and magazines have been instrumental in the freedom struggle of our country, acting as a mouthpiece for the patriotic writers to instill the feeling for nationalism in everyone. This has been the history of mass media in our country, where truth has prevailed, and has been made to reach the people, even if "flour chapatis" were used instead of paper ( dont be surprised...its true about freedom struggle !) or blood had to replace the ink at times.
This is a surprising shift in national reporting from nationalism towards commercialism, where almost everyone think of writing, editing and publishing something that sells. I am indeed surprised to notice how national media is managing what people read, and thus how they feel. They need to understand that they have a bigger responsibilty bestowed in them, and it is the media which is a true harbinger of the "Right to Information" for majority of the nation. How they have to do it, is still a question that looms in front of it. But, they need to do it soon is something that I find undebatable. And sooner the shift to maturity comes, better it is for the nation as a whole............after all media is the mouthpiece and spokesperson of a nation, and none of us would like our nation to be so frivolous !
Since I don't have any charming kid or a beautiful wife as of now ( its not that I regret this!), its the sweet smell of the newspaper ink and lovely view of its masthead that wakes me up every morning. But frankly speaking, now I am fed up of getting up day after day with horredously regular news reporting of bizarre incidents of murder, fire, controversy, rape, adultery, scam and political mismanagement. There is a limit to everything, and I guess our national media is just on the brink of crossing that limit of public tolerance. I am surprised how positivism and factual reporting have very easliy been replaced by the news that sell, and help them in creating further panic so that the readers wait with bated breath for the next days edition....much like the sizzling "sansani" !
Suddenly I start getting a feel that its the national media that manages the mood and temperament of the nation. I have a specific example of a national daily in mind. Few months back, this national daily was going ga-ga over how "poised" India was ( is it now also ???), and in that "golden" era, one could read article after article on the positive developments in the country. Surprisingly, during that period, when the newspaper even launched a special website, everything was supposedly going great in the country, or at least it was being reported as being great, and even the biggest of unscruplous activities or greates of national developments got the least of attention. This was for the simple reason that majority of the article space was pre-assigned for the specially "poised" articles. However, as the launch got over and it was "regular" days for the newspaper, one suddenly noticed a storm of "spicy" reporting incidents that had the propensity to rock the nation, be it the dreaded "Nithari Kand" or the "Shilpa-Gere" imbroglio, or the relatively regionally concentrated "Kauserbi" episode from Gujarat. Was it just a coincidence that these events occured at this time, or is it a reality that any other incident would also have been equally reported, just to create the regular "spice" in the newspaper , on regular days!
Its not that the media has always been like that. In fact, historically speaking, some of the regional and vernacular newspapers and magazines have been instrumental in the freedom struggle of our country, acting as a mouthpiece for the patriotic writers to instill the feeling for nationalism in everyone. This has been the history of mass media in our country, where truth has prevailed, and has been made to reach the people, even if "flour chapatis" were used instead of paper ( dont be surprised...its true about freedom struggle !) or blood had to replace the ink at times.
This is a surprising shift in national reporting from nationalism towards commercialism, where almost everyone think of writing, editing and publishing something that sells. I am indeed surprised to notice how national media is managing what people read, and thus how they feel. They need to understand that they have a bigger responsibilty bestowed in them, and it is the media which is a true harbinger of the "Right to Information" for majority of the nation. How they have to do it, is still a question that looms in front of it. But, they need to do it soon is something that I find undebatable. And sooner the shift to maturity comes, better it is for the nation as a whole............after all media is the mouthpiece and spokesperson of a nation, and none of us would like our nation to be so frivolous !
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