Urvashi Sarkar

Thoughts, stories and ideas.

Tag: The Hindu

  • Post-Radia, a fierce debate on media ethics

    Published in The Hindu. 4 December 2010

    A panel discussion organised here on Friday by The Editors Guild of India, the Press Association, the Press Club of India and the Indian Women Press Corps on “Radia tapes and journalistic ethics” turned into a slanging match between journalists and Editor-in Chief of CNN-IBN Rajdeep Sardesai after he pitched in strongly for Barkha Dutt and Vir Sanghvi, saying they had been judged guilty without corroborative evidence. On the panel were Vinod Mehta, Editor-in-Chief of Outlook, which along with Open magazine brought the Niira Radia tapes into the open; Mrinal Pande, former editor of Hindustan and chairperson of the Prasar Bharati; and Sunil Jain, a business journalist with The Financial Express.

    Mr. Sardesai admitted that media groups needed to look inward and seriously examine where they had gone wrong in allowing the blurring of lines separating journalism, politics and lobbying. However, reporters did need to talk to a variety of sources, and the mere fact of talking to a lobbyist or even taking notes from one, was not an indication of professional misconduct. The CNN-IBN head questioned the journalistic standards adopted by the two magazines. A sense of scepticism was missing, assumptions had been made and those featured in the stories had not been given “the right to reply,” he said.

    Mr. Sardesai also remarked that the response in the case of Ms. Dutt and Mr. Sanghvi had been lynch-mobbish, with their being judged guilty without any reference to their journalistic track records. “The fundamental principle of jurisprudence, that you are innocent until proven guilty, has been reversed here,” he said, adding there was an element of professional jealousy in the chorus of voices raised against them. This started a near riot on the Press Club lawns, where the discussion was held. Journalists rose as one to condemn the suggestion that talking to corporate sources was an unavoidable aspect of good reporting. Many of them pointed to their own experience of getting good stories and breaking scoops without ever having to talk to a lobbyist. They made their displeasure clear at the issue being reduced to a case of jealousy and envy, and sought to know if Mr. Sardesai’s own channel referred its exclusive stories to those featured on them.

    Sensing the mood of the house, Mr. Sardesai, who is also president of the Editors Guild, quickly took back his words, promising immediate intervention by the Guild in formulating a code of ethics for journalists, including for editors. As a first step, he would declare his assets, he said.

    Mr. Mehta said journalists who were recorded on tape talking to Ms. Radia were well aware of the interests she was representing and yet allowed themselves to be used by her. “Journalists are supposed to use sources; sources cannot use journalists.”

    He said he did not think the issue was “complex” or “grey” as was being suggested by those arguing on behalf of the taped journalists. “It is a black and white issue, where the journalists knew who they were talking to and should have known where to stop a conversation and say, no, thank you.”

    Journalists have to hear many people but what they finally end up writing depends on the kind of people they are speaking with. “When journalists speak with a public relations officer or lobbyist, they must be aware of the mandate, brief and interests of the persons they are talking to,” Mr. Mehta said.

    Ms. Pande said: “The media is being expected to do a lot of what it is not meant to do. What we see in the English media is also occurring in the Hindi media except that the people involved are smaller players. It is important to question the ownership pattern in the Indian media. The boundaries between the editor and the owner are blurring and in some instances ownership is also in political hands.”

    Referring to “journalists wanting to play power brokers,” Mr. Sunil Jain said what was being currently witnessed had been going on for a long time and both the print and television media had entered into “private treaties” to serve their purposes.

    Photo: www.pressclubofindia.org

    Read the original article: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/Post-Radia-a-fierce-debate-on-media-ethics/article15579190.ece

  • Gender audit gives thumbs down to Delhi University

    Photo: Wikimedia Commons

    Published in The Hindu. 16 September 2010.

    Curriculum and classroom teaching in Delhi University at the post-graduate level does not reflect adequate gender sensitivity, a gender audit conducted by the University’s Women’s Study and Development Centre has revealed.

    As per the post-graduate level gender audit report, though most of the Humanities and Social Sciences disciplines do have gender components in their syllabi, it is inadequate and teacher participation in workshops and seminars on gender issues is “rather low.”

    The data for the audit was gathered from December 2008 to February 2009. The audit was performed to “assess how far the policies and practices of the university are conducive to promoting gender equality”.

    According to the report, women in the university are not satisfied with university facilities. The most common complaint was about inadequate number of toilets for women which were also badly maintained. Demands for more common rooms for women and greater security in the campus were also cited.

    The report recommends introduction of full-fledged degree courses on gender issues, better security for girls on the campus, more and better toilets for women, hostels for girls, compulsory gender courses for students of all disciplines and workshops and seminars on gender issues. The study takes note of Delhi University’s Ordinance XV-D as an “important step”. The construction of two hostels for girls by the University, initiation of the construction of a new girls’ hostel, establishment of a crèche and the beginning of the process of registration of paying guest accommodation for girls also find mention in the report.

    Many of them

    A larger number of female students are enrolled for science, mathematics, commerce, environment biology, humanities and social sciences as per the report which says: “Male students outnumber female students only in law, management and technical courses. It may be that male students prefer joining professional and job-oriented courses after school. The study shows that there are more boys than girls in professional courses.”

    The study finds that male teachers outnumber female teachers at the level of Professors, Associate Professors and Assistant Professors at the post-graduate level. Though the number of female teachers has risen since 2003, in many departments there are no women teachers at the level of Associate Professors and Professors or their number is negligible.

    The report notes that “since the number of women lecturers is rising, it is probable that in the coming years the number of women at senior levels will also rise. Also since more girls than boys are joining Ph.D. programmes, it is likely that more girls than boys will come forward to teach”.The representation of women office staff in the University is also very poor.

    About teaching and research output the report states that “most of the respondents felt that there is no significant difference between male and female teachers. However, some said that men are able to get research fellowships and grants more easily than women.” Female students and teachers also indicated that they were comfortable with male teachers/colleagues.

    Read the original article: https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-newdelhi/Gender-audit-gives-thumbs-down-to-Delhi-University/article15949737.ece

  • AMU professor a victim of clash between ‘tradition’ and privacy

    Published in The Hindu. 25 February 2010

    The suspension of 64-year-old Shrinivas Ramchandra Siras from Aligarh Muslim University, where he has been teaching for the past 22 years, has been greeted with mixed reactions here with campus authorities staunchly defending their decision to punish the professor for being a homosexual and human rights activists, online communities and a handful of students decrying this as a violation of his right to privacy.

    Dr. Siras, who was Chairman of the Department of Modern Indian Languages at AMU before his suspension, is due to retire this coming September. He was suspended soon after a video showing him having sex with another man surfaced on the campus. Contrary to some reports that several students had broken into Dr. Siras’ home and made the video, university sources say this was the handiwork of a private television channel.

    Dr. Siras was suspended under Statute 40(3)(c) of the University Statutes and ordered to vacate the house allotted by the university in Medical Colony, where he had been staying since 2002. Despite their avowed espousal of rules, however, the university authorities seem unperturbed by the ability of the TV channel to break into the home of a professor living on campus.

    Rationalising the suspension of Dr. Siras for his homosexuality, AMU public relations officer Rahat Abrar says: “The quarters where he was staying is university property. Further, a teacher has a role of responsibility and should be a figure to be looked up to. AMU has a history of culture and tradition and such things cannot be overlooked.”

    Asked whether this was not a violation of Dr. Siras’s privacy, AMU Faculty of Law associate professor Shakeel Samdani begs to differ: “Part III of the Indian Constitution dealing with Fundamental Rights guarantees certain rights subject to public order, morality and health. A teacher cannot act in such a manner that it violates public order, is a threat to tradition and such acts give rise to AIDS.” In fact, say human rights lawyers, these restrictions apply only to the Right to Freedom of Religion under Articles 25 and 26 in Part III and not to the Right to Privacy which is a part of the Right to Life under Article 21 of the Constitution.

    Homosexuality, which was a criminal offence under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, was legalised last year in a landmark judgment of the Delhi High Court. Reminded about that judgment, Dr. Samdani argues: “AMU falls under the jurisdiction of the Allahabad High Court. The ruling of the Delhi High Court regarding decriminalising of homosexuality may be accepted or struck down by the Allahabad High Court … Several religious groups including those of Hindus and Christians have protested in the Supreme Court against the Delhi High Court verdict and a decision is pending,” he adds.

    The Supreme Court, which is hearing the matter, has already rejected a plea to stay the Delhi High Court judgment.

    But if the AMU authorities insist their actions are legal, the manner in which the “evidence” against the suspended professor was collected leaves some observers uneasy. Jamal Ansari, an Aligarh-based freelance social commentator, told The Hindu: “The core issue is of unauthorised intrusion by some persons. Prof. Siras’ act is objectionable but the right to privacy is important, which, if allowed to be breached, would result in further complications.”

    Adil Hussain, an M.A. student of Mass Communication at AMU, said: “Dr. Siras’ actions were completely in the private domain. AMU should not take a moral stand on the issue. How can one make such a decision just by seeing a video?” Another student added: “While modern subjects are taught here and things are fairly liberal, yet AMU is not as open as Delhi University or JNU may be. Hence it becomes tough to accept such things.”

    Dr. Siras sees the AMU authorities’ action against him as a bid to oust him as Chairman of the Department of Modern Indian Languages. He also alleges that it was a ploy to distract attention from the enquiry that has been ordered by the President of India with regard to AMU Vice-Chancellor Prof. P. K. Abdul Azis.

    Dr. Siras is believed to have protested his suspension and removal from his house in a letter to the Vice-Chancellor. The letter dated February 11 states that orders were issued without taking into account “humanitarian considerations”.

    On the popular networking site Facebook, individuals have launched a community in support of Dr. Siras. Over 13 teachers from various universities have also been circulating an online petition in which the action against Dr. Siras has been condemned.

    The Naz Foundation is supporting Dr. Siras and he is also in talks with lawyer Anand Grover. A Naz Foundation representative said: “After reading media reports regarding Dr. Siras we got in touch with him and offered him support and help, including legal aid.”

    But the AMU authorities are not without support. Jasim Mohammed, who is pursuing his Ph.D., has started a “signature campaign” to sack Dr. Siras. Claiming that over 750 people had signed his memorandum, he said: “Dr. Siras’ services should be terminated for bringing disrepute to the university. This is a matter of Muslim culture and tradition. These are unnatural deeds.”

    The memorandum also demands that those who were responsible for the violation of Dr. Siras’s privacy should be brought under the purview of the university laws.

    Read the original article: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/AMU-professor-a-victim-of-clash-between-lsquotraditionrsquo-and-privacy/article16816848.ece

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