Ravish Kumar, NDTV India’s managing editor, and popular Indian Journalist said that the majoritarian ideological control over the Indian media is complete and it is spewing venom against minorities. “Journalists are not journalists anymore. They are behaving like a gang of criminals spreading hate in the society,” he added in his interview with Khaleej Times, a UAE based newspaper.
In the Interview with Anjana Sankar of Khaleej Times, Ravish Kumar lashed out at the “henchmen media” that has stopped doing its job – which is seeking information and questioning the government. Ravish, recipient of the prestigious Magsaysay Award this year said that the Indian media has stooped to its lowest and it has become the BJP’s (Bharathiya Janata Party) political wing.
Ravish said India’s English media, which used to remain largely secular, has turned overtly communal. “Now, there is no difference between the English and Hindi media. They are all pushing the Hindu narrative and having debates from a pro-Hindu angle.” Calling out the blatantly anti-Muslim hashtags and debates peddled on prime time, Kumar said if went unchecked, “Indian democracy and secularism as we know will be over”.
As a response to the question about citizen journalism as a solution, Ravish shared his mistrust in this option as according to him it is the same public that come to beat them up when they question and criticize the government. “People say I am anti-Modi. I say, I am pro-People. I don’t want to interfere in people’s political choices. If they want to love Modi, they can. But my question to every Indian is why do they want such a media that has no spine?” He raised his concerns about the journalism landscape of new India.
In the Interview, Ravish Kumar said that the Indian media landscape t is “99 percent pro-Modi,” and lone voices like his are increasingly getting drowned in the shrill mindless cheering for the BJP government.
Ravish Kumar, who is a strong critic of the rightwing Narendra Modi government, will be speaking about the ‘Future of media’ on November 9 at the Sharjah International Book Fair. He will share the stage with Sonia Singh, another prominent television anchor from India.
