Author: Swapan Dasgupta
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: August 7, 2011
URL: http://dailypioneer.com/359053/Dynasty-wrapped-in-needless-secrecy.html
More than 85 per cent of Indians are consumers
of the media in one form or another. Consequently, it is only to be expected
that almost every citizen has definite views on the subject - the other being
cricket.
Over the past few days, the media has come
in for some quiet scrutiny on a delicate subject: The unfortunate illness
of UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi which was made public last Thursday. There
is a context to this debate that is taking place in private conversations
and on social networking sites.
For nearly a year, the media has been the
subject of intense attention for its interventionist handling of the corruption
scandals that have surfaced all over the country. There are those who have
come to see the media as a robust watchdog of democracy for its role in both
publicising the scams and, more important, demanding answers from the political
class. The shrill debates and the insistence that "the nation demands
answers" may have struck aesthetes as being a bit over the top. However,
there are good reasons to believe that a citizenry which is far removed from
day-to-day politics has been revelling at the sight of politicians being badgered
and even bullied by anchors. Those who lack the power to kick the high and
mighty in non-election seasons are taking perverse pleasure that someone else
is doing it for them.
At the same time, the political class is dismayed
at the growing clout of the media. There are fears that the political agenda
is being set by anchors who are not accountable to anyone. There has been
a sudden onrush of concern for the integrity of the legislatures and the right
of elected MLAs and MPs to decide on crucial issues without media intimidation.
If the 19th century leaders feared mobocracy, their 21st century Indian counterpart
lives in dread of media-inspired hysteria.
The fear, it would seem, has been slightly
overstated. Had the Indian media turned into clones of the now-defunct News
of the World, the political class would have reason to be fearful of unregulated
intrusiveness. However, as the case of Sonia Gandhi's illness has vividly
demonstrated, the media is inclined to swing between playing the tiger and
acting the pussycat.
In the West, the illness of the most important
person in the Government would have had every investigative team of every
media house crossing the Atlantic to lay siege to all the hospitals in New
York where the Congress president is allegedly housed as an 'unlisted patient'.
We would have had the spectacle of every 'source' close to the Gandhi family
being asked to speculate over the nature of the illness and the course of
the treatment.
To some extent, concern over Sonia's health
can never remain a matter concerning the Gandhi family alone. The personal
well-being of someone who is the acknowledged 'leader' of the Government -
one who rules but does not rule - is a matter of public concern in all democracies.
India isn't either a Soviet Union where Yuri Andropov's last illness remained
a state secret or a North Korea where everything is classified information.
A daily health bulletin issued by responsible doctors that satisfies genuine
public concern and, simultaneously, respects the family's right to privacy
is something that can legitimately be asked from the Government or the Congress.
The point to note is that when it comes to
the 'first family', the media's thirst for investigative journalism evaporates
into handout journalism. This is despite the fact that the country has been
routinely misled on many occasions. When Sonia failed to be present in the
opening sessions of Parliament, it was put out (by unnamed sources) that she
was suffering from 'viral fever' - an explanation that was believable in the
context of the epidemic doing the rounds of Delhi. When, last year, she abruptly
cancelled her meeting with the visiting British Prime Minister it was again
put out that the family had to rush overseas because Sonia's mother wasn't
keeping too well.
No one ever claimed ownership of these doubtful
explanations of the Gandhi family's movements. For year after year, even as
fawning courtiers celebrated Rahul Gandhi's birthday, the birthday boy never
happened to be in the country. Delhi resonated with idle speculation over
where the birthday was actually celebrated. However, for the media the Congress
general secretary's travel itinerary was never the subject of any inquiry.
Even the Right to Information Act has failed to yield any information on the
issue - presumably because it has 'security' implications.
The Gandhi family has wrapped itself in so
much needless secrecy that it has fuelled bizarre conspiracy theories - some
of them tasteless. Many of these have been in circulation over the past few
days. Congress leaders can decry such irresponsible chatter, especially when
it concerns someone's health, but it would be prudent to recognise that the
root of misinformation is the information blackout.
It is everyone's hope that Sonia has a speedy
recovery and is able to resume normal life as soon as possible. If she needs
a quiet period of recuperation, it is only right that she be spared the intrusive
gaze of publicity. At the same time, her illness and absence has implications
that have a bearing on the functioning of the Government. In striking a balance
between patient confidentiality and authentic information, there are enough
good precedents to follow.