Should Government of India control the press?

Should Government of India control the press?

Using Antonio Gramsci’s idea, it is easily deciphered that media is an important tool for government to have popular opinion of the people in its favour!

There is a mixed opinion regarding the freedom of the press. Any unlimited power will surely lead to misuse, but also an excess curbing of such power will be a doom for democracy.
Freedom of the press is the freedom of communication and expressions through any medium; electronic or published. India is a democratic country. Every person has a right to express their opinion and views, which are protected in the Indian constitution under article19(1)a: "the right to freedom of speech and expression”. Although, the freedom has restrictions, when we talk about sovereignty and integrity of our nation and other important issues.

A poll conducted in 20 nations stated robust support for the principle that the media should be free of government control and that citizens should even have access to material from hostile countries. People should have an open platform to express their ideas, this would help a society to grow.

Media was under strict control during Indira Gandhi regime. She famously stated in 1975 that All India Radio is "a Government organ, it is going to remain a Government organ…”. With liberalization in early 1990s, private control of media has burgeoned, which led to increase in independence and greater scrutiny of the government. But still, India ranks poorly at 140th rank out of 179 listed countries in the Press Freedom Index 2014.

There are many examples of excess control by government on press freedom. Separate events in Mumbai, where two girls were jailed when they posted something against government on Facebook. And in West Bengal, where someone circulated a cartoon against Mamta Banerjee government was arrested. Such acts by the administration are draconic for freedom of expression. Freedom of speech should not be curbed, until and unless it has any grave consequences. The problem arises here, i.e. where to draw a line between freedom and national security. The government bans random articles in the name of national integrity.

The various events of communal violence have shown that circulation of fake videos is aimed at inciting the feelings of hatred among communities. The uncensored TV news footage of The Taj helped the terrorists to perplex police for longer duration. It became a vehicle and target of criminal minds. There needs to be censuring of such event on the internet as well. But stoping media freedom by acts like Information Technology act,2010 on the whims and fancies of the politicians is a disaster for Indian democracy.

There need to be a more vigilant civil society to work for openness of media and press in the country. Both, people and government should understand that it is not in the hands of only one side. They will have to come together and work for freedom of thoughts. Any whimsical bans will deteriorate democracy, but on the other hand, any unrestricted freedom may jeopardise national security. Both sides should act as a watchdog against other and co-operate for an amicable solution, rather than blaming the other.