We all know about up coming bollywood sensation-Paa, where Amitabh Bacchan becomes "the child" and his son Abhishek Bacchan Becomes the father of "the child". But Paa essentiallly is not about the Big B and the Chota B sharing aq camero again. Paa is about a child turning an old man at a faster rate.
Aamir Khan directoral debut started the trend of making people know about the disorders that make some of us different from us. And also enable us to understand how they make an effort to lead their little life, perhaps much better the mean minded "us" group.
If Amir's Taare Zameen Par was about Dyslexia, Paa is about Progeria...
you can can read about this disorder due to genetic incomplecency, in the trusted wikipedia...I have just come to know of a certain boy or old man who suffers from the same disorder....
Warriors on Pace- forever more
Warriors in peace - no time for war
Warriors in deed - we know the score
Warriors of heaven & Earth below
From the heavens up above
The only road to peace is love
Trust in your heart, see your dreams unfold
Though you know not how the story goes
Walk with me into the sun
No more battles to be won
Take my hand, you're nearly home again.
Time is gently passing by
Though you weep I ask not why
Searching the emptiness of your soul
Lost in visions of the past
Memories they seldom last
Silence is all that remains the same
Because your life is no disguise, alone you stand
Look at me through my mother's eyes
See who I am forever free
Call me when you need a friend
To be with you until the end
As the mountains crumble to the sea
Share your loneliness with me
Trouble always finds a way
To keep you further everyday
If only the end justified the means
Brothers lost and yet they be
So free, in your eyes tears I see
Courage is reaching your destiny
Because your life is no disguise, alone you stand
Look at me through my mother's eyes
See who I am forever free
Warriors on Pace- forever more
Warriors in peace - no time for war
Warriors in deed - we know the score
Warriors of heaven & Earth below
mausam aate jaate hai
sadiyaan aati jaati hai
kuchh cheeze reh jaati hai yaad mein
woh din woh raat kahaan hai
raajo andaaj kahaan hai
nagamein hai aaj sada ke saath mein
koi kehta hai jeene ka maksad yahaan inaayat mein hain
koi kehta hai jeene ka maksad yahaan daulat mein hain
tujhse jo koi yeh puchhe
kyun na kahoon jindagi ki kara? mein mohabbat mein hai
zoom zoom ta na na na zoom ta na na na zoom ek sada dil hai
zoom zoom ta na na na zoom ta na na na ek sada rub hai
zoom zoom ta na na na zoom ta na na na zoom ek mohabbat hai - 2
raadha-krishna ki mohabbat
aalam-huwa ki mohabbat
heer aur ranjha ki mohabbat ek hai
shaahjahaan-mumtaaz ki mohabbat
laila-majnu ki mohabbat
teri aur meri mohabbat ek hai - 2
deewaane mohabbat ke hain jo, hai unako pehla salaam
(zoom zoom ta na na na zoom ta na na na zoom ek sada dil hai
zoom zoom ta na na na zoom ta na na na ek sada rub hai
zoom zoom ta na na na zoom ta na na na zoom ek mohabbat hai - 2) - 2
deewaane mohabbat ke hain jo, hai unako pehla salaam
tohfa mohabbat ka hai jo, har dil ka usako salaam
Pray for me brother
Pray for me brother
Pray for me sister
Are you searchin’….
Pray for me brother
Lookin’ for the answers To all the questions In my life
Will I be alone Will you be there By my side
Is it something he said Is it something he did
I wonder why He is searchin’ For the answers
To stay alive
Could you ever listen Could you ever care
To speak your mind
Only for a minute For only one moment
In time
The joy is around us But show me the love
That we must find
Are you searchin’ For a reason to be kind, to be kind…
He said… Pray for me brother
Pray for me brother Pray for me sister
Pray for me brother Say
what you wanna say now
But keep your hearts open
Be what you wanna be now
Let’s heal the confusion
Pray for me brother
Don’t let me take When you don’t wanna give
Don’t be afraid Just let me live
Don’t let me take When you don’t wanna give
Don’t be afraid Say what you wanna say now
But keep your hearts open
Be what you wanna be now Let’s heal the confusion
Pray for me brother Pray for me brother
I’m ashamed ah, brother be dying of poverty
when he down on his knees its only then he prays
And it’s a shame ah, brother be dying of ignorance
cos the world is a trip and everybody’s a hypocrite
Need to stop ah , taking a look at the other
I’m not ashamed of poverty
need to be making his life better
So think about it, think about it once more
cos life is a blessing and it’s not justa show, ah
Round and round the world is spinning around
We need to be singing a prayer, we need to be singing it now
Round and round the world is turning around
We need to be singing a prayer, we need to be singing it now
Need to be feeling the power, need to be feeling the faith
We need to coming together just to win this race
Need to be feeling the power, need to be feeling the faith
We need to coming together just to win this race (twice)
Are you searching for a reason to be kind ?
Though I did not read this book..yet my brief sting with pigeons pursued me to include it here.
Gay Neck, the Story of a Pigeon is a 1928 children's novel by Dhan Gopal Mukerji that won the Newbery Medal for excellence in American children's literature
in 1928. It deals with the life of Gay Neck, a prized Indian pigeon.
Mukerji wrote that "the message implicit in the book is that man and
winged animals are brothers."
He stated that much of the book is based on his boyhood experiences
with a flock of forty pigeons and their leader, as the boy in the book
is Mukerji himself.
He did have to draw from the experiences of others for some parts of
the book, such as those who trained messenger pigeons in the war.
The book offers an insight into the life of a boy of high caste during
the early nineteen hundreds and also into the training of pigeons.
Several chapters are told from Gay-Neck's perspective, with the pigeon
speaking in first person. Elizabeth Seeger writes in a biographical
note about Mukerji that, "Gay-Neck was written in Brittany, where every
afternoon he read to the children gathered about him on the beach the
chapter he had written in the morning." In an article in the children’s literature journal The Lion and the Unicorn, Meena G. Khorana calls the novel one of the few children’s novels from Western or Indian authors to explore the Himalayas
in a meaningful way (rather than simply using them as a setting), and
notes the way Mukerji recalls their “grandeur and spiritual power”.
A brief glance:-
Gay-Neck, or ‘’Chitra-Griva’’, is born to a young owner in India.
Gay-Neck’s parents teach him how to fly, but he soon loses his father
in a storm and his mother to a hawk. His master and Ghond the hunter
take him out into the wilderness, but he becomes so scared by the hawks
that he flees and ends up in a lamasery where the Buddhist monks are
able to cure him of his fear. When his young master returns home he
finds Gay-neck waiting for him. But Gay-Neck decides to go on other
long journeys, much to the boy’s consternation. Then, during World War
I, Gay-Neck and Ghond end up journeying to Europe where Gay-Neck serves
as a messenger pigeon. He is chased by German machine-eagles (planes)
and is severely traumatized when one of his fellow messenger pigeons is
shot down. Gay-neck and Ghond barely survive, and Gay-Neck is unable to
fly. Ghond, Gay-Neck, and his master return to the lamasery near
Singalila, where Ghond and Gay-Neck need to be cleansed of the hate and
fear of the war. After that, Ghond succeeds in hunting down a buffalo
that killed a villager, but feels remorse for having to kill the
buffalo. Gay-Neck disappears once more, but when the other two return
home, they find, to their joy, that Gay-Neck had already flown there
ahead of them.
Yes I know I know, being a crusader of so called peace in the wake of war and political mayhem..I know that bird quite well...but may be not too well...then a few of its clan members..turned the peace of my house(though sometimes even that gives me the eerie feeling of gas chambers), into a hellish cacophony and a smelling pit. the story can come later of course..but the prelude is equally important...for I have to tell you the ways in which I tried to think better of these Gaelic brutes and infidel peace keepers.
One of a related books or rather a title that could keep me thinking of not plotting heinous means of capturing or killing the noisy deep throat multitude was the breath taking-FLIGHT OF THE PIGEONS-written by Ruskin Bond. many of my readers might not have read the book, but might have chanced to see the movie-"Junoon"-a famous scene- A blood smeared face of Sashi kapoor, pleads to see the face of his muse.
Any war or revolution or events like that give birth to lot of stories.
This is one such story based around the period of Revolt of 1857 in
INDIA.
This one is different among most of Ruskin Bond’s
books, though I have not yet read all of his work. Most of his stories
are either based on his own life’s experiences, involve nature in one
way or the other, and are concerned mostly with normal people and
their normal lives and thats what makes them very realistic. This one is like a chapter from the history of our country, INDIA.
STORY:
The story starts with the capture of Shahjahanpur, a small town village
in U. P., from english army by Indian Freedom fighters. With that
starts
killing and looting of english people settled over there with burning
out their houses and capturing and imprisioning of their women, if
there were any. Ruth, her mother (Mariam) and rest of her family , all
women, were one such group. First they take refugee in the house Lala
Ramjimal, a friend of her father, but soon people around find out that
there is group of english women’s hiding in his house. Then a Pathan
named Javed Khan, one of the man of then Nawab of that area, takes them
to his house. He puts the proposal of marrying Ruth before her mother,
though he can have her forcibly, but he wants to do so with the will of
the girl. Well, its hard to know he loves her not, but surely he like
her very much and is kaayal of her beauty. Mariam being a
captive under Javed didnt have much options but somehow manages ot save
her daughter for the Pathan using one excuse or th other. In the
backdrop of this story the events of the Revolt of 1857 is presented
beautifully in bits and pieces. Finally story ends with english army
once again taking over the city almost after an year in 1858.
a bit about the movie:- 'A flight of Pigeons'.-the story by
Ruskin Bond was transformed into Junoon by Shyam Benegal. Produced by
Shashi Kapoor, the film was set against the backdrop of unrest of 1857
in the country. Shashi Kapoor, Shabana Azmi, Jennifer (Kendal) Kapoor,
Naseeruddin Shah starred in the film. Nafisa Ali (then a national
swimming champion) was introduced in this film. Vanraj Bhatia scored
the music for the film. "Ishq Ne Todi, Sar Pe Qayamat..." sung by Mohd.
Rafi and "Ghir Aayee Kaari Ghata Matwaari......" sung by Preeti Sagar
became popular hits. "Khusro Rain Piya Ki Jaagi Pee Ke Sang...." a
qawwali sung by Jamil Ahmad was also a highlight of the film. Made in
1978, Junoon went on to bag the National Awards for the Best Film, Best
Cinematography (Govind Nihalani) and Best Audiography (Hitendra Ghosh)
in 1979. A year later it captured eight Filmfare Awards for Best Film,
Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Sound Recording (audiography)
Best Dialogues (Pandit Satyadev Dubey), Best Editing (Bhanudas
Diwakar), Best Supporting Actor (Naseerudin Shah) and Best Supporting
Actress (Jennifer Kendal Kapoor).
A draught of life a pint of wine a vision of the holy grail a breathe sublime.. a drop of lime.. the sizzling touch a drop of tear a crying heart a drop of rain at the summer end a drop of life to start from again...
It is difficult to deny the burden on the back, it’s prickly
and heavy and how much we try to shrug it off, it sticks on harder….it’s the
historical burden of the past. The language I am writing in right now, is
essentially not mine, but borrowed from another land, my ways are not those of
my people but an amalgamation of what I have and what I have borrowed. Thus it
was never very difficult to understand this lingering sense of borrowed past,
this impossible burden of past as I flipped through the first few pages of
Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children.
Salman Rushdie, has a made a name for himself as a
controversial novel writer. All his novels are characterized by an epic sweep
of narration, a plethora of allusions to real events, real people, mythological
and literary characters, and hilarious, often ribald humour reminiscent of
Tristram Shady.
Rushdie has written eleven fictions- Grimus(1975), Midnight’s
Children(1981), Shame(1983), The Satanic Verses (1988), Haroun and the Sea of
Stories (1990), The Wizard of Oz (1992),
East, West (1994), The Moor's Last Sigh (1995), The
Ground Beneath Her Feet (1999), Fury
(2001),Step Across This Line: Collected Nonfiction 1992 - 2002 (2002),Shalimar
the Clown (2005) and The Enchantress of Florence (2008). And most of
them speaks of good overcoming the evil force, or at least survives. Perhaps for
this one might be forced to agree that Rushdie is a romantic who uses the medium
of satire, much like his Indian counterparts and in his own way presents a
story where past and present overlap to give a blurred future.
Midnight Children expresses an historical connection through
the literary journey. This journey is again not singular; it is the journey of
self and a nation. Born at the dawn of Indian independence and destined, upon
his death, to break into as many pieces as there are citizens of India, Saleem
Sinai manages to represent the entirety of India within his individual self.
His is the writer-protagonist, a son of an Englishman who has seduced the wife
of a Hindu street singer. He is educated at the Cathedral and John Connon’s
Boy’s School in Bombay. He is the ‘Snotnose, Stainface, Baldy, Sniffer, Buddha and
Piece-of-the-Moon’, who rise and fall is linked miraculously to the faith of a
new born country.
The Mexican critic Luis Leal has said, "Without thinking
of the concept of magical realism, each writer gives expression to a reality he
observes in the people. To me, magical realism is an attitude on the part of
the characters in the novel toward the world," or toward nature. He adds,
"If you can explain it, then it's not magical realism."
Writers like García Márquez, who use magical realism, don't
create new worlds, but suggest the magical in our world. And Marquez’s A Hundred
years of Solitude had a great influence on Rushdie’s take on Midnight Children,
especially in the context of the theme.
The theme of magic reality, the combination of the two heavy
words makes its presence felt almost in every page of the novel, a sense of
overlapping entities that further tries to invade the identity of the reader
itself. Saleem Sanai talks of 365 voices jostling and shoving each other inside
him. And as the reader travels along the course of the story, he finds himself
becoming a part of those persistently chattering voice. This is magical, yet an
undistinguished reality. For, even if a reader is born much after the main
events supporting the novel, has occurred, its sweeping history has become his
own history; an important identity that cannot be considered a ganglion and
amputated right away. The above observation lies true when we are to recall the
gory Jalianwala barg massacre, the pains of the Emergency period, the terrorist
attacks and the Bangladesh war. At one point, in Midnight’s Children, Saleem,
makes use of the metaphor of a cinema to explain his peculiar business of
perception. The same can be used to understand the profound use of magic
realism.
‘Suppose yourself in a large cinema, sitting at the first in
the back row, and gradually moving up,… until your nose is almost pressed
against the screen. Gradually the stars’ faces dissolve in the dancing grain;
tiny details assume grotesque proportions; … it becomes clear that the illusion
itself is reality.’
The movement towards the cinema screen is the metaphor for
the narrative’s movement through time towards the present.
Thus Salaam Sinai is handcuffed to history. Rushdie has
carefully drawn numerous parallels between the protagonist and his country, right
from his face which resembles “the whole map of India” to his fortune which is “indissolubly
chained to those of my country. Soothsayers had prophesied me,
newspapers celebrated my arrival, politicos ratified my authenticity. I was
left entirely without a say in the matter.”
This is exactly the problem of modern man who is driven by
the whirling chaos around him. Salaam is just one such victim who stands in the
middle of disturbance and turmoil and like a speechless witness chronologically
tries to reproduce history. But his memory fails to maintain the accurate
dateline. And factual errors are prominent symptoms. He frets over the accuracy of his
story and worries about future errors he might make. Yet again continues in his
own rhythm adding metaphors and images that increase the authenticity of the
notion, India is a land of illusion, where magic and reality reside side by
side, and quite often intermingle to give a renewed identity to the mundane
existence.
FIRST CANTO Stanza 1: The Reader Forewarned God grant
that the reader, emboldened and having become at present as fierce as
what he is reading, find, without loss of bearings, his way, his wild
and treacherous passage through the desolate swamps of these sombre,
poison-soaked pages; for, unless he should bring to his reading a
rigorous logic and a sustained mental effort at least as strong as his
distrust, the lethal fumes of this book shall dissolve his soul as
water does sugar. It is not right that everyone read the pages that
follow: a sole few will savour this bitter fruit without danger. As a
result, wavering soul, before penetrating further into such uncharted
barrens, draw back, step no deeper. Mark my words: draw back, step no
deeper, like the eyes of a son respectfully flinching away from his
mother's august contemplation, or rather, like an acute angle formation
of cold-sensitive cranes stretching beyond the eye can reach, soaring
through the winter silence in deep meditation, under tight sail towards
a focal point on the horizon, from where there suddenly rises a
peculiar gust of wind, omen of a storm. The oldest crane, alone at the
forefront, on seeing this, shakes his head like a rational person and
consequently his beak too, which he clicks, as he is uneasy (and so
would I be, in his shoes); whilst his old, feather-stripped neck,
contemporary of three generations of cranes, sways in irritated
undulations that foreshadow the oncoming thunderstorm. After looking
with composure several times in every direction with eyes that bespeak
experience, the first crane (for he is the privileged one to show his
tail feathers to the other, intellectually inferior cranes) vigilantly
cries out like a melancholy sentinel driving back the common enemy, and
then carefully steers the nose of the geometric figure (it would be a
triangle, but the third side, formed in space by these curious avian
wayfarers, is invisible), be it to port, or to starboard, like a
skilful captain; and, manoeuvring with wings that seem no larger than
those of a sparrow, he thus adopts, since he is no dumb creature, a
different and safer philosophical course.
Selected Poems from
MALDOROR
by Lautréamont (1868)
Translated by Sonja Elen Kisa (1998)
Illustrated by François Aubéron
It is difficult to deny the burden on the back, it’s prickly
and heavy and how much we try to shrug it off, it sticks on harder….it’s the
historical burden of the past. The language I am writing in right now, is
essentially not mine, but borrowed from another land, my ways are not those of
my people but an amalgamation of what I have and what I have borrowed. Thus it
was never very difficult to understand this lingering sense of borrowed past,
this impossible burden of past as I flipped through the first few pages of
Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children.
Investigative
reporting is distinctive in that it publicizes information about wrongdoing
that affects the public interest. Denunciations result from the work of
reporters rather than from information leaked to newsrooms.
While investigative journalism used to be associated with lone reporters
working on their own with little, if any, support from their news
organizations, recent examples attest that teamwork is fundamental. Differing
kinds of expertise are needed to produce well-documented and comprehensive
stories. Reporters, editors, legal specialists, statistical analysts,
librarians, and news researchers are needed to collaborate on investigations.
Knowledge of public information access laws is crucial to find what information
is potentially available under "freedom of information" laws, and
what legal problems might arise when damaging information is published. New
technologies are extremely valuable to find facts and to make reporters familiar
with the complexities of any given story. Thanks to the computerization of
government records and the availability of extraordinary amounts of information
online, computer-assisted reporting (CAR) is of great assistance.
Democracy
and Investigative Journalism
Investigative
journalism matters because of its many contributions to democratic governance.
Its role can be understood in keeping with the Fourth Estate model of the
press. According to this model, the press should make government accountable by
publishing information about matters of public interest even if such
information reveals abuses or crimes perpetrated by those in authority. From
this perspective, investigative reporting is one of the most important
contributions that the press makes to democracy. It is linked to the logic of
checks and balances in democratic systems. It provides a valuable mechanism for
monitoring the performance of democratic institutions as they are most broadly
defined to include governmental bodies, civic organizations and publicly held
corporations.
The centrality of the media in contemporary democracies makes political elites
sensitive to news, particularly to "bad" news that often causes a
public commotion. The publication of news about political and economic wrongdoing
can trigger congressional and judicial investigations.
In cases when
government institutions fail to conduct further inquiries, or investigations
are plagued with problems and suspicions, journalism can contribute to
accountability by monitoring the functioning of these institutions. It can
examine how well these institutions actually fulfill their constitutional
mandate to govern responsibly in the face of press reports that reveal
dysfunction, dishonesty, or wrongdoing in government and society. At minimum,
investigative reporting retains important agenda-setting powers to remind
citizens and political elites about the existence of certain issues. There are
no guarantees, however, that continuous press attention will result in
congressional and judicial actions to investigate and prosecute those
responsible for wrongdoing.
Investigative journalism also contributes to democracy by nurturing an informed
citizenry. Information is a vital resource to empower a vigilant public that
ultimately holds government accountable through voting and participation. With
the ascent of media-centered politics in contemporary democracies, the media
have eclipsed other social institutions as the main source of information about
issues and processes that affect citizens' lives.
Public
access
Access to
public records and laws ensuring that public business will be conducted in open
sessions are indispensable to the work of an investigative journalist. When
prior censorship or defamation laws loom on the horizon, news organizations are
unlikely to take up controversial subjects because of potentially expensive
lawsuits. Consequently, democracies must meet certain requirements for
investigative journalism to be effective and to provide diverse and
comprehensive information.
Definition:
The standard definition of investigative reporting, as agreed upon by such
bodies as
The Society for Professional Journalists and Investigative
Reporters and Editors is
this:
The
information reported has to be of importance to the public.
The
information has to be original work.
The
reportage has to uncover something not previously known that someone is trying
to keep hidden.
Investigative
journalism
is when reporters deeply investigate a topic of interest, often involving
crime, political
corruption, or some other scandal.
De
Burgh (2000) states "An
investigative journalist is a man or woman whose profession it is to discover
the truth and to identify lapses from it in whatever media may be available.
The act of doing this generally is called investigative journalism and is
distinct from apparently similar work done by police, lawyers, auditors and
regulatory bodies in that it is not limited as to target, not legally founded
and closely connected to publicity".
An
investigative journalist may spend a considerable period researching and
preparing a report, sometimes months or years, whereas a typical daily or
weekly news reporter writes items concerning immediately available news. Most
investigative journalism is done by newspapers, wire services and freelance journalists. An investigative journalist's final report
may take the form of an exposé.
There
is no more important contribution that we can make to society than strong,
publicly-spirited investigative journalism.
–
Tony Burman, editor-in-chief of CBC News
The Ethics of Investigative
Journalism
Every team of investigative reporters pursues a story under
different circumstances, so creating an all-purpose ethical rulebook is
problematic, though certain standards have become generally accepted. The legal
implications of reporters' actions are, by far, more clear-cut than ethical
issues. Ethics, instead, deals with how to distinguish between right and wrong,
with philosophical principles used to justify a particular course of action. Any
decision can be judged ethical, depending on what ethical framework is used to
justify it, and what values are prioritized. What journalists and editors need
to determine is who will benefit as a result of the reporting.
If journalism is committed to democratic accountability, then the question that
needs to be asked is whether the public benefits as a result of investigative
reports. Whose interest does investigative journalism serve by publishing a
given story? Does the press fulfill its social responsibility in revealing
wrongdoing? Whose interests are being affected? Whose rights are being invaded?
Is the issue at stake a matter of legitimate public interest? Or is individual
privacy being invaded when no crucial public issue is at stake?
Most discussions about ethics in investigative journalism
have focused on methodology, namely, is any method valid to reveal wrongdoing?
Is deception legitimate when journalists aim to tell the truth? Is any method
justifiable no matter the working conditions and the difficulties in getting
information? Can television reporters use hidden cameras to get a story? Can
journalists use false identities to gain access to information?
On this point, an important factor to consider is that the
public seems less willing than journalists to accept any method to reveal
wrongdoing. Surveys show that the public is suspicious of invasion of privacy,
no matter the public relevance of a story. The public generally seems less
inclined to accept that journalists should use any method to get a story. Such
an attitude is significantly revealing in times when, in many countries, the
credibility of the press is low. The press needs to be trustworthy in the eyes
of the public. That is its main capital, but too often its actions further undermine
its credibility. Therefore, the fact that citizens generally believe that
journalists would get any story at any cost needs to be an important
consideration. Exposes that rely on questionable methods to get information can
further diminish the legitimacy and public standing of the reporting and the
journalists.
Ethical issues are not limited to methods. Corruption is
also another important ethical issue in investigative journalism. Corruption
includes a variety of practices, ranging from journalists who accept bribes, or
quash exposes, or pay sources for information. The harm to private citizens
that might result from what's reported also needs to be considered. Issues of
privacy usually come to the forefront, as investigative journalism often walks
a fine line between the right to privacy and the public's right to know. It is
usually assumed that privacy applies differently to public figures than to
average citizens.
There are no easy, ready-made answers to ethical issues. Codes of ethics,
despite some merits, do not offer clear-cut solutions that can be applied in
all cases. Most analysts agree that journalists must remain sensitive to issues
such as fairness, balance, and accuracy. Reporters continuously need to ask
ethical questions throughout different stages of the investigations, and be
ready to justify their decisions to their editors, colleagues, and the public.
They need to be sensitive to whose interests are being affected, and operate
according to professional standards.
Some of the means reporters can
use for their fact-finding:
*
studying neglected sources, such as archives, phone records, address books, tax
records and license records
talking to neighbors
* using subscription research sources such as LexisNexis
anonymous sources (for example whistleblowers)
going undercover
Investigative journalism can be contrasted with analytical reporting. According
to De Burgh (2000) analytical journalism takes the data available and
reconfigures it, helping us to ask questions about the situation or statement
or see it in a different way, whereas investigative journalists go further and
also want to know whether the situation presented to us is the reality.
Consequences
Some
of the potential consequences for the subjects of successful investigative
journalism include:
indictment
and conviction
loss of job
loss of professional accreditation
payment of fines
loss of personal and professional reputation
domino consequences for family members/associates involved in unrelated
criminal acts discovered through the process of investigation
Consequences for society as a whole include:
revision
of institutional policies
changes in the law
Professional references.
In The
Reporter’s Handbook: An Investigator’s Guide to Documents and Techniques, Steve
Weinberg defined investigative journalism as:
Reporting,
through one’s own initiative and work product, matters of importance to
readers, viewers or listeners. In many cases, the subjects of the reporting
wish the matters under scrutiny to remain undisclosed.
India and investigative journalism
India has witnessed series of investigations
carried out separately by the press and media. We rejoice at the robustness of
our democracy. We celebrate the vibrancy of the sparkling free press of India.
But we know that the constitutional instruments to make the establishment
accountable are weakening or failing. The parallel democratic institutions,
which are supposed to nourish these instruments, are not fully evolved. Leave
alone the ordinary citizen, neither our political leaders nor the academicians
and intellectuals have fully cultivated a democratic mindset and culture which
should involve transparency, professional commitment and accountability. To
that extent, our democracy is fragile and -- to use an unpleasant word -- underdeveloped.
The importance of the “organic” relationship,
as described by Walter Lippman, between a healthy democracy and the free press
must be considered. One cannot sustain without the other. Indian media is so
intoxicated with its so-called freedom (freest press in the world, one might
say) that it fails to understand that it is also equally underdeveloped and
fragile, that freedom carries certain grave responsibilities and that as
upholder of democratic values and freedom (not just another profit-making
industry) it has some specific obligations and duties towards the society. It
is so obsessed with itself that it does not realize that it is throwing to
winds its credibility, respectability and power by not attending to its basic
obligations.
The
so-called investigative reporting in India in the Bofors case, Fodder scam, Best
Bakery Case, Jain Diary Case, Petrol Pumps largesse scandal and even Satyendra
Dubey’s murder case have been either rankly partisan political exercises or
half-hearted attempts to show off the fearlessness of those media units. Has
anyone followed Satyendra Dubey’s case to the end? Who are the murderers? Are
they arrested? Who leaked Satyendra’s confidential letter from the PMO? Is that
person booked? And the mafia contractors of the Golden Quadrilateral? Was the
Godhra riot victims given proper justice? Has the government forgotten the
lingering plight of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy victims? Has any paper or channel
pursued them? One remembers the sensation caused by Arun Shourie’s series of
‘investigative’ stories on the then chief minister AR Antulay of Maharashtra in
early 1980’s.Recently, we have the Jessica lal case remanded by the supreme court,
and in the state the Rizwanur case, the Nandigram massacre _in fact all
incomplete information that are so sensational that become news demand the
reporters’ continuous investigation.
For
investigative reporting to flourish, what is required is: an independent and
pluralistic media which is fearless, committed to democracy, universal human
values, journalists with commitment who can identify problems and have the
grit, perseverance, patience and skills to do research and owners and editors
professionally non-partisan and without vested interests.
Political
expedience
Bofors,
St.Kitts, Fodder Scam, Satyendra Dubey -- none of these stories were followed
thoroughly and with the rigour that investigative journalism demands. The
pursuit was half-hearted; the stories tapered off occasionally, but were
revived vigorously whenever a political occasion demanded.
No
doubt, there have been laudable attempts at exposing some major scandals at
local or state levels. But, often, the exposure is made in one sensational
burst and then the press loses interest. The story tapers off or is not
followed at all. Clearly, the Indian media has not nourished the discipline of
classic investigative reporting. The political, economic and social scenario of
India is so complex and rotten and the media’s credibility, despite its
enormous power, is so low that even conscientious bureaucrats do not dare to
blow the whistle. One whistle-blower who dared was murdered. And the press has
nearly forgotten him.
What
investigative reporting really needs!
For
investigative reporting to flourish, what is required is: an independent and
pluralistic media which is fearless, committed to democracy, universal human
values, journalists with commitment who can identify problems and have the
grit, perseverance, patience and skills to do research and owners and editors
professionally non-partisan and without vested interests.
We
have a fantastically free press, so free that it does not have a professional
self-regulatory mechanism to monitor fundamental ethics of the press. Not even
the journalists’ associations, which are more interested in begging for more
perks from the government and corporate bodies than in the health of their own
profession. Many journalists may have the aptitude and skills for investigative
journalism. But their owners and editors do not have the will, even if they have
the resources, to encourage them. The owners and the editors too have multiple
vested interests -- in political parties, individual leaders, corporate bodies
and so on.
Indian
bureaucracy, notorious for its red-tapism, does not easily part with even ordinary
information, never mind the information acts on the book, and, as mentioned
earlier, those who really want expose the malefascence do not trust the press.
Why
sting operations?
In
such circumstances, what does a restless committed journalist do? He takes a
hidden camera with him and broadcasts countrywide bulletins of responsible
people accepting bribes. If documents, receipts, accounts, papers or files are
not forthcoming as proof, here’s how the journalist furnishes the proof. Live
on screen. Tarun Tejpal and Tehelka’s sting operation and subsequent imitations
by others have raised a hornet’s nest questioning the ethical propriety of this
kind of journalism. It is a positive outcome indeed. At last, ethics in
journalism is being discussed, albeit half-heartedly.
How
credible is the media?
We do not seem have culture and discipline to
carry effective investigative journalism. The press is losing credibility
because of its blatant partisanship and rank commercialism. So take the camera
and expose. Never mind, it is one-time exposure of a part. But the proof is
there, clearly visible on the screen to make an impact on the minds of the
people. The Dehli based schoolteacher’s allegation against the tv journalists can
be taken under consideration ,where there are possible chances of preparing a
false sting operation. This will at least shake the people and those who are
concerned out of their slumber. No, this is not investigative journalism. But
it is the sting. An occasional sting operation made with professional
commitment may serve the cause for the time being. But that is no alternative
to investigative journalism.
To
build its credibility and ensure its freedom under democracy, the media in
India will have to turn to serious investigative reporting. The good news is that press is shaking of the
age old shackles of inhibitions and intending to carry on responsible
investigative reporting to provide the public its greatest power-the strength
of decision making.
SOME OPINIONS THAT CHALLENGE
INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM
According
to Lord Scarman, investigative journalism has proved its social value and he
does not wish to put any curb on it, other than”…the curbs I have mentioned on
the right of physical privacy, to which I attach great importance. The other
curb I would impose is respect for criminal law.
There
are matters which really should be left to the police to investigate and
investigative journalists should keep out of it. If ,in the course of
investigation, the journalists come across matters which have a strong criminal
flavour ,Scarman thinks, their immediate duty is to go to the police and put
the facts in front of them and ask the police whether they think it would be
appropriate for the newspaper investigation to continue or whether they should put
up the shutters. He tactfully adds on that he would not regulate this by
law.”Of course, investigative journalism is very much subject to the risks of contempt of the court in some
circumstances. They have got to watch out for what is subjudice and for what might prejudice a necessary
criminal prosecution.”, he remarks.
'Whenever I plunge my
arm, like this,
In a basin of water, I never miss
The sweet sharp sense of a fugitive day
Fetched back from its thickening shroud of gray.
Hence the only prime
And real love-rhyme
That I know by heart,
And that leaves no smart,
Is the purl of a little valley fall
About three spans wide and two spans tall
Over a table of solid rock,
And into a scoop of the self-same block;
The purl of a runlet that never ceases
In stir of kingdoms, in wars, in peace;
With a hollow boiling voice it speaks
And has spoken since hills were turfless peaks.'
'And why gives this the only prime
Idea to you of a real love-rhyme?
And why does plunging your arm in a bowl
Full of spring water, bring throbs to your soul?'
'Well, under the fall, in a crease of the stone,
Though precisely where none ever has known,
Jammed darkly, nothing to show how prized,
And by now with its smoothness opalized,
Is a grinking glass
:
For, down that pass
My lover and I
Walked under a sky
Of blue with a leaf-wove awning of green,
In the burn of August, to paint the scene,
And we placed our basket of fruit and wine
By the runlet's rim, where we sat to dine;
And when we had drunk from the glass together,
Arched by the oak-copse from the weather,
I held the vessel to rinse in the fall,
Where it slipped, and it sank, and was past recall,
Though we stooped and plumbed the little abyss
With long bared arms. There the glass still is.
And, as said, if I thrust my arm below Coldwater in a basin or bowl, a throe
From the past awakens a sense of that time,
And the glass we used, and the cascade's rhyme.
The basin seems the pool, and its edge
The hard smooth face of the brook-side ledge,
And the leafy pattern of china-ware
The hanging plants that were bathing there.
'By night, by day, when it shines or lours,
There lies intact that chalice of ours,
And its presence adds to the rhyme of love
Persistently sung by the fall above.
No lip has touched it since his and mine
In turns there from sipped lovers' wine.'
Like the water
of a deep stream,
love is always too much.
We did not make it.
Though we drink till we burst,
we cannot have it all,
or want it all.
In its abundance
it survives our thirst.
In the evening we come down to the shore
to drink our fill,
and sleep,
while it flows
through the regions of the dark.
It does not hold us,
except we keep returning to its rich waters
thirsty.
We enter,
willing to die,
into the commonwealth of its joy.
A slight rain comes, bathed in dawn light. I hear it among treetop leaves before mist Arrives. Soon it sprinkles the soil and, Windblown, follows clouds away. Deepened
Colors grace thatch homes for a moment. Flocks and herds of things wild glisten Faintly. Then the scent of musk opens across Half a mountain -- and lingers on past noon.
I hear leaves drinking rain;
I hear rich leaves on top
Giving the poor beneath
Drop after drop;
'Tis a sweet noise to hear
These green leaves drinking near.
And when the Sun comes out,
After this Rain shall stop,
A wondrous Light will fill
Each dark, round drop;
I hope the Sun shines bright;
'Twill be a lovely sight.
Kyun zindagi se ho shikava gila ,
yeh hasati hai roti hai, jo bhi hai jaisi hai
jo bhi yeh deti hai woh hai tera.
kar salaam….
Nakhre utha isake nakhre utha,
haan dhoop bhi hai yeh, chhaanv bhi hai yeh
jo bhi yeh deti hai, tu maan ja
kar salaam…..
Kho jaana, pa jaana, na paana, hai jindagi jaane le
bik jaana, loot jaana, bass jaana hai jindagi maan le
karle yakin, jo kal gaya woh phir se aata nahin
gujra huva jo waqt hai woh dastak lagaata nahin
jo aaj hai bass wahi hai tera
Kya teri hasti hai, mitti ki basti hai
pal mein hi ho jaati hai yeh fanaa
kar salaam
God grant
that the reader, emboldened and having become at present as fierce as
what he is reading, find, without loss of bearings, his way, his wild
and treacherous passage through the desolate swamps of these sombre,
poison-soaked pages; for, unless he should bring to his reading a
rigorous logic and a sustained mental effort at least as strong as his
distrust, the lethal fumes of this book shall dissolve his soul as
water does sugar. It is not right that everyone read the pages that
follow: a sole few will savour this bitter fruit without danger. As a
result, wavering soul, before penetrating further into such uncharted
barrens, draw back, step no deeper. Mark my words: draw back, step no
deeper, like the eyes of a son respectfully flinching away from his
mother's august contemplation, or rather, like an acute angle formation
of cold-sensitive cranes stretching beyond the eye can reach, soaring
through the winter silence in deep meditation, under tight sail towards
a focal point on the horizon, from where there suddenly rises a
peculiar gust of wind, omen of a storm. The oldest crane, alone at the
forefront, on seeing this, shakes his head like a rational person and
consequently his beak too, which he clicks, as he is uneasy (and so
would I be, in his shoes); whilst his old, feather-stripped neck,
contemporary of three generations of cranes, sways in irritated
undulations that foreshadow the oncoming thunderstorm. After looking
with composure several times in every direction with eyes that bespeak
experience, the first crane (for he is the privileged one to show his
tail feathers to the other, intellectually inferior cranes) vigilantly
cries out like a melancholy sentinel driving back the common enemy, and
then carefully steers the nose of the geometric figure (it would be a
triangle, but the third side, formed in space by these curious avian
wayfarers, is invisible), be it to port, or to starboard, like a
skilful captain; and, manoeuvring with wings that seem no larger than
those of a sparrow, he thus adopts, since he is no dumb creature, a
different and safer philosophical course.
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