Dalits and mainstream media
|
Why do problems of Dalits get such little exposure in mainstream media? How should this be addressed? Do modern newsrooms need Dalit representation - maybe in the form of reservations - to make them voice Dalit concerns? This was the issue debated in a day-long seminar on Dalits and the Media. There were no highfalutin names present here, just ordinary reporters who are known to have an interest in Dalit issues. Ravish Kumar from NDTV was cogent, blunt and interesting. “I have a problem with the Dalit middle class. Why do they constantly want to be someone else?” he asked. “They change their names, never take anyone home, never talk about themselves…” But must a Dalit always feel a Dalit to be noticed? He answered his own question: he was invited to a Dalit home and when the teenaged girls showed him their room, the walls were decorated not with pictures of Babasaheb Ambedkar but Shahrukh Khan. A Dalit government servant, who invited him to have dinner at the Marriott, told him that his other colleagues would not break bread with him even in a hotel. The government servant told Kumar, “To such Dalits I say: use humour. Ask these people, OK, you won’t come to my house, but at least come to a hotel. How much will you run from us? How long?” Kumar said it was impossible to divorce Dalits from the violence that seemed to follow them. But occasionally there were good news stories that were a joy to do: He recalled the Dalit settlement in Ahmedabad where, the only thing dividing a Dalit seth and a rich upper caste Patel was caste. They were happy to do business with each other, they handled volumes worth crores of rupee every day but the Dalit was never allowed to visit Patel’s home. The Dalit seth lived in an opulent house in the Dalit quarter of Ahmedabad - which is wealthy from all accounts - but never went to his partner’s resident. “I told Patel I will give you untold riches. You live in the dalit locality, next to your partner for a year. He spat at the camera,” Kumar said. So how will Dalits and svarna society come to be at peace with each other? There were many questions about the public perception of Dalits. “Hindu festivals like teej get so much publicity in the newspapers. But Babasaheb’s birthday doesn’t get a single line,” said one dalit from the audience. “Why?” A suggestion was that possibly until the Dalits were physically accommodated in newsrooms, newspapers would continue to ignore issues they considered important. Ramkumar, a journalist working in Saharanpur, UP, explained how in that city, every newspaper had a Muslim reporter to translate and understand the implications of the fatwas that neighbouring Deoband issued. Like that, maybe to understand Dalit issues, it was important to have representation from the community. But is that really right - that only a Dalit reporter is capable of understanding the pain of being a Dalit? Hard to say. Recasting a newsroom along caste lines could have a profound implication for newsgathering and bringing out newspapers. But underlying this, there is another question: of the relationship between Dalits and power. There are many, who consider that despite being a Dalit leader, Mayawati is not really a Dalit because she has changed her mindset, is mimicking the oppressors. So is being a Dalit a mindset? Why should we charge Sonia Gandhi with perpetrating a regency but excuse Mayawati from the charge of being undemocratic? There is a significant Dalit vanguard that is critical of the way Mayawati functions. Why is it so shy of coming out and saying so in the open? Erring on the side of political correctness is the worst thing a reporter can do - because this means he wants to be seen as good but stops telling the truth which is what reporters are supposed to do. What do you think? |
(6 votes, average: 3.67 out of 5)
Loading ...Disclaimer
All the content posted in the 'Business Standard Blogs' section, unless specified otherwise, are made by Business Standard employees. The content posted in 'Business Standard Blogs' does not follow routine internal Business Standard reviews and editorial processes and should be considered only as the views and opinions of the employees and not of Business Standard.
November 13th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
I am not sure which country Aditi lives in- does not seem to be India that I am living in for 4+ decades since birth. Aditi, is it the same country on the West of Bangla desh, Mynamar, to the South of China, to the North of Sri Lanka and to the East of Pakistan? What are you talking about? Dalits not covered by mainstream media? Which is this “mainstream media” in your opinion? The only thing that interests reporters in mainstream is Dalit and Muslim stories. Every story is twisted and reported to show why some one was a victim because he/ she is a Dalit/ Muslim. At times the gymnastics that the journos perform to present the story as such is quite amusing. In a sabji- mandi a person on a bicycle collides with a pedestrian, they have a fight and …. you report a “dalit xxx beaten up in xxx”. A young boy of 20+ dies in Bangalore at 2.30 in the MORNING, because he jumps inside the army compounds to escape Police chasing him… this is just a week after 26/11… and whole media is jumoing up and down to prove the boy’s innocence and military’s barbarism. An “innocent” 20+ year racing bikes on the streets of Bangalore at 2 AM ! Why- because he is a Muslim! Practically every day news is twisted to show Dalits and Muslims as victims. In fact they have mastered the art of playing victims in these six decades thanks partially to media people like you and politicians like Rahul Gandhi/ Manmohan Singh/ Mayavati/ Mulayam and so on.
June 19th, 2009 at 1:44 pm
As an educated, non-discriminating guy from any caste (upper/lower), I want the following phrases banned from the media, in a similar manner that words like ‘niger’ is banned in American media.
‘Dalit’ word cannot be used as an adjective to describe a person/place.
E.g. Dalit speaker
‘Upper caste’ or ‘Lower caste’
By using such words the media is reinforcing the divide in the society.
If violence has taken place against a human it should be reported as that, not as ‘violence against dalit’,
This has led to a section of population feeling victimised and subverted and hence looking for some or the other concessions from the society. These concessions further the divide and reinforce the discrimination.
One does not need to worship Ambedkar to acheive equality, but follow Swami Vivekanad or Swami Dayanand.
June 19th, 2009 at 10:58 am
I am confused. So did the reporter who spoke about teenage kids in a dalit household expect them to be *not* normal kids? The reporter should kindly realize that the household is actually getting into the mainstream middle class. A hypothetical freedom fighter cannot expect his grand children talk about oppression of British. The era has passed [atleast for his family]. What media can constructively should provide now is on success stories of dalits as an inspiration. Show more examples of success than failure . This will not only help dailt families but everyone to alter their stereotype impression of the sections of the society. Please move on from retaliation mindset to aspiration mindset. This instills faith in oneself for better future.
June 17th, 2009 at 8:51 pm
Good topic. Insufficient analysis. The “so what” question is not answered. But I do appreciate the author coming down from the ivory tower and addressing a crucial civil rights issue: afterall dalit/caste discrimination is a civil rights issue. And, this raises the question but doesn’t answer why dalits do not get more media coverage. Maybe the rise of a dalit middle class will move advertisers to support media coverage of dalit issues. Of course it should be complete anathema for newsrooms to be taken over by reservations for a single caste/community/religion. Editors, however, should take pains to take up civil rights issues in ADDITION TO listening to the advertisers. Newsflash: people want to know not only what M.S. Dhoni has for breakfast but also real news that affects their lives.