BBC’s Bihar correspondent, Manikant Thakur, who chaired the meet, said that it is journalism, more than journalists, which has, of late, been greatly affected by the Press censorship in Bihar.

He said that while a journalist sacked by the owner may get another job or take up a different profession, the harm caused to journalism by the gagging of the Press has more lasting and detrimental impact.

He said that the journalists will have to draw a strategy to fight their own battle and reminded of the struggle undertaken by them to oppose the proposed Press Bill by the then chief minister Dr Jagannath Mishra, in early 1980s.

Ajay Kumar, Editor of bihartimes.com, said that Katju has given an impetus to the whole debate of Press censorship in Bihar. He said people living outside the state and India were constantly fed with the news that Bihar has underwent a big change. In such a situation they are not even prepared to hear any other news.

Citing the example of Nalanda International University he said that people initially thought that a great institution is coming up in Bihar. But the actual fact is that the whole project had got reduced to a sort of scam and the media blacked out the issue. Millions of rupees were wasted in the meeting of Mentor Group (Governing Council) of the University in the United States, which has absolutely nothing to do with the project nor has it any Buddhist population. Yet everything went unreported on the plea that it would create a bad impression about Bihar.

The fact is that even its Vice Chancellor is not eligible to become Professor in any Universtiy of the country. Yet nobody questioned it, he added.

Imran Khan of Indo-Asia News Service (IANS) said that attack on journalists, even in Patna go unreported. He cited the example of Anand S T Das of Asian Age, who had been attacked thrice, yet no media reported it. Amarnath Tewary of The Pioneer, according to him, at least got some coverage though all out efforts were made to suppress the news.

He regretted that not a single journalist or union ever bothered to plead the case of Navlesh Pathak, who was jailed and tortured simply because he dared to highlight the alleged rape of the lady principal of a school, Rupam Pathak, by the then BJP MLA of Purena, (now late) Raj Kishore Kesri and his aide.

Nivedita Jha of Rashtriya Sahara said that the journalist should draw a strategy to carry on their struggle as they have done in the past. She said how she wrote five stories against a ruling party strongman but the desk deleted all the charges against him. It was only in the sixth story that some truth could come out.

Amarnath Tewary, the Assistant Editor of The Pioneer, said that there is no doubt that the mediapersons are under intense pressure from the management yet they can resist and survive.

Tewary, who was assaulted by a BJP leader, Madhu Verma, her son and henchmen on Jan 27 last, said that some people (no need to explain who) had approached the management of his newspaper thrice to get him removed but his Editor (BJP MP Chandan Mitra) paid no heed to their pressure. So journalists can do something, provided they have will power to do so.

Pravin Bagi of Mahua News said that the matter is serious. Even during the previous governments there used to be pressure but journalists would resist it. He lamented as to how senior journalists would back out and not support the youngsters in the profession in the past and even now. It is other thing that the pressure on media has increased much now. He regretted that the decline started in Indian journalism way back in 1990s when the post of editors got abolished in several leading dailies.

Priya Ranjan Bharati of Rajasthan Patrika said that he wrote in great detail about what Katju said in Patna on Feb 24. “My editor even asked me if this is true, upon which I said: ‘yes it is’.”
He said that he did not fully agree with Katju on his comparison of Nitish and Lalu. Nitish is very sophisticated and shrewd in managing the media, while Lalu, being a Yadav (sic) was a bit crude and lacked these qualities.

Ganga Prasad of Jansatta said that newspapers are still popular and read in news stalls and various nooks and corners. The media will have to change its approach. True the pressure of advertisement is very much there, but the newspapers are not only read for advertisement, they are read for news. It is the editors who will have to play their role.

Rehan Ghany, the outgoing editor of Urdu daily Pindaar, said that Katju has shown a mirror. “I resigned on Feb 8 last. Urdu newspaper Editors do not know even the alphabet of Urdu. The condition is deplorable. They are just the mouthpiece of the state government. He cited the example of how the chairman of Minority Commission, Naushad Ahmed, arm-twisted his management to get rid of him (Rehan Ghany) when he wrote a column against a religious leader quite close to Janata Dal (United).

Noted Urdu journalist, Ashraf Asthanwi, who also writes in Hindi, recalled how things have deteriorated in Bihar which has a history of struggle by the Press. He said how the media initially tried to ignore the news of Forbesganj police barbarity and slapping of a middle-aged woman by lady SP of Patna. Thanks to a couple of phootographers the world could know about the role of the police here.

Arvind Sher of Jansatta posted in New Delhi said how he, though from Bihar, was taken aback by the fantastic media reporting about the turnaround of the state. However, when he arrived here he saw that what to speak of Bihar not even Bailey Road has changed. “I went to Sitamarhi town, my home place, where now even one hour of power supply is enough. Perhaps it comes only for recharging mobile. There is complete lack of civic amenities yet I wonder what the journalists are doing,” he added.

Free lance journalist Soroor Ahmed pooh-poohed the general perception that only advertisement brings in money. Circulation do have a big role in generating money and the media barons need to be told laud and clear by the editors that their newspapers would sell more when they take anti-establishment stand as media is the watchdog of the society. When circulation increases the said newspaper may get more ads too.

He said how this phenomenon generated pace in early 1990s when MBA graduates from IIM or other institutions, with just two years of degree in minting money, would teach the then editors that it is advertisement which matters most.

“If advertisement do matter so much than all the newspapers of Bihar should have close their shops during the 15 years rule of the past. Yet they flourished because journalism was somewhat vibrant then. People may be buying newspapers now, not for reading but for something else,” he added.

He said that globally the days of print media are numbered and more and more newsportals are coming up and influencing the people. He cited a couple of examples of how persons, non-journalists by profession, are running newsportals very successfully and have carved out their respective places. They are now more popular than the so-called journalists by training.

He regretted that journalists now want others to fight for them. What about their struggle against the Press Bill of early 1980s, he asked.

Ujjwal of I-Next regretted as to how he was ridiculed by senior journalists after he was rebuked by the chief minister, Nitish Kumar, when he dared to ask a question in a Press Conference. He said he was appalled by the way the chief minister asked him “what is your name, which newspaper you represent and that I have not heard the name of your newspaper.”

What is more shocking is the way journalists present there behaved. “Why have you come to cover CM’s Press Conference. Send your editor and bureau chief to do this job,” he said he was told.

Irshad-ul-Haque, journalist associated with Tehelka (Hindi), who organized the meet said the day is not too far when people would tear apart the newspapers as they have lost their relevance and respect. The role of alternative media and social media has increased. If journalists would not behave someone else would take up the fight for the people’s voice. Things do not remain static and sooner or later they had to change.

He said that initially he was a bit jittery and did not expect such a big turnout but was now encouraged by the response. He thanked all the mediapersons, students of journalism and social activists, for example, Mahendra Kumar, Kanchan Bala and Prof Nawal Kishore Chaudhary, who turned up as a mark of solidarity. He said that he would prepare a complete report of the discussion and get it distributed in booklet form.

What is interesting about Sunday’s media get-together for a larger cause was that hardly anyone from the newspapers, having their edition in Patna, dared to speak. A couple of brave hearts did. This also included some journalism students and a photographer Vikas. Others, perhaps afraid of the presence of Big Brother, did not converge to the venue. And even if they made a token presence they kept their lips tight.

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