On Sunday evening, I was leisurely watching news on different news channels, when suddenly my cell phone rang. The lady speaking from the other side wanted to know of my reaction about the alleged attack on TV Today’s Consulting Editor Rajdeep Sardesai outside the Madison Square in New York. I simply told her that our organization was against ‘any violence against anybody particularly against a journalist. However, I will not make any comment on the alleged incident till I know the full facts’. The caller banged the telephone in apparent anger at my reply. Thereafter I kept on changing the channels through remote. I tried to get some information on the ‘Headlines Today’ and ‘ Aaj Tak’ but there was no news about the incident. Yesterday afternoon i.e. on 29.09.2014, when I reached my office, I opened my email and found a video clipping link, which gave the full picture of the incident. I was aghast and appalled to find that the story as was circulated by Rajdeep Sardesai contained embroidered truth.
Mr. Rajdeep Sardesai was seen in the video provoking the exuberant crowd, which had assembled to welcome and express its solidarity to the Indian Prime Minister. Mr. Rajdeep Sardesai even used unsavory language against the people who were shouting ‘Modi-Modi’. It is highly unbecoming of the journalist of the stature of Rajdeep Sardesai to have behaved like a street-smart ruffian, that too, on the foreign soil where nobody should speak against a leader who represents the country. Mr. Narendra Modi has not gone to America as the leader of the Bhartiya Janata Party but as the Prime Minister of India. To rake up the issue of Gujarat Riots on this occasion showed the wickedness of Mr. Rajdeep Sardesai.
What is most distressing to learn is that when an NRI was trying to tell him that ‘how can you blame Mr. Narendra Modi when the Apex court of India has not found anything against him?’ But you cannot convince a person who is prejudiced one. Another shocking thing is that contemptuous tweet of Rajdeep Sardesai , where he has used the words like idiots for the cheering crowds. Mr. Rajdeep Sardesai is free to have his own opinion about anybody but he does not have any right to foist it on others.
The drama that was enacted on the foreign land to garner sympathy in India is condemnable. It is Mr. Rajdeep Sardesai, who is to be squarely to be blamed for it. There is no dearth of embedded journalists in India. Some of them are communist charlatans, some are blind supporters of the BJP, and many have been fed and flourished by the Congress Party. Other smaller parties have journalists on their rolls and they show their loyalty to their masters, when the occasion demands. Worrisome part, however, is that these journalists masquerade as independents and thus cause incalculable damage to the profession by their duplicity and hypocrisy. The journalists working for political parties are, therefore much better than these wolves who roam in sheep’s clothing, because others know their opinions. I personally feel that this dishonesty among the journalists has spread for many reasons like the insecurity of jobs and their desire to take advantage from the political parties.
Recently a classmate of mine has been elected to the Rajya Sabha. He happened to be the Editor of a major Hindi newspaper of Bihar and Jharkhand. He has been posing himself as the most objective,fearless, independent journalist. But the way he has traded his profession of journalism and for the Rajya Sabha seat betrays the abominable trait of bartering the profession for gains. There is nothing wrong to become a sympathizer, supporter or the worker of any political party but it is certainly wrong to exchange journalism for one’s personal gains or to settle scores from those who are opposed to the philosophy of so-called independent journalists.
Now I feel happy that I did not fall into the trap of the lady journalist, who wanted me to condemn the enthusiastic NRI s for no fault of theirs.