Nitin Gokhale
is a fine journalist, many, many years my senior. If I one day achieve his reputation
and credibility in the areas I report on, I would retire extremely satisfied.
A column today on Rediff, however, sent me a mixed
message. In it he, argues:
“While I will defend the right of
every media person to report what he or she thinks is right, I am afraid none
of us has thought through the consequences of the effect it will have on the
psyche of the Indian soldier and, more importantly, the way ordinary Indians
will view the Indian Army”.
He makes two
arguments in the above lines that, while quite distinct, have been joined at
the hip. First: that every journalist must “report what he or she thinks is
right”. Second: that some of these reports may have a damaging effect “on the
psyche of the Indian soldier” and the way citizens view the Army.
Why is it
important that we treat these as separate issues? I’ll tell you. First some
background. I am married into a family that has sent its men to the armed
forces continuously since the 1960s. I have had several conversations with them
about the kind of stories recently doing the rounds. My family and I share
Nitin’s concern and disgust on some of these (the “C-word” story, for example).
However, I have
also heard from them about military morale outside of the context of these
hit-and-run jobs. Here’s what I know: Nothing is more disgusting for an officer
than having to salute seniors who loot the country they swore to protect. That
is why General VK Singh’s campaign against corruption is being praised in every
barrack and on every street corner.
I have yet to
hear of an instance when a solider has criticized the media for exposing, in a balanced and truthful way, the rot
that exists within the armed forces. In fact, my father-in-law, who retired as AVM
from the IAF a few years ago, frequently tells me: You guys should let people
know about the swift justice that follows these #*$@%’s scams”. No doubt, army
justice is meted out relatively quickly compared to our lumbering civilian
courts. In other words: ‘Write about the scams and how we mercilessly deal with these #*$@%s’.
The media is
doing its duty by helping General VK Singh expose corruption. It is not damaging
the morale of soldiers nor is it reducing the army’s credibility in the eyes of
India’s citizens. That is being done from within by corrupt officers and babus in
the military and various ministries.
On the
contrary, by exposing corruption, the media is making this fine institution
more robust by exterminating the moths eating away at its fabric. In this
fight, I stand firmly behind General Singh. I am sure Nitin does too.
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