Veteran journalist P. Sainath has said that the nation is in a crisis. And this crisis is not limited to just the rural area. It has become a national crisis at various areas such as agriculture, education, economy, job creation etc.
He was delivering the endowment lecture on the topic ‘Indian democracy at the post-liberalization and post-truth era’ at Media Manthan 2020 organized by the PG department of journalism and mass communication at St Aloysius College (Autonomous).
Mr Sainath said that the many policies adopted in the 90s led to India becoming unusually unequal. Referring to the speech Ambedkar had made at the Constituent Assembly while handing over the draft of the Constitution, Mr Sainath said, “Ambedkar had warned about the weakness of Indian democracy that liberty without equality allows the supremacy of a few over the multitude. Liberty, equality and fraternity must be kept together as we cannot have one without the other.”
Mr Sainath stated that the agrarian crisis was no longer about the loss of productivity, employment or about farmer suicide; it was a societal, civilizational crisis. Commenting on the lopsided policies such as cow-slaughter ban, he explained how cow slaughter ban had adversely affected many industries due to their interdependency. While Muslims who slaughtered cows were rendered helpless, the cattle traders who were mostly OBCs lost their earnings as the cattle prices crashed. An important industry like Kolhapur sandals industry in Maharashtra went bankrupt as a result of the cow slaughter ban in Maharashtra. He said the policymakers had no idea how the rural industries were interconnected. Demonetisation too devastated the rural economy as 98 percent of rural transactions happen through cash.
Mr Sainath also spoke about the crisis of inequality which affects the Dalits and the Adivasis far more than anyone else as 90 percent of the rural households take home less than Rs 10,000/- per month. “Women are yet another group whose labour is never counted in the gross domestic product. Women and girls globally do unpaid work which amounts to about 12.5 billion working hours per year. Monetarily speaking, this is worth 10.8 trillion dollars,” Mr Sainath added.
Speaking about the crisis of jobs Mr Sainath said that major companies were laying off employees just to create more profits for the investors and the adoption of artificial intelligence in the industry would further destroy millions of jobs.
Rector of St Aloysius College Institutions Fr Dionysius Vaz SJ, Principal Dr (Fr) Praveen Martis SJ, HOD of Journalism and Mass Communication department Dr (Fr) Melwyn Pinto SJ were present.
‘Veerappan and Vijay Mallya’s business models are interesting!’
Addressing the gathering during his endowment lecture on Friday, Mr Sainath made an interesting comment on the so called ‘revenue model’. “Whenever I visit IIMs and IITs for lectures on my PARI project, the students there ask me what my revenue model for my project is. I tell them that I do not have a revenue model. In fact, journalism does not begin with a revenue model. Gandhiji, Ambedkar, Bhagat Singh were all great journalists. But they did not have a revenue model,” Mr Sainath said.
On a lighter note, he said that the best revenue model that he liked was that of forest brigand Veerappan and liquor baron Vijay Mallya. “Veerappan ruled the forest for forty years and from the top ministers to the villagers he could dictate terms and liver royally. Similarly, Mallya’s revenue model was to steal the banks and run away abroad and live like a king,” Mr Sainath added.
Journalism is not and can never be a business. It is a calling, he opined. While newspaper can be a business, television can be a business, journalism per se cannot be reduced to a business. “Unfortunately today, journalists are recruited on a contract basis and they have no bargaining power; and there are no unions to fight for their cause. Hence, they are at the mercy of the corporate media houses for their survival and are made to write stories that cannot be called journalism,” Mr Sainath said.
Answering a question as to the pressures he faced as a journalist, he said that external pressures from the government or others could be very well handled. It is the internal pressures from once own media house that journalists find it difficult to manage.

Comments
What is ur problem Mr ,go and do ur business don't interfere in our rights.
Someone must check Christina's adhar card sorry, ur id card Whether she Indian or not.
For my sisters you don't go to such college you can go to Madarasha it's best for you in this life and hereafter best education where you get .for the principal first change ur name.
why you send muslim girls to clg.. let them sit at home and help your parents problem is slowed. PFI brother dont waste your time and do not encourage
why muslim girls students using mobile can you stop tiz some of our muslim girl students roaming inside city centre can you stop tiz mybrother
go and wacth inside city centre on friday after many our commuinty student weariing hijab and roaming with their boy friend kindly try to stop tiz
I request the principles sister to were a normal dress insted of religious dress she is wearing , let her be an example for the rules she has set.
I am asking now only muslims wake up when any some so called muslims their marriges arraenging in this christhian churches why? in mangalore no muslim marrige halls ? these all are only for gimik. The college was against the sharia simply, change the college why this college only. if done like this this kind of all colleges they learn lesson .
Their marriage halls we have issue their they cooking haram things & we also cooking hallal then we no problem, because this all our dignity .throw your dignity follow Quran & Sunnah and became original muslim
If clg rules are against democracy we hv to chnge clg rules not our rights.
When injustice becomes law be on the side of justice
thn islam is peace & beautiful bt the systems are against islam thn this islam also hv certain stratagy & thts thought by prophet (s.a)
Secular? If right to cover the head is not secular for you, then there are million christians/hindu women out there wearing head scarfs including former President Prathiba Patil. So, you mean to say that they all cannot have education in India?
Ughhhhh. Individual choice yes. But college has certain rules. You don't want to follow the rules, you don't join that particular college. Also, Islam is a very beautiful religion. Let's not make it all about the Hijab.
100% they are Indians as they are fighting for their rights which is guaranteed by INDIAN CONSTITUTION. Now could you pls chek your voter ID and of the Principal who made rules against the constitution which is legally termed as Anti-Indian rule.
How can this Principal wearing head scarf frame college laws which is against to the constitution of India. Why she is allowing her sibling nuns wearing Hijab like dress and head scarf attend classes in the same college? What is her hidden agenda? How can she justify her draconian dictat??
Someone must check the voter IDs of protesters to find out whether they are really Indians
Why do these bigots go to a secular college if they want Taliban rules?
At one side head of the institutions are wearing head scarf and allowing Christion nuns whose dress code includes head scarf to follow their tradition. On the other side they are objecting Muslim girls to wear head scarf which is similar as their scarf. May I call it as #hypocrisy
Please decent girls don’t go to that college.
Students all are equal in the college
Add new comment