Media completing ignoring issues of rural India, says Sainath

coastaldigest.com news network
August 21, 2017

Udupi, Aug 21: Veteran journalist P Sainath has expressed frustration over Indian media’s reluctance to cover rural issues.

The Magsaysay award winner was delivering a special lecture on the topic — “The story of rural India in digital age”— here on Sunday. The lecture was organised as part of the endowment lecture series “Talluru Nudimale – 2017” by the Tallur Family Trust.

Mr. Sainath said that the front page of average national dailies dedicated space of just 0.67% to stories of rural India. This was an average of five years. This meant that 69% of the population was marginalised in the media. This also meant that there was an ill-informed society.

Rural India is incredibly complex having 833 million people speaking over 718 different languages, he said and added that six of those languages were being spoken by 50 million people and three languages were spoken by over 80 million people, while one language was spoken by 500 million people. Inequalities in India had grown faster in the last 20 years than in any other country in the world. Some of the finest skills in the country were dying.

The Skills Development Project was taking the weavers of Kanjeevaram, one of the greatest traditions in Indian history, and was making them autorickshaw drivers. The Tamil weavers had given up. Now, it was Padmashalis from Telangana who are doing the work of weaving. A giant de-skilling was taking place in rural India.

Millions of children were entering schools, where they could not own textbooks. But the newspapers, magazines and television channels were silent on it. Even the education sector was getting commercialised and privatised. The high-rung IIMs were charging Rs. 22 lakh as fees. The low-rung IIMs were charging Rs. 10 lakh and above. Though there were only a few freedom fighters living now, the media had not bothered to take their opinion on the freedom movement during the 70th Independence Day. Instead, one of the newspapers had taken the views of CEOs of big companies and Bollywood celebrities on it, he said. Mr. Sainath released “Nunnanabetta”, a collection of articles written by Rajaram Tallur.

G.N. Mohan and Nagesh Hegde, journalists, M.S. Sriram, writer and economist, Narayana A., Professor, Azim Premji University, gave their responses to Mr. Sainath’s lecture.
 

Comments

Vinod Acharya
 - 
Monday, 21 Aug 2017

The solo warrier... well said sir. Real face of media..

AR Shetty
 - 
Monday, 21 Aug 2017

I'm a big fan of you sir. 

Hari
 - 
Monday, 21 Aug 2017

Sir, Including you only few people doing true journalism

Danish
 - 
Monday, 21 Aug 2017

Smooth running of media, needed capital. so media cant neglect corperators and MNCs. without them media wont get capital and advts..

Kumar
 - 
Monday, 21 Aug 2017

I remember sir, you told once in a workshop regarding media neglected farmer issues and went for fashion show coverage

Ganesh
 - 
Monday, 21 Aug 2017

Sir, Media and media people (except you) needed more publicity, so they will do unwanted controversy issues. 

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News Network
July 20,2020

Udupi, Jul 20: Five COVID Day Care Centres have been opened here on Monday with combined 870 bed for asymptomatic Covid-19 patients.

The Centres are set up at Karkala (1), Udupi (3) and Kundapura (1). Presently more than 100 patients are being treated in these Centres.

These Centres have been opened in the wake of high incidences of Covid-19 cases in the district. They are set up for asymptomatic patients who do not wish to be treated at home.

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News Network
January 11,2020

Bengaluru, Jan 11: The Chief Justice of India Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde on Saturday inaugurated the phase-1 of the new building of the Karnataka Judicial Academy on Crescent Road in Bengaluru.

The new building has three floors, besides, the ground floor and two basement floors.

While Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa inaugurated the 319-seater multi-purpose auditorium, at which Chief Justice of the High Court of Karnataka Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka felicitated Justice Bobde.

Justice Ravi Malimath, President of the Karnataka Judicial Academy and Judge of the High Court of Karnataka, in his welcome address said that the academy has so far trained as many as 4000 judicial officers and striving for excellence in the field of judiciary.

The building, built in the first phase, has parking in the lower and the upper basement, which can accommodate 44 cars and 124 two-wheelers, the ground floor consists of a 319-seater multi-purpose air-conditioned auditorium, a lecture hall with 84 seats, two lecture halls with 40 seats each and a VIP lounge. The First Floor has a lecture hall with 84 seats, two lecture halls with 40 seats each, a VIP lounge, two discussion rooms and an administrative office for the staff of the academy.

The second phase, to be built has a parking facility for 36 four-wheelers and 22 two-wheelers in the lower basement and 32 four-wheelers and 30 two-wheelers in the upper basement.

The total cost of the project, including Phase-1 and Phase-2, to be executed by the Public Works Department in the sprawling 2.2 acres plot of the Karnataka Judicial Academy is around Rs 96.02 Crore.

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News Network
May 30,2020

Madikeri, May 30: Environmentalists have opposed the Karnataka Forest Department and the Public Works Department’s move to erect concrete pillars and marking of trees to construct a proposed road from Patti to Todikana within the Talacauvery Wildlife Sanctuary near Talacauvery in Kodagu District.

They have urged for immediate stopping of road works in a protected area.

In a letter to Conservator of Forests, Mysuru Circle, T Heeralal and DCF (Territorial and In-charge Wildlife) S Prabhakaran, the Trustees of Wildlife First K M Chinnappa and A A Poovaiah have termed the road works illegal and violates Supreme Court order on National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries.

The letter’s copy has also been sent to Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Head of Forest Force), and Kodagu Deputy Commissioner urging them to halt the progress of the road works. “Patti and Todikana are at the core of the Talacauvery Wildlife Sanctuary and such unilateral activities without complete approval on completion of the statutorily mandated procedure (both under Forest Conservation Act and Wild Life Protection Act),” the letter stated.

The letter added that they would be forced to move the Courts and the officers who have given approval to the project would face legal consequences.

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