Sir,

We have been taught that information makes the people powerful. I think that is the reason why most of the people start their day with reading newspapers or by watching news but these days’ people have started losing their trust and credibility on the press.

The press is being criticized for sensitizing the news. It is blamed for being biased. In the debate shows shouting, yelling and moving out of the debate has become common .In the warm atmosphere of the studio, the issue becomes a bit cold. People also say that media has become a puppet of powerful people and the journalists who stand with the ethics of journalism are being killed. They are being curtailed to do justice with their work. They are killed in order cover the truth or better to say truth is being killed.

In the past few years the crimes against journalists have been increasing tremendously. In year 2016, May 13 a Hindustan Hindi daily senior journalist Rajdeo Ranjan was short by unidentified gunmen. The same year Brij Kishore Brijesh was killed by the unidentified men.

In year 2017, September 5, Gauri Lankesh’s a prominent journalist; activist was shot outside of her house in the southern Indian city of Bengaluru. Her murder raised the questions about the sanctity of freedom of press. Same year September 20, another journalist Santanu Bhowmik was also murdered. Later on 21^st November Sudip Datta Bhumik was killed by a police officer of Tripura State.

In year 2018 again a hindi daily Dainik Bhaskar reporter Navin Nischal was murdered on 25^th March while he was returning back doing his coverage work. The same  year two other journalist Shujaat Bukhari and Chandan Tiwari were killed.

This year on 3^rd August K.M Basheer Bureau Chief of the Siraj Daily at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala was killed by the IAS officer.  

These do not include the many more journalists, who on a daily basis suffer from non-fatal attacks.

National Press Day is celebrated every 16^th November as a symbolic of free and responsible press but the real celebration will be on the day when the journalist will be free for writing truth, when the press will retract it’s losing respect, when the people will again believe on the press.  

Yours truly

Seema Kumari

  letter to the editor, Media