A commentary on the Coverage of Rape in Delhi
TRUE VIRTUE
Saturday 22 December 2012
Sunday 18 November 2012
Vadra revelations and the Print media
Activist turned politician Arvind
Kejriwal in his recent stint of revelation of corruption in high places have
caught hold of the links of the corporate world and the government. Even though
corporate-government ties have already been exposed during the 2g scam. Now
reliance industries is on the dock and kejriwal alleges that subsequent
governments at the centre have favored them. NDA and the UPA governments both
have favoured the reliance group in various ways. These were the revelations
made by IAC president Arvind Kejriwal.
In an day and age when media
earns revenue from the corporate houses and many corporate houses owning media
outlets, it is important to analyze how media reacts to a story where a
corporate house is involved. Interestingly in an interview of Manu Joseph of
Open Magazine by Newslaundry he admits having suffered loss of advertisement
because his magazine carried the famous(infamous) Radia Tapes in which
heavyweight corporate were also involved.
In this article an analysis of
the articles published in the various national dailies is presented. The
analysis discusses the space devoted to the story along with the tone and tenor
of the story.
The Indian Express :
The Indian Express carries the
story in the front page just below the main lead. The story is written in a
balanced manner carrying the statements from both the sides, i.e. the Arvind
kejriwals allegations and the statements made by the Reliance India limited.The
story mentions that Kejriwals expose was not “pretty big” in his revelation as
he himself had promised that much of it is already has been reported in the
media. More or less the story was balanced. But what is interesting is that
along side the story Shekhar Gupta’s interview with Anna Hazare’s interview is
carried with prominence. The interview is titled as “Anna’s advice
for former protege:‘Don’t attack too many together’ where Anna Hazare advises Kejriwal
to excersise restraint while attacking personalities restraint while targeting personalities
one after theother, without taking any case to its logical conclusion.
The Times of India:
This newspaper carried the story as its main lead on 1st
of November. The whole story comes in three pieces written differently.
In the main story the
allegations leveled by Kejriwal are discussed in details. The story was detailed
in its description of the allegations and also in describes the press
conference in details. The article was written in simple words and would be
intelligible to an ordinary reader the economic terms used by the activist.
Times of India seemed to speak from Kejriwals side. The same story carried
issues like Gas pricing and kejriwals call for a total against the loot of
public money. The main story only presented the side of the IAC and
clarification by the RIL was carried separately in a small box along with the
main story. The main story also came with a sub-heading saying: Chaotic
Conference where they mentions how a former Congress worker Jagdish
Sharma shouted slogans and tried to hurl a shoe at the stage. He was
overpowered by IAC supporters and led out.
The Hindustan
Times:
On the publication of 1st
November,2012, the paper (The Hindustan Times) brought out two stories related
to the Reliance/Congress affair. The first was found to be on the front page as
the lead story, that occupied 3 columns, and the rest was continued in the 6th
page. The other story was seen to be in the 10th page of the
edition. After having a brief analysis on the stories covered by the said newspaper,
one can easily recognize that the tone of the paper on the issue was more or
less biased towards the U.P.A government.
The First story headlined, “Now,
Kejriwal fires old ammo at Mukesh”. By having read the story, it can be clear
with whom the newspaper stands. The tone of the story tends to tilt more towards
the ruling government. The story starts it’s sentence with, “After taking on
the Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra and B.J.P
president Nitin Gadkari…”. The paper also used certain phrases like “anti-corruption
activist turned politician Arvind Kejriwal…”, etc. By such phrase, the paper
tries to show Kejriwal’s shift from an activist to a power hungry politician,
which may seem very critical in nature.
The other thing that sounds more
convincing about the biasness is the use of a sentence “The press conference
also witnessed high drama when a Congress worker wanted to question Kejriwal,
but was 8i87heckled by the camerapersons and I.A.C volunteers, and was forced
to leave the venue”. The sentence clearly tries to state that Kejriwal and
his fellow mates were not ready or were afraid of the question that was about
to be put before them by the Congress worker.
Though certain details were also found regarding the matter, it was
found to be limited and in brief. The evidences of the allegations provided by
Kejriwal were given only in the 6th page. The readers have to be
very interested inorder to reach the continued page. The most important part about
the story is that, the story is more of just what Kejriwal said and had alleged.
It can be rightfully said that the newspaper had no important role to play in
the story, except the arrangement and the structuring part. It can be seen that
the newspaper had tried to show itself to be objective by giving some limited and
brief details but ultimately it failed to do so.
The second story titled, “B.J.P
to govt: Was Jaipal shifted to benefit R.I.L?”, was a bore because the
entire story talked about what Jaswant Singh said, Likely, Singh said this, was
said by Singh, Singh also wondered, Singh further said, etc. By going through
the story, it could be said that the tone of the story was similar as of the
previous one, having been started by saying, “Even as I.A.C launched a
scathing attack on the government over alleged benefits being provided to
Reliance Industries LTD…”. The
word ‘scathing’ seems a bit judgmental in this regard.
It can be just a coincidence, but
it cannot be ignored that Shobhana Bhartia, the editor of the Hindustan Times happens
to be the daughter of the industrialist K.K Birla. Therefore, one cannot forget
the roots and that she may as well have similar views towards corporate houses as
of her father’s. So, supporting another Industrialist or Corporate lobbies may
be expected from her. Also it is well known to all, that, she had been nominated
to the Rajya Sabha by the Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and had also received ‘Padma
Shri’ for journalism, though criticized by many. There have been many claims that,
both the Padma Shri award and the Rajya Sabha nomination, which she received
during the U.P.A government’s regime, were merely the rewards for certain biasness
towards the Congress and Sonia Gandhi in respect to the paper’s editorial
policy. Thus, it is very important to keep these factors in mind and analyze and
as well as have a better understanding of the paper’s approach towards the
interest of the Congress and the Corporate houses.
THE
BENGAL POST, with The Times of India and The Telegraph
Attack
on one of the most prominent and influential industrial giant, Mukesh Ambani by
Arvind Kejriwal is been treated differently by various English language both
national and regional newspapers in India. Started as a regional newspaper from
Kolkata which has been able to capture the reader’s attention in less than 3
years, The Bengal Post considered this story as one of the important news.
Being a regional newspaper, the lead was covered by state news, but even though
RIL (Reliance India Limited) versus Kejriwal story got the place on front page
as a anchor story. The space covered was 14 inches 3coloumns and also continued
in inside page covering space of 18inches 2coloumns plus important points of
press release covering same length and space covering two columns.
The
story doesn’t seem biased to any side, since it has presented every claims and
accusations made by Arvind Kejriwal and Prashant Bhushan. After reading the
story anyone wil become clear about the issue and can also be able to
understand the background story and more importantly its implications to
general people of India.
From
the headline itself one can make out that RIL is playing biggest role in
functioning of most important political parties of country as well as the
functioning of our government. The headline “Both Congress and BJP in Ambani’s
pocket, says IAC” is forecasting the role of Ambani in manipulating the major
parties. And if we compare same story with the most circulated English
newspaper of India, The Times Of India’, the same story or the accusations of
IAC has not been carried at al whereas with the heading “Both Congress and BJP
attacked Kejriwal” is being published in inside page in same day’s newspaper.
If we go through the pages of the most circulated and popular English newspaper
of the eastern-region covering north-east also “The Telegraph” we won’t find
single story on this particular issue.
The
major portion of population mostly well educated depends upon these English
newspapers for the news or information on current happenings. And after reading
the news stories they discussed it in their offices or any kind of working
places with their colleagues and also in the homes with family members. The
public sphere will be created and newspaper not only become a forum or platform
for discussions and debate but also creates platform for discussions and
debates in open space. But ignoring this kind of story of importance to general
mass and simply keeping major portion of population out of opinion or knowledge
will create knowledge gap and that will be major setback of the national
progress.
Noam
Chomsky’s 2nd filter of his ‘a propaganda model’ from his book
manufacturing consent is relevant in this context. “The advertising license to
do business: the second filter” talks about how the media house is dependent upon
corporate house because of the advertisement. Gradually, newspapers started
becoming dependent on advertising revenue. With the advent of advertising
feeding newspapers and other media outlets many were ceased to exist. “The
advertisers’ choices influence media prosperity and survival” which is rightly
said by Chomsky and become more prevalent in recent time.
Attacking
the industrial conglomerates or supporting those who exposes the misdeeds of
those is directly loosing large scale of money without which their existence
will be questioned. Therefore many newspapers might have ignored the
story.
Friday 16 November 2012
Worlds Happiest Nations
Happiness is often a very personal experience, even though related to people around us. I remember reading a quote by one of the most popular artist Salvador Dali saying,"Each Morning when I awake, I experience again a supreme pleasure that of being Salvador Dali" This is other way of saying that by being what i am and with whatever resources i have, i am happy. The aim of this article is not to tell what makes us happy but to discuss a very interesting report published by the the United Nations on happiness called "The Worlds First Happiness Report".
A conference was mandated by the United Nations General Assembly. The report was published by the Earth Institute and Co-edited by the institutes director Jeffrey Sach. The report demands a new worldwide demand for more attention to happiness and absence of misery as criteria for governments policy.
The report is interesting from many points of view. it says that happier countries tend to be richer countries but more important than income are social factors such as strength of social support, absence of corruption and the degree of personal freedom. the authors have cited the example of the United States which has achieved striking economic and technological progress over the past half century without gains in the self reported happiness of its citizens. Instead , uncertainties and anxieties have widened considerably, social trust is in decline and confidence in government is at an all time low.
Happiest countries in the world are in Northern Europe(Denmark,Norway,Finland,Netherlands). The least happy countries are all poor countries in Sub Saharan Africa(Togo, Benin, Central African Republic,Sierra Leone). It is not just wealth that makes people . Factors like political freedom , strong social networks and an absence of corruption are together important than income alone in explaining well being differences between top and bottom countries in the rating of happiness.
The report cites unemployment as a major cause of much unhappiness as much as bereavement or separation. A work, job security and good relationship and good relationship do more for job satisfaction than high pay and convenient hours. The report also says that stable family life and enduring marriages are important for happiness of parents/children.
India as a nation mired by corruption,unemployment, poverty and a tendency to copy the Western nations has resulted in deteriorating social relation. We would like to see our nation in a much elevated postion in this report than in its present position.
The link is of the happiness report:http://www.earth.columbia.edu/sitefiles/file/Sachs%20Writing/2012/World%20Happiness%20Report.pdf
Friday 9 November 2012
Propaganda,
new media and racism
In
the matter of the exodus of the north-east people, as important as safeguarding
the cogency of the idea of free flow of information, is recognising and
discreetly annihilating racial ideology from Indian society, says PRIVAT
GIRI
Posted/Updated Friday, Nov 09
01:18:34, 2012, The Hoot
The recent exodus of North-East Indians living in
Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Pune in the wake of mass circulation of SMS
and MMS warning a possible “reprisal” against the killing of Muslims in
Kokrajhar, has generated a fresh debate about the role of media in a democracy.
Two crucial issues needs to be fore-grounded here. One, there is a need for a
substantive debate on the question of media ethics and the need to
differentiate between propaganda and rhetoric in the epoch of media modernity.
Two, there is this equally important issue of racial discrimination and a sense
of cultural alienation suffered by the north-east Indians in “mainland India”.
The SMS and MMS contained fabricated phone videos of
alleged atrocities inflicted on Muslims in Assam. The SMS warning a possible
violence against the north-east Indians were circulated simultaneously among
the Muslim youths and the north-east people. The entire episode smacked of an
endeavour to dismantle the already fragile communal relationship among various
communities in India and, more importantly, it signalled the entry of
propaganda and rhetoric in the digital/new media platform.
Truth and public opinion
The use of media for the purpose of influencing the
mind of the people is not a new phenomenon. There were the rhetoricians,
professional speechwriters in the ancient Hellenic world (Poe 2011). Plato
complained that there were charlatans who were not really interested in
the Truth at all. Rather, their only aim was to teach politicians to
flatter their constituents and construct a favourable public opinion. Plato
wanted to find the Truth, by which he meant reasoned discussion, a kind of
debate in which real people present arguments and the other real people affirm
or refute them by means of logic (Poe 2011).
A similar idea of attaining Truth through
unrestricted public discussion among citizens was the basic principle guiding
the philosophy of press freedom that developed in Britain during the eighteenth
century (Keane 1991). John Stuart Mill’s On Liberty (1859) offers
three reasons why the guarantee of freely circulating opinion is essential.
First, any opinion which is silenced by the government because it is allegedly
false may prove to be true, in a sense that it may conform to the facts and
survive vigorous counter-arguments about those facts. Second, though an opinion
turns out to be false, it often contains an ounce or two of truth. The
prevailing opinion on the matter is rarely the whole truth. Finally, Mill
argues that even if the opinion is the whole truth, and nothing but the truth,
it will soon degenerate into prejudice--into a “dead dogma, not a living
truth”--if it goes unchallenged.
Mill developed his argument during the period when
the main antagonist intervening “free information flow” was the government.
Government censorship was the foremost challenge facing the champions of the
“free flow of opinion”. The only existing form of modern communication
channelling and facilitating “opinion flow” was the print and the press in
particular. On the contrary, today, there has been colossal transformation in
the media landscape. Several sophisticated media such as telegraph,
telecommunication, cinema, radio, television, mobile communication, and
internet have been introduced. Media ecology characterised by digitalisation
and convergence is a big industry catering to and fulfilling the diverse needs
and interests of various stakeholders. Of course, Mill might have anticipated
this possible future alteration in media and communication technologies, but
his rationality behind the justification of the “free flow of opinion” needs
retrospection, especially within the context of changing habits of media use
where vested interests have entered their realm.
Opinion and propaganda
Indeed, John Stuart Mill did not consider the
flipside definition of “opinion” which was due to gain special attention from
political critics during the mid-twentieth century after the Second World War.
That alternative form of “opinion” was “propaganda”. Prior to the War, the
term propaganda was used quite openly and freely. It invited negative
connotation after the Second World War when Hitler vehemently used media,
particularly the radio, for disseminating anti-Jew sentiments (Chomsky 1997).
Noam Chomsky and Edward Herman in their book Manufacturing Consent,
defines propaganda as a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the
attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself
or one’s group. It traces the routes by which money and power are able to
filter out and construct and manipulate information to control the public mind.
Chomsky and Herman caution of immediate threat to public opinion because of the
size, concentrated ownership, and profit orientation of the dominant media
firms, particularly in U.S., and also because of heavy reliance of the media on
information provided by government, business, and “experts” funded and approved
by the agents of power ( Herman and Chomsky 1988).
While considering the above facts, propaganda may be
also defined as constructed opinion or information aimed at influencing public
mind or sentiment for the purpose of furthering the vested interest of the
constructor or the manipulator. Here, the very contradiction between Mill’s
“true opinion” and the “constructed opinion” needs to be figured out and
adjudicated. And this will be a big challenge for the media policy-makers. The
exodus of the north-east people from the Indian metropolitan cities, after the
mass circulation of doctored video footages through mobile telephony and social
networking sites, is one of the reflections of such contradiction.
India had never confronted such extensive use of the
new media for propaganda before, though use of propaganda in the State
broadcasting network is a recognised fact. During the colonial period, the
imperial government made a liberal use of radio for countering propaganda from
both Berlin and the growing “Home Rule” movement (Thomas 1993). Even after
independence, that tradition was retained (Thomas 1993) by the new Indian
State, mainly in governance of State broadcasting, until the promulgation of
the Prasar Bharati Act, 1990. The enactment of the Prasar Bharati Act, that
freed broadcasting from government’s monopoly to some degree, was an effort to
legitimise free flow of information ( free flow of information suffered a heavy
setback during the Emergency) within the masses. Simultaneously, during the
nineties, India adopted the neo-liberal economic policy bringing far-reaching
reforms in its economic structure. One of the outcomes of such a change was
felt in the media industry brought about by the rapid entry of satellite
television, mobile communication, and internet, thus transforming media habits,
use and choice of the people and guaranteeing de-monopolisation of information
vis-Ã -vis opinion flow.
Thereafter, India’s information environment appeared
optimistic. But the events in recent years, where media failed to safeguard the
lustre of free information environment and non-interference, have raised
critical questions on the Indian legitimacy of “free flow of information”.
The exodus of the north-east people is the classic account of such failure in
addition to numerous other instances such as the issue of media trial,
consolidation and concentration of media firms, irresponsible reporting (the
case of Mumbai attack), to name a few. Under these settings, India needs a
clear and integrated information and communication policy without invalidating
the Constitutional right to “Freedom of speech and expression”.
It may not always be feasible to arrive at a single
answer for a question. While explicating the matter of the exodus of the
north-east people, as important as safeguarding the cogency of the “idea of
free flow of information”, is recognising and discreetly annihilating “racial
ideology” from the Indian society.
Racism and India
Racial discrimination against the people from the
north-east in mainland India is an established fact. Contemporary Indian
political and social science have remained mute on the process of racialisation
of the north-east (Thounaojam 2012). No extensive literature exists that
explores and studies it (Thounaojam 2012). However, if we carefully decipher
the historical lineage of “racial ideology” in India, we need to go back to
colonial times. British rule in India lasted from 1757 to 1947. The most
fundamental and far-reaching policy that the British introduced to Indian
society was the structure of political representation in the legislative
assemblies based on the notions of proportionality (Chakraborty 2002).
Nationalists such as Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi abhorred this process
and ideology that governed it,
namely, communalism or racism(Chakraborty 2002). Among many
other things, one of the key changes brought by such legislation in the Indian
society is “race consciousnesses” among its subjects. And the post-colonial
state in India only expanded such ideology and has failed to subvert it.
Instead, race consciousness is being institutionalised by the political
establishments for petty political gains. But now, after the Kokrajhar incident
and its aftermath, it is quite apparent that not only political institutions
but also some extremist elements are striving to make the best-possible use of
such deep-rooted fault line in the Indian society. Thus, in addition to the
challenges upholding the nitty-gritty of “free information flow”, another major
challenge facing India today is to terminate the very characteristic of race
thinking in the India society which is evident in its social interactions.
The media which are considered to be the guardian of
free flow of information have a big role to play. During the initial days of
the turmoil in Kokrajhar the mainstream media had no clue of what really was
happening there. This reflects the extent of understanding our mainstream media
have on the social issues concerning India. Media in India are centred heavily
towards politics. The mainstream media and the regional media should work in
tandem and exchange information, ideas, and concerns. Particularly in a country
of India’s diversity, the media should reflect and accommodate the voices of
its entire people having so that they develop a better understanding of one
another and in the long run annihilate “racial ideology” from the Indian
society.
References:
Akoijam, Bimal, A., 1990, Ghosts of Colonial
Modernity: Identity and Conflict in the Eastern Frontier of South Asia,
in Peace in India’s North-east: Meaning, Metaphor and Method, ed. Prasenjit
Biswas and C. Joshua Thomas, New Delhi: Regency Publications.
Chakraborty, Dipesh, 2002, Habitations of
Modernity: Essays in the wake of subaltern studies, New Delhi: Permanent Black.
Chomsky, Noam, 1997, Propaganda and Control of
Public Mind (Recorded at Harvard Trade Union Programme, Cambridge,
Massachusetts), ArtDamage Productions: San Francisco.
Herman, S., Edward and Chomsky, Noam,
1988, Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass
Media, Delhi: Random House, 2010.
Keane, John, 1991, Liberty and the
Press, in Media and Democracy, John Wiley & Sons
Mill, Stuart John, 1859, On Liberty, ed.
Gertrude Himmelfarb, UK: Penguin, 1985.
Poe, T., Marshall, 2011, Homo loquens: Humanity in
the Age of Speech, in A History of Communications: Media and Society from
the evolution of the Speech to the Internet, New York: Cambridge University
Press.
Thomas, N, Pradip, 1993, Broadcasting and State in
India: towards relevant alternatives,International Communication Gazette; 51;
19, Sage Publications.
Thounaojam, Swar, 2012, A Preface to Racial
Discourse in India: North-east and Mainland, VOL XLVII NO 32, Economic and
Political Weekly.
(The writer is a research scholar in the Department
of Mass Communication, Sikkim University.)
Wednesday 10 October 2012
Media’s Delimma or?
Saurabh Thapa
It is very inappropriate to say that the Press of India is not free, though it has its own limitations that are
infact drawn by themselves. There are many instances where the freedom of the
press has been in question. May it be the recent case of the cartoonist Aseem
Trivedi or the Supreme Court’s verdict on the Sahara Company’s plea to stop the
reportage of their ongoing trials. There have been numerous discussions on the
media, specially the electronic medium, regarding these matters, where there appeared
various personalities with their own personal views. But still the question remains
intact that, Is the media doing what it needs to do?
Objectivity is something that should bind any hand that tries to
write any news report meant to be read by the common people. But it has been
now that, objectivity is often been looked down upon and there appears some
sort of biasness, when it comes to the economy part. Now, it appears the media
to be in a dilemma when it comes to be in between the government and the big
corporate houses. In the process, inorder to seek favours or to maintain a good
relation with both the two, the media often tends to ignore its main
responsibility, i.e. to bring out the facts before the people and play an adversary
role.
It is very important for any media to find out the wrong doings and
lay it before the common mass. Investigative journalism is a very powerful tool
to do so, and is often feared by even the biggest personalities as well. But
there have been very few cases in India, where the media has brought out big scams
and scandals before the public. ‘Tehelka.com’ roused a big fire when it first disclosed
a scam in the media. But, was it sufficient? is another question. It can be analysed
that the decade’s biggest scams were more unveiled by common men than the media.
May it be the 2G spectrum scam or the Coalgate scandal, one was revealed by a
high court lawyer and the other by the C.A.G (Controller of Audit General)
report. What was the media’s role in it? The media simply followed the story that
was already boiling and just reported who said what to whom. This has been
proved more by the recent Robert Vadra (son-in-law of the U.P.A’s chief Sonia Gandhi)
case.
The I.A.C (India Against Corruption) member and co-founder Arvind
Kejriwal has recently laid some questions before the Congress, D.L.F and Robert
Vadra, on Vadra’s boost of property from Rs 50 lakhs to Rs 300 crores. He had alleged
that Vadra has been provided with an unsecured loan in the name of Rs 65 crore,
Rs 85 crores. Also brought out that the current U.P.A government is providing
it’s chief’s son-in-law unreasonable favours. He has even said to be exposing
some other prominent politicians on the 10th of October. Hence, the
media is in wait for the time to arrive, so that there will be more to write in
that matter. But, here arises the problem. Why does the media needs to wait for
that moment? Why the media needs to be dependent upon some other source? Why
doesn’t the media check the facts for themselves and act more as a whistle
blower?
When we examine the reportage by the media on the matter, we can
find a similar kind of resemblance of behaviour within all the national newspaper
houses, i.e. their neutrality. It is very interesting to know that the media
just stood numb and acted more as a third party. Isn’t it more logical for the
media to be further active in these kinds of matters then that by others and be
involved more? The Indian media scenario is very interesting in its own terms. At
one point of time, argues bout the absence of absolute freedom of press in the
country and in the other hand doesn’t act accordingly. It can be understood that
being on the other side can jeopardise their financial conditions but why
doesn’t it adapts the example of some sincere (as it claims to be) media like
the ‘factscheck.org’ (produced and published by the University of Pennsylvania,
U.S.A). This website contains information about their financial sponsorships as
well as to show the absence of any political party influences.
Therefore, the Indian media though has done a great deal with their media
trials and some revolutionary writings, but it’s a fact that the media in India
still needs to develop their investigative department. Gone should be the days
when the media to be waiting for any information from the third party. Being
one of the most powerful tools of democracy, it should function as it is
expected. One doesn’t insist the media to be always on the opposite side but rather
it is expected to act responsibly and it should not forget for whom and for
what it is functioning, for the good of the common people. Hence, the Indian
media has yet to learn more about their responsibilities (or they do this
intentionally) and keeping a note of the past wrong doings and as well has to
overcome what has be ignored or neglected. Thus, the Media to play an adversary
role is very important for democracy to survive.
Wednesday 19 September 2012
“The Path
towards Better Music in Darjeeling” with special reference to Mr. Prithiviraj
Dewan, the unknown legend of Gorkha Music.
Privat Giri
Published in Himalayan Beacon
June, 2008.
It might not sound so pleasing, from my
side especially, talking about music because I am not a professional musician.
The little knowledge and experience I gathered in music was during those days
of my college life when I (like many youngsters in Darjeeling and Sikkim) used
to dream to become a great guitarist. I was very willing, and in the need of a
‘Guru’, I was searching, when I met Mr. Prithiviraj Dewan, a legend of Gorkha
music (as I define).But the more rubbish part of it was, I only attended the
class for few months and left. I had to give up my dreams due to some personal
reasons but here are some precious things I have learned from Mr. Dewan and I
want to share with you all.
“Appearing in the beat contest and playing the Iron Maiden song is not learning
music but infact copying music. Where are our guys when the question of our own
composition arises? We should understand the importance of the practical and
theories in music and also should be able to distinguish it. Why do we people
ignore the fact that music is composed not with your instrument in hand but
with a pen in a sheet of paper? Music is not a hobby that you give importance
only during your spare time. It is like a full-fledged academic session where
you start from 'ABCD' and end finish up with your own philosophy.
Mr. Prithviraj Dewan and his views
regarding Western Domination on Music.
“I cannot help it that my picture do not sell. Nevertheless the time will come
when people will see that they are worth more than the price of the paint”. Can
anyone be sure that those who are considered to be the best in a particular
field are really the best? As the doubt lingers on, about the real talents, who
have been overshadowed by the artificial glitter and limelight, remain hidden
in the backdrop. Prithviraj Dewan, a music teacher from Kadamtala, Siliguri,
started his career in music after completing his graduation from Darjeeling
Government College in 1975. He acquired his initial basics of music at Calcutta
under the counseling of Samar Roy, the former base guitarist of Bappi Lahiri.
Returning back from Calcutta after five years, he formed the “Rhythm Orchestra”,
the leading Orchestra in the whole of North Bengal those days. But his
committed nature could not hold his feet for long days which paved his way
towards Mumbai to embark his professional career in Bollywood. In Mumbai, he
worked with famous singers like Asha Bhosle, Udit Narayan, Shabbir Kumar,
Sailendra Singh and multiple others. Within couple of years of his stay there,
he had to flounder a lot and eventually realizing his fragility, returned back
with a grudge to do something more.Then he contrived to make a theoretical
study on Marshall Law in music. He was inspired by the great educators of the
scientific period like Debushy, Schoenberg, and Mozart. He has made a complete
analysis of the thesis written educators like Cavalli, Mouley, Scarlaltti,
Pureell, Sergei Prokofiev and multiple others. Amidst this period he conducted
a concert in Taiwan and has already remained a judge in ‘Nepal Idol’. Till
date, he has given multiple background scores in Rajbanshi films.
At present, he is the President of “The
North Bengal Musicians and Singers Association”, formed in the year 2004 and he
is also running “The Friendz4films”, first film study center in North Bengal. All those years of his adherence in music has made him successful in completing
his thesis on “Music Therapy”, (therapy for mental disorder through music). He
has recently recommended his work to the Harvard University of American and
Viswa Bharati (run by educators of Sweden and Denmark). “It need to be endorsed
by either of these institutes so that I could continue with my Ph.D.”, says Mr.
Dewan.
All the way in his 32 years of study in
Western music, he distinctly figures out the reason behind the domination of
Western music over others. Mr. Dewan says, it is not because of their design of
musical instrument or their style of playing or because of their thick base
sounds with combination of drums, for which our people are highly biased. There
is no doubt that they do/have something extraordinary for which our inherited
rich music has been discarded. To identify these answers, we need to analyze
each and every instrument in Western Culture, especially the “Voicing and
Harmony” education is necessary. “Music is an education and we need to have a
theoretical knowledge to compose a meaningful music”. According to Dr. W.F. Lee
(Professor of Music University of Miami, Florida), the first “Doctor of Music
Award” was given in the year 1460 in Oxford University. Since then (548 years)
they have been cultivating the Harmony education for which their style of music
is dominating the rest of the world. Dr. Lee has classified music into five
periods. Polyphonic period (800-1600), Baroque period (1600-1750), Classical
period (1750-1870), Romantic period (1820-1900) and scientific period (1900-
till date). We are currently passing through the scientific period of music and
each note and chords played today are based on theories, formulas and
calculations. Today’s music is composed with pen and paper for this and so it
is obvious that we need to be educated in music.
Even we have that proficiency to compete the Westerners, but the path which
most of us are leading is not decisive. Music should be in tandem with
academics and the right guidance is very essential.
Sunday 16 September 2012
Democracy Through Traditional Practices- Study on Pang Lhabsol
Deepmoni Gogoi & Ugen Bhutia
INTRODUCTION-
From
time immemorial, perhaps after the birth of so called “Gods and religion” human
civilization has fought and is still fighting with each other to show their
faith towards their God and religion. This includes escalation of one’s faith
and domination and exploitation of others. However, adoption of democracy in
most of the countries gave birth to the hope of peaceful settlements of
conflicting issues. India has adapted and turned out to be the largest
democracy in spite of its multidimensional ethnic diversity for building peace
in its diverse socio-cultural structure. But, the reality remains different. Today,
despite of many policies and programs, thousands of intellectual debates, India
suffers from ethnic conflicts and cultural imbalance. This is mainly due to
lack of awareness of the grass root level problems and lack of proper plans for
integration and deprivation of participation of different cultures together,
which could have improved the status of democracy in the nation.
Among
the North-Eastern states of the country, Sikkim in particular, can be a model
for integrated democratic principle, cultural peace and assimilative attitude
through its unique cultural practices. Sikkim through its cultural practices proves
that the ideology of democracy should not be learnt from theories and academic
writings alone. Rather motto of democracy “of the people, by the people, for
the people” is inherent in our own rich heritage and age-old cultural
traditions
Among all the festivals celebrated in Sikkim
Pang Lhabsol is a festival observed by the various indigenous communities of
the state. It has been traditionally an event which depicts the loving nature
of all the people who take part in it and thereby helps in the harmonious
development of the state.
Similar
to the other parts of the country, Sikkim too is a culturally diverse state.
Bhutias, Lepchas and Nepali’s are it indigenous communities who are different
from each other on every aspects of their life like language, food habits,
clothing etc. But despite these differences all the three communities come
together to celebrate the festival which is originally a Buddhist festival. As
Lepchas and Bhutias belong to the Buddhist community, the participation of
Nepalis in the event highlights the growing consciousness about being the
Sikkimese and has turned this festival into state festival. It is the most unique festival
celebrated in Sikkim, it is held on the 15th day of the seventh month according
to lunar calendar that usually falls on the end of August or the month of
September.
Once
independent and ruled by a Bhutia King, Sikkim today is 22nd state
of Indian Union. With the total area of 2,818 square miles or 7,096 square
kilometres, it shares its boundaries with Nepal on the west and Bhutan in the
East and China in the North.
Lepchas
are considered to be the original inhabitants of Sikkim. On the other hand
Bhutias migrated to Sikkim much before 16th century from Tibet followed
by Nepalese from Nepal. After the merger with India in 1975, Sikkim became the
22nd state of Indian Union and democracy flowed into the region.
Background of Pang Lhabsol
The
history of Pang Lhabsol goes back to 13th century when a prince of
Kham Minyak House (China occupied Tibet), while on pilgrimage in Tibet, performed
a miraculous feat of raising the main pillar of Sakya Monastery single handed
which work otherwise was possible to be executed by one hundred thousand
people. He was, therefore, given the title of Khye-Bum-Sa meaning ‘the strength
of one lakh men’ by Sakya Lama and was also offered Jomo Guru, daughter of
Sakya Lama for marriage, which Khye-Bum-Sa accepted. Soon newlywed couple
settled at Phari in Chumbi Valley (now part of China occupied Tibet). As the couple had no child, they consulted
the religious authorities for their blessings for child so as to maintain the
continuity of their hierarchy. After deep consultation, the religious
authorities were able to see the prophecy that the lepcha seer in the land
lying southwards would be able to give the boon of children. Pursuing this
prophesy, khye Bumsa proceeded southwards of Tibet and passing through Yakla
reached the present Lingchom area by sheer fulfilment of supernatural events.
There Khye Bhumsa met a hoary headed couple engaged in cultivation and he
enquired about the Lepcha seer of them. The couple lead the strangers towards a
small hut like cave Phyak- Tse below Phiongong at present Rong-pa, they saw the
hoary headed man wearing his native apparel and sitting on a raised throne. He was
Thekong Tek, Lepcha Chief of Sikkim.
After
Khye Bumsa stated the purpose of his visit, Lepcha chief blessed him a son.
Soon after their return, couple had a son and they again visited Lepcha Chief
to express their thanks. It was then that the Thekong Tek insisted for oath of
Blood Brotherhood between him and Khye Bumsa.
On a
raw hide of animal sat Thekong Tek and Khye Bumsa with the intestine of the
animal tied around them and blood splattered all around. The swearing of the
oath of Blood Brotherhood took place under the witness of Khanchendzonga. To
perpetuate the treaty and its objective of unity, peace and harmony amongst the
future generation of the land, a symbolic stone was erected as per tradition
with blood splattered over it. The place where the oath was taken is presently
known as ‘kabi Longtsok’ in North Sikkim. ‘Kabi’ meaning our blood, ‘long’
meaning stone and ‘Tsok’ meaning erect in Lepcha. Altogether meaning ‘the erect
stone with our blood which is an oath sworn’.
It is
this oath or the treaty of blood brotherhood that today is celebrated as Pang
Lhabsol meaning “worship of the guardian deities” in Sikkim. It has been
celebrated from the time of Chogyal (king) Chakdor Namgyal (early 17th
century), in commemoration of this treaty.
This
inherited ritual is performed by invoking the deities and paying tribute to
them. Holy Khanchendzonga which is still believed to be the protector of the
land is one of them. In earlier occasion Lepcha Boongthing (priest) who were
believed to be empowered with transcendental powers and good enchanter, were
assigned to perform these rituals. Performance of this ritual indicates that
the promise of ancestors has been maintained by their progeny.
Pang Lhabsol and Democracy
Sikkim
does not appear to have a long history of conflicts among different communities.
Though there are some evidence of cultural exchange and inter-community
marriage among the members of the three major communities in the past. During
Chogyal (king) era, Pang Lhabsol was celebrated as the brotherhood treaty
between the two communities i.e. Lepcha and Bhutia. The recent involvement of the
Nepalis in the festival has escalated the communal harmony. The equal
participation of all the major communities in the state highlights their
inherent interest for the festival. The festival though originally observed by
the Lepchas and the Bhutias , but in
course of time the Nepalese also started observing this festival. Like the
other communities the Nepalese too observed each and every ritual sincerely. Being so engrossed in this festival we find
the Nepalese assimilating with the other communities.
The President
of the Pang-Lhabsol organizing Committee Mr T.Lachungpa on the occasion of
erecting the Statue of Unity in 1996, stated in a press meet that “the people
from all communities got together for the celebration and Pang Lhabsol’s real
significance was understood by all”. He further added that “the significance of
the occasion is that the Sikkimese has never come together in such numbers and
with so much enthusiasm to celebrate a festival unique to Sikkim. I’m not
saying that we should not participate in other functions and programmes, in
fact, we should do so with equal enthusiasm, but we should also ensure that
this particular occasion is celebrated in a bigger and grander fashion in the
years to come. There is no platform other than this when all Sikkimese can come
together as a single unit and celebrate their unity” the words of such a noble
person who gave his heart out for the commencement of the inauguration of the
‘statue of unity’ still remains true. Even after 16 years, Pang Lhabsol is the
only festival which reminds people to be united, irrespective to their religion,
caste or community and integrates them at one place to celebrate a single
festival.
It
will be erroneous to say that there is completely no conflict between these
communities in the state. After merging with Indian Union in 1975, cultural-ethnical
politics has emerged and has been sustained and proliferated. The merger with
India brought democracy in the region followed by the growth in caste and
community consciousness among different groups and sub-groups which has led to
mushrooming of several caste/community organizations with claims and demands of
their own. The
Lepcha organizations like Rangjyong Mutanchi RongOng Shejum (Sikkim Lepcha
Youth Association) for example demands for fifty percent reservation in the
State Assembly, education and public employment, legal protection of their
land, separate delimitation etc.
Bhutia
organizations like Survival Sikkimese and Sikkim Bhutia Lepcha Apex Committee
emphasize for restoration of rights and privileges of community which they had
been enjoying earlier. On the other hand, the Nepali organization like Gorkha
Apex Committee has demanded for equal treatment at par with the Lepchas and
Bhutia, and extension of “creamy layer” concept to exclude members of royal
families and Kazis from the Tribal list[1].
However, the situation is not out of control and none of these associations has
till date shown any sign of disturbing the peace of the state. And many people in
Sikkim believe that the reason for being peaceful and harmonious state is due
to observing festivals like Pang Lhabsol which sustains the light of brotherhood,
peace and harmony in the minds and hearts of the Sikkimese. And they are seen
to acquire moral virtues like tolerance, patience and brotherhood. Inspite of
the plurality of the Sikkimese community the innocence and purity of Sikkimese
people helps them to integrate and live harmoniously.
Conclusion:
One
of the main objectives of democracy is the development of a participatory way
of life dedicated to the liberation of the potentialities of its members and
requires processes by which different cultures and groups within a given
culture, and individuals divided by innumerable other differences can co-operate
to solve problems. Pang lhabsol is a festival which ensures participation
equally by the members of the society belonging to various ethnic communities
in Sikkim. This festival acts as a thread that binds the people of Sikkim with
a single identity of a nation.
Notes and References
1. Dokhampa Sonam Gyatso, Souvenir- Inauguration of Statue of Unity,October,1996
; p.10-13.
2. Namgyal
Pasong, Souvenir- Celebration of Pang
Lhabsol as day of brotherhood. October 1998 ; p.15-18.
3. Sikkim
Observer-National Hill Weekly.
September 1996,vol VIII No 46, p.32
4. Gurung
Suresh Kumar, Sikkim-Ethnicity And
Political Dynamics(2011), Kunal Books. P.17
5.
Tan, Sor-Hoon & Whalen-Bridge, John(2008) (ed)-Democracy as Culture-Deweyan Pragmatism in a
globalising world, State University of New York
press.
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