Southern States - Karnataka-Bangalore   

Media's role in highlighting farmers' woes defended

By Our Staff Reporter

Bangalore Nov. 26. Is the media so insensitive that a dead farmer is a mere statistic? And why does no one question an archaic law that denied a family compensation when a woman farmer killed herself?

These were a few of the issues raised at a seminar on `Farmers' suicides and the media' organised by the Department of Communication, Bangalore University, at Central College on Tuesday.

An academic, K.Y. Narayanaswamy, accused the media of ignoring the cultural reasons behind the farmers' deaths. The media only reflected what bureaucrats, politicians, agricultural economists/academics and organisations such as the Raitha Sangha said.

Even today, the Government did not recognise a woman farmer's death or pay compensation to her family. Yet no one had decried this law, he said.

However, Premkumar Hariyabbe, Chief Sub-editor, Prajavani, stressed that society and the Government were responsible for the state of affairs. The media did highlight tragedies, but "the Government does not take notice of them," he said. When their paper reported how families in North Karnataka were selling cattle, the Deputy Commissioner issued an official denial.

"And when it rains in Bangalore, people here think everything is fine everywhere else too", he added.

The Assistant Editor, Vijaya Karnataka, Madhav Aithala, said there were "environmental factors" behind the number of deaths.

"We have had droughts before but no farmer killed himself", he said.

Poor rain, groundwater exploitation, and crop failure had contributed to it.

The Chief Reporter, Samyukta Karnataka, Hunsavadi Rajan, felt this was a society unprepared to accept the truth.

When their reporter wrote a series on the suicides, many protested at the "anti-farmer" reports.

K. Achuthan of Bangalore Doordarshan Kendra said today "techniculture" ruled supreme wherein the past agriculture thrived.

This in turn had created an urban and rural India. It was the media that had to try and unite the two, he said.

Tejaswini Ramesh of Udaya TV denied that the media "glorified" farmers' suicide. Was not the destruction of the World Trade Center splashed all over? she asked.

Besides, if the so-called glorification prodded the Government into doing something for farmers, then was it not worth it? she asked.

The Chief of Bureau of The Hindu, A. Jayaram, too stressed that the coverage by the media of the suicides had been exemplary.

"If we have erred, it is that we did not investigate all the deaths thoroughly," he said.

But this was because of time constraints.

"Rather, you should attack the wrong policies followed by the Government," he added.

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