Kolkata: "In facing the danger of imperialism we must ask from our media much better performance, greater accountability and greater transparency... The media are still growing [in India] but their vulnerability is [also] very great," N. Ram, Editor-in-Chief, The Hindu , said here on Thursday.

Delivering the Naren Sen Memorial Lecture, 2006, on "the Danger of Imperialism and the role of the Media" [in the context of responding to and combating it], Mr. Ram emphasised the "agenda-building function" of the media which, is at one level, derived from the credible-informational, critical-investigative and educational function "which in India is only weakly developed."

"If you do all this well you come to an agenda-building function which can make a difference both to national policy and public life," he said.

But the "propaganda role of the press has become a dangerous factor," he warned. There were those who are "constantly trying to confuse public opinion" by egging on the Government and pressurising it ideologically. "This is a danger from within the media," he remarked. "There are some very `wise' people advising the Government to sideline the Common Minimum Programme [CMP] and remove the big irritant of the Left, `do not listen to it'[they urge]... Even their tone is propagandist," Mr. Ram observed.

The occasion he was speaking at marked the 97th birth anniversary of Naren Sen, whose roles as a veteran freedom fighter, builder of the Communist Party in Kolkata and a trade union leader were recalled by Mr. Ram. "He had played a vital role in safeguarding the integrity and purity of the revolutionary movement in Kolkata and the country as a whole," he said.

Mr. Ram also paid tribute to the freedom fighter and veteran Communist leader, Subodh Roy, who passed away on August 26 but said how "relieved and happy" he was that Jyoti Basu, who had suffered a fall recently, was recovering well. These personalities represent a generation that inspired national awakening and the tribute he was paying was "not just to individuals but a whole generation of freedom fighters and revolutionaries," Mr. Ram said. The day was also observed as Martyrs Day.

The role of the media is to "give us an idea of the dangers of imperialism on our national life, to report on this, look at it critically and where necessary campaign on such issues, thus participating in a relevant public agenda," Mr. Ram said. "What can the media do? ... The first thing we realise is that we are not poor in media resources in India ... The press grew up and acquired strength in this country largely on account of its association with the freedom struggle and the social reform movements. We must return to the roots of the Indian press to understand its strengths and weakness and the strengths must be defended, not allowed to decline," he added.

Mr. Ram dwelt on the relevance of the "five news filters" referred to by Noam Chomsky and Edward R. Herman. He made special mention of the fifth and final filter which, as stated by the authors, is the "the ideology of anti-Communism as a national religion and control mechanism."

"This is still active especially in India," he noted.

Weak performance

Speaking on the Centre's performance in recent times, Mr. Ram was particularly critical of the line being pursued in foreign policy. "The Manmohan Singh Government, in my opinion, has done the worst in the area of foreign policy. It is clearly the weakest area of performance of the Government; to put it politely I am very disappointed ... "

"Can the Government honestly claim that we have stayed on course with what the CMP promises regarding maintaining an independent line in the country's foreign policy? The answer obviously is no," Mr. Ram said. On the crisis in Lebanon, "where Israel continues to demonstrate its contempt for international law, where was the voice of the Indian Government," he asked. On the situation developing in Iran: "The Government of Iran has stood up to imperialism much better than the Manmohan Singh Government."

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