Media Savvy Maoists

The new media savvy Maoist 'Kishenji' and the media to his tunes



As the maoist leader went on and on the news channel and brought to life and entertainment the until now conceited world of Moaists, during the recent ‘abduction cum bargain drama’ of police officer Athindranath Dutta, again the role of the media is under glare of public eye. People listened to Kishenji as he is respectfully addressed by his comrades in the jungle the legitimacy of kidnapping a police officer and also killing two of his colleagues in cold blood on the fateful afternoon of 20th October’ from the Sankrail police station of West Midnapur district.

It goes beyond saying that for that particular day, Kishenji occupied the best of prime time TV talking on why police officers should be kidnapped, killed and why should the government bargain for their lives? When the anchor on TV quizzed him about the health of Athindranath Dutta and what he was eating and how he was staying with the ‘most wanted’, Kishenji went on the extent of consoling the families, elaborating about how concern was he about the health of his father and that he was well taken care of as he had been declared the ‘Prisoner of war’. Even Kishenji the new face of Robin Hood directed the parents to bargain with the Buddhadeb Bhattacharya government and even inciting them to an extent as to why the government was not acting swiftly and bargaining with him in getting the abducted officer released.
It was no wonder Kishenji’s day as he went on and on from one TV channel to the other, his phone continuously busy that even negotiators wanting to get to him for the government had to queue up and wait for their turn to talk to him. At one point it went to the extent that Kishenji who supposedly was holed up in some place in around Lalgarh by the security forces had on TV roared and threatened that if the joint forces does not withdraw immediately and give free passage to him, the abducted officer would be dead. After the warning and then the helpless appeals by the parents, family and even news channels not to hurt the officer, the forces pulled out, stood as mute spectators in some far off place as the release show was being planned in front of the media.

Police could not trace or were not allowed to trace a person wanted for killing so many police personnel as well as CPIM supporters in Lalgarh. Media played the negotiator in the rescue game. Media personnels were asked to switch off their mobile phones before being taken to a remote school where the handover was to take place. After a good long lecture and the propagation of the Maoists ideology the ‘prisoner of war’ was handed to the media. All the shaking of hands and byes done on camera even as Athindranath’s life was saved and brought home safely. The fall out was that media brought forth the entire deal done by the government where twenty-two suspected Maoist were released in Midnapur court.

Kishenji’s phone went out of range after his newly attained Robinhood image. Media had the other humane stories of Athindranath meeting his family again, he going to the Dakshineshwar temple and then he understanding the plight of the people of Lalgarh and their Maoist influence. Athindranath now believes people of Lalgarh are dispossessed and development needs to be done there, which he did not realize even during his tenure as the police officer there.

What the media missed in all this is the fact that actually they danced to the tunes of Kishenji legitimizing the abduction and killing done by the Maoists. That the Maoists for now will not face the media as work is over. That it did bring forth the humane face of the Maoist leader as he released the officer in charge. Since no questions were posed to him on why did the gunmen kill two other sub inspector of police in the same police station for fear of antagonizing him and in turn he might hurt the abducted officer. That the Maoists killing spree was no less brutal than terrorist attacks and how can killings be justified ? Why should he not be punished and why should he not be called a killer?
In this case was it not playing into the hands and in turn becoming just a propaganda machine of the Maoists. Kishenji himself did concede to the media that they failed in Andra Pradesh because of developmental work done there, which means if development came in Lalgarh as well he would fail. That actually proves his point that definitely he would not let anyone work there for progress and development.
Why Athindranath Dutta who has by now a media celebrity not forced to answer as to what was he doing as a police officer when his colleagues were gunned infront of his eyes by female Maoists. The deceased police sub inspectors sitting in the police station in ‘lungis and T-shirt were killed by armed female wing of the Moaists. So was Athindranath in casual dress when he was kidnapped and taken away by two female armed cadre in motorcycle? How come a police officer is kidnapped in broad daylight from the police station which had a State Bank next door and why did no one protest?
Was it at all a baragin by the government? The ones who were released from the Midnapur court on that fateful day were actually booked on trivial grounds and the police had not even filed a chargesheet as against them. There were some very poor women who had been booked over ninety days and chargesheet was not filed. They were actually booked so as to create pressure on the families to divulge truth about suspected male Maoists cadres. Here the government did not want the media to pursue their cases, hence all the bargain game. And that Kishenji on live TV was bargaining the release of senior Maoists leaders and withdrawal of joint forces than just the release of these women.
Yet, the media danced to the flute of the Maoist Kishen and the later rather than forging a deal with the government succeeded in dealing with the Media and using it to its fullest. Kishenji is now not available to the media. His phone is switched off. He will call them up when he needs to.

Media Watch

It is the time of self- introspection.

Mamata Banerjee and her partymen’s high handedness in dealing with media personnel in Kolkata has definitely created enough ground of debate but before that it is adequate an opportunity for self introspection of the media themselves. Self-introspection about what has the media in a democratic nation as ours achieved in all this sixty two years of Independence and where are we heading. I personally as a journalist would like to generate opinion about our fate and would request all of my fraternity to opine on our future.
Mamata Banerjee is known for her whims and fancies. The channel where Mamata holds a live show taking call-in questions from general public almost every weekend says it overtly that it has got the greatest trps because of the exclusivity it enjoys with their accessibility to the railway minister’s sound bites and interviews. So claims the other channel 24 Ghanta of exclusivity about the left leaders who would otherwise not appear usually on any other tv or give interviews to any other channel. The rest of the organisations would then pressurize their reporters for being useless in forging alliances with the respective political bigwigs. Here the question comes in as to how free does one believe are these shows as a part of free and fair media and is the media some way or the other in the name of exclusivity not becoming a complete propaganda tool in the hands of these politicians. And here comes the big question as to why should the public not consider the media as mere propaganda medium rather than the free press.
It is not about just West Bengal. It needs to mention here during the time of the Singur crisis the same media house for speaking their free and balanced mind was targeted by the Trinamool Congress party workers for not speaking the language of Mamata Banerjee then. And on the other hand, was the target of Left activists in Nandigram for taking on the ruling left government. Field reporters were beaten up, cameras broken and none with a critical analysis of the situation was allowed to work freely. Now the same leaders are ok with getting in the open platform to speak their minds for hours altogether in their respective platform in the name of the media. In an open forum if questioned would belittle, humiliate or even physically manhandle journalists completely convinced that such demeaning behavior would never come out in public through our so-called free press.
The reason behind is that our media seems to be out of the track and dependent on these political propaganda for content. Hence we need the self introspection now….
We have a reached a situation where the role of the media has been criticized for the kind of coverage it gave during the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist siege. Although, all those working out there gave in their twenty four hours and hundred percent of their hard work and efforts on that one coverage. Yet, the purpose lost its way in the rat race of exclusivity. In a similar way media’s role was questioned when a women was stripped in a main road of Patna in broad day light and camera people took in their time to shoot the unfortunate incident rather than do sometime about it. The women later confessed in front of the Human Rights Commission that what traumatized her more, was that she was made to parade on TV the whole day rather than the single criminal act of occurrence. Incidents of mobs been incited by the media for mere proper footages are just but common these days. And, all in the name of exclusivity, special reports and good visuals. Media’s role is thus, being questioned by everyone as to how can it take the moral high ground and how seriously it should be considered.

It is high time that we have to self introspect as to why should we be called the fourth pillar of democracy. Are our efforts changing anything for the good or are we here to just pass on time.