Journalism is not everybody’s cup of tea
- Imphal Times Editorial :: February 25, 2021 -

In a healthy democratic country, constructive criticism is the rights of every conscious and patriotic citizen.

Scholars and politicians often comes forward to make such criticism to any policy of the government and the government machinery defended the criticism with genuine argument .

That is what we call the freedom of speech, the rights that had been entrusted to all the citizen of the country under the article 19 of the Indian Constitution.

When we talk about freedom of expression , it is also pertinent that that the so call freedom of expression is not absolute.

In the clause 2 of the article 19, it is also written as Nothing in sub clause (a) of clause ( 1 ) shall affect the operation of any existing law, or prevent the State from making any law, in so far as such law imposes reasonable restrictions on the exercise of the right conferred by the said sub clause in the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or morality or in relation to contempt of court, defamation or incitement to an offence.

And thus, citizen need to understand what the law of the land had provided on what to write criticize and argued.

What is upset part is that with the mushrooming of the social media people started writing what they feel is right.

Sometime humiliation to individuals are viral and criticism with nonsense argument are seen going viral through social media.

What is more shocking is that some so call literate people don’t understand how the newspaper or the TV Channels are functioning.

Some rich chaps with few easily earn money open web site or facebook page and started distributing news which are not only correct but defame a person or the authority without knowing the fact.

And the most unfortunate part is that these rich people who think that owning a media will have power misused journalist aspirants.

When this people get in trouble they simply lift the burden to those journalist aspirant for things that they had never committed.

One thing that should be understand by everything is that journalism is everybody’s cup of tea.

That must be one reason for the state Assembly which is the temple of democracy denied a lady journalist from entering the Assembly during the ongoing budget session.

Being a journalist and having a press card is not a license to do anything above the law.

There are laws and we (journalists) are also not above the law even as we have the right to report everything that is happening.