Here is why

I have not heard of Chyetanya Kunte till a few days ago. I still do not know him personally. Never corresponded with him.

From whatever information I can gather through web searches, he appears to be a technology professional living outside India. I gather the impression that he is an  introspective and perceptive individual with his own particular interests in life: web programming, computer software and tech gizmos.

And he is a blogger. That means that like most of us bloggers, he is a person with a full-time job and a family to look after, taking a free hour or two off his daily routine to verbalize on the net the stuff that he feels passionate about,  putting his own resources, time and money into that effort.

Why does he blog? All of us bloggers know the answer to this one. Of course he writes to be read, to be appreciated, to be challenged, engaged, stimulated.  To take a stand, to defend what he believes is  good, and to oppose what he believes is evil.  And of course, he writes to express his emotions, to bond with those who share his likes and dislikes, and to get off his chest matters that bother him a lot.

He may not be perfect, like none of us is either. Perhaps he doesn’t get his facts right at times — not that I know for certain that he doesn’t. Perhaps on occasion he may appear to be driven by prejudice, or illogic or unreason — again, not that I know that he does.

But the bottomline is that he doesn’t blog — just like most of us do not either — to serve the vested interests of anybody, either of himself or of another person, or of a political party, or of a corporate entity. He expresses his honest-to-goodness opinion, untainted by any commercial or political sponsorship of the same. No hidden agendas, no devious games, no hankering after Padma Sris.

It is perhaps these very qualities of Mr Kunte — of your everyday blogger — that frightened the living daylights out off Barkha Dutt, the managing editor of NDTV. Unnerved by Chyetanya’s criticism of her much-condemned 26/11 coverage, the lady slapped a legal notice on him. He retracted his criticism and issued an apology, the text of which appears drafted by Dutt’s high-powered lawyers.

* * *

There are a handful of people who justify NDTV’s intolerant reaction to Kunte’s criticism.  Invoking legalisms and technicalities, they claim that:

– since libel and defamation aren’t covered under free speech,

– and since it remained to be determined by courts whether Kunte’s criticism was an acceptable form of free speech

– till such time as courts settle the matter, it cannot be claimed that Dutt and gang tried to muzzle Kunte’s voice.

That would normally be a valid argument but for a crucial fact: NDTV demands, as does the rest of the so-called mainstream media, that liberal norms be applied when judging its own programming, content and speech. It is argued that the “media” deserves to be given the benefit of doubt in any matter involving the impact of its own “speech” on individuals, entities and society, because — so the argument goes — the “media” is serving a “public cause”. The “people’s right to know” is invoked, and claims of being the “eyes and ears” of the “people” are advanced. (While on the subject: NDTV’s flagship talkshow is called “We The People”).

Surely, then, NDTV should extend “people” the same courtesy vis-a-vis rights of free speech that it expects to be granted to it? Assume, for argument’s sake, that Kunte’s statements are incorrect; that there indeed is no factual basis to the persistent rumours that Barkha Dutt caused the deaths of soliders during Kargil war, or that her coverage of 26/11 jeoprdized the lives of innocent people and security personnel.  A liberal interpretation of Kunte’s (supposedly factually baseless) blog post would then mean that he created it without intending malice,  as an Indian pained by what he, like thousands of other Indians, thought was inappropriate and insensitive coverage of a major terrorist atrocity perpetrated on Indians.

In the light of this liberal interpreation of Kunte’s criticism, then, Barkha Dutt  has either the option of ingnoring it , or of issuing her own response to it “setting the record straight”, as she no doubt would like to put it.

But, no. Padma Sri Managing Editor wanted to silence Kunte.

* * *

It stands to reason then that NDTV doesn’t really respect people’s right to free speech. It treats critics as enemies, and goes all out to suppress their dissent, unabashedly taking advnatage of:

a) the strength it enjoys as a big corporate house, with its pool of legal resources

b) the weakness of individuals like Kunte, of most of us bloggers; our inability to cope with the financial and emotional stress of unwanted legal battles over issues not central to our lives

c) the sloth in our judicial system

It is important to think of the consequences of letting NDTV get away with tasting bloggers’ blood. Our writing is spontaneous, unburdened by undue self-awareness, and by the fear of consequences.  That is the way it should be, as long as you truly are writing without malice, and are not lying to yourself about it.  Indeed, I believe this ought to be the style of writing of “professional” journalists who write for big media houses too, except that they have the advantage of getting proof-read and vetted by legal before they get published. Bloggers don’t have that advantage.  You are your own legal department, without any legal training.

True, bloggers have responsibilities too, and they must also apply discretion and sense of judgement. But the line between “applying discretion” and “applying internal censors” is thin, and given the “NDTV vs Kunte” episode, your natural reflex will be to lean towards the latter. Now onwards, if ever you dare to criticize a powerful media honcho, I bet you’ll be looking over your shoulders constantly, afraid of getting a legal notice slapped on you. In short, your writing will not be your writing anymore.

* * *

So here’s what I suggest.

Stop watching NDTV, if you haven’t already.

It’s a crappy channel anyway. Mediocre, theatrical, overly activist.

Stop patronizing products advertised on NDTV. Well, then, you’ll have to watch the crappy channel. :-) So ok, here’s the compromsie: at some random point in time every week keep it on just long enough for you to catch a commercial or two. If somebody can put up a website listing all the commercial sponsors of NDTV, that will be great; we’ll then don’t have to watch the channel at all.

If they ever make the mistake of thrusting a mike in your face, because you happen to be standing by when a newsworthy incident occurred, don’t answer them to the point, instead declare your feeling of affection for them, hopefully to go live on air.

If you run into friends or acquaintances who are eager for their 2 minutes of “fame” (is it?) on NDTV’s chat shows, educate them, and help them change their mind. Let them know that “We The People” actually stands for “Myself, My Camera Person, and My Studio Crew”.

Spread the word. Tell your mother about NDTV, even if she is not in the habit of watching it. In fact, you’dn’t have to work too hard to convince her that Kyon Ki Saas Bhi is intellectually far superior to NDTV.

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