The Role of Media in Making Modern India
As the significant tool to make independence of India possible, media has played quintessential role in making modern India. In awakening the slumbering spirit of the nation, it stood as the foundational stone. It played the role of a catalyst for the power/paradigm shift from West towards East. It was a difficult task for thinkers of the slave countries to inject the most essential morale of self-esteem and independence inside the minds of the common citizens of their nation states. In case of country like India they were gracefully gifted with the gift of media. They utilised their education with the help of media to awaken the slumbering souls of the nation. Most of the prominent leaders from India contributed to the ‘Imagined Community’(Benedict Anderson) with their mediums of print publications such as, Dadabhai Naoroji through Rast Guftar, Balgangadhar Tilak through Kesari and Mahratta, Madan Mohan Malviya through Hindustan, Lala Lajapat Rai through Punjabi, Bande Mataram, and The People, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi through Young India, Navjeevan, and Harijan, G. Subramania Aiyer through The Hindu and Sri Aurobindo dedicated his service towards mother nation by editing Bande Mataram, Dharma and Karma Yogin.
The Empire was compelled by these effective medium of mass awakening to bring forth as many as four different constitutional changes within short period of time, such as The Vernacular Press Act,1878 (Discrimination between English and vernacular Newspapers, no right to appeal!), Newspaper Act 1908 that empowers the magistrate to confiscate the property owned by the press, Indian Press Act 1910, and Indian Press (The Emergency Powers) Act 1931 to douse the Civil Disobedience Movement. At the same time for thinkers like Sophia Dobson it is, ‘where no freedom of the press existed, and grievances consequently remained unrepresented and un-redressed, innumerable revolutions have taken place.’ (Collet 406) According to Bhaha they help in creating ‘hybridity’ to rebel against “restrictive notions of cultural identity” by opening the avenues of change. This paper is an attempt to pay tribute to the Media which has played their role of foundational stones to make the dream of the contemporary India possible.
The role of media has played the significant role in making the uniformity of the slaved nation in more than one way. At the time when each thread of the nation bound together it came out to be the unique identity of nation. In terms of Lenin one can understand the phenomenon of a nation as,
As nation is a historically constituted, stable community of people, formed on the basis of a common language, territory, economic life and psychological makeup manifested in a common culture. (Lenin)
In case of India, the ‘psychological makeup’ in the form of ‘a common culture’ can be credited to the media and writers of the then popular media. If one takes up the examples of leading political leaders of the time most of them played vital role in writing for newspapers.
The most significant role of media in the constructing or destructing the nation can be studied from the Facebook Cambridge Analytica Scandal by Mark Zuckerberg, where personal data of millions of Facebook users was used without their permission for the political leverage. The result has been wondering and bewilderment for the entire world. It may have been the economic gain for any particular media but as a whole it has led on of the strongest democracy into unknown danger. (The term is lighter in its tone than what is being experienced by the Corona affected America today!) Ralph Schroeder in his significant research upon the role of media in the time of globalization mentions tacitly that,
Media elites translate the agenda of political elites, plus ’people’, into the media agenda. These political elites consist not just a powerful leader, as Schudson (2011) has pointed out, for the vast bulk of sources of news are government officials. (Media Systems, Digital Media and Politics 28-59)
The aftermath of Wuhan incident has made it clear for entire world that however strong we belive that contemporary international media would be; it cannot penetrate inside the ‘Wall’ of ‘government officials’ created by the so called ‘powerful leader’ of the present time.
In case of India, when The British Crown took over the possession of Private Company (British East India Company), it was literally no entity to raise logical argument against such inhuman accession of power. As the company started facing difficulties in administrating population of different language and culture (which was far superior and stronger than ever imagined by their ‘intellectuals’!), the Crown constituted the English Education Act 1835 ‘to spend on education and literature in India’ Lord Babington Macaulay lead the discussion of the Act. In his scathing argument projecting inferiority of Indian, especially Sanskrit education system he observed that,
I feel…that it is impossible for us, with our limited means, to attempt to educate the body of the people. We must at present do our best to form a class who may be interpreters between us and the millions whom we govern – a class of persons Indian in blood and colour, but English in tastes, opinions, in morals and in intellect. To that class we may leave it to… convey knowledge to the great mass of the population. (Sharp)
The plan of the Crown was not full proof. There were certain lacunae which were focused upon and utilised to strengthen the future India by the same ‘class’ of interpreters. If one observes carefully, one finds that most of the Indian freedom fighters were well educated especially from Western education institutes only!
The 1851 riots between Parsi and Muslim communities in Bombay create the need to voice the grievances and pains of poor and middleclass Parsis. A leader rises to the occasion named Dadabhai Naoroji. He founds The Rast Goftar means ‘The Truth Teller’ with the help of Government subsidy. By 1858 its circulation rose from 432 to 852, which was quite considerable at the time. Along with the time in 1870s it was considered amongst one of four leading operating newspapers from Bombay. The task of newspaper helped him in raising questions against the draining of India’ wealth by the Empire. Later, he becomes to be well known as the Grand Old Man of India. He was the first Indian to be a Member of British Parliament when the nation was still under the rule of Raj. In one of his most concerned tone about the nation he suggests to every Indian citizen that,
Be united, persevere, and achieve self-Government, so that the millions now perishing by poverty, famine, and plague may be saved, and India may once more occupy her proud position of yore among the greatest and civilized nations of the world. (Grover 231)
The genuine concern about the motherland can be experienced by the such patriotic lines by the Grand Old Man of India.
Similarly, the personality of Balgangadhar Tilak has influenced the entire nation. His writings and speeches have mesmerised not only common politicians but even the man of millennium Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi as well. At the time of paying tribute to his political teacher Mahatma opines that he admired Tilak as millions of his countrymen for ‘his indomitable will, his vast learning, his love of country and above all the purity of his private life and great sacrifice. Of all men of modern times, he captivated the most the imagination of his people. He breathed into us the spirit of Swaraj.’ It is well known that it was the struggle for Swaraj only which contributed the immense popularity to Mahatma as a freedom fighter. In a sense it was the coinage of Tilak that contributed the most in making of Mahatma. If one tries to examine it more closely, Tilak provided the basic foundational ideology for the nation to achieve freedom. As Brothers Sisir Kumar and Motilal started the Amrita Bazar Patrika in Bengal; Tilak introduces Keshari in Western part of the nation. The power of his inspirational thoughts can be experienced from one of his articles which tries to invigorate the common citizens to get united and fight against the injustices of the Empire as,
The power of public opinion lies in its resolute will. It cannot be gauged by the supporting numbers. The straws put together to make a big heap serve no purpose. But the same grass twisted into a strong rope is capable of subjugating even an intoxicated elephant. (Pandit 19)
In a sense one can say that the straws of patriotic fervour have been articulated to domesticate the wild Elephant of the Empire! For such a noble cause one can observe that it was only the medium of newspaper Keshari. Such a burning torch was handed over to the final fighter of Indian independence Mohandas Gandhi.
In the similar way the founder of Banaras Hindu University, Shree Madan Mohan Malaviya contributed to the field of journalism with the spirit of nationalism. In the year 1908 the British Government passes one of the most objectionable Act in the form of the Press Act and Newspaper Act. In the company of Motilal Nehru, father of India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Madan Mohan Malaviya started The Leader. The subjects of his publication remained focused upon the political upheavals of the time. The newspaper can be considered as the significant contributor to nationalistic fervour. One can find contributions of several political thinkers of the time including writings of Mahatma Gandhi as well.
The name of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi would be immortal in the field of role of media in the field of nation construction. In more than one way he has revolutionised the field of newspaper writing. His subjects in media starts from the food habits till the fundamental rights and the ultimate responsibility of the government for its citizens. He contributed to Harijan and Young India with invigorating fervour of national freedom. In one of his articles to the Young India newspaper Mr. Gandhi reveals his identity with his intentions such as,
My motive is national service and that, too, so long as it is consistent with humanitarian dictates. I understand, because my South African work was considered to be humanitarian that I was awarded the Kaisar–I–Hind Gold Medal. (Gandhi, To Every Englishman)
The goal of serving the ‘humanity’ elevates his stature to the level of Man of Millennium. He has proved himself worthy of it at almost all the level of his political career. In that journey his articles in newspaper plays supporting pillar to make reach of his voice till the distanced dweller of the nation. The highest message of his political movement was also been conveyed through the use of media only. One can find his preaching about ‘Truth’ and ‘Non-Violence’ being edify through newspaper only as,
Therefore, Indian self-government not only means no menace to the world, but will be of the greatest benefit to humanity if she attains her end through those means (Truth and Non-violence) and those means alone. (Gandhi, Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Vol. XXIII 361)
One can learn the central lesson of his political endeavour through these lines only. He clearly opines that the happiness of India in every sense would be instrumental to bring happiness of entire world in a very simple way possible. Selection of the political field also has been discussed in one of his articles in the Young India as,
My bent is not political but religious and I take part in politics because I feel that there is no department of life which can be divorced from religion and because politics touch the vital being of India almost at every point. (Gandhi, To G. S. Arundale)
In the same way the contribution of Sri Aurobindo can also be considered as one of the important cornerstones in the struggle of Indian independence. It was only because of his editorial task, he had to beseech immediate shelter at Puducherry. His erudition was par excellence which has not been matched by anyone till the date. In Bande Mataram of 17th December, 1907, he reveals his poetic craftsmanship while explaining how a nation would emerge as spirit in life formation and,
… it is a law that all energies are forced to direct themselves, consciously or unconsciously, willingly or against their will, to the supreme work of the time . . . so now when the waters of a people’s life are stirred and the formation of a great organic Indian state and nation has begun, the same law holds. (Ghose, Bande Mataram)
It was that ‘law’ of energy only which gifted independence of the nation on the birthday of Sri Aurobindo only! For the future of the nation, he provides a clear cut guide line as,
The first work is to revive courage in the hearts of the people . . . . The next work is to give a stronger impetus to the boycott. . . The Third thing to be done is to spread National Education. . . . (Ghose, The Work Before Us)
In these three steps one cans find the heart of rising India. In multiple ways India as a nation has been bestowed by the thinking minds like Sri Aurobindo. All such minds prepare a trajectory of a most spiritual and altruistic country in the world. One can easily observe the significance of such ‘National Education’ in times of globalised world as well.
The writings of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar was not limited to the concern of drafting the constitution of India only. If one analyses his writing corpus one can find variety mediums and subjects have been simply exhausted by him in multiple ways. As a researcher and one of the most influential persons of the down trodden class some of his writings possesses the significant value of their own. In one of his observation about the religions of the world and their comparative contributions he writes that,
Jesus Christ and Mohammad Paygambar use to preach the world they are conveying the message of the Almighty and it is the ultimate Truth. The message delivered by Shri Krishna was itself the message of Almighty. There was no space for any doubt. But Bhagvan Buddha did not tell anything like that. He conveyed his message to his disciple Bhikkhu Anand and explained that his message is based upon experience. (Ambedkar)
Thus, the role of media and its contribution in the constructing India as nation is unique. Each and every leading freedom fighter has explored and endeavoured their talented personalities with the help of media available at the time. From writings of Dadabhai Naoroji till Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar one can observe a continuum of media support for the bringing the morning of freedom for India. There has been British suppression in various form of Acts and regulations for the media. All such challenges in the contemporary scenario could create the situations where Facebook and Twitter provide the platform for the contemporary politicians to have their say in every walk of their life. The role of media in making India (Independent/developed) has been phenomenal, it can be observed that till the day media plays most significant role in making the nation.
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