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By A Staff Writer| Opening Doorz Editorial | November 04, 2023 RedInk Awards: Mumbai Press Club Days before he completes his century, veteran Gandhian and Social Activist Dr. G G Parikh […]
By A Staff Writer| Opening Doorz Editorial | November 04, 2023
Days before he completes his century, veteran Gandhian and Social Activist Dr. G G Parikh said that an Undeclared Emergency is far more dangerous than a declared 1975 Emergency.
Dr. Parikh, who will turn 100 on December 30, 2023, was speaking at the Mumbai Press Club’s RedInk Awards event on Saturday, December 02. A grand felicitation with a standing ovation was accorded to Dr. Parikh at the majestic Royal Opera House in Mumbai in recognition of his contribution to the Freedom Movement and social reform.
Dr. Parikh, who is among the oldest activists alive of the Mahatma Gandhi-led Quit India Movement and was put behind bars by the British, was also jailed during the Emergency of 1975-77.
Speaking about the current scenario and the witch-hunt against media practitioners, Dr. Parikh, who was joined on stage by Guest of Honour and former Additional Solicitor General Indira Jaising, said that though he agrees there was a sort of Undeclared Emergency, he has not given up hope. He called for a grassroots movement as the foundation of change and said democracy was strong in India because of its multi-layered diversity. He called for strengthening diversity as the way to fight authoritarian rule.
According to him, what was happening was a temporary phase. “Since 2014, we have seen a change in the situation. The freedom struggle was for the creation of a plural society. However, constitutional values are now being ignored. However, I see hope ahead,” he said and added “that the path of Gandhiji needs to be followed for the country’s overall development.”
Jaising, who also runs Lawyers Collective and is co-founder of the news and opinion portal, The Leaflet, dwelt on the issue of Emergency and Undeclared Emergency, saying: “When the Emergency was imposed in 1975, the legitimacy of the Constitution was not denied. An elected executive declared the Emergency. However, what we are seeing now is an Undeclared Emergency.” She also spoke on the learnings from the massive number of detentions in the NewsClick case, where more than 90 journalists have had their homes raided and devices seized.
Mumbai Press Club President Ayaz Memon welcomed the guests at the annual gathering of journalists. The event sees hundreds of members of the profession come together once a year to celebrate good reporting and editing across print, electronic, and digital formats.
Mumbai Press Club Chairperson Gurbir Singh, who is a member of the Press Council of India, lamented the recent speech of Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar on the occasion of National Press Day on November 16, 2023, where instead of supporting a free and critical media, the Vice President instead called for a tight leash on news reporting.
The evening also witnessed a scintillating panel discussion on: ‘NewsClick and After, Fresh Challenges for News Media’. Eminent lawyer Aspi Chinoy, one of the participants, said, “Unfortunately things would get worse for journalists before they got better as the terms of laws such as UAPA and PMLA allow indiscriminate arrests and few options for relief. He also criticized the double standards of the higher judiciary, who, he said, offered peans of support for freedom of the press when it involved TV anchor Arnab Goswami’s liberty. On the other hand, the same judiciary has allowed the Kerala journalist Siddiqui Kappan to rot in jail for over two years for the ‘crime’ of going to Hathras, UP, to cover the gang rape and killing of a Dalit woman.”
Other speakers also condemned the misuse of central agencies to silence the media. Senior journalist Jitendra Dixit pointed out that the mass raids and detentions of journalists in the NewsClick were orchestrated to send a strong message to the media not to take a critical stance against the government.
Others who participated in the discussion included former Mumbai Police Commissioner Sanjay Pandey and Kalpana Sharma, a senior columnist and author. The session was moderated by Naresh Fernandes, Editor of Scroll.in
The coveted RedInk Awards for Lifetime Achievement was bestowed on senior journalist and author Neerja Chowdhury for her long and distinguished coverage of politics and governance.
The ‘Journalist of the Year Award’ was shared by Dhanya Rajendran, Editor-in-chief of The News Minute, for her series on voter fraud, and independent journalist Sharad Vyas for his exposes on the Pegasus case. As many as 31 journalists were feted at the Grand finale with RedInk trophies and a cheque of Rs one lakh awarded in various categories of print, digital, and video reporting.
The RedInk Awards for Excellence in Journalism were set up 12 years ago to encourage good quality reporting and analysis, fair play, and high ethical standards in Indian journalism. It stands as a reminder of the larger purpose of journalism.
The title partner for RedInk Awards 2023 is Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEEL). Associate partners include Indiabulls Housing, Aditya Birla Group, L&T Finance, Finolex Industries, Adfactors PR, Concept Communication, and Pernod Ricard.
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