Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami’s arrest by police today morning from his Mumbai residence is an assault on the media and free speech. Equally, if not more, deplorable is the News Broadcasters Association’s (NBA’s) muted response to the outrage. <a href="https://indianarrative.com/opinion/conservative_estimates/first-they-came-for-arnab-goswami-and-republic-tv-18685.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Earlier</a>, it had indulged in moral equivalence. Today, it exhibited pusillanimity; it didn’t condemn the arrest but “the manner in which Arnab Goswami” was arrested. In other words, the prime body of Indian broadcasters has no problems with the arrest of a journalist.
In sharp contrast, the Editors Guild of India unequivocally slammed Goswami’s arrest by the Maharashtra Police in a 2018 abetment to suicide case. “The Editors Guild of India is shocked to learn about the arrest of Arnab Goswami, editor-in-chief of Republic TV, in the early hours of Wednesday by the Police. Goswami was arrested from his Mumbai residence reportedly an abetment to suicide case. We condemn the sudden arrest and find it extremely distressing,” the Guild, headed by senior journalist Seema Mustafa, said in a statement soon after the arrest.
A clear stand, no ifs and buts, no sermons about Goswami’s style of journalism. Similarly, Indian Women’s Press Corps has also slammed the Maharashtra government for his arrest: “Mr. Goswami had been cooperating with the police and going to the police station each time he was summoned. The Maharashtra government’s use of its police force reeks of cynical and self-serving vendetta.”
The women journalists’ body also said, “The Maharashtra government must realize that the arbitrary nature of Mr. Goswami’s arrest not just violates the principle of liberty, but also seeks to tamp down principles of free speech and expression enshrined in our Constitution.” Further, “The IWPC believes that the Maharashtra government’s attack on the press is dangerous for the media and the people at large.”
The NBA’s statement, on the other hand, was laced with homilies and hedging. It said, “Even though NBA does not agree with his type of journalism, we denounce retaliatory action, if any by the authorities against a media editor. Media is not above the law but due process must be followed.”
Notice “his type of journalism.” Also notice “if any.” The NBA, headed by India TV owner Rajat Sharma, is not willing to accept and say that the action against Goswami is retaliatory in nature. Everybody knows that but not Sharma. He seems to be jealous of the success of Goswami’s channels, especially the one in Hindi.
Earlier too, the NBA had placed the media and the police on the same moral footing—an egregious error. It had also said, “We do not approve of the kind of journalism that is being practised by Republic TV.”
The Rajat Sharma-headed NBA preaching about the norms of journalism is like Xi Jinping lecturing the world how to treat religious and ethnic minorities. Sharma became successful by running a bhoot-pret channel; that is how people regarded India TV till some time back. He was the country’s most prominent yellow journalist till a few years ago; now the broadcasters’ body he heads is sermonizing about media ethics!
The NBA’s cowardice and opportunism are shocking..
