The functions and responsibilities of press

The fourth-estate of any country occupies a pivotal position and with a neutral media, it becomes quite obvious for any nation to prosper to the epitome of glory. Sycophancy is at its peak and most of the scribes of our country are fond of currying favour with the politicians; unless and until this trend is reversed we cannot expect India to become a true democracy where the voice of the people/denizens is reflected through media. Abraham Lincoln once stated. "Democracy is all about finding the flaws and rectifying it; the voice of the press cannot be choked or else we are never ever going to rectify ourselves for the better". Mr. Lincoln is quite apt in his candid exposure of the skeleton of democracy and the satraps of our country need to perform a soul searching introspection whether they are the true pioneers of democracy or not! Merely shouting for the highest tag, "Biggest democracy of the world" does not entail them to become a true democracy in the real sense of the term. We all understand that the tagline is just a hoax when the voice of the people reflected through the process is completely blocked by the iron-hands and the red eyes of the leaders. Jawaharlal Nehru in his first speech to the nation wanted a clean and transparent press such that the rulers would be on their toes always and they would rectify their umpteen faux-pas committed. The big question now is — Why the media of our country has also become corrupted by playing a second fiddle to some political parties? Is it only money that is the root cause of their diversion or is it the erosion of ethics and morality? How can we expect them to lead a nation in the right channel when they themselves have diverted considerably? In the developed countries the press keeps the government always alert by bombarding with heavy shells against the government policies and that is the main reason why the progress over there is so radical. Criticism in a positive way is always beneficial for the ultimate progress and India should try to follow suit only for its own betterment — the easier it is the better it will be.