Venkaiah Naidu Says Do Not Trust India’s English Media
The Vice President of India, M. Venkaiah Naidu, has advised the Foreign Correspondents not to depend on what appears in India’s “hyper critical” English media and form opinions.
He was addressing the gathering at the 60th anniversary of The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of South Asia, in Delhi on Saturday.
Naidu’s damning comments on Indian media have come at a time when it is widely reported that press freedom in India is under increasing threat.
A couple of days ago, Congress – an opposition political party in India – warned that the government headed by Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi may soon attack freedom of digital media.
Congress claimed that the Information & Broadcasting (I&B) Minister Smriti Irani, who looks after media affairs, will try to control freedom of expression on digital media news properties.
[ Modi’s Nationalism Is Threat to Press Freedom in India: Global Report ]
Naidu said that Foreign Correspondents must be well acquainted with that particular country’s culture, history, ethos, traditions and the ways of living of its people, before covering developments or any events in that country.
He further said that the entire country cannot be described as intolerant on the basis of some stray incidents of communal violence. If a handful of religious fundamentalists indulge in violence, the entire country cannot be described as intolerant and that majoritarianism is being imposed, he added.
The Vice President said that understanding a flourishing and vibrant parliamentary democracy like India, with free press and complete religious freedom to its people is a bit challenging for outsiders.
He urged external media agencies working in India to understand India by travelling in the region and meeting people.
Photo courtesy: Press Information Bureau
