Pics: Umesh Marpalli
Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (HB)
Udupi, Oct 17: Noted columnist and head of Observer Research Foundation Sudheendra Kulkarni, who was recently splattered with black paint by Shiv Sena activists ahead of the book launch of former Pakistan foreign minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri in Mumbai, on Saturday October 17 said that the incident was not an attack on him but on the image of India as a democratic, developing, free nation.
Addressing reporters during his visit to Manipal, he said, "I have not received any threat after the incident, but the union government on its own has given me security, and I am thankful for that. The prorgramme we organized (book launch) was an important one and it was not unlawful. It is our right. I had told Uddhav Thackeray (Shiv Sena chief) that it was our right to organize such programme, and it was his right to protest peacefully. I also told him we respect his right to protest peacefully and lawfully, but he too should respect our right to organize a programme. That is democracy. But somehow, he did not understand and they protested in their own way. Such anti-democratic elements should not raise their heads in our country.
"Such incidents damage India's image. The paint attack was not on me but on the image of India as a thriving democratic, developing, free nation," he asserted.
"This incident has had impact on the bilateral relations between India and Pakistan. It is not just an issue about freedom of expression, but also about dialogue between the two countries. Some people are against it, but a majority of the people want India to hold talks with Pakistan and resolve all issues through dialogue. Not only that, people in Pakistan have realized that there are some people in India who want to have a good relation with Pakistan, and that is a good sign and it gives me hopes of better relations between the two nations in future. War is not all a solution for India-Pakistan problem - it is totally ruled out. We have to take the dialogue route only," he said.
On the murder of Kannada scholar and writer Prof M M Kalburgi, he said, "There should not be atmosphere of insecurity in the nation. The murder of Prof Kalburgi was highly condemnable and the culprits should be given the maximum punishment." He also criticized the Dadri incident and said the people and the government should work towards ensuring such incidents do not occur again.
He also delivered the M V Kamath Endorsement Lecture at School of Communication, Manipal University on 'Communication for a better world - why and how the media should be reformed'.
Addressing the students, Kalkurni said, "There is no community without communication. Man cannot live without communication. In 1947, India's population was 35 crore and out of that, 84,000 used telephones. In 1990, there were five million telephones. Today, the population has reached 125 crore and 90 crore have mobile phones.
"Communication paves the way for a creative world. All positive thinkers feel that a better world is possible through communication. Words have the power to educate and inspire the people of the society, and ideas have the power to awaken the public and ignite minds. Through ommunication, we can keep culture and civilization alive. It is for this reason that freedom of faith and expression is regarded as the fundamental freedom of every civilization. This freedom sets the platform for India’s Constitution.
"Mahatma Gandhi conveyed his message with utrmost gravity even in the age of very limited access to communication. A lot of changes have taken place in the media field since Independence, and media has become commercialised and is being manipulated by politicians," he said.
"We must create a hunger-free society. We really need Digital India and we need to support the idea of a digital nation to become prosperous. Due to advancement of information technology, humanity is not as personally inter-connected as it was before. Communication helps to reduce dehumanization of the world.
"I believe that a better world is indeed possible. People of all ages and from all parts of the world believe that a better world is necessary. This requires various kinds of action in the form of communication. Today journalism is a small part of communication.
"The present media has very little connection with the feelings of the masses. Fortunately there is a partial change for the better due to the advent of the internet. It is also reforming the noble profession of journalism. Readers of print media are no longer passive consumers because of the internet.
"Freedom means questioning the self and one's own belief. The media should be honest, accurate, ideal and objective," he said.
During the interactive session, when he was asked a question on the paint attack on him at Kasuri book launch he said, "The incident has disturbed peace in the society, but if I get a chance, I will do it again."