Media has Maintained Silence when Rights of Minorities Curbed - Prof Coutinho
Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (MM/RD) - pics - Ganesh S Perla
Mangalore, Aug 23: When the rights of minorities are being curbed by the government, the media has maintained silence, said Prof V B Coutinho, former vice-chancellor of Gulbarga University.
He was delivering the keynote address during the inaugural function of national conference on ‘Communicating in a New Way in the Media Age,’ organized by the Commission for Social Communications of Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) at Sandesha College of Fine Arts here on Thursday August 23.
Many a time, the governments have overruled the minority rights. Basically the policies of the governments have affected the educational institutions of minority sections of India. But the media did not raise its voice against injustice, he opined.
The media has done excellent job many a time by exposing the violation of human rights across the country. On the other hand, media has created problems by drawing wrong conclusions and judgements, Prof Coutinho informed.
Cardinal Telesphore Toppo, president, CBCI, in his inaugural address said that the media has the responsibility to foster deep respect for life and commitment to human rights.
The media also has the responsibility to oppose both monopoly and manipulation, to put media at the service of dialogue between people and cultures and to uphold cultural and spiritual values in the country, because, India is the cradle of many religions and people of India largely take pride in their religious and cultural values, Cardinal Toppo advised.
Fr Oswald Gracas, Archbishop of Mumbai and chairman for CBCI Commission for Communications, presided over the function. Bishops from all over the country were present at the national conference which would conclude on Sunday August 26.
Bishop Aloysius Paul D’Souza of Mangalore diocese welcomed the gathering and explained the significance of Mangalore city. Fr Henry D’Souza compered the programme.