Sunday, December 26, 2010

MEDIA'S RESPONSIBILITY IN CONDUCTING FREE & FARE ELECTIONS IN INDIA

“Satyameva Jayate”, these two words are the inscription of the national emblem of India which symbolizes the governance in India, adapted from the pristine pillar of Ashoka, depicts that truth alone triumphs. Congenial to this, concept of media is also based on the principle of truth i.e. it supposes to deliver truth and only truth. So! If, both (govt. and media) reside on the concept of truth, then where do the false exist? The answer is embedded in the working methods of these two.

The word “media” reflects the connecting link between any two ends i.e. it involves flow of information from one end to another, here it envisages two collective terms (print media and electronic media) and both are supposed to be the most significant source of information available to both i.e. elite as well as common guild of society.

Media is a brand vehicle: Media provides a unique platform where one can get a reliable brand for the product so that it can be trusted by the mass. The most applicable tool of media is that it transforms rubble to palace, clay to gold, novice to expert, etc. The quality which makes it unique is that it can work in the reverse order as well i.e. it is adroit in converting palace to rubble, gold to clay and so on. By utilizing this unique feature of media, an appellant can avail justice while an innocent may be charged as a culpable, and it is this uniqueness of media which sometimes implants a stigma to its reliability.

Media makes govt.: Media makes a psychological impact on public and public being the basic unit of government, determines the establishment of governance in the country. No. doubt, media can create a freak in favor of one political guild and can ruin the repute of the other at the same time.

Role of media in elections: Media provides the complete profile of all the political parties taking part in the elections. Media conducts a 360 degree analysis of the entire process of election right from the announcement of various important dates and deadlines by the Election Commission including the dates for voter registration, the filing of nominations till the counting and declaration of the results, so that, even the most common person may come across to know about the right political party and right candidate of his choice, and hence, gives value to his vote. During the entire procedure of election, media is incessantly involved in the process as a watchdog and point out even the subtle details in front of the public.

Besides fulfilling just a mere duty to provide the details of election procedure, media should involve in propagating the healthy environment for the elections by conducting sensible discourses, procuring reliable data, encouraging the public to cast their vote and not to cast their caste. So! As media transforms its duty into the responsibility, we get the government of our choice.

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