ARVIND SWAMINATHAN writes from Madras: Now that CNN-IBN’s editor-in-chief Rajdeep Sardesai and NDTV’s managing editor Barkha Dutt have become the first television journalists in the history of independent India to get the Padma awards, they must do three things.
1) They must revel in the high honour. They must thank everybody including the viewers who silently saluted their successes and withstood their excesses, and not forget to include Prannoy Roy in their prayers.
2) They must send thank-you SMSes to friends and admirers who have been greeting them, send sweets to their guests and interviewees, and thank their colleagues and employees.
3) And, thirdly, then they must call up Rashtrapati Bhavan and politely decline the Padma Shri: “Thank you for recognising us. We mean no disrespect to the honour or to the other awardees, but we have to say no.”
Make no mistake. The Padma Shri is not be sniffed at. It’s the nation’s fourth highest civilian award. For Rajdeep to get it at 43, and for Barkha to get it at 37 making her “the youngest journalist to receive it,” as her channel has been crowing since last night, is a significant feat in their very fine, individual careers, whether you like them and their channels. Or not.
But they must still say no.
Reason No. 1: They must say no, because working journalists who are still at the peak of their careers must decline any kind of honour from the government of the day. Yes, the Padma Shri comes in the name of the President, but it is the government which tells her who she should give it to.
Rajdeep and Barkha may argue that the Padma Shri is not a freebie, that scores of print journalists, many of whose contributions are a mystery even to this day, have walked away unquestioned. So, why should we decline? Answer: to stray off the beaten print path, set a TV trend, and tell the government that journalists are only doing a job.
Journalists are not hermits. But if they must accept prizes, awards, and honours, it must be from professional organisations, not from the government. And if they must accept it from the government, it must be after they have hung up their hair blowers, and are no longer in positions of power as journalists.
A bit like Vinod Dua, the third television recipient to get the honour this year.
Reason No. 2: Both CNN-IBN and NDTV have borne the brunt of a relentless attack from the BJP and the rest of the right wing, who have parodied the alleged pseudo-secularism of the channels. The attack has been petty, baseless and has usually come from those who have no understanding of the true role of journalism and journalists.
Rajdeep and Barkha must say no not to spite the saffron brotherhood but to show that they were not hankering after awards while reporting what they did.
The Padma Shri comes from the Congress-led UPA government in its final if not penultimate year in office. What the honour does is to expose them and their channels to the unfair charge of being recipients of the largesse of an outgoing “pseudo-secular” government.
You can very well imagine the shouting brigade of the lunatic fringe dining on this crumb for days and months to come, especially in an election year.
Neither Rajdeep Sardesai nor Barkha Dutt can prefix their names with Padma Shri, but even if they could, they are better off declining it. Since both are television people, they will realise the TRPs that the heroic act of saying no will fetch them not just in tonight’s bulletins but for a long time to come in the eyes of the viewers.
Photographs: courtesy Indian Embassy, Greece; CNN-IBN
Cross-posted on sans serif
Here they are..Rajdeep and Barkha who have been awarded the Padma Shri for their excellent service to the congress and the left…oops..I mean service to the public through journalism.
These two pathetic turds should be confined to the radio–out of sight, I mean. The awards are clearly motivated. But then what do you expect from UPA?!!
Whatever their ideological convictions, I think Barkha and Rajdeep would be doing journalism a great service by turning these down.
The reasons to decline are logical
1) Kuladip Nayyar has exclusively pointed out in Asian Age about what is wrong with these awards and how and why the stalwarts of Indian freedom movement refused these awards. Refer http://www.asianage.com/presentation/columnisthome/kuldip-nayar-.aspx
2) Indian constitution prohibited these tiitles. Refer to Kuladip Nayyar’s article on reasons why Indian constitution banned these. Also you can read chapter on Artilce 18 of Constitution using the google books here (http://books.google.com/books?id=veDUJCjr5U4C&pg=PA113&lpg=PA113&dq=no+title+not+being+a+military+or+academic+distinction+shall+be+conferred+by+the+state&source=web&ots=EDRLZxDh6b&sig=_qZSfUycyamOl9VzsKnAdi9ERi8)
How can they turn it down ? iam sure Both lobbied for the Award or One was finalised and then the other was added to ensure that the rivals are compensated.It is a shameful act by the UPA led by the Congress and it is given for the ANTI MODI and ANTI BJP coverage.However the coverage failed in its objective and that is one victory for the common man.
While I do admire both for most parts, I think it is definitely premature for both. They would do themselves, and their ilk good if they turned it down. But I’m not confident that will happen …
I can understand Barkha dutt but not sardesai. Journalist Sainath another icon also Suchetha dalal,Kalpana sharma
Hi,
I cannot help laughing after hearing about the recipient names.
Rajdeep and Bharka had conducted TV shows last week, the undercurrent being the awards are of no relevance or are of lesser importance…
The end results of both the programs ending with no conclusion and positive result…
And the anchors of these programs receive the awards….
What a country ….
Madhav
This time its been mockery at the awards itself. Check out the list of Padma vibhushan, pranab mukharjee ;) BJP will start giving to its minister. Also i was laughing my heart out when i saw the name of Sringeri mutt admin’s name in the list of padma sree. Some god fearing minister seems to have influenced the decision.
Isnt it interesting that just a few days back, NDTV awards the leader oft he award to Manmohan Singh and now he returns the favour by awarding Barkha and Rajdeep. Good going Congress, you have take nepotism to even more heights.
And Congress awards Padmashree to its own minister. Wah Wah.
Arvind says: The attack has been petty, baseless and has usually come from those who have no understanding of the true role of journalism and journalists.
Can you please name these petty and baseless reasons? Please….
The commentetor has rightly stated, these two “journalists” must decline this award.
From Kuldip’s article mentioned by Narayana:
Once the then President, Dr Rajendra Prasad, added one name when I was still in the ministry. He wrote in his own hand the name of a lady from the South (name intentionally withheld). We, in the home ministry, worked hard to find out who she was. There was an educationist by that name in Tamil Nadu. We informed her that she had been selected for the Padma Shri award. But when the list went back to Dr Prasad, he wrote that she was a nurse. His ADC informed us that she had treated him when he fell ill while returning to Hyderabad by road. That year two ladies by the same name received the award.
http://www.asianage.com/presentation/columnisthome/kuldip-nayar-.aspx
Since I’ve been working with Rajdeep Sardesai for some years now, let me say that the man deserves every bit of the honour he has been bestowed with. I’m yet to see a journalist who is as driven, passionate and committed about his job as Rajdeep is. He will definitely go on to achieve even bigger things in life. A great journalist and a superb human being.
@Rajdeep’s colleague : I’m sure there are at least a hundred journos who meet that criteria albeit not as high flying..
I hope that militants in pakistan get hold of their nukes and drop couple of them on new delhi!! Hope that people like rajdeep and barkha are there at that time…
Thanks for letting us know .Mr Rajdeep’s colleague.
But do you know that there is something called “Conflict of Interest” in professions.
Fourth estate is supposed to guard us against the errors in governance.
If Rajdeep accepts the awards it will be like running with the hares and then hunting with the hounds. We are living in democracy… he has every right to go ahead and accept the awards.. In fact I am going to take a shot at Bharath Ratna next year as described in my blog. But I do not have conflict of interest.. it is for a noble guru dakshina..
@ Doddi Buddi, Kadana Kuthuhala
Why do I find find the choice of words insulting and offensive? What gives anybody the right to call two people “pathetic turds” or hope they are nuked merely because they may represent a political or ideological point of view that contests our own?
Simple civility demands that we debate issues without getting personal. If the macho cheddis of churumuri hiding behind their anonymous night gowns cannot open their oral orifices without sounding like sailors, they should either get the hell out or seek some counselling.
Yashica,
Sure I agree. Sometimes the civility offends one so much we tend to highlight our responses. So here we go. I find them pathetic turds because they are so one-sided in their approach to news. It was no insult just a way of description stating my disappointment with their objectivity. Sardesai hurts the eye and he speaks like a retard–all these are my own thoughts about his way of reporting news, that’s all. Is he a real turd pathetic or otherwise in life-threatening situations? I don’t know and none of my business.
Also, I have no idea whether your name ‘Yashica’ is your own, real or imaginary and I don’t care.
I think congress and their partner in bed rajdeep should take socialism and shove it up their a**. How many times has Rajdeep been neutral in his reporting? People like him are a disgrace to journalism! If rajdeep wants to su** up to those mullahs or sonias or manmohans he should leave india and set up his news base in peshawar or in kandahar..
R’s colleague – so everybody who is passionate and dedicated about their job gets a Padmashree? One does not need to get a State sponsored reward for doing one’s job sincerely. Especially if your work requires you to be impartial. An award from a professional body would be a better recognition as it would be from one’s peers and there would be some objectivity to it. If at all he goes on to achieve bigger things and as you suggest and stops being an active journalist, then panelists could evaluate his body of work and then decide to give him an award.
I agree with Yashica. The debate over whether Rajdeep and Barkha should reject the award or not is an interesting one. But, it would do well without verbal terrorism resorted to by some of the participants in the debate.
The debate should also be expanded to include the proposal to confer knighthood on Sachin Tendulkar. Should the master batsman reject the award for the policy of imperialism practiced by Britain of which India was one of the major victims. Or for supporting the unjustified war on Iraq by the US-led troops.
These darbari “journalists” got it made the moment the Sonia sarkar decided to award them for their unflagging loyalty to the grand old party of India.
Since they have been given the awards, they can either
1] accept the awards and parade themselves as padma-whatever award winners.
2] they decline the award and parade themselves as the courageous public in-tah-lec-tuals who declined a prestigious award
Win win in any case.
***
And Congress awards Padmashree to its own minister. Wah Wah.
Think of it this way. Suppose you are the secular chief minister of a state (let us call this imaginary state Vihar) and you also happen to be the father of a child prodigy (in say cricket). Now to appear “just” you can refuse your son a state award he richly deserves, but then you can decide to do the right thing, and refuse to penalize your son for being your son and give him the recognition he richly serves.
Next, realizes that Gandhi family is India (and vice versa) and services to the family is a high form of patriotic duty (perhaps the highest form of patriotic duty) and … [you can complete the rest].
***
The debate should also be expanded to include the proposal to confer knighthood on Sachin Tendulkar.
Are Indians eligible for knighthood, I was under the impression that one had to be a subject of the queen to be eligible for the dubious honor.
Indians are a pretty bizarre specie. They have a morbid fascination for anything that has to do with titles and awards. Status is big amongst Indians. They will beg, badger and harangue the queen and her ghost, if necessary, for pretentious titles. It does not stop at that, Oh No!! They have to rub the award into your face at the slightest whiff of an opportunity!!
Can you fucking believe it? There are people dying of starvation while some ass wipe reporter demands of the British PM that his country confer a knighthood on the patron saint of Indian cricket ? *laughing out Loud* The fucking gall man!!
The Indian guy will be the only person to address a knighted man as sir so and so as though the knighthood were some manna from heaven!! Is it any wonder then that a nation of pretentious pricks will stop at nothing to have their names etched on some plaque?
Thats a new one:
‘macho cheddis’
hehe
Burkha dutt richly deserves this award for giving away our army positions during her reporting in Kargil war. This faux paus of her caused a few deaths of our valiant soldiers who otherwise would have lived to see another day…
Rajdeep Sardesai also deserves this award for the one on one meeting with Mushy in Islamabad, where he did everything except lick mushy’s polished boots, and eventually got the tie mushy was wearing as a momento,
These two surely deserve it more than Arun Shourie deserved the Magsaysay.
Wonder why no one uses foul language to condemn the likes of Arun Shourie? Because Congress supporters have good taste. Thats why they support the Congress!
Thoughtful post though, churumuri.
Rajdeep and Barkha have received the well deserved padma awards for their unflinching service to the congress and the left. Their dedication towards the congress and left is really admirable and was so evident during the reporting of the Gujarat elections. They really needed something nice to pep up their spirits after they (Yes NDTV and Times Now) lost in gujarat. We saw how they fought the elections against Modi and lost and now their sponsors and patrons the congress have not forgotten their service towards their party. What if they have lost a battle thy still have many battles where the conggies and commies would further need the services of Ms Dutt and Mr Sardesai. Hats off to the padma awardees.
Indian, sorry. I wouldn’t know whether Shourie deserved the magsaysay or not. But he surely did better than either of these two. His expose on the cement scandal was fabulous. It brought down a whole government. There was an oil scandal that he exposed which was also phenomenal. Barkha, at the peak of her reporting days would land up some fifty kilometers from the place where the war took place and we would here her telephonic report on NDTV. Mr.Sardesai doesn’t have any great exploits to his credit either. It’s just that both these got marketed very well by the networks they worked for.
Arun Shourie’s brilliance, service, integrity and commitment to India’s prosperity is unmatched among journalists today. This is a guy that left loon “economists” fear to tangle with, because he really knows his economics. Rajdeep, Barkha, and the other clothes horses and airheads will sound stupid whatever award they win.
…..and the award celebrates the mediocracy
Why you guys worry? If this goes on, the awards will be renamed ‘Chamcha Shri’ and ‘Chamcha Vibhushan’ in a couple of years!
Rightly said, Kaangeya!
Mayura,
Brilliant! Yes I remember the asinine turd Rajdeep genuflecting before Mush! Then there was this professor during the Agra Summit–Ashuthosh Varshney –who expressed so much admiration for Mush, I thought he may start doing something deeply embarrassing with Mush any second!
DB,
They are all birds of same feathers. I still remember when these psec journos were invited for breakfast meeting with Mushy during Agra summit and the breakfast meeting was surreptiously aired on PTV without the knowledge of our psec doofuses and they were made to look like jackasses.
I also remember, the ever so gentle admonition article that Premshankar Jha wrote in outlook after this incident. But surprisingly, they have not lost their love for mushy and pak
Ban these awards, i dont find any honour in these awards, actors like jeetendra, dharmendra, mithun chakraborthy not awarded yet & actors like akshay kumar been awarded, is it correct? I say no
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” The attack has been petty, baseless and has usually come from those who have no understanding of the true role of journalism and journalists.”
– Even though I don’t agree with many of what Bhamy S says, I admire the manner he’s at hand to defend his writings. That’s courage.
Will Shri ARVIND SWAMINATHAN show similar courage and clarify what he means by this baseless allegation against detractors of the duo?
If not the author, will any of his or the duo’s supporters take on this challenge?