The media in Kerala is fast becoming another axis of repression of marginalised communities and of human rights activists. The latest example is really bizarre. A documentary film was screened and a play performed at Lenin Balavadi in Trivandrum on Sunday,28th November. The documentary is by Someetharan, a film maker of some renown and was on the genocide of ethnic Tamils in Srilanka. It captured in terse images of gore and lament, a war waged by the Srilankan state against its own people. The play was by a theatre group from Pondicherry; some of the group members were traditional performing artists. It examined in great detail the algebra of ethnic hatred and violence and the absurdities that it throws up for us to grapple with. Both the documentary and the play were poignant and hard hitting and I left Lenin Balavadi late that evening feeling angry and sad. As the organisers point out, Srilanka is so near, yet we know so little about what is going on there. I told my friends about those images of war-ravaged bodies and landscapes which refuse to go away from my mind.
The next day, the organisers show the Mathrubhumi report on that evening’s proceedings. The report called it a “secret meeting” to propagate the cause of Tamil nationalism in Kerala and read it together with alleged infiltration of LTTE in the Kerala coast to consolidate its remaining forces. The “secret meeting”, any way, was included in Mathrubhumi’s “today’s programmes in the city” on that day. It quotes sources in police and intelligence to substantiate this argument and links all kinds of disparate pieces of information and misinformation. A bunch of concerned citizens meeting to understand what is going on in a neighboring country become terrorists and extremists at the hands of this newspaper. It is high time that we watch the media for such instances of repression and spread of misinformation. The mainstream media not only refuses to bring out the voices of marginalized communities, but also aids state repression through misreporting, slander and vilification. Sadly, the repression in this instance is directed against theatre and film. These fratricidal tendencies among media tell us that we live in interesting times: A time when an evening gathering becomes human rights activism at personal cost and risk.
* the link to the report http://www.mathrubhumi.com
Thanks Mythri.
ReplyDeleteSure, Anil. I should thank your inspiring company that day! :-)
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ReplyDelete"The mainstream media not only refuses to bring out the voices of marginalized communities, but also aids state repression through misreporting, slander and vilification. Sadly, the repression in this instance is directed against theatre and film,"
I agree that there is State repression against marginalized communities and the mainstream media is aiding and abetting the crime. But I feel these lines need clarity. It creates a sense that this time the documentary by Someetharan was targeted by the repressive State.
Dear Anon,
ReplyDeleteThe screening and performance led to police harassing the organisers. The police approached them with the newspaper clipping.They were questioned three times. The sense you got is not entirely misplaced.
Please check the report if you can read malayalam. The report quotes police sources. But the police goes with the report to the organisers the next day.
Thanks for your interest.
Mythri
Maybe it's a planted story. We know such stories appear in media everyday. Think of the mess they created before Ma'adani was arrested. I myself belong to that fraternity and am in the know.
ReplyDeleteBut here we can't blame the police entirely. As you know, they are bound to vet the whole gamut of the issue, once such a report appeared in a newspaper even if the story is planted with the help of certain police officers.
Mathrubhumi instilling fear: on The Hoot
ReplyDeleteപ്രിയപ്പെട്ട മൈത്രി
ReplyDelete,
മൈത്രി പറഞ്ഞ ഈ കാര്യങ്ങളോട് ഞാന്‍
പ്രാഥമികമായിയോജിക്കുന്നു. എന്നാല്‍ വിയോജിപ്പും
ഉണ്ട്. ആക്ടിവിസ്റ്റുകള്‍മീഡിയയോട് എങ്ങനെ സംവധിക്കുന്നതെന്നതും വിഷയമാണ്. മീഡിയ രംഗത്ത്
പ്രവര്‍ത്തി എടുക്കുന്നവരൊക്കെ ബാലിശമായി ചിന്തിക്കുന്നവര്‍
ആണെന്ന് കരുതരുത്. മീഡിയയെ സര്‍ക്കാര്‍
ഉപയോഗിക്കാനും തെറ്റിദ്ധരിപ്പിക്കാനും ശ്രമിക്കാറുണ്ട്. അതില്‍ നിന്നും
അതിനെ സ്വതന്ത്രമാക്കി ജനപക്ഷത്ത് നിര്‍ത്തണം. അതിനു
ആക്ടിവിസ്റ്റുകള്‍ ശ്രമം നടത്തണം.എന്നാല്‍ അത് പലപ്പോഴും നടക്കാറില്ല. ആക്ടിവിസ്റ്റുകള്‍ കപട ബുദ്ധിജീവികള്‍ കൂടിയാണല്ലൊ. ലെനിന്‍ ബാലവാടിയുടെ ഇപ്പോഴത്തെ നടത്തിപ്പുകാര്‍ അതിനു ഒരു ഉദാഹരണമാണ്. എന്നാല്‍
എല്ലാപേരെയും നമുക്ക് അങ്ങിനെ വിളിക്കാന്‍ പറ്റില്ല. ഞാന്‍
പറഞ്ഞുവരുന്നത് മാധ്യമങ്ങളുമായി ഉണ്ടാകേണ്ട ആരോഗ്യ കരമായ ഇടപെടലിനെ പറ്റിയാണ്. അത്
ഇല്ലാതെ വരുമ്പോഴാണ് ഇത്തരം വാര്‍ത്തകള്‍ ഉണ്ടാകുന്നത്.
ശശി,കമന്റിനു നന്ദി. ശശി പറഞ്ഞത് ശരിയാണ്. പക്ഷേ ഈ റിപ്പോര്‍ട്ടിന്റെ കാര്യത്തില്‍ വിയോജിപ്പുണ്ട്. കാരണം പോലീസ് പറയുന്നത് അതുപോലെ എഴുതിയെടുക്കുന്ന പത്രപ്രവര്ത്തകരെ ആര് വിചാരിച്ചാലും നന്നാക്കാന്‍ പറ്റില്ല!
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