Social Responsibility

In a country (India) where media influences the masses, news is like Bollywood 'hit' songs. When one good song is released the previous song goes into oblivion. People start listening & humming the new track & the old ones, even if it was a 'super-hit' song, fades from memory. So is the case with news on TV, print or any media.

As far as my memory goes - these were the headlines that were in the limelight of the varios media - the shocking murder of Arushi & who did it? - an eye opener for parents, the plight of Gujjars & their fight, followed by the CBI's startling revealations of Arushi's murder. Then we were busy talking about the Ino-US nuclear deal, what is it, who will benefit and so on which led to the Left's threat & finally the withdrawal of support to the UPA government. Will the UPA govt survive or is it election time? No, it was the time for horse trading which eventually culminated in the survival of UPA govt & disgraceful cash-in-parliament episode.

Before the culprits of the scam could be collared, the horrific serial bomb blasts in Bangalore & Ahmedabad & the hunt for the terrorists sweeped the attaention. This took a back stage once the Amarnath land dispute erupted & the agitation that paralysed normal life to thousands of people. Then came the Singur farmers land compensation issue & the Nano-Mamta stand off in West Bengal and also the Bihar floods where over 2.5million people were affected - homeless, marooned & many dead. The rescue operations were nowhere near enough.

When a news gathers momentum- we talk about it, discuss about it, argue & debate on it... They invariably take a place in social gatherings, office corridors... Watch lengthy debates & discussion programmes on TV channels with immense interest...

But the point, is we never go to the root of these issues or problems trying to find solutions & implement them, so that they do not occur again. We follow these issue or events for a short span of time & then the trail goes cold, never finding the culprits. Adding to this is the media who is busy with latest & 'breaking news', that the old ones gather dust. So, should the media have a bigger & better social responsibility?

Have we become a callous society of extremely self centric people. As some body said the other day - a dead people walking society...