What will happen if an errant journalist is not punished timely and duly for his/her eyeball-grabbing fake article on certain sensitive issues of national importance? The result will be ‘business as usual’ for the publishers and editorial team. Added to this scenario, the confidence of the publishers and writers will also be boosted and they will repeat such ‘smear’ without any ‘fear’.
After uploading a highly immoral and unwarranted story on Kulbhushan Jhadav, The Quint had it down with a rejoinder saying ‘Quint is re-checking’ the story when severe outrage erupted on Social Media against the article. Days passed now, they have altogether removed the article, but no ‘regrets’ or no ‘remorse’ forthcoming from The Quint. However considerable damage has already been done, and all the efforts of our Government to save this normal citizen of India Mr Kulbhushan Jhadav, has been severely hurt.
In April 2017 itself, I wrote a piece, presenting a frame by frame analysis of the video, and established the fact that, the purported video confession of Jhadav was, in fact, a foolishly doctored and poorly recorded video clip. Now the issue is, Journalistic ethics, that is, how our own Indian journalists can go like a ‘bull-in-a-china-shop’ manner without an air of accountability and a patriotic fervour? This tendency is more prominently being exhibited by the Left lenient online news portals including the print media.
The liberals may try to defend such articles as part of freedom of the press and part of fundamental journalistic objectives. But in reality, such ‘baseless’ articles on national security issues, if published without proper sources or verification, would simply amount to treason. Even if the article was prepared after sincere research and with solid evidence, the same cannot be published under any events for the simple reason that it would endanger the nation’s security and reputation.
At the outset, there can not be a positive objective in preparing this article on Jhadav. It is neither an issue of corruption, scam, embezzlement of national wealth, revenue, ex-chequer, black money or any related illegal activity concerning Indian citizens. It was a simple case of a sovereign nation’s duty-bound efforts to save its ordinary Citizen, from the death clutches of an enemy country, on enemy soil.
India has been vehemently arguing its case that Kulbhushan Jhadav was not an Indian designated spy under RAW, so a case of treason can be slapped on The Quint, on the same ground that the fake article has since damaged the reputation of RAW and India’s image as well, when our case is still awaiting an outcome in the ICJ. Also for the fact that RAW is not an espionage agency of Government of India like CIA or ISI, but the main objective of RAW is to safeguard the national interest and definitely not for fomenting subversive activities in other nations.
So, The Quint has no case and the Government should register a case against the Editor and the reporter for breaching ‘The Official Secrets Act’ in the interest of our nation’s security and credibility. More than for any other reason, a case is warranted for the reason that such a lackadaisical and indifferent attitude of the left lenient media, should not go unpunished and should not become a precedent in future either. A timely punishment alone will tame the anti-national razing Bull.
