“Poverty in this country is not uni-dimensional. It is dynamic, never static and definitely not just about calories,” K. Nagaraj, professor and developmental economist, Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), said here on Saturday.
Participating in a panel discussion on “Poverty matters: Covering Deprivation in India” at the 3rd Bala Kailasam Memorial Awards for Innovative Use of Media for Social Causes, organised by Cinema Rendezvous Trust (CRT) at the Russian Cultural Centre here, he said that anyone can be pushed below the poverty line any time. “If the Prime Minister decides to make 88% of the currency invalid, it can happen,” he said.
Nalini Rajan, dean, ACJ and A.S. Panneerselvan, Readers’ Editor, The Hindu, participated in the discussion. Indian Express journalist Harish Damodaran won the award in the print medium category, Iswar Sreekumar and Anushka Meenakshi won the award in the documentary category and Sohini Chattopadhyay won it in the world wide web category.
M. Gunasekaran of News 18 , who won the award in the television category, dedicated it to the memory of Anita, who could not score enough marks in NEET though she had scored very high marks in plus 2. He urged the media, which is the voice of the voiceless to write, debate and argue to strengthen India’s federal structure and ensure that NEET is undone.
Shylaja Chetlur, founder and managing trustee, CRT, said the objective of the Trust was to appreciate and contribute to the art and culture platform.
