Any attempt to impose a fascist or totalitarian system of government begins with the regime’s firm control on a country’s media. It is the case of a blackout in Kashmir but even in the rest of the country, an attempt to subjugate media is being actively carried out by the dispensation and its supporters. A paper like The Hindu was abused on social media for its Rafale revelations. The ruling party never condemned such acts by its supporters. At the end of the day, more than the publishers being denied the right to publish, it is the readers who are deprived of their right to know the facts (Editorial page, “The drumbeaters of dystopia,” Sept. 11).
A.G. Rajmohan,
Anantapur
Both the willingness of major sections of the Indian media to toe the line of the establishment and the government’s arm-twisting in the form of threats to ban advertisements have been completely exposed. In their scramble to promote the government’s misadventures, news outlets have acted as cheerleaders on various issues — be it demonetisation or the abrogation of Kashmir’s special status. On its part, the government, through its PR outreach, has made the vast majority believe that nothing can go wrong as far as its leader is concerned; as a corollary, any criticism of the leader is treated as an affront to the entire nation. Instead of holding a mirror to the establishment, the fourth estate has been trying to press the point that a leadership that attempts the ‘unimaginable’ and ‘unthinkable’ is always right.
G.B. Sivanandam,
Coimbatore
