I am sorry but i feel no sorrow for his death. He was a class-A cunt, was the money-maker for the BJP. He accpeted paybacks worth thousands of crores to give Reliance political and economic clearances and he was also a direct suspect in the murder of Indian Express special correspondent Shivani Bhatnagar four years ago. Everyone seems to have forgotten that. He came from a small viallge in Beed and made a fortune of 2000 crores, mostly pay-offs from Reliance. Why is no one investigating that? Now no one will cos it is not in keeping with Indian culture to bad mouth the dead. Next we will mourn Advani's death as if he was the greatest political leader in India. and then Narendra Modi. I wish he rests in a turmoil.
Hey may have had his misgivings and I'm sure as a politician he didn't have a clean bill either, but that doesn't mean he deserved to die the way he did. And no matter how many blemishes his political life carried- he was still a family man. It was a terrible way to end a life. Nobody should die that way.
I don't see why he should rest in peace if he had a hand in a murder. I cannot fathom the kind of sympathy wave goign around and considering this is done by all dailies including the Indian Express. The way they are covering his death, they are being indifferent to corrupt politicians who might have a future in India. They were billing him as a future Prime Minister as if to say its ok if he has accpeted kickbacks but he can be the PM, if he is a little more liberal and progressive. Almost like the journalist died in the line of duty and Mahajan has become a martyr for fighting death for two weeks and then succumbing. Who deserves to die anyway? How can you say someone deserved to die in this way or that way. Any kind of death is paradoxical to life and thus nobody who has live deserves to die. But if someone has died then it does not mean you have to be a sycophant and disregard all that was wrong. Would you do it if Osama Bin Laden passed away after battling cancer for 2 years. You would still focus only on everything he did bad. Why not here, then? Would you sympathise with bin Laden if he dies in the worst manner? Maybe Pramod mahajan has not killed as many people as Laden. but one life, thousand lives. It's all the same to me. Politicians such as Mahajan are the worst kind, those who put forward a good face but are nothign but scum. Not a word on it. It is sickening. I have lost all hope of issues, events, people and processes being covered objectively. such instances only reassure me.
I have to take Aristotle's view on this point(hehe). Our governance is the perverse form of the governance by many...democracy. It can be safely surmised that all politicians of India, barring none, have to deal under the table at some point in their political life. So I strongly disagree with Nikhil, who is trying to bring out those aspects of Mahajan's career which are a part and parcel of each and every politican's career, in varying degrees. I say, let the field be level. Given their nature to take kickbacks, we have to judge them on their ability to inspire the masses, stir a revolution, work their way up, changing their reality for the better or for worse.
Now we accept that corruption is not OK, but since everyone is corrupt (politics only), let's just take it out of the bracket.
Going by that, We should put Bhagat Singh and Osama on one field because they both killed some people for what they believed was (is) a true cause. In fact they both inspired people (each in their way), they both stirred some kind of revolution, they have worked their way up (one through sacrifice and the other through terror) and they have changed some reality, i suppose. I know those things in the bracket make all the difference but isn't that the defining characteristic of all people. How they do is as important as what they do. I am not suggesting for one minute that BS and OBL are one and the same. But if we are choosing that there be level fields before judging politicians and revolutionaries, this will happen. We cannot do that because it is plain stupid. And we don't want to be stupid.
Mahajan's family surely is grieving the tragedy. We should not be unsensitive and numb and throw his wrongs in their faces. but Mahajan worked for more than his family. He worked for the country, he worked for other people. We have to take that into consideration. That he was murdered does not absolve him off all his crimes. Let's just be objective about it and show both his sides. We should griev the loss of a politician who knows the people. His loss shall certainly be a tough gap to fill. But let's look beyond that. What he did in politics was both good and bad. If we focus only on the good then it becomes a unbalnced look. The BJP itself constantly rubs it in the Gandhi family's faces by bringing up Bofors and Rajiv Gandhi. Not a great example but instead of rubbing it in, we can make a point by telling it as it is. That should be the hallmark of any journalist. not be lop-sided and take in all versions of the story and tell it as it is. That nobody is doing it is my grouse. Nothing against Mahajan.
I agree with you Nikhil, fair journalese is the only way ahead. However, this is a very sensitive issue. No one contests the fact that Mahajan had tainted money or perhaps took part in other illegal acts. But one must remember that a leader was killed. A man was killed by his brother. It was sudden and shocking. Fair journalese is not incompatible with sensitivity and respect for the dead. The can of worms may open a few days from now- but now isn't the time for it.
Nikhil, your former point troubles me, but the latter point I agree with.
I meant, as far as INDIAN politicians are concerned, the only thing worth judging(if at all any) would be the points aforementioned. You are bringing in a revolutionary and a global terrorist from different eras together. This, I wouldn't call "level field". Moreover, revolutionaries and terrorists, are but subjective terms, so, in order to avoid debate let us assume one frame of reference. Reduce your sample set to contemporary Indian politcians, apply a standard set of criteria and proceed.
Then again, it is not as easy I am trying to portray it. Different frames, will necessitate different criteria, leading to different conclusions.
Your point regarding journalism is noted, but after all, journalists are humans, governed by their sensibilities. Cheers!
I learnt a lot about liver, pancreas and respiratory stuff thanks to Mahahjan ... nice discussion ... instead of adding to it since almost every point been discussed , i must say i agree with Nikhil...Though what he desires will never been seen in any form of media .. people cant digest the truth really .. feed them lies or biased viewpoints and they are happy... Had the issue been covered in the way Nikhil wanted it to be .. that particular media house would have gone under .. ransacked by BJP workers and under immense pressure from politicians...
I strongly disagree with you Harsh. Atleast during the current situation- the last 14 days or so. When a man is dying, you don't expose him. Like I mentioned before- sensible journalism isn't insensitive journalism. It isn't just BJP workers who would have been angered by an expose on Mahajan's deeds, whatever they may be, it would have had thousands of other people up in arms. Respect for the dying really isn't such a tough concept. And regardless of your valid viewpoints I am thankful that our media hasn't yet become so cut-throat that we'd expose a dying man, a murdered man. Why do you think no media house has jumped on the opportunity to investigate Mahajan yet? You just don't do that while someone is dying. And Nikhil, respect for the dead or dying isn't an Indian concept, its a humane concept. However, all that being said, take a look at the competition in media today. There are more channels and more papers functioning than ever before. What happens when there is intense competition- there is the need to break away and attract readers with a scoop, no matter how sordid it may be. Take a look around, its the case not just in India but all over the world. Mahajan's murder is a plum opportunity- and media houses are not stupid. They've waited until the man passed away, they probably won't wait much longer. Who will give up an expose such as this? But you're right Harsh, hurry or overdo it, and the BJP will be up in arms. Still, concerns such as these have never stopped the media from raking up the muck. Anyhow, like I said before, there are many many things to lament about and improve in India's media- but atleast we understand common respect.
Now tending the line between sensitivity and objectivity is a tricky business.. Mahajan could have easily continured in this state for another 30 days .. so in order to be sensitive to him or his family i have to keep my mouth shut till the bugger dies ??..There is also the concept of timing , timing the news to perfection is important or it will loose whatever impact it has .. now the Mahajan issue is out of the public eye .. he is dead .. now if some media channel rakes up his past .. there wont be enough audience to listen to it or the chance to change anyones opinion about him There were hundreds of character sketches in the media and every single one just eulogizes him .. thus the opinion of him has become of someone who has done great good for the country and its people and lead a principled life.. Now is that a valid opinion .. Can the media change this opinion now and bring out the true picture ? They have no oppurtunity to that now .. Aren't we simply misleading here ? This very sensitivity in our approach to things makes it easy for people in this country to get away with many things.. I doubt there will be any expose as such ... and if they then it is simply perverse journalism now .. waiting for a man to die before taking his case.. it would be more sickening
Media houses aren't silly enough to give up on opportunities such as these Hammy. Lest they're also paid to keep mum, ofcourse. Which would be just shameful. I feel like I must clarify. I'm absolutely pro telling the people what politicians are really all about, dead or alive. And although I sympathise totally with the Mahajan family, I do not support the recent "Laxman" label. I still feel that media houses will not pass up an opportunity of this sort and there will be a scoop of sorts. My only contention is the timing of the same. I am entirely non-political, but if someone had expose-d Mahajan while he was dying, I would most definitely have been one of the people up in arms.
Can we continue the discussion on my blog. I have more than a single photograph of a candle. I have five lines on my blog and a charming photo of the deadman. And i don't even moderate comments. Fascist Banglorean bloggers who have got into MICA but are stiull studying politics somewhere. I depise them. Having more than 20 comments can make you blog popular and very harmful for your fingers.
At the current stage that news media in India is, when there is cometition, they don't do something different, they do what the other guy's doing. Because each one is shit scared. So they'l all be the same so that the numbers will more or less distribute equally among the competitiors and there'l be some sort of equillibrium. Thats what I see.
No media house was gonna say that Pramod Mahajan was curropt and might have had a hand in killing a journalist. Thats not because his suporters will trash their offices, but because people don't want to see it. When people watched the news for the 10 days, it was like an edge of the seat thriller - whats gonna happen next - whats gonna happen next. So u just feed it and keep the viewers happy.
Everyone would have loved it if it had lasted another ten days. The TRP's would have come down like jack tumbling down the hill. But lathi charged up medical students r giving the News some life. Its not news. Its entertainment. Its not journalism. Journalism is a subject taught in schools. Thats about it. In the age of information, when there is so much information, who needs information?
If a dead man could contest elections, Pramod Mahajan would win.
I am sorry but i feel no sorrow for his death. He was a class-A cunt, was the money-maker for the BJP. He accpeted paybacks worth thousands of crores to give Reliance political and economic clearances and he was also a direct suspect in the murder of Indian Express special correspondent Shivani Bhatnagar four years ago. Everyone seems to have forgotten that. He came from a small viallge in Beed and made a fortune of 2000 crores, mostly pay-offs from Reliance. Why is no one investigating that? Now no one will cos it is not in keeping with Indian culture to bad mouth the dead.
Next we will mourn Advani's death as if he was the greatest political leader in India. and then Narendra Modi.
I wish he rests in a turmoil.
Hey may have had his misgivings and I'm sure as a politician he didn't have a clean bill either, but that doesn't mean he deserved to die the way he did. And no matter how many blemishes his political life carried- he was still a family man. It was a terrible way to end a life. Nobody should die that way.
I don't see why he should rest in peace if he had a hand in a murder.
I cannot fathom the kind of sympathy wave goign around and considering this is done by all dailies including the Indian Express. The way they are covering his death, they are being indifferent to corrupt politicians who might have a future in India. They were billing him as a future Prime Minister as if to say its ok if he has accpeted kickbacks but he can be the PM, if he is a little more liberal and progressive.
Almost like the journalist died in the line of duty and Mahajan has become a martyr for fighting death for two weeks and then succumbing.
Who deserves to die anyway? How can you say someone deserved to die in this way or that way. Any kind of death is paradoxical to life and thus nobody who has live deserves to die. But if someone has died then it does not mean you have to be a sycophant and disregard all that was wrong.
Would you do it if Osama Bin Laden passed away after battling cancer for 2 years. You would still focus only on everything he did bad. Why not here, then? Would you sympathise with bin Laden if he dies in the worst manner? Maybe Pramod mahajan has not killed as many people as Laden. but one life, thousand lives. It's all the same to me.
Politicians such as Mahajan are the worst kind, those who put forward a good face but are nothign but scum. Not a word on it. It is sickening.
I have lost all hope of issues, events, people and processes being covered objectively. such instances only reassure me.
I have to take Aristotle's view on this point(hehe). Our governance is the perverse form of the governance by many...democracy. It can be safely surmised that all politicians of India, barring none, have to deal under the table at some point in their political life.
So I strongly disagree with Nikhil, who is trying to bring out those aspects of Mahajan's career which are a part and parcel of each and every politican's career, in varying degrees.
I say, let the field be level. Given their nature to take kickbacks, we have to judge them on their ability to inspire the masses, stir a revolution, work their way up, changing their reality for the better or for worse.
Now we accept that corruption is not OK, but since everyone is corrupt (politics only), let's just take it out of the bracket.
Going by that, We should put Bhagat Singh and Osama on one field because they both killed some people for what they believed was (is) a true cause. In fact they both inspired people (each in their way), they both stirred some kind of revolution, they have worked their way up (one through sacrifice and the other through terror) and they have changed some reality, i suppose. I know those things in the bracket make all the difference but isn't that the defining characteristic of all people. How they do is as important as what they do. I am not suggesting for one minute that BS and OBL are one and the same. But if we are choosing that there be level fields before judging politicians and revolutionaries, this will happen. We cannot do that because it is plain stupid. And we don't want to be stupid.
Mahajan's family surely is grieving the tragedy. We should not be unsensitive and numb and throw his wrongs in their faces. but Mahajan worked for more than his family. He worked for the country, he worked for other people. We have to take that into consideration. That he was murdered does not absolve him off all his crimes. Let's just be objective about it and show both his sides. We should griev the loss of a politician who knows the people. His loss shall certainly be a tough gap to fill. But let's look beyond that. What he did in politics was both good and bad. If we focus only on the good then it becomes a unbalnced look.
The BJP itself constantly rubs it in the Gandhi family's faces by bringing up Bofors and Rajiv Gandhi. Not a great example but instead of rubbing it in, we can make a point by telling it as it is.
That should be the hallmark of any journalist. not be lop-sided and take in all versions of the story and tell it as it is.
That nobody is doing it is my grouse. Nothing against Mahajan.
I agree with you Nikhil, fair journalese is the only way ahead. However, this is a very sensitive issue. No one contests the fact that Mahajan had tainted money or perhaps took part in other illegal acts. But one must remember that a leader was killed. A man was killed by his brother. It was sudden and shocking. Fair journalese is not incompatible with sensitivity and respect for the dead. The can of worms may open a few days from now- but now isn't the time for it.
Nikhil, your former point troubles me, but the latter point I agree with.
I meant, as far as INDIAN politicians are concerned, the only thing worth judging(if at all any) would be the points aforementioned. You are bringing in a revolutionary and a global terrorist from different eras together. This, I wouldn't call "level field". Moreover, revolutionaries and terrorists, are but subjective terms, so, in order to avoid debate let us assume one frame of reference. Reduce your sample set to contemporary Indian politcians, apply a standard set of criteria and proceed.
Then again, it is not as easy I am trying to portray it. Different frames, will necessitate different criteria, leading to different conclusions.
Your point regarding journalism is noted, but after all, journalists are humans, governed by their sensibilities.
Cheers!
Suddenly, Supriya's blog is alive. You should thank Mahajan for this.
I know, suddenly something! Shouldn't I be thanking you though...
Just curious, is that your fingerprint?
nope!
I learnt a lot about liver, pancreas and respiratory stuff thanks to Mahahjan ... nice discussion ... instead of adding to it since almost every point been discussed , i must say i agree with Nikhil...Though what he desires will never been seen in any form of media .. people cant digest the truth really .. feed them lies or biased viewpoints and they are happy... Had the issue been covered in the way Nikhil wanted it to be .. that particular media house would have gone under .. ransacked by BJP workers and under immense pressure from politicians...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
I strongly disagree with you Harsh. Atleast during the current situation- the last 14 days or so. When a man is dying, you don't expose him. Like I mentioned before- sensible journalism isn't insensitive journalism. It isn't just BJP workers who would have been angered by an expose on Mahajan's deeds, whatever they may be, it would have had thousands of other people up in arms. Respect for the dying really isn't such a tough concept. And regardless of your valid viewpoints I am thankful that our media hasn't yet become so cut-throat that we'd expose a dying man, a murdered man. Why do you think no media house has jumped on the opportunity to investigate Mahajan yet? You just don't do that while someone is dying. And Nikhil, respect for the dead or dying isn't an Indian concept, its a humane concept.
However, all that being said, take a look at the competition in media today. There are more channels and more papers functioning than ever before. What happens when there is intense competition- there is the need to break away and attract readers with a scoop, no matter how sordid it may be. Take a look around, its the case not just in India but all over the world. Mahajan's murder is a plum opportunity- and media houses are not stupid. They've waited until the man passed away, they probably won't wait much longer. Who will give up an expose such as this?
But you're right Harsh, hurry or overdo it, and the BJP will be up in arms. Still, concerns such as these have never stopped the media from raking up the muck. Anyhow, like I said before, there are many many things to lament about and improve in India's media- but atleast we understand common respect.
Nobody will move a muscle for exposing Mahajan now. It's not like they can listen to him retort on their claims.
Why would they need him to retort at all? There's a whole junta who'd happily do it for him.
Now tending the line between sensitivity and objectivity is a tricky business.. Mahajan could have easily continured in this state for another 30 days .. so in order to be sensitive to him or his family i have to keep my mouth shut till the bugger dies ??..There is also the concept of timing , timing the news to perfection is important or it will loose whatever impact it has .. now the Mahajan issue is out of the public eye .. he is dead .. now if some media channel rakes up his past .. there wont be enough audience to listen to it or the chance to change anyones opinion about him There were hundreds of character sketches in the media and every single one just eulogizes him .. thus the opinion of him has become of someone who has done great good for the country and its people and lead a principled life.. Now is that a valid opinion .. Can the media change this opinion now and bring out the true picture ? They have no oppurtunity to that now .. Aren't we simply misleading here ? This very sensitivity in our approach to things makes it easy for people in this country to get away with many things..
I doubt there will be any expose as such ... and if they then it is simply perverse journalism now .. waiting for a man to die before taking his case.. it would be more sickening
Media houses aren't silly enough to give up on opportunities such as these Hammy. Lest they're also paid to keep mum, ofcourse. Which would be just shameful.
I feel like I must clarify. I'm absolutely pro telling the people what politicians are really all about, dead or alive. And although I sympathise totally with the Mahajan family, I do not support the recent "Laxman" label. I still feel that media houses will not pass up an opportunity of this sort and there will be a scoop of sorts. My only contention is the timing of the same. I am entirely non-political, but if someone had expose-d Mahajan while he was dying, I would most definitely have been one of the people up in arms.
hehe lets wait and see what happens
Can we continue the discussion on my blog. I have more than a single photograph of a candle. I have five lines on my blog and a charming photo of the deadman.
And i don't even moderate comments. Fascist Banglorean bloggers who have got into MICA but are stiull studying politics somewhere. I depise them.
Having more than 20 comments can make you blog popular and very harmful for your fingers.
That is your fingerprint, isn't it? I know it. I can see the traces of blood from your hand. You fascist.
At the current stage that news media in India is, when there is cometition, they don't do something different, they do what the other guy's doing. Because each one is shit scared. So they'l all be the same so that the numbers will more or less distribute equally among the competitiors and there'l be some sort of equillibrium. Thats what I see.
No media house was gonna say that Pramod Mahajan was curropt and might have had a hand in killing a journalist. Thats not because his suporters will trash their offices, but because people don't want to see it. When people watched the news for the 10 days, it was like an edge of the seat thriller - whats gonna happen next - whats gonna happen next. So u just feed it and keep the viewers happy.
Everyone would have loved it if it had lasted another ten days. The TRP's would have come down like jack tumbling down the hill. But lathi charged up medical students r giving the News some life. Its not news. Its entertainment. Its not journalism. Journalism is a subject taught in schools. Thats about it. In the age of information, when there is so much information, who needs information?
If a dead man could contest elections, Pramod Mahajan would win.
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