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Journalism of Courage
All the problems have been solved. Now let8217;s build a statue8221; was the Loksatta8217;s 8212; the newspaper is the Express Group8217;s Marathi daily 8212; editorial response to the Maharashtra government8217;s wish to erect a 309-foot Shivaji statue. Since this is a free country with freedom of the press, Loksatta took a considered view of the subject and decided that its critique of this decision should be communicated via irony, pointing to what it argued was the contrast between governments8217; generous use of iconography and their somewhat feebler record on service delivery. Now, of course, Loksatta or any other serious newspaper doesn8217;t expect universal agreement. But it does expect irony to be recognised as a valued and valid rhetorical instrument in public debates.
The attack by Shiv Sangram, an evidently energetic group, on Loksatta editor Kumar Ketkar8217;s home proved once again that parts of our public space, including in cities, are distinguished by a despairing absence of minimum understanding of debating norms. How shaky can your faith in anything be, whether sacred or secular, divine or mortal, so that vandalisation is your automatic response to humour? Maharashtra outfits seem eager to take a patent out on this form of political mobilisation. But they have a lot of competition 8212; from other states and from organisations claiming to have a varied list of sentiments and personages to protect.
