Which master146;s voice?

No reason was assigned nor any grounds cited even later in communications with the chairman and CEO. The action was arbitrary and mala fide and inconsistent with the letter and spirit of the Prasar Bharati Act. Whether the prime minister or deputy prime minister were previously or subsequently consulted is immaterial.

The DG, an honourable, upright and competent official, enjoyed the confidence of the PB Board to whom he is responsible. He will now go as soon as formal orders are passed 8212; which could well await the adjournment of Parliament so as to minimise the stink.

Prasar Bharati has suffered a gratuitous body blow as a national public service institution for collateral reasons that may have more to do with ego or petty political or electoral gain through trying to ensure a pliant trumpet. Its credibility and autonomy 8212; such as it is 8212; will be grievously undermined both within the organisation and in the public eye. There is already no DG AIR and now there will be no DG DD.

The CEO will be required to man all these posts as also that of director personnel, whose selection has not been made for six years. Virtually all personnel and finances still remain under government control.

Ex post facto justification may now be offered. This would be dishonest and is unlikely to convince anybody. It is a specious argument that the outgoing DG DD is an IAS officer on deputation who did not resign from his cadre and that his services are therefore at the disposal of the government.

The PB rules framed by the government under the act stipulate that the two DGs, who are ex officio members of the board, shall be selected from among civil servants. Only in the event of no suitable incumbent being found may the board go outside that circle, with prior official permission.

In this case, the outgoing DG DD was sounded out by the government and persuaded to give up a prestigious posting and offer his candidature on a three-year deputation. He did so, and was selected by the PB board from a large field of candidates. It cannot now be argued that he can be plucked out of his selected appointment capriciously, at the whim and fancy of his cadre controlling authority 8212; and that too without grounds or for some larger, stated national purpose.

The act vests the government with reserve powers to issue directions to Prasar Bharati in writing but only in the interests of sovereignty, public order, etc, none of which apply here. It has no innate power to transfer personnel. If it did so on earlier occasion, it was because each of these incumbents was appointed ad interim on an emergency basis because of the inability to make a statutory appointment through prescribed procedures.

To plead that the DG and other PB employees are paid by the 8220;government8221; and therefore remain government servants and subject to its will is frivolous. The salaries of all public and civil servants, including ministers and judges, are defrayed from the national exchequer through established parliamentary processes. Governance cannot be a matter of whim and fancy. We take pride in and must uphold the fact that ours is a government of laws and not of men.

The issue raised by this episode is more institutional than individual. That focus must not be lost. Over and beyond that, it is the freedom of speech and expression of the common citizen that is at stake. This is not a proprietorial right that goes with any imagined official ownership of PB. The Supreme Court8217;s airwaves judgement of 1995 spelt out the law in the broadcast domain and while private channels were permitted to go on air, AIR and DD were later brought together under PB as a public service broadcaster. PB is accountable to Parliament through its budget and annual report through the I038;B Ministry. The Central government is only one part of the many diverse and plural 8220;publics8221; that PB serves and cannot statutorily or morally seek to reduce PB to His Master8217;s Voice.

At the same time, Prasar Bharti needs to put its own house in order. Autonomy is not given as much as grasped. It has to get its priorities right in accordance with its charter as laid down in section 12 of the act. Its programming, including news and current affairs, must uphold plurality and diversity and air contrasting voices, certainly giving the government its due. It must devolve more autonomy on its regional and local kendras, emphasise local, community and instructional broadcasting as a means of grassroots articulation and empowerment of the voiceless and underprivileged. It has to cater to the citizen and not merely the consumer or those in power.

The PB board is cast as a trustee of the freedom of speech and expression of the national collective and the conscience of public service broadcasting. It must build a close interface with its listeners and viewers including all levels of government 8212; its many 8220;publics8221;. Such traditions are not established in a day. There have been the inevitable ups and downs. The latest government diktat marks a slide down a snake. But the game is not over and there are ladders to climb. Good sense and wisdom must be encouraged to prevail.

The ideal of public service broadcasting in the Indian context is too valuable a prize to be abandoned to the whims of small men and the idiosyncrasies of the moment. But wake up to the challenge. It is your freedom that is at stake. Let none take it away.