Opinion Between Tragedy and Politics

News channels strike a balance on the Bihar midday meal deaths

July 20, 2013 04:39 AM IST First published on: Jul 20, 2013 at 04:39 AM IST

Zahar pila diya Nitish ne, crowed Lalu Prasad Yadav. Dharadar dum tor rahe hain log! That promo spot,thoughtfully provided by an India News reporter,was balanced by unusually responsible reporting on the tragedy in Bihar by relatively unsung news channels. They usually become absurdly dramatic whenever crime or negligence reaches the proportions of enormity,but a few have redeemed themselves this time. They were visibly uncomfortable about the rapidity with which the death of children was turned into political football even before the victims had received care,even before a forensic report could be filed.

P7s reporters in Patna and Madhubani,Ganesh Kumar and Lakshman Kumar,lamented that the ruling party was seeing conspiracies,the opposition was seeing negligence and NGOs were muttering about politics,while all evaded responsibility. Alok Ranjan of Live India reported that the political response was just petty politics. In embarrassing contrast,citizens interviewed supported solidarity with the affected families and the institution of oversight to prevent future disasters.

Meanwhile,we in the media have been turning some tricks,too. The Chhapra story was followed by a burst of reports from all over the country about children being taken ill or even dying after consuming food and medicines supplied at their schools. Subconsciously,this supports two ideas which Bihar politicians have been promoting,depending on their political allegiances.

First,the midday meal scheme should be wound down because it is unsafe and inefficient. By the same logic,every time your car breaks down,you should junk it. Second,the reporting supports the eerie feeling that there is a nationwide crime wave,from Punjab to Kerala,involving midday meals and medicines dispensed in schools.

In reality,the wave only indicates that Chhapra has drawn reporters attention to a problem which has always existed,and that they where either sleeping on the job earlier,or too preoccupied with stunt-baaz Rambos and Mogambos to give attention to problems in village schools. How absurd is winding up midday meals? The India News reporter on the spot in Chhapra got it straight from the mother of a dead schoolchild: she used to send him to school precisely because there was no food at home. Too bad the anchor in the studio switched away to the Lalu interview,claiming that the victims families were overwrought. The camera should have stayed on the spot marked X,and anyway,politicians caught politicising should be routinely denied airtime.

pratik.kanjilal@expressindia.com