Muzamil Jaleel, the Deputy Editor of The Indian Express, who earlier worked for The Guardian, The Observer and The Times in London and also served as a visiting scholar at the University of California Berkeley, said that through his investigative reports and stories one thing has become clear that in most of the terror cases the location changes but the narrative, the investigative process and the mindset remains the same. The statement was made during the weekly meet organised by Jamaat-e-Islami Hind at its headquarters in the capital on 12 March.
Muzamil, while explaining how he became a journalist, highlighted the circumstances that made him an investigative reporter. Initially, he began by writing his own stories as felt and experienced during his witness of the troubled times in Kashmir. He started writing the truth because he felt that “it is only the truth that can bail us out”. He asked the leaders of the community to groom and encourage 100 young professionals every year and within four to five years they will be in a position to speak their mind with clarity and truth and without fear. This is the only way out because truth has to come out anyway. He also said that forget about the rehabilitation, the state does not even ‘apologise’ after the acquittal. After spending years in jail, these people become conditioned to life they had lived in jails and behave in the same way in their own house after acquittal.
Shaheen Nazar, presently Adjunct Faculty in the Mass Communication Department of Sharda University, Greater Noida, who earlier worked with leading English newspapers such as The Times of India, Khaleej Times, Times of Oman, Saudi Gazette and Arab News, said that today one can hardly find internal democracy in the media house and now democracy is facing serious threats from the fourth pillar of democracy, which was supposed to protect, preserve and promote it. Our thought process is being controlled by the corporate bosses; this is a very dangerous phenomenon, he lamented.
Nazar, while citing a figure from a survey, also pointed out that Hindi newspapers are growing very rapidly and in ten topmost newspapers most are in Hindi; therefore, the community should also think of publishing Hindi newspapers. The use of portals and social media is increasing by the day and all efforts should be made to utilise it properly and effectively if we want to move with the changing pace which is moving very fast.