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| Stone pelters, CRPF teach lessons of objectivity to scribes | | Being in the second oldest profession? | |
EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, June 12: It has happened several times in the past and it happened today with a difference. Scribes were roughed up by the CRPF men and the stone pelters. Strangely enough, the stone pelters accused them of having a truck with the security agencies and the men in uniform also had a grievance against them. They feel scribes glorify the stone pelters. The situation can be better explained by the following verse of Ghalib: "Zahid tung nazar nay mujay kafir samja; aur kafir ye samajta hai ki musalmaan hoon main (The worshipper took me for an infidel and the infidel thinks I am a Muslim).
But then the scribes have to bear in mind that they belong to the second oldest profession of the world, the first being prostitution! The journalists have been at the receiving end during the past twenty years of the on-going conflict. The commoner expects him to play saviour. He is under a mistaken notion that a journalist is all powerful and can perform miracles. But this is far from the reality. In fact, the journalist is as endangered and helpless as the commoner on the street. They have been killed, abducted, arrested, intimidated and lured by the state and non-state actors. While the people envy the `privileges' of the scribes, a question haunts all of them. In a conflict zone, is it a privilege being a member of the second oldest profession?
Man was born free but when he chose to become a journalist, he found himself in chains. There are pulls and pressures from every quarter. Gone are the days when a journalist could not, rather would not, differentiate between a cycle accident and end of a civilization. For him both were news. But today news is not sacred. It has to be painted to suit `special' people. And when news is painted, truth becomes a casualty.
In his quest for the truth he becomes extremely vulnerable and finds himself all alone. He cannot protect himself. He cannot call a spade a spade especially while reporting or commenting on a conflict. And this is exactly what happened today. While performing their professional duties in down town Srinagar today, the stone pelters and the CRPF men roughed up six scribes. They were beaten to pulp. Their cameras were also broken.
When tested the efficiency of their batons on their backs not knowing that the baggage they are carrying had already broken their backs. And, when they went to Eidgah graveyard to report the funeral of a youth who got killed in mysterious circumstances yesterday, a group of masked youth pounced on them and taught those lessons of `objectivity
In this `noble' and `honourable' profession, one cannot complain. What happened today happened. Tomorrow you have to get ready for the job once again without putting your feelings, emotions in the report. This is how prostitutes work. Sometimes they are ill but as soon as the customer walks in, she has to greet him.
A scribe is a savior for a commoner. But this so-called savior can never play Jesus when he himself happens to be the victim. How ironical?
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