NEW DELHI: Politicians, journalists and democratic rights activists came out strongly against allowing foreign newspapers and magazines to start Indian editions, at a seminar here last week. The seminar, “Entry of Foreign Media: Blessing or Curse?” was organized by the Friends of Civil Universal Society. Though there were divergent views at the seminar, the bottom-line clearly was:” ‘Keep the foreign media out.” Former Janata Party MP and chairman of the Commission on Labor Standards, Dr, Subramaniam Swamy, who started the debate, said all countries had their own restrictions on the entry of foreign media. “In the United States no foreign correspondent is allowed to ask question to the president, or at state department press conferences,” he said, adding that till the Indian Press is truly unshackled, it would be unfair to allow unbridled competition by foreign owned newspapers.
“As long as we have nation states we have to subject our open society to reasonable restrictions, We need not be apologetic about it,” Dr, Swamy emphasized, proposing that the Indian print media be Strengthened before permitting entry to foreigners, The views of Aroon Puri, editor of India Today were at sharp vanance with this. He dismissed those opposing the entry of foreign print media as “puppets” of monopoly newspaper houses. “If there is enough pluralism in India, should there be no more of it? The more pluralism you have, the more plural you become, he averred. Indians should get rid of their inferiority complex and be confident of themselves, and regard newspapers as a business that would not sell if it does not meet current community needs, he added. BJP leader Murti Manohar Joshi, however, countered that globalization was nothing but monopolization, because the world is treated as a giant market to be exploited, “entailing the foisting of a regimented international lifestyle on all people.” He pointed out that even media Baron Rupert Murdoch had to become an American national before he could own newspapers there.
- Farooqui of the Communist Party of India said throughout his political career he had been opposing the “monopoly” of the press, but if the same setup fought to uphold the Indian ethos, he would support it.
Article extracted from this publication >> September 23, 1994
