The Shoe is Mightier than the Sword

I was shocked to see the video of Jarnail Singh, a correspondent of one of India’s largest Hindi-daily the Dainik Jagran launching a shoe at P C Chidambaram at a Congress Party press conference. Firstly, the conference was called by the ruling party for the updates to the upcoming elections. Secondly, Mr. Chidambaram was presiding over the function in his capacity as a Congress Party member, not as the Home Minister of the Union of India. But I think he did a tremendous job by maintaining his composure and controlling the commotion as one can see in the video.

The flinging of the shoe was not merely and expression of anger from an individual, it signified that the democratic system of modern India had broken down and that the citizens had lost faith in the fundamentals laid down by the very Constitution of India – Freedom of Expression & Speech. It’s shockingly ironical to have the keepers of this very fundamental right harbor a belligerent view of protest in a nation that has awarded its citizens freedom of expression through the Fourth estate. We have to note the exemplary work done by advocate H S Phoolka who has taken up the cause of fighting for aggrieved Sikhs of the 1984 riots using the apparatus offered by the Constitution of India. There is no lawlessness in this country or circumventing of Human Rights that requires a futile act of courage from a reporter who has the ability to enlighten the society through his writings. When did the shoe become mightier than the sword? one must ask Mr. Singh.

This episode has drawn a disappointing parallel to the supposed act of protest by a journalist in Iraq. One must be forewarned that Chidambaram is not a variant of the policies that were supported by Bush and despite the alphabetical alikeness, India could never be an Iraq. The Indian justice system would decide fairly what the outcome of the case would be.  Let’s remind ourselves that the same courts condemned and sentenced criminals like Manu Sharma (Jessica Lall Murder case) and Vikas Yadav (Nitish Katara murder trials) despite their high & mighty political affiliations and the media must be thanked in part for highlighting the shortcomings of the case and bringing the culprits to book. No doubt if proven guilty Tytler would be censured for his deplorable acts against humanity. For the present though the focus is on Jarnail Singh and his unconstitutional chivalry that needs to be debated & condemned across the society.

[tags]chidambaram, india, dainik jagran, jessica lall, nitish katara[/tags]