For this new Hindi channel, 6 Indian armed forces veterans are turning journalists

The ex-armed forces contingent in TV9 Bharatvarsh will be led by former deputy chief of army staff, Lt Gen. (retd) Gurmeet Singh.

Logo of TV9 Bharatvarsh | Facebook

New Delhi: Less than two weeks before the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections, a brand new Hindi news channel from the TV9 group is set to go on air, featuring a number of armed forces veterans.

TV9 Bharatvarsh will launch Saturday, with Vinod Kapri as group editor, Ajit Anjum as consulting editor, and Hemant Sharma as its news director.

Six retired Indian armed forces officers will also be part of the editorial team of TV9 Bharatvarsh, and will anchor different shows.

The veterans include former deputy chief of army staff Lt Gen. Gurmeet Singh, former Indian Air Force officers Wing Commander Anuma Acharya and Squadron Leader Sonia Ajay, as well as former Army officers Captain Amrit Kaur, Col Danvir Singh Chauhan and Col Shailendra Singh.

The quest for credibility

The Hindi news channel will have around 30 anchors, which will also likely include social activist Kamla Bhasin, TEDx speaker Priya Malik and acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal. Kapri told ThePrint that the channel will also have anchors from Kashmir, the Northeast and Andhra Pradesh. It is also looking for a transgender anchor.

Asked why the channel had decided to bring on board such a large number ex-services personnel, group editor Kapri said the idea was to experiment with the channel, which is why he had decided to bring together a variety of people from different backgrounds who have vast experience and credibility.

“It is true that television media has completely lost credibility. Viewers relate anchors to political parties. They are called bikaau (sell-outs), dalaal (brokers) and ‘Presstitutes’. I wanted to do an experiment, and thus, we brought together people with an incredible track record of integrity. The anchor should come across as an individual, not someone with a set agenda,” he said.

Fighting ‘the enemy within’

A 1 minute-16 second-long trailer showing Lt Gen. Singh was released by the channel’s Twitter handle Thursday, in which he spoke about his 40 years of experience in the Indian Army, his 10-year stint in Jammu & Kashmir, and the “enemies within the country”.

#KahaniBharatvarshKi :अब आपकी मुलाक़ात होने जा रही है भारत के सच्चे सिपाही से : Lt. Gen Gurmit Singh(R).जनरल गुरमीत 40 साल तक सीमा पार के दुश्मनों से लड़ते रहे।अब वो #TV9Bharatvarsh के ज़रिए देश के अंदर बैठे दुश्मन भ्रष्टाचारियों से लड़ना चाहते हैं।आपका स्वागत है @GURMITS31261957 pic.twitter.com/fASRHdnIjA

— TV9 Bharatvarsh (@TV9Bharatvarsh) March 28, 2019

सत्ता की हम कठपुतली नहीं
प्रतिपक्ष के हम हथियार नहीं
इसी शपथ के साथ मिलिए @TV9Bharatvarsh के तीन और विश्वसनीय चेहरों से:
Wing Commander अनुमा आचार्य
Squadron Leader सोनिया अजय
Captain अमृत कौर
@sonia_iaf @Capt_AmritKaur @AnumaVidisha . #AaoDeshBadlen pic.twitter.com/XiVv6a1Qvb

— TV9 Bharatvarsh (@TV9Bharatvarsh) March 29, 2019

“In the past 40 years, one question has always bothered me. That is: The enemies outside the country will be handled by the defence forces, but what should be the treatment for the enemies within the country?” he asked in the clip.

Speaking to ThePrint, Singh said by referring to the “enemies within”, he was pointing at the thinking which is against the nation, its people and the truth.

The traits (of the enemy) could be shak (suspicion), shanka (doubt) and sawaal (questions), he said, emphasising that asking questions is not the problem, but raising sawaal (questions) with tanj (sarcasm) or bias or an agenda is the problem.

He said India’s armed forces are apolitical, professional and secular, and in the eyes of the people, they are trustworthy and credible.

“In the instance of India’s recent airstrikes, for example, the air chief publicly spoke about hitting the target and credible evidence was presented before the people. He would not risk his credibility by giving out incorrect facts,” he said.

“But there are people who doubt, dissent and raise questions on security issues without knowledge.”

Singh’s show will be called Jai Hind General, and he says he is excited about his show in a channel which “will have no agenda”.

“There was this increasing perception that retired officers of the armed forces can contribute only as panellists. But I wanted to contribute in other ways too, for a channel which is not Left- or Right-leaning,” he said.