It gives me great pleasure to be with you at this prestigious assembly of eminent journalists from around the world, under the aegis of the International Press Institute. I am especially heartened by the fact that you chose to hold your Congress at a time that coincided with the Golden Jubilee celebrations of Indian Republic. I hope you enjoyed watching the Republic Day Parade yesterday.
The celebration of our Republic is also, in some ways, a celebration of our free press. India is proud to have one of the freest media in the world. The number and diversity of the media outlets in English and other languages in our country, the sheer range of views and opinions expressed in them, the large and well-protected space for dissent and criticism, and, lately, their growing technological sophistication—all these have earned for the Indian press an honoured place on the global media map.
Your choice of the timing of the IPI Congress may be a coincidence of the calendar. However, at a deeper level, there is a profound conceptual interconnection between the two events. A free and responsible press is an important pillar of the Republican architecture—as essential for a healthy democracy as the legislature or the judiciary.
I wish to lay special emphasis on the two defining qualities of the press—freedom and responsibility. The press is either free, or it cannot be called the press at all. Freedom of thought and the right to information are a fundamental human right. What turns this abstract ideal into a force of democratic empowerment is the free press.
Free flow of information and ideas, effected by newspapers, magazines and journals, radio, television, and now the Internet, pulls down the most elaborate barriers for self-protection erected by authoritarian regimes of all ideologies and labels. The triumphant march of democracy in several parts of the world in recent decades was catalysed, largely, by the media.
Thus, journalists are the torchbearers of democracy and I am honoured to add my own personal welcome to the most eminent representatives of the global journalistic community who have come to India for this Congress.
Friends, responsibility is the flip side of freedom. The media commands an extraordinary power to do good or bad, because of its capacity to influence events and minds. Therefore, the media cannot be value-neutral. It must reflect a strong sense of social responsibility, and an ability to distinguish between right and wrong. If the media expects—and rightly so—accountability from governments, political parties, businesses and private individuals, it too must offer itself to be judged by the same norms of accountability.
Beyond the minimum reasonable restrictions imposed by any democratic country, it is entirely up to the media organisations, and the people working in them, to define the content and contours of responsibility. News, entertainment, and other products of the media are not like other commodities in the market. Sensationalism and other tactics to “sell” them with the sole motive to maximise profits militate against the very essence of journalism. On the other hand, self-monitoring, self-regulation and, when necessary, even self-censorship, enhance the credibility of the media, which is its most precious asset.
Distinguished media persons, I have been a journalist myself at some time—though a long time ago—in my life. In later years, my experience in politics and governance has given me some understanding of international relations. I often ask myself: What is the role of journalists and media organisations in reporting, analysing, and commenting on the affairs of this Global Family?
The forces of globalisation and technology have vastly enlarged the reach of the media in the new century. The birth of the information and communication revolution has brought about a phenomenon that one journalist has vividly described as ‘The Death of Distance”. For the first time in the known history of mankind, we can see the making of “One World”—a united, integral, and interdependent world.
This phenomenon has vastly increased people’s expectations from the media. In this global family, the community of journalists is rightly called the “Brotherhood of Words”. Words and images have power—power to enlighten, power to motivate, power to heal, and power to bring people closer together. Therefore, journalists everywhere should rise above narrow considerations and promote the bonds of mutual understanding and solidarity both within and among the nations of the world.
Media organisations with a global reach have a special role in our times. The astonishing diversity of cultures and traditions, and the rich plurality of thoughts, in different parts of the world are often overshadowed, if not blacked out, by what the dominant media choose to portray. The glaring inequities and imbalances in the global media make it almost impossible for poor and developing nations to tell their story in their own words to the rest of the world.
Diversity of faiths, cultures, ethnicity, and language are a source of strength—and not of weakness—for mankind. As more and more countries around the world begin to reflect these diversities in the new century, because of the increased movement of people and information, it is all the more necessary for the media to be democratic and representative.
There is another thought that I would like to share with you. Various nations of the world are today engaged in a race to achieve economic prosperity. This is a legitimate objective. The new century must not carry forward the problems of underdevelopment created by the previous centuries. The forces of science, technology, and global co-operation have indeed made it possible for us to achieve this objective.
However, I sometimes worry that, in the race for economic development, the world is ignoring the main agent and beneficiary of science and technology, trade and investment, namely, man. We need to humanise economic development. We need to make man and his deepest aspirations for self-fulfilment and fellowship the focus of all our efforts. Here, too, journalists have an important role to play.
Friends, before I conclude, I would like to dwell briefly on what you, as the leading representatives of the international media, might want to know about the direction in which India is moving. Our democracy is growing in maturity. Multi-party coalition governments are proving to be stable and successful. More and more sections of our diverse society, which were earlier under-represented, have found a voice and a place, in our electoral and governance systems. Very soon, we shall bring forward an important legislation for women’s reservation in our Parliament and State Legislatures.
Ours is a multi-religious, multi-lingual, and multi-ethnic nation. The rights of religious minorities are fully protected. We believe that India’s demonstration of unity in diversity is, in many ways, useful to the entire world in the age of globalisation.
Today our top priority is to achieve faster and more balanced economic growth, so that the fruits of development can reach every one of our billion-plus citizens. To achieve this objective, we have, during the past decade, embarked on an ambitious programme of economic reforms. There is a broad consensus over these reforms across the political spectrum.
Ours is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, and we are confident that India will grow even faster in the coming years. In a very short time, India has emerged as a leading power in Information Technology. We are taking many conscious steps to ensure that we not only overcome the challenge of “Digital Divide”, but actually bring “Digital Dividends” to all sections of our population.
In the international arena, India is following an active policy aimed at establishing friendly and co-operative relations with all countries in the world, especially in our neighbourhood. South Asia needs peace, as it will bring the fruits of prosperity and security to all the countries and peoples in this region, who account for one-fifth of the world’s population.
There is now growing international recognition that a democratic and rapidly developing India is a positive force for peace, stability, security, and co-operation in Asia and the world. The evolution of this New India in the new century is a big media story. I invite all of you to explore this exciting story and report it to the world community.
With these words, I convey my felicitations to the 51st Congress of the International Press Institute. May all of you have a pleasant and memorable stay in India.
This is part of ThePrint’s Great Speeches series. It features speeches and debates that shaped modern India.