Over the past six years majority of Indian TV and electronic media houses have made themselves a pawn at the hands of the regime. Debates used to be the captivating part of the discourse of news which would enlighten the news audience with the different perspectives of a particular agenda around which the arguments were percolated. India has always had a plethora such journalists and debaters who would bring out issues which really matter to the greater good of people like Pranav Roy, Russi Karanjia, Amitabha Chowdhury, Sagarika Ghose, Vikram Chandra among others. Some of these people worked on the ground toiling as investigative journalists to bring out the truth and the different angles of a broad story. Prior to 2014, to a fair extent, the media used to work as it was supposed to; being a critic and moral auditor of the government on behalf of the people. It was set to change from the year 2013 onwards.

The anti incumbency wave against the UPA 2 was taking shape in the India against corruption movement of 2011-2012. It took the form of a gigantic public movement fuelled heavily by the growing and expanding social media.  The movement brought out leaders like Anna Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal. But in the background, something far sinister was taking shape. The 2G scam had already dealt a heavy blow to the legitimacy of the UPA 2. The proverbial INR 1.76 lakh crore fiasco turned out to be crying wolves deliberately forged to galvanise the public opinion against the UPA government and specifically against the INC. Gradually calling out names and vitriolic and scathing condemnation of anyone opposing a particular standpoint became the new normal of the decaying broadcast media houses with few exceptions. In such an abominable environment, few journalists maintained the spine of their profession like Ravish Kumar. Jingoistic, irrational, bootlicking deliverance of one sided narrative became the new normal in Indian media. The genuine problems of the people were being gradually completely sidelined by discussing eye washing issues. Talks of statues, imaginary costly nano-gps chips in new notes, aliens abducting IAF planes took the centre stage of news instead of issues related to decimated manufacturing, debilitating impacts of demonetisation and insufficient number of aeroplanes and airforce squadrons in IAF.

Concerned people in such a situation became disillusioned with newsroom discussions as the source of reliable information about the state of affairs in the country. But there is a significant chunk of population who view such newsroom debates and literally feed their false picture. They can be compared to the ones who were being kept in mental prison in the Matrix movies. Only here, there is no super computer, there is another bunch of power brokers at the top. In fact it is a simple cycle. The ones at the top of the current regime slush such TV room anchors and the channels with funds to keep their countless followers engaged in a lights and sound show while the economy perishes. The power brokers and the economic hitmen suck out funds from the various banks through loans by manipulating the needs of collaterals and transfer it abroad via various currency instruments, real estate, FII and FPI routes. Industrial houses (currently only two in India) get investments and funds from abroad to expand their business and pay the power brokers handsome commissions and donate to the party kitty-bags.

This has resulted in total annihilation of the idea of a well informed sound, rational and calm minded debate to dissect out issues. Rather it has made the TV room debates as a stage for mudslinging towards any opposing views. This was what exactly Ravish Kumar had predicted way back in 2016. He had said that when citizens make a mockery, conjure jokes and memes out of the high decibel TV debates, they are in fact making fun of their own citizenry by allowing such ghoulish form of discourse to run its course. It is a kind of an addictive positive feedback loop. This joke recently took a fatal turn when after a TV debate, congress spokesperson Rajiv Tyagi died of a heart attack. He was verbally attacked for wearing a tika and not supporting majoritarianism. To what abysmal level has the condition of TV-debates stooped that it costs one of the participants his life?

This is a time for people to introspect. Yesterday it was someone who was raising his voice for the genuine issues of public which are now being deliberately and systemically ignored. Tomorrow when the issues would park themselves in front of the public, and when the problems would hammer hard right on the face, then it would be too late for introspection and correction.