Institutionalising charity for Madhya pradesh scribes

Institutionalising charity for scribes

Rakesh Dixit

Successive governments in Madhya Pradesh since beginning of late Arjun Singh’s chief ministership in 1980 have been known for doling out largesse to pliable journalists to buy favour. However, beneficiaries of government munificence would be too conscious of its immorality to admit, much less flaunt, the favours openly. The governments too would be hush- hush about their unethical generosity.  None of them sought to ‘institutionalise’ charity to the fourth estate. The Shivraj Singh government has changed rules of the game—for worse.      

Facing the heat of multi-billion rupee professional examination board (PEB) aka Vyapam scam, Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has become rather too generous towards media of late.  Two months ago, the government distributed laptops to all accredited journalists, around 200, in the state. Last month the chief minister promised to build a magnificent press club building in the heart of Bhopal. And the April was the month of giving away cash awards to 68 journalists. Two of them were consulting editor of India Today magazine Shekhar Gupta and India TV editor-in-chief Rajat Sharma. Gupta was conferred the 2014 Vidya Niwas Mishra national journalism award and Sharma was honoured with 2014 Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi national journalism award. Each award carries Rs 2 lakh cash.

All other recipients of the two awards for the years 2011, 2012 and 2013 are known RSS sympathisers/ ideologues. They are Kailash Chandra Pant and Mahesh Shrivastava (Bhopal), Shankar Sharan (Delhi), Rajnath Surya (Lucknow), Asim Kumar Mitra (Kolkata)and Dhirendra Nath Chakravarty (Assam). By the way, Rajat Sharma was also student union leader in the Delhi University with allegiance to Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the student wing of the RSS.

Sharma alluded to his ABVP link during the award function when he recalled that he knew Shivraj Singh Chouhan for the last 40 years. Shivraj, like Rajat Sharma, was ABVP’s student leader in Bhopal’s Hamidia college 40 years ago.  Among the national award recipients Shekhar Gupta is the only winner with no known history of RSS association. Incidentally, Gupta is also the lone awardee from the English language press. Although another journalist representing an English newspaper was given away state level journalism award, his stories written in Hindi are translated for publishing.

Kailash Chandra Pant, 79, edits a literary magazine in Bhopal. He was never associated with journalism. Mahesh Shrivastava , 73, after retirement as Dainik Bhaskar editor in Bhopal was appointed vice president of the state government’s Rashtriya Ekta Samiti with minister of state rank. He has penned a song for Madhya Pradesh government. Shankar Sharan is the chief vigilance officer in NCERT, New Delhi. The author-educationist is known for severe Marxist -bashing in his books. He has never been a journalist. Rajnath Surya, 78, has been a BJP Rajya Sabha member from Uttar Pradesh. Before that the veteran journalist was associated with several newspapers in Lucknow, Patna and Jaipur.

Asim Kumar Mitra, 76, has been a column writer for RSS mouthpiece Panchjanya from Kolkata and Dhirendra Nath Chakravarty, 87, is editor of daily newspaper Shankar Jyoti in Assam.  

Another national journalism award instituted in the name of Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) ideologue Late Manik Chandra Vajpayee was given away to Shyam Khosla (2011), Baban Mishra, Raipur (2012), Rajendra Sharma, Bhopal (2013) and Baldeo Bhai Sharma (2014).

 Khosla, 83, has been a full-time RSS volunteer. He is also founder-member of RSS leaning journalist union, National Union of Journalists. He was associated with Hindustan, wire agency Hindustan Samachar, Tribune and Indian Express.  Baban Mishra has served in various capacities in RSS newspapers Yug Dharma and Swadesh. VHP leader Rajendra Sharma is owner-editor of Swadesh newspaper which is printed from several cities in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Baldeo Bhai Sharma was editor of RSs mouthpiece Panchjanya. He is more famous for defending BJP and RSS in panel discussions on TV news channels.

Shekhar Gupta and Rajat Sharma were on the dais with Shivraj Singh in a glittering award distribution ceremony at the chief minister’s residence on April 19 evening. Other recipients were in the front row opposite the stage. Razzmatazz of the function was reminiscent of a gaudy film star nite. A huge pandal was erected  for the audience where flashing multi-colour lights swirled, over a dozen TV cameras roved, big screens zoomed in and out the  star guests on the stage in accompaniment with loud music.

“We have had scores of plain, insipid journalist award functions in the past. But this time, we decided to celebrate the ‘tribute’ to the award-winning journalists in a grand style. Hence this extravaganza”, a beaming Shivraj Singh Chouhan gushed  in his speech. He profusely thanked the media for their ‘positive’ contribution in helping Madhya Pradesh remove the tag of BIMARU state.

The award recipients were no less gushing in their praise for the chief minister in the thanks-giving speeches. Shekhar Gupta said the popular chief minister has transformed Madhya Pradesh and brought it among frontrunner states in India in development. He justified award to him, saying he is a foster son of Madhya Pradesh because his foster father Late Prabhash Joshi hailed from the state. Veteran journalist Joshi as resident editor of Indian Express, Chandigarh edition, had recruited Shekhar in early seventies when the latter was 19 years old.

Interestingly, recitation before the award to Gupta mentioned him as editor-in-chief of India Today group.  Shekhar did not correct the mistake in his speech.

Rajat Sharma was so visibly overwhelmed by the honour that he twice referred to Shivraj Singh as Congress leader Digvijay Singh. Later he apologised for the mistake when the chief minister pointed it out to him. Sharma promised Shivraj Singh from the stage to feature him in his famous TV show ‘Aap Ki Adalat’.

After the function was over, the two celebrated journalists were flown back to New Delhi in the state government aircraft.

State level awards from year 2008 to 2014 were also presented to seven journalists in the function. The award carries Rs one lakh cash each. 

Earlier, the chief minister had given away regional journalism awards in seven categories to 49 scribes in a function in Bhopal on April 8. These awards  carried Rs  50,000 each.  The function was marked by chaos as recipients scrambled with their families to have selfies with the chief minister.

The regional and state awards were announced in 2008 but were quietly forgotten. National level awards were instituted in 2011 but no one was chosen for them for four years.

All these years the chief minister did not feel the need to oblige media men with awards. So, they remained undistributed. But the wide media coverage about his alleged involvement in the PEB scam has spurred the chief minister to go on an overdrive to win over journalists.

The government hurriedly set up juries for the dormant awards. Background of the awardees suggests that there were broadly two criteria for selection. The national award should be for RSS men and state/regional awards should be distributed in such a manner that at least one representative of each important paper in the state is covered. No other criterion is evident in the choice of recipients. Nor any criterion was set anyway.   

Jury for the national awards comprised a known RSS volunteer and Makhan Lal Chaturvedi national university of journalism vice chancellor BK Kuthalia. Another member was a local journalist Girija Shankar, who is widely known as a chief minister’s media adviser.   

Senior journalist Lajja Shankar Herdenia says the whole idea of government awarding/rewarding journalists is repugnant. The octogenarian scribe recalls how he had nixed the idea of government award to journalists in 1986 when Motilal Vora was the chief minister.

“ Voraji  had set up a panel comprising veteran journalist KP Narayan and me nd few others as members to prepare criteria for awards to journalists.  We consulted among ourselves the chief minister’s move and concluded that the government had no business of either rewarding or punishing journalists. Our resolution was carried and the idea was nipped in the bud ’, Herdenia recalls.

Another senior journalist ND Sharma says he was surprised to learn that his former editor in Indian Express Shekhar Gupta decided to accept the award.

‘ The beleaguered chief minister has resorted to buying  journalists through awards. This is a flawed and pernicious idea for fair journalism. I am not surprised about others accepting the inducement but Gupta was not expected to follow them.’ ND Sharma had retired from Indian Express in 1999 as special correspondent.

Before the awards, the government had distributed laptop to all accredited journalists, fulfilling an election promise of the BJP. For a year nothing moved on this front. Three months ago, the government woke up to the promise. However, process of identification of eligible beneficiaries of laptop kicked off a row, as a large number of journalists were left out due to strict accreditation rules. The government relaxed the rules to placate the disgruntled.

A senior journalist, who doesn’t want to be identified, laments that the worst part of this charity show is that no journalist in Bhopal has thought it fit to raise serious objection. All the inducements are being lapped up by scribes as though they are entitled to them.