Ethics and Freedom

THE promulgation of Emergency and Press Censorship on June 26, 1975 constituted the darkest chapter in press history in free India. The period had its immediate and long term repercussions for the press. The moot question today is how far have the lessons been learnt by succeeding governments and the press? In fact, in the past decade, dark shades of press censorship were indeed hovering over the...

While giving his consent to the landmark Right to Information Act on Monday evening, President A P J Abdul Kalam has reminded Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of maintaining the sanctity of communication between the Head of State and the Head of Government. A consistently vocal advocate of openness and transparency in governance, Kalam has put in writing to Singh that communication between the...

The Indian Express did not appear on June 26, the day India awoke to unfreedom and the Emergency. When the newspaper did appear two days later, no words filled the space in which this editorial now appears. Instead, there was a blank. Yet it spoke in its very wordlessness, how it spoke. It spoke of an unacceptable, unspeakable crime perpetrated on the nation. It spoke of draconian laws and...

President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam has cleared the Right to Information Bill – expected to make governance more transparent and accountable. The President gave his assent to the Bill earlier this week. A notification will be issued by the Law ministry. The Bill entitles every citizen to have access to information controlled by the public authorities. It also covers state authorities and NGOs...

ISLAMABAD: Senior editors and executives of Indian media told their Pakistan counterparts on Tuesday that large sections in India were behind the peace process and that there were serious limitations for any government to regulate media coverage on India-Pakistan relations. They were responding to observations from Pakistan delegates that media in India by and large "toed" the government line. The...

The 100-odd last-minute amendments that were made to the Right to Information Bill have landed the Centre and states in a fix. Once the Bill that was passed last month receives the President’s assent, the Centre and states will have to create within three months about 40 posts of the level of Supreme Court judges and 300 posts of the level of chief secretaries. This is because the Bill requires...

Hyderabad, June 1 : Speakers at a national round table Wednesday agreed on the need for regulation of the media but differed on who should draw the line. Top journalists and Minister for Information and Broadcasting S. Jaipal Reddy felt there should be regulation for media, especially the electronic media, in view of the maddening competition but differed on who should make such the regulation...

If there is an increase in rape cases don't blame the police. Blame the media. The Times of India seems to be under heavy pressure. In the weeks to come it will have to face stiff competition from at least two other publishing houses and it is preparing itself to face it. Almost daily, as it were, it is announcing launch of new sections, like Times International, Times City and two full Sunday...

It should now be easier for Indian journalists and other citizens to get public information from their government, thanks to a new law. The Indian Parliament approved the new access to information law on May 12, according to the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX). According to IFEX, the new law follows election promises by the...

Union Information and Broadcasting Minister S. Jaipal Reddy, Press Council Chairman and prominent media personalities have advocated self-regulation by the media at a national round-table on "Should there be a Lakshman Rekha for News Media?" here on Wednesday. Inaugurating the meeting, Mr. Reddy advised the media to do "collective and cool introspection," besides building up its credibility. The...