Prasar Bharati chief rises to defend Indian Democracy against ‘blatant’ anti-India presentation at a global meet hosted by UK and Canada
Prasar Bharati Chairman, Surya Prakash
As reported by Hindu, Prasar Bharati Chairman Dr. A. Surya Prakash said that Vinod K. Jose, Executive Editor of The Caravan magazine, made a “blatant” anti-India presentation during a session on ‘Religion and the Media’ at the Global Conference for Media Freedom, calling many of his statements “false” and “inaccurate”.
What was really shocking were many a blatant lies by Mr. Jose. Believe it or not he said that “a hundred Christians were murdered in India” and “the RSS engineered the pogrom against the Sikhs in 1984”.
After Jose’s presentation, when the discussion was thrown open to the floor, Mr. Prakash rose to the occasion and said many of the statements made by The Caravan editor were “false” and that there were “inaccuracies” in the presentation.
India was not only the world’s largest democracy, but also the most vibrant. It was also the most diverse society in the world, he added.
Explaining his intervention, Dr. Surya Prakash said that if the audience left the hall believing Mr. Jose, democracy across the world would be in jeopardy. The video below, which documents his intervention is a must watch
The conference was organised jointly by the governments of the UK and Canada.
“I am pained by the decision of the organisers to have given a platform for such a blatant anti-India presentation. I don’t think anyone is furthering the cause of democracy by running down the most vibrant democracy in the world,” Surya Prakash contended. To read the full report click the link below.
In a PTI report published in The Week Aditi Khanna adds from London, that any initiatives aimed at strengthening media freedom around the world should be focused on deepening the democratic traditions and steer clear of being agenda driven.
“All initiatives for strengthening media freedom are welcome across the world but the only aim should be deepening democratic traditions,” Prakash told PTI on the sidelines of the conference.
“India is not only the world’s largest but also the most vibrant democracy. Such a democratic environment provides a natural vent for all opinions and views,” he said.
