By ​Ranjona Banerji​
Perhaps understandably, the terrible air quality in Delhi has subsumed our news channels. After all, most of them are Delhi-based, it is the national capital, it is impossible to breathe there and it is getting worse every year.
But for a country seemingly obsessed with corruption, a country which apparently was all right with the people who died and suffered because of demonetisation, there has very little conversation about the revelations of the Paradise Papers. The Indian Express is part of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists which has worked together, worldwide, to expose companies and individuals who dodge tax assessment and payment in their own country. Last year, it was the Panama Papers and unlike several other countries, India did little.
This year’s Paradise Papers involve 714 Indian entities, many big names including politicians of various parties, film stars, industrialists and more. Judging the response to these investigations, even if you allow a leeway for the “anniversary†demonetisation and the smog in Delhi, it suggests that corruption is an issue that affects us only sometimes or when the accused fit with our politics and ideologies.
Barring a few newspaper reports and some strong editorials, there has not been a massive media reaction to these investigations. The link below is from the website of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists which lists reactions in some countries.
https://www.icij.org/blog/2017/068/paradise-papers-response-arrest-investigation-audit/
Are we going to brush this under the carpet as well?
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How is the media supposed to react to murders or crimes which catch the public eye? We saw the disaster of the Aarushi Talwar case unfold before our eyes. Police press conferences making sensationalist allegations. Reporters and bystanders trampling all over the crime scene. Massive dramatic reconstructions on television. My most horrifying was a TV reporter wandering around a venue where Aarushi was supposed to have had a birthday celebration saying, “This is the chair she could have sat on…†and so on. The murdered girl’s mother appearing on TV to make her case. Books and movies made. And ultimately, the convicted parents are freed. The murders of Aarushi and Hemraj remain unsolved. The culpability of the media cannot be ignored.
In the Sheena Bora case, equally sensational, the investigation – late though it may have been – saw somewhat better police action although Arnab Goswami, then with Times Now, kept fanning many flames and resurrected careers of several forgotten society ladies and columnists. He also went after police officers – another aspect of media intervention which needs to be introspected within.
The death of Sunanda Pushkar agitated Goswami the most, whether with Times Now or Republic TV. In fact, Bennett Coleman filed a criminal complaint against Goswami and a reporter for stealing material collected on Times Now’s time but used later, on Republic TV. The “stolen†material included investigations into the Pushkar case. The judicial pronouncements on the death of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor’s wife have had little connection so far with Goswami’s allegations.
It’s a tightrope walk for the media, no question about that. How far do you believe the police and official investigating agencies, given the mistakes they make? On the other hand, how do you conduct an investigation of your own? Yelling on TV is not the answer. My suggestion would be to insist on better forensic evidence and to hold the police to better account. All research shows that most lower court judgments are overturned on appeal. Journalists and editors need to keep track of these issues.
It may help our professional reputations more than sensationalism.
​Ranjona Banerji is a senior journalist and commentator. She is also Consulting Editor with MxMIndia.com. Her views here are personal​