17/05/2026
The national media needs to adopt a truly nation first approach to be truthful & meet the expectations of the people, rather than getting carried away by ongoing narrative wars.
I said this while delivering the keynote address at the inaugural session of a seminar organised in Bhopal by Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University of Journalism & Communication & Veer Bharat Nyas to mark the 200 years of the first ever Hindi news paper ‘Udant Martand, which was published from Kolkatta in 1826.
I said till independence journalism was driven by missionary zeal in benefit of the society & for seeking Bharat’s independence from foreign rule. Some years after independence came the era of professional journalism which paved way for organised journalism . It too largely followed the path of ethical journalism, I underlined.
Then came the era of corporate journalism & electronic journalism in which, i said, emphasis on ethical journalism is less pronounced with corporate & political interests taking hold.
Amongst the audience were a large number of students of MCU studying journalism. I implored them to follow the path of true Nation First in order to guard media’s reputation as the fourth pillar of democracy adding the nation was supreme & no individual could be placed above the nation.
Giving example as to how today’s
media had failed to do its duty in some glaring cases, I said my campaign to stop po*******hy/ obscene content, which has emerged as the main cause of r**e cases in the country, had few takers in the mainstream media in what is the biggest threat to Bharat’s culture & character.
I said the Bollywood-centric eco-system that is behind the spread of obscenity through AV mediums, has close links with media entities based on ad revenue interests & this was the main reason why large parts of Indian media were silent about purveyors of perverted content.
I said the biggest example of this was Ekta Kapoor who, despite having produced the most perverted films based on incest-based relationships through her now banned OTT platform , had not been exposed by mainstream media. Rather she has the protection of mainstream media, i said.
The function was presided by gifted cultural & religious discourse-giver, Acharya Mithileshnandinisharan of Hanuman Niwas, Ayodhaya. MCU VC Shri Vijay Manohar Tiwari, & Shri Shriram Tiwari, noted cultural expert , writer & Cultural Advisor to Hon. MP CM Dr Mohan Yadav, were also present on the occasion along with Dr Mukesh Mishra, director, Dattopant Thengadi Shodh Sansthan, Bhopal.
Shri Shriram Tiwari is also the secretary of Veer Bharat Nyas.
