Wherever we may be led

The media is a dangerous animal. The sooner do we realise this, the better. One of today’s dailies carried a long delayed article on how TV almost led us to war against Pakistan after the Mumbai attack. The crazed hype and ballooning beyond proportion of ‘events’ is far more serious than the mere parodies they are made out to be.

We ARE a people easily led. Our history is evidence enough. We may relish the thought of biting the hand that feeds us, but deep within, we cling to our Gods, our Communities, our Parents, and anything that offers us some collective and overarching direction. The role of the media in such a society cannot be understated. The problem however is that our media is you and me – and as easily led by the nose as any other ordinary Indian mortal.

Determined powers have enough means at their disposal to lead these packs down paths of their choosing. Did the Pakistan Army fuel the war talk in the Indian media? Was it so easy to do? And why did the media rush off like crazed dogs in heat after the poor bitch of Satyam after ‘investors’ in the West started making angry noises?

There are many voices of regret today in the way Satyam went down. A sort of pity that they didn’t see this coming when they were tearing after the company with the sounds from the West ringing in their heads. Raju does not deserve to be condoned. This is not about choosing a one evil over an another. The point is that the media had gone after Satyam not because it took such bad decisions or was mismanaged, but because many powerful people in the West acted agitated seemed to believe that the decisions taken were terrible.

Was there any stopping to question sanely what was really happening? Never mind. Too late now. Own of our biggest prides has gone down, and we can only nibble at our fingers and hope for someone to show us the way again.

Yes Satyam should have been hauled over the coals. But the viciousness of the media was startling. This was a clearly being hugely spun by powers from all over, and instead of giving a group that we had much more knowledge and understanding of a little room, we tore them to bits. Then watched in disbelief as it crumbled.

One can only watch and wait for the next big media screw ups. See a scrap tossed at them and watch them go. Slowly we destroy ourselves, while TRPs rise.