Nearly 125 journalists in Bhopal on Saturday decided to sport black ribbon as a mark of protest against the decision of the Union government to ban NDTV Hindi channel for a day.
Journalists led by Friend of Free Media forum passed a resolution condemning the government's order.
The scribes unanimously maintained that the tendency to curb media freedom is a signal of “emergency like situation” and the decision to ban NDTV India is an attempt to curtail freedom of expression in the country. Umesh Trivedi, editor of the Subah Savere daily, said: “Journalists should prepare themselves for a long fight against such tendencies’’.
Senior journalist and former editor of the Hindustan Times' Lucknow edition C.K. Naidu recalled his experiences during the emergency period. He said the tendencies to curb media freedom comes in the garb of national security or nationalism.
Speaking on the occasion, journalist Rakesh Dixit said, “Government was testing waters and if there was no opposition from the press, the freedom of media would be muzzled further.’’
Speakers pointed out that smaller groups and journalists in other parts of the country have been facing such oppression, but it is the first time that a major media house has been targeted in India. They said the decision to ban the channel telecast is a clear indication of things to come in future.
Former The Hindu correspondent Lalit Shastri termed the protests of journalists as a second freedom struggle.
The meeting was attended by representatives of prominent national news channels and editors of local dailies. The decision to sport black ribbons by Bhopal journalists is the first in the country to oppose the television ban.