Social justice, jourlism and our role

Ikbal Ahmed

Society and jourlism complement each other. Without society, jourlism loses its relevance. In today’s globalized world, the influence and role of jourlism is comparatively more acknowledged and the responsibility of jourlist and jourlism towards the service of society has increased manifold.

Man and society are behind the various civilizations of the world. Science, arts, technology have always worked for the welfare of the man. Jourlism is also part of world civilization. Few will deny the role of jourlism to various revolutions, development and social change. History remains witness to the sacrifice and dedication of jourlists and the jourlism to the cause of independence and sovereignty. The vital role played by jourlists in Indian independence has been always acknowledged by tiol leaders. Likewise, jourlists are helping in the social change that the country is going through since then. They have been one of the forces behind the laws framed for people’s welfare. For instance, the abolition of Zamindari system, land reform movement, abolition of child marriage, universal adult suffrage, establishment of universities for higher education etc came about partly because of the constructive role played by newspapers.

In present times, jourlists hold the responsibility towards ensuring social justice. The use of jourlism for social justice can provide social security to individual and society. Through the formal legal system, victims can get justice. But the process through which the majority can get the same is called social justice. Economic security to the weaker sections of the society, free education, proper wages, equal wages to both the sexes, economic decentralization, participation of workers in a magement of industry, ensuring health and nutrition and supply of potable water may be called social justice. These are constitutiolly acknowledge and so the government is duty bound to safe guard them. It is necessary for jourlists to look into how social justice is or not being ascertained in society and investigate the reasons behind it and reporting on these subjects make up jourlism for social justice. Thus,  jourlism can ensure that society enjoys its share of rights and jourlists can derive satisfaction that they are the catalyst of social change. Investigative jourlism can play an important role in this regard, towards making social justice a reality. Similarly, jourlism for social justice can work successfully towards a corruption free society. Yellow jourlism should be avoided at all cost. Independent and clean jourlism only can ensure a clean society.

Jourlism is a challenge and expertise. The whole world is the work sphere of jourlists. Many leading jourlists have been able to bring to light the tion’s neglect, oppression and persecution of the poor and   illiterate in contemporary world. In the Third World countries, most are not able to enjoys democratic rights in the true sense of the word. Suffering of citizens of the countries, which are still governed like the middle ages and where mass killings still exist is limitless. It has become a challenge for jourlists to bring to light these tragic stories and this will lead to new development and growth in jourlism in social justice. By fighting for the unfortute who are oppressed and even killed, jourlism can lay bare the state of social justice and herald a new dawn. Jourlists will be the guardians of the social change thus brought about. In India too, there is a section of people who are illiterate, backward and live without proper nutrition. The stories about who remain deprived of the fruits of development and have been cheated year after year by the government or vested interest, generally do not find place in newspapers. It is a moral duty of jourlists to bring to focus the true reality of the poor and undeveloped. The oppressed can break out of the century old bonds, shackling them down when jourlists fearlessly investigate and give voice to their cries.

Jourlism is a tough and costly medium. Most of the time, jourlists face a lot of problems, for technical reasons or otherwise, to carry out proper investigation into issues. Moreover, they are uble to proceed to dangerous places for security reasons or reach the spot of incidents due to the uncooperative attitude of concerned authorities. In view of these restrictions, unbiased and honest jourlism becomes difficult proposition and that is when the role of jourlists becomes questioble. The authorities concerned should thus ensure proper security to jourlists, only then can they perform their job with greater responsibility towards society. For various reasons, jourlists of India have to undergo great sufferings and even meet death. In such circumstances, they have to fight for compensation for the families of the victims. For the cause of jourlism, the Union Government should do justice to the jourlists.

 Unbiased jourlism in present time, is a matter of controversy. Impartial jourlism raises the standard of a newspaper and helps in making it popular among the masses. Jourlists are expected to be friends of people. Rather than depending on the information from police, jourlists should be keen about undertaking independent investigation. The publication of reliable and reasoble news earns respect. Jourlists must abstain from sycophancy. When they embrace jourlism for social justice, they are bound to become more free.