Hans commitment to society commendable

My hearty congratulations to The Hans India, the Hyderabad Media House, its Editor and the team of journalists for a decade of genuine efforts in focussing on socio-economic development of India in general and the two Telugu states in particular.

Indeed, I brand The Hans India as one of the "socially responsible" papers constantly caring for credibility, respecting pluralism, linking people and unbiased opinion, particularly at a time when these public goods are increasingly becoming scarce.

I would like to take this opportunity to share two of my important views and elaborate a bit on social responsibility. I would begin with the local and community level. Firstly, how to explore methods and means so that communities reflect their opinions and aspirations outside their world.

As we all know, contemporary journalism faces a crisis of trust that threatens the institution itself and the conflict with social media is already on the cards. This is indeed a threat to democracy itself in the long run.

At a time when critics and experts demanded a renewed commitment to local journalism as one solution, The Hans India with its strong roots in HMTV made a remarkable effort in speaking to people and hearing from them a lot easier.

Particularly concerning the twin cities of Hyderabad & Secunderabad, your active involvement of citizens to air their grievances and prompt the authorities, wherever possible, for a quicker response and redress made a distinct mark in this field.

Based on these experiences, we very much hope that step by step a lasting restoration of public trust on a broader scale is possible in the long run.

The second issue, which is a key policy issue on social responsibility, is providing information to citizens they need to empower themselves and fight for and defend their rights.

As we all know, with democracies around the world, from the US to Burma, under attack in the last decade, it has become the responsibility of the media to provide citizens with information they need to fight for and defend their rights.

In a very critical observation, Ravish Kumar, recipient of the Ramon Magsaysay Award, lamented that mainstream media in various parts of the world have become the mouthpiece of the very governments that threaten the rights of the people.

In his public lecture on the power of citizen journalism to advance democracy, Ravish Kumar says "The media controls the diversity of news stories and specifies what interpretation of news events is acceptable. The media is now part of the surveillance state…It is not the fourth estate anymore but the first state".

But all is not lost. The future, Ravish Kumar says, requires journalists to recognize the clamour for "pure information" that would deepen the public's trust in democracy.

He pleads for professional values of sober, balanced and fact-based reporting be upheld in practice.

I think this is where Hans India has shown its pragmatic wisdom and profound practical experience in implementing truthful, insightful and distinctive people-centric information policy in all the fields of politics, business, sports, lifestyle and entertainment in the past decade.

I once again congratulate The Hans India and wish that it continues its sincere efforts in the future too.

Dr Chennamaneni Ramesh, MLA

Humboldt Expert in Agriculture,

Environment and Cooperation