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Mahadevi Verma
Second Memorial Lecture 2009
1907-1987
-
NCERT
MEMORIAL LECTURE SERIES
Mahadevi Verma Second Memorial Lecture
By Kalpana Sharma
atRegional Institute of Education, Bhopal
5 January 2009
-
December 2008 ISBN 978-81-7450-922-2Pausa 1930
PD IT IJ
© National Council of Educational Research and Training,
2008
Rs 10.00
Published at the Publication Department by the Secretary,
NationalCouncil of Educational Research and Training, Sri Aurobindo
Marg,New Delhi 110016 and printed at................
-
CONTENTS
OUR OBJECTIVES 1
SECTION 1 4
On Mahadevi Verma : Mahadevi Verma on Education
SECTION 2 18Mahadevi Verma Memorial Lecture: 2008-09
Theme: Can the Media Teach us Anything?
About the Author 31
Annexure 33
-
OUR OBJECTIVESThe National Council of Educational Research
Training(NCERT) is an apex organisation, assisting and advisingthe
Central and State Governments by undertakingresearch, survey, and
development, training and extensionactivities for all stages of
school and teacher education.
One of the objectives of the Council is to act as a
clearinghouse and disseminator of ideas relating to school
andteacher education. We have initiated the Memorial LectureSeries
in order to fulfil this role and to commemorate thelife and work of
great educational thinkers. Our aim is tostrive to raise the level
of public awareness about theseminal contributions made in the
field of education byeminent men and women of India. We expect that
suchawareness will set off a chain of discourse and
discussion.This, we hope, will make education a lively subject
ofinquiry while simultaneously encouraging a sustainedpublic
engagement with this important domain of nationallife.
The memorial lecture series covers public lecturescommemorating
the life and work of nine eminent Indianeducational thinkers and
practitioners.
Title and Venue of Memorial Lecture Series
Title
Gijubhai Badheka MemorialLectureRabindranath Tagore
MemorialLectureZakir Hussain MemorialLectureMahadevi Verma
MemorialLectureB.M. Pugh Memorial Lecture
Savitri Phule Memorial Lecture
Marjorie Sykes MemorialLecture
Venue
Madras Institute of DevelopmentStudies, ChennaiRegional
Institute of Education,BhubaneswarRegional Institute of
Education,MysoreRegional Institute of Education,BhopalNorth East
Regional Instituteof Education ShillongSNDT Women's College,
MarineLines, MumbaiRegional Institute of Education,Ajmer
-
2
We invite persons of eminence from academia andpublic life to
deliver these lectures in English or any otherIndian language. Our
intention is to reach a largeaudiences consisting in particular of
teachers, students,parents, writers, artists, NGOs, government
servants andmembers of local communities.
The Annexure (Memorial Lectures 2007-2008)provides a summary of
the lectures organised in the year2007-08.
In due course the lectures will be made available onCompact
Discs (CDs) and in the form of printed bookletsin languages other
than English or Hindi in which it isoriginally delivered for wider
dissemination. Each bookletconsists of two sections : Section one
highlights the purposeof the memorial lectures and provides a brief
sketch of thelife and work of the concerned educational thinker
andSection two gives the lectures in full along with a
briefbackground of the speaker.
Section 1 in this booklet has been contributed byDr. Shankar
Sharan, faculty in the Department ofEducational Research and Policy
Perspective, at NCERT.In this section the writer highlights how
Mahadevi Vermaknown as a great poetess was also a teacher by
profession.He presents briefly her educational insights on
philosophyof education and a comparative of the Indian and
Westernunderstanding of it, role of language, place of
creativeliterature in curricula, problems of girls
education,circumstances of unemployed youth and the poverty
ofmodern Indian intellectuals enamoured with Westernthoughts and
phraseology. He draws attention to the factthat the observations
made by Mahadevi Verma on all theseissues are relevant to our
current educational discourse.
Ms. Kalpana Sharma, is delivering the second MahadeviVerma
Memorial Lecture on 5 January 2009 at theRegional Institute of
Education, Bhopal. Kalpana Sharma
Sri Aurobindo MemorialLecturesMahatma Gandhi MemorialLecture
SNDT Womens College, MarineLines MumbaiRegional Institute of
Education,Ajmer
-
3
is an independent journalist, columnist and mediaconsultant
based in Mumbai. In over three decades as afull-time journalist she
was, until recently, Deputy Editorand Chief of Bureau of The Hindu
in Mumbai. Her specialareas of interest are environmental and
developmentalissues and she follows and comments on urban
issues,especially in the context of Mumbai's development.
The theme of her lecture is Can the media teach usanything? In
the wake of the terror attacks in Mumbai, on26 November, 2008 she
focuses on the importance of themedia at times of such a crisis.
She urges us to question:'Should not the media as a whole, and the
electronic mediain particular, pause and consider the direction in
which itis going?' She elaborates and further questions, "does
itnot have a responsibility towards its viewers, how is itshaping
perceptions, is it more concerned about accuracyor about
popularity, and how can it ensure that at timesof crisis it acts as
a conveyor of information and not panic?"She also highlights the
need for the media to consider theimpact of the depiction of
violent events on young minds.There is a strong need for the media
to realise itsresponsibilities and in her words, "the best way some
suchissues can be addressed is by internal guidelines developedby
the media with the help of civil society representatives including
parents and teachers, as has happened in manyother countries. We
certainly do not need censorship orgovernment control. But we do
need to develop the tools ofsensitivity and sobriety along with the
awareness of thepower we have to influence young minds."
We hope these lecture series will be of use to ouraudiences as
well as the public in and outside the countryin general.
I acknowledge the contribution of Ms Shadab Subhan,Junior
Project Fellow for helping me with the finalisationof this
manuscript.
Anupam AhujaConvenor
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4
SECTION 1
ON MAHADEVI VERMAMAHADEVI VERMA ON EDUCATION
SHANKAR SHARAN1
Today's graduate has to think ... those who have all theworldly
facilities want our life values. Why should thosewho already have
such values consider themselves poor?
(Mahadevi Verma)Mahadevi believed that a person is always a
student in therealm of thought and of feelings. If not, then
somewherehe must have closed the door of his heart and mind. Shewas
renowned as a poetess, but in fact, she devoted a lotof time during
her life to education and teaching. She hadestablished the Prayag
Mahila Vidyapeeth, which sheserved for as long as she could. Few
people know that herdevotion to education was a conscious choice as
shebelieved that educational institutions built the nation andsome
of her great contemporaries have noted that.Sachchidanand Vatsyayan
'Agyeya' drew attention to thefact that according to Mahadevi, her
poetry was thereflection of her moments of leisure and 'she would
devotethe rest of her life to the field of education, where it
wasrequired.'2
There are many definitions of 'Vidya' (knowledge/education) in
Indian literature. What Mahadevi liked themost was 'Sa Vidya Ya
Vimuktye' which means 'educationis that which liberates'. She noted
that in the past, Indianscholars had a very special regard for
education and thatis why it was always kept under state
control.
Analysing education Mahadevi described two aspectsof it:
internal texture and external structure. Theperceptible subject and
its communication comprise the
1. Dr Shankar Sharan is a Lecturer in the Department of
Educational Research and
Policy Perspective at NCERT, New Delhi.
2. Agyeya, "Adhunik Kavi: Mahadevi Varma" in Trishanku (Surya
Prakashan Mandir;
1973), p. 117
-
5
internal texture, while the Guru (the teacher), the
disciple,curriculum and surroundings have a place in the
externalstructure. All these six elements make up "the lotus
ofeducation" with all the six petals tied together carefully
bylanguage, the lack of which may cause these petals toscatter or
fall off.
She considered education to be "the heart of society",which like
purified blood, pumps new talent intoadministration, science, arts
and literature, and intosociety, by and large. If new blood infused
into the systemby education is healthy, the system would, as
aconsequence, remain healthy and active. But "if germs ofdisease
enter the system, all spheres would be fatallyaffected." How
painfully true this statement is, can be seentoday, in our
country.
According to Mahadevi, ancient Indian thinkersplanned education
carefully since they believed that itplayed a role in regulating
un-chiselled animal instinctsin human beings, and shaped human
potential. Therefore,neglecting education could take human society
back tobarbarism. Unfortunately, many countries in the worldseem to
aptly reflect this fact, today.
Only in this backdrop can it be understood as to whyMahadevi
Verma was against drawing divisive lines betweentradition and
modernity in education. She had pointedout that we have misled
ourselves by devaluing the greatachievements of our past as the
precondition of our futureprogress. "Only by incorporating the
lines of tradition,which carry the history of human progress in the
conditionof the new era, can we add up new links in the
centuryslong golden chain of development, and not by breaking
offwith them."3 Only plants, having been rooted in their ownsoil,
can tolerate hot or cold gusts of wind coming fromany side. "If
they leave the base of their soil, neither the lifegiving breeze of
Malaya nor the divine water of rain cankeep them alive." The same
thing was emphasised byRabindranath Thakur when he said that
emancipationfrom the bondage of the soil is no freedom for the
tree.
3. Mahadevi Verma, "Siksha ka Uddeshya" in Mere Priya Sambhashan
(New Delhi:National Publishing House, 1986), p. 3
-
6
That is why Mahadevi had warned our modernistintellectuals:
Due to the disconnect with the previous achievementsof a
society, "many cultures have vanished, and thisfact can be verified
from history." She was not obliviousto the fact that in the process
of transmitting the pastinto present, sometimes unnecessary
elements havealso come to be preserved along with the valuable
ones.In India's case, one more unfortunate fact is that thecountry
had to suffer long periods of foreign subjugation,during which, the
preservation of culture was morenecessary than choosing valuable
elements over thosethat were worthless. Therefore, it may have
happenedsometimes that 'a precious element was lost and auseless
element was preserved'. However, that is not amatter of serious
concern because, according toMahadevi, in every period only those
values last whichprove their worth under all circumstances.
Mahadevi had felt from her long educational experiencethat
communicating knowledge was more difficult thanacquiring it.
Therefore, the sphere of education was atwofold, mysterious
laboratory, where one had to provideample opportunity for the
independent development of astudents inner world and of his
personality and also helphim connect harmoniously with the outer
world. This iswhy Indian thinkers always felt that it was necessary
tomake the objectives of education clearer by classifyingVidya into
Para and Apara , that is, for the benefit of othersand valuable in
itself. Para is a medium of selfenlightenment while Apara is the
means of its developmentunder social circumstances.4
On education, Mahadevi's thoughts are quite similarto world
famous educationist Leo Tolstoy. Both believedthat education could
be called preparation for life only inits limited sense, and that,
in its broader sense, it wouldbe the ultimate goal of life. Tolstoy
had emphasised thatthere was no such thing as 'the final goal of
education.Rather, it was the law of perpetual evolution that
helpedand directed real education. Therefore, by its very
nature,the education of a man never ends or finishes forever.4.
Mahadevi Verma, "Matribhumi Devobhava" in Mere Priya Sambhashan,
above, p.13
-
7
We must understand that if these classical referencesto
education are overlooked or ignored, a seriousdisruption takes
place in a given society. If education, forinstance, is taken as
beneficial only for worldlydevelopment, not only does it become
one-sided, its realmeaning is also lost. Such an education becomes
aresultless activity with a meaningless preparation for life.It
results in producing various diseases or malaises, whichcome to ail
society. Therefore, considering one's educationas only a means of
personal progress and prosperity isnot only harmful for the country
and for society, itultimately makes one 'a feeble person, who is
devoid ofself-perception'.
For Mahadevi Verma these were not idealist talks; thesewere
practical facts about education. If proper care wasnot taken,
concrete problems could arise, irrespective ofwhether the reasons
for these problems could be identified."From the beginning till the
end, children are usuallyneither given moral education nor is any
attention paid tobuilding their character," she observed. This is
why we shallfind few young men "whose life contains the values
ofprinciples, courage, indomitable bravery and sense ofrespect and
reverence for women."
According to Mahadevi, a person is "undeveloped"during childhood
and "the question of the goal of hiseducation is left unattended".
In his adolescence, he is inhis formative years. So the final goal
- his education - isnot considered. But when a youth arrives at the
entranceof active life and faces his duties on his own with
anunhealthy body and a frustrated mind, a critical situationarises
for both him and for society. In a sense, this crisishas become
severe in our country today.
It saddened Mahadevi to see that India had to sufferprolonged
periods of defeat at the hands of foreigners:
And in this cussed voyage, it lost a valuable portion oflife,
and that was the philosophy of education. Itremains undisputed that
a victor is never satisfied with
-
8
having merely the governing rights over the country hehas
defeated. He wants cultural victory as well overthe conquered, for
which the simplest and surest mediumis a domination on education.
Therefore, the objectivesof education in a country ruled by
foreigners cant bethe same as in a self-governed country.5
It is an irony that in independent India, its
effectiveintelligentsia was not ready to understand this fact,
letalone take requisite measures to counter it! But the factremains
that Mahadevi's views on education were fully inaccordance with
those of nationalist visionaries such asRabindranath Thakur, Swami
Vivekananda, ShriAurobindo and Mahatma Gandhi. Her view clearly
assertedthat, "a self governed nation has to build able heirs for
itsvaluable treasury of culture, society and nation, while
therulers of an enslaved country need only the helpers amongthe
ruled people so as to just maintain the status quo. It'snot
surprising, therefore, if in both cases, the objectives ofeducation
were quite different, functionally as well withresults."
According to Mahadevi, only in a free country was suchan
evolution of a future citizen useful, where qualities suchas
self-esteem, a sense of national identity, and the will tostruggle
against injustice were developed. Under foreigndomination, on the
contrary, the development of a newgeneration of governed subjects
was "more threatening thanweapons" for the ruling class. Since so
far, we haven'tchanged the inferior education system provided by
thecolonial rulers, our field of education is disturbed,uncertain
and disruptive. Free society and subjugatededucation are not
coherent with each other and there is noway for us to move on
without solving this contradiction.
Mahadevi also took note of the world scenario in so faras
education was concerned. Analysing the extensiverebellion amongst
students here and there, she underlinedthat in countries where the
body of a citizen was free buthis soul was enchained , and where
soul was free but thebody was in rigorous subjugation, education
was at the
5. Mahadevi Verma, "Siksha ka Uddeshya" in Mere Priya
Sambhashan, above, p. 6
-
9
centre of wild activity. From this she inferred thatsomething
new was taking birth in the inner depths ofhuman consciousness, and
that the pain was making thenew generation restless. This
restlessness was not only theresult of a lack of material comfort.
If that had been thecase, dissent among students of materially
prosperouscountries like the United States of America wouldnt
havebeen there.
In Mahadevi's view, the world has become unified dueto the
development of science. However, political conflictsare multiplying
divisions among the people. This is acontradictory situation, which
can be brought to order onlyby inducing a sense of higher objective
of life. On the otherhand, in India, internal and external
conditions of thestudents are so disrupted that to infuse
creativity in themis a tough task. The generation born in
independent Indiahas altogether different hopes and ambitions. But
the lastgeneration, despite being independent now, has yet notgot
freedom from mental subjugation, nor did it so far evenfeel it
necessary to get it.6 This disorder has become amajor obstacle in
the full-fledged development of ourstudent-class. Our students and
educational scenario arein such a condition that although
everything is there:education, training and various modes of
communication," what would be trained we dont know yet. There are
nobooks on this, as such things are not in the purview ofbooks. It
is in our scriptures, in our philosophy, in ourdharma.7 That is, it
is in those things which we havepresumed necessary to forget
completely.
Finding no means of livelihood after completingeducation, or
being instigation by political parties forvarious reasons are also
causes of dissent amongststudents. However, it should be understood
that alterationof lifes values and beliefs is also disturbing them.
Withoutcomprehending the goal of their education, they pass
6. This particular thought is recurring in Mahadevi's writings
and speeches. Evidentlyshe gave it much importance. She mentioned
it also in her significant speech"Sahitya, Samskriti aur Shasan"
delivered sometime in the Legislative Council ofUttar Pradesh.
7. Mahadevi Verma, 'Matribhumi Devobhava' in Mere Priya
Sambhashan, above, p. 14
-
10
through schools, colleges and universities, and never knowwhere
they would land. 'Be it primary or higher, oureducation system has
not paid attention to the overalldevelopment of a human being'.
Those who are fortunate find jobs, while others feel
thatspending the golden years of their youth in colleges
anduniversities is a meaningless waste of their time. But nothought
is being given to this. It is the same for a self-governed society.
Priceless years of its youth are beingdestroyed and it is watching
silently, unable to think ofrequisite corrective measures. We have
been witnessing thatin the hope of decent jobs, millions of youth
are engagedin a hopeless rat-race. Thus, having no livelihood
solutions,even after completing education, and themselves
beingblamed by society for this condition, causes confusionamong
students. Some politicians exploit this state ofstudents for their
own selfish ends.
According to Mahadevi, if a student could geteducation that
suits his talent and interest, he would notfeel the need to involve
himself in undue political activity.'This question will arise not
in student life. It will come tothe fore only when he attains a
certain amount of maturity,and when he is called upon to perform
his social duty.Only then will it benefit society'. If a student
who has aninterest in science, art or literature finds the desired
pathfor his creative talent to evolve and bloom, he wouldperhaps
know that entering active politics at the wrongtime would amount to
a misuse of his time. Mahadevi hadalso advised those active in
politics against using thestudent class as weapon, and asked them
to change theirways in the greater interest of society. 'Sects of
religion donot scare me but sects of politics do scare me', she
said.
However, in Mahadevi's view, the most difficult problemregarding
education is related to its inner nature and itsmedium. It is self
evident that only the mother-tongue canbe the appropriate medium of
education for any child. Butfrom the psychological point of view,
the question oflanguage is also concerned with culture and a sense
of
-
11
national identity, especially for a country like India whichhas
been subjugated as a nation despite having a greatculture. Even in
utility, the English language proves to bean obstruction, as most
students fail in it and even thosewho do not fail, neither
comprehend any subject throughit nor become capable of expressing
themselves fully. Thissituation persists even today, and we should
be apprisedof it. Some people may benefit from the predominance
ofthe English medium in our education system but theimportance
accorded to English builds an inferioritycomplex and intellectual
dumbness in our otherwise ableyouth. This fact is never taken into
account. Mahadevireminds us that the vision of our great thinkers
and seershas helped us so far to counter the vagaries of
subjugation,and has kept the path from being lost in
darkness."Language has been the flame of lamp for that light.
Pavakanah Saraswati."8
Being a sensitive teacher, Mahadevi felt that due to thedeep
relationship of language with human sensitivities,with perceptions
and feelings, the desired development ofa student becomes
impossible due to the burden of Englishlanguage. "Nothing can be
more miserable for a thinkingperson than his inability to express
himself and when thisstate of mind gets reflected in activity, it
can only producedestructive tendency." This conclusion based
onexperience was not only an analysis but a warning too,ignoring
which, we have not done the right thing. Mahadevialso tried to
persuade those intellectuals and educationistsof our country who
believe that certain colonial legaciescannot be done away with. The
educational frameworkgiven by the foreign rulers "has no strength
to bestowhumanism", she explained. Not only has a foreign
languagehas been the medium of our education for a long time, ithas
also become for some of us, a proof of being eruditeand highly
cultured. Therefore, it is no wonder that manyof us shudder at the
thought of living without it. Alwaysrecalling death as the ultimate
fate of human beings, notreatment would seem necessary to an ailing
person. So,
8. Mahadevi Verma, "Bhasha ka Prashna" in Mere Priya Sambhashan,
above, p. 22
-
12
to fulfil our national life the inner world of our nationmust be
made free. This work is hard and demands specialefforts, as the
chain binding the soul is stronger than thechains tying the
body.9
Due to her broad-based vision, Mahadevi tried to makeour
intelligentsia understand that the problems faced bycountries with
ancient cultures used to be altogetherdifferent. Those having young
civilizations did not havemuch to lose or change. And even if they
changed, therewas hardly anything to fear. But countries with
ancientcultures risk great loss in any reckless change. In
amisplaced enthusiasm for modernisation or radicaltransformation ,
if we lose our valuable heritage, it wouldbe a great loss not only
for the particular country but forall humanity. Thus, if a colonial
legacy has become a fetterin the natural development of millions of
Indians thensaying that it cannot be helped is plain defeatism. In
thevery inspiring words of Mahadevi, "A river that springs fromthe
heart of the Himalayas, whether a small current or abig one, does
never ask for the way from the rocks. Has itever asked to make
banks of gold, silver or marble for it? Itnever said so. Crossing
the mountains it moves onovertaking everything with a gusty speed
and it is herprinciple to make her own banks." Similarly,
ourthoughtful people must build the path on which ournation could
overcome the mental subjugation ofcenturies, not just the elite but
every person in the country.And, this work cannot be accomplished
by imitating othersmedium and models.
Therefore, the objective of our education must be tomake the
natural relationship with our culture lively. Onlymaterial
prosperity and economic development cannot bethe objective of
education. If economic development couldnot be coordinated with the
evolvement of the self, it wouldbecome an ugly phenomenon. "If
someone asks you togive Ganga-Yamuna in exchange to get you to
Mars, youwould never agree. There is a reason: we are made of
thisland, we have a soulful relationship with it. You can
9. Mahadevi Verma, "Hamara Desh aur Rashtrabhasha" in Mere Priya
Sambhashan,above, p.26
-
13
harmonise its message with science, but cannot leave itfor
science."10 It would be fatal to make merely personaleconomic
advancement the sole goal of anyone's education.That would lead to
a blind alley. This can be appreciatedby looking carefully at the
situation of the so-calleddeveloped countries. That kind of selfish
goal creates'mental unemployment', which is as miserable
asunemployment itself. Not only has higher education,'transformed
itself into absolute dissatisfaction with life',it has sometimes
become merely 'a means to get thenecessary amenities for a
comfortable life.'
Mahadevi believed that Indian students have thestrength to face
the challenges of the present times, andcontribute significantly.
'If they recognise their innerstrengths, then all doors would open
automatically.' Butfor this to happen, one should have self-control
over one'slife. If our life is not disciplined or if we do not lead
abalanced life, we can't get inner strength. Giving theexample of
electricity, Mahadevi explained that electricityis everywhere: in
the sky, in the earth and in every atom;but you can't light a
single lamp from it. Light would notget activated until it is
collected first in a powerhouse whichis a centre, and then and only
then can the whole city beilluminated. "A similar process takes
place in one's heart.If you concentrate or focus and hold your full
strength,physical power, inner power, faith, belief and the power
ofyour soul, and consider the strength you have, all darkclouds
could go away. All the obstacles coming your waywill be removed."
She believed that if today's studentrecognises his latent strength,
the disintegration of societycould be contained and that social
life would be free fromall disparity. But if he fails to understand
his duty, theentire nation could become weak and lost.11
Mahadevi had a profound thought on the role of
creativeliterature in education. Usually, we make literature a
smallpart of the study of a language and not an essential part
ofeducation in general. Mahadevi was of the view that forevery
student, literature must have a very important place
10. Mahadevi Verma, "Matribhumi Devobhava" in Mere Priya
Sambhashan, above, p.1511. Ibid, p. 17
-
14
in his/her education. She considered it to be 'a chemicalcapable
of removing the discrepancies of life.' Putting it inthe
perspective of history, she reminded us that thecommand of armed
force creates a relationship of aconqueror and the conquered
between two countries, whilethe influence of literature always
bring harmony betweentwo countries. Therefore, "We have to give
such importanceto literature and culture in education that a
student mayget the message of unity, fraternity or brotherhood
ofhuman beings and ultimately would become a morecomplete
person."
Those who are familiar with the writings of MahadeviVerma, knows
the value of her thoughts on the status ofwomen and their
education. The great Hindi poet(Maharani) Nirala wrote this about
Mahadevi: "Until now,through her, thousands of girl students have
beenbenefited and become dignified." And in the field ofeducation,
"Mahadevi is greater than Sarojini Naidu. Nodoubt, her ideal in
Hindi is greater than many great men."12
Mahadevi had studied the contribution of great womenscholars of
ancient India and emphasised on learning fromthem. She did research
on the great tradition of womeneducation and the high status of
women in social life asexisted in our country. According to
Mahadevi, in Indiantradition "there has been co-education with
commonmethods for teaching. On completion of study, womengraduates
were involved in teaching also." It continued till7-8th centuries.
But then during the period of successiveforeign rules many things
changed in our country.
To bring about the required transformation in the lifeof women
was one of her main concerns. According to her,Indian women are
presently 'queens of the empire ofignorance.' On the other hand,
the modern educationcurrently being imparted to them takes away
some goodqualities from many young women. "We can't say easilyabout
a girl student that she is an inquisitive student,because she comes
out of her home like an unrestrainedbutterfly, far from the reality
and sensitivity of life, and
12. Surya Kant Tripathi 'Nirala', "Mahadevi ke Janma-Divas Par"
in Chayan: NibandhSangraha, (New Delhi: Rajkamal Prakashan, 1981)
pp. 116, 117
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15
does not mind becoming the centre of attraction of
others."13
Therefore, we may find 'qualities like simplicity andhumility,
in illiterate women' but almost all the so-calledliterate women
hardly have more than the ability torecognise letters and read some
novels in exchange of givingup all their qualities'. The main
reason for this sorry state,according to Mahadevi, is imparting
education by thewrong kind of teachers. "If our children learn and
geteducation under the guidance of such persons who donot have
character and principles, who carry inherentweakness out of their
own poor education and character,all these weaknesses would also
affect the students."Mahadevi felt sad that we do not care to have
even thosequalities in our teachers, which we want to see in
thosepeople who perform ordinary jobs:
Those teachers responsible for building the future ofgirls, the
mothers of coming generations; our lacklusterattitude towards them
is an unforgivable fault. Toprovide the means for country-specific,
society-specificand culture-specific mental development is
trueeducation by which a person feels harmony in his lifeand makes
it useful for others too. This important taskis not such that can
be performed by a person ignorantof a distinct culture and one who
is frivolous and weakin character.14
Mahadevi was firm in her view that copying westernsocieties was
harmful for the upliftment of women here.Further, mechanical
equality with men ultimately makeswomen more incapable and
dependent. And, thoseeducated men, who are 'weak, helpless and
useless degreeholders', should never be the ideals of women.
Abandoningtheir natural qualities and unsuccessfully imitating
mencan lead educated women nowhere.15 Whatever seems onthe surface,
in fact, such women lose social and personalvalues. So, if we
follow "such suicidal approaches of the
13. Mahadevi Verma, "Hamari Samasyayein: 2" in Shrinkhala ki
Kadiya, (New Delhi:Radhakrishna, 1995), p. 117
14. Mahadevi Verma, "Hamari Samasyayein: 1" in Shrinkhala ki
Kadiya, above, pp.106-07
15. To understand in detail Mahadevis thought on the situation,
sorrows and theway to solve the problems before Indian women her
book Shrinkhala ki Kadiyais most valuable. All the essays collected
in this book centre on this issue.
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16
western world, it would be as ridiculous as cutting one'sfeet to
copy a disabled person."16 Basically, westernapproaches are
hedonistic. Hence, relationships betweenmen and women generally may
not rise above suchlimitations even though the social courtesies of
westernsocieties may appear praiseworthy. Therefore, accordingto
Mahadevi, if our women follow the western model offreedom, it will
lead to other forms of distortions andabuses, not towards harmony,
which is the life of a society.
Finally, Mahadevi had also assessed the Indianintellectual
scenario in connection with the presenteducation system. She noted
that the present educationsystem, "is not a bridge to bring us
nearer but has becomea big gulf to divide us, which our selfishness
is wideningday by day."17 This is an education after receiving we
tryto become persons whom a common man hesitates toapproach. It is
natural, then, that this type of educationtransforms our
intellectuals into a hi-fi group who neitherconnect with the Indian
people nor do the people feelcomfortable mixing with them. Rather,
some intellectualsare such, 'in whom education has turned into
poison likethe drops of Swati (nakshatra) changes in the mouth of
asnake.'
This is why the intellectuals, who consider themselvesso very
important, are actually extremely incapable ofcontributing to the
interest of the country. Most of themlive and grow up with an
intellectual inferiority complex,"whose even totally a lame dream,
and who believe thatjust by attaching some foreign feathers, they
have turnedinto messengers of heaven. Even their ugliest
ideals,because they are in a western moulding, are identified
asnothing more than being just pretty. Even their shoddiestviews,
with some foreign patches here and there, are takento reign in the
world of thought."18 Women intellectualstoo, are the same. "As a
pot of cold water lying near hot
16. Mahadevi Verma, "Navin Dashak mein Mahilaon ka Sthan" in
Mere PriyaSambhashan, above, p.62
17. Mahadevi Verma, "Hamari Samasyayein: I" in Shrinkhala ki
Kadiya, above, p. 10318. Mahadevi Verma, "Chintan ke Kuchh Kshan"
in Deepshikha (Allahabad: Bharti
Bhandar, Samvat 2022 Vikrami), p. 41
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17
water loses its cool unknowingly, similarly, educatedwomen have
silently adopted the weaknesses of men andcome to visualise this
condition as the reflective ofsuccess."19 That is why most women
intellectuals also givemore importance to meaningless mental
exercises than thesimple and truthful feelings of the people. They
even takeindividual confusions as some valuable
formulations,publicise it and make selfish enterprises their
petty'knowledge business'.
Mahadevi observed sadly that in such intellectuals, theoutlines
of culture are found broken and that the imagesof life are
incomplete. For this reason, she tried to inspireus to be attached
to our cultural roots, although with anindependent mind, and find
our way in a new era.Mahadevis great contribution to education,
culture andliterature is comparable to any thinker of modern
India.This doesn't pertain only to the subject of womeneducation,
to which Mahadevi devoted a lot of effort duringher whole life to
everything she had taken up to write andspeak about. Her views send
us valuable messages eventill this very day:
Why I ask this night of separation,how much passed or
remained?Moments echo and the particles sing,whenever they this way
unwillingly come,writing self-sacrificing for themremained I an
indelible message!
19. Ibid, p. 104
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18
SECTION 2
MAHADEVI VERMAMEMORIAL LECTURE
THEME: CAN THE MEDIA TEACH US ANYTHING?Aspects of the talk to be
delivered by
Ms. Kalpana Sharma
ABSTRACTI visited a government primary and middle school in
avillage in South Bihar recently. Over 500 students, fromClass I to
VIII, had just four teachers to instruct them. It isanybody's guess
what these children will learn during theirschool hours. Once
school ends, they return to their homeswhere there is usually no
electricity at night. Hence, whatthey learn is what they see in the
daytime.
In Mumbai, in an urban slum, children go to amunicipal school.
There too the teaching is ofteninadequate. But at night, they
return to their crampedhomes where the television is blaring. Their
"learning", soto speak, continues even after they leave the
confines oftheir school. But is the quality of what they learn any
betterthan the children in a Bihar village without electricity
andtherefore without television?
In an age of technology, what are the sources of learningfor our
children? No more is the schoolroom the solesource of knowledge. In
fact it has never been so. The so-called unlettered are often the
most knowledgeable andwise about things that books can never teach.
They have awisdom that surpasses academic learning.
So we acknowledge that learning is not just booklearning. But
these days, knowledge gained fromconnection with nature and the
outdoors, for instance, hasbeen replaced by all kinds of media
Television and the
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19
Internet. It's interesting to assess what exactly childrenare
learning from these visual and interactive mediaand whether this
improves the quality of learning ordiminishes it.
Take television, the very nature of this media
suggestspassivity. You watch and listen and absorb the
messagesbeamed at you. You can, of course, dismiss what you seeand
hear. But the medium has a seductive and subversiveimpact, often
difficult to quantify.
In the West, for instance, several studies have tried tolink
violence depicted on television to children's attitudestowards
violence. Do constant images of violence provokeaggression or do
they make people hate violence? Do theymake us indifferent to
violence? Will children try and copythe violence they see on
screen? These are some of thequestions raised in these studies. We
need to ask thesequestions in the Indian context to assess how
much, inthe last decade, has the visual media led to indifference,
orendorsement, of violence as a way to make a point, to settlea
score, to seek revenge.
I am not an expert on this subject. I have looked at theimpact
of media on attitudes towards women and how themedia tackles
women's issues. But being a mediapractitioner, I think I should be
thinking about themessages the media is sending out, particularly
to children.Do they learn anything? Are they unlearning what
theyare taught in school, or by their parents? Is there any rolefor
civic society engagement with the media on this issue?
These are some of the issues I want to address todayas I believe
they should concern all of us - parents, teachersand media
practitioners.
CAN THE MEDIA TEACH US ANYTHING?When I began thinking about what
I would say today, Ihad planned a talk connecting the messages that
the mediasends out to what people, and children in particular,
learnor unlearn from them.
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20
Since then Wednesday, 26 November, 2008 happenedin Mumbai, the
city where I live. Over the next 60 hours,urban war was brought
into our homes. As televisionbeamed images of the siege of the two
hotels, the Taj Mahaland the Oberoi-Trident, and of the little
known Jewishcentre at Nariman House, women, men, children
wererooted to the spot. They could not move. They watched inhorror
and fascination as men in different types of uniformstook on what
first appeared to be an inestimable numberof gunmen in these three
locations.
Meanwhile, the news filtered in that dozens of ordinarymen and
women, people peacefully waiting for their long-distance trains at
the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, a realicon for a city where the
majority depend on publictransport, had been mowed down by these
men with guns,these men that we now know were terrorists out to
send abloody and terrifying message not just to Mumbai but tothe
rest of India, and indeed to the rest of the world. Wealso know now
that out of the 172 killed over those threedark nights and two
days, the majority, 58 in all, wereactually killed in the first few
minutes of the terror strikeat CST. There were no commandos or army
or navy tosave these very ordinary men and women. A few braveMumbai
policemen with their outdated weaponry tried tointervene, and ended
up dead. The only images of the CSTmassacre that we saw the next
day were of the platformswith bloodstains and abandoned luggage. It
is only muchlater after the electronic media had pulled itself away
fromthe two hotels that the stories from CST began to be
heard.Print media, however, had already begun reporting on
thistragedy at the train station the very next day.
It is now more than a month since this unprecedentedterror
strike in Mumbai people have written and spoken,about it. There has
been analysis. Finger pointing. Andpolitical repercussions.
Some have claimed that this one incident will prove tobe a
"defining moment" in our politics. Others, who aremore cynical,
believe that this too shall pass as we move
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21
back to business as usual, perhaps with a few
additionalinconveniences in the form of tighter security
checks.
What 26 November will define, amongst other thingslike the
quality of governance, is the importance of themedia at times of
such a crisis. One hopes it will definehow the media handles such a
crisis without adding tothe panic and tension. It will also define
how the mediacan direct, or rather misdirect, anger and
popularsentiment when a crisis of this nature ends.
As we all know, the minute-by-minute coverage of the60-hour
siege and gun battle in Mumbai wasunprecedented. Never before have
television camerasconveyed to an entire nation a terror strike
continuouslyover such a long period. The English news channels
didnot even take commercial breaks for the first 48 hours.
What was the impact of the sights and sounds that weheard over
those hours? How did the interpretation of whatwas going on by TV
reporters and anchors govern whatwe thought?
We need to consider these and other questions not justbecause
the electronic media, and particularly 24-hournews channels, is a
powerful medium but also becausethe images, the choice of voices
heard on this media, thesubtle and not-so-subtle subtexts determine
attitudes ofa listening and viewing public. The impact has also to
beseen in terms of how it influences young people,
includingchildren, whether it makes them question violence
orendorse it, whether it helps them to understand the historythat
lies behind such events or see them in isolation,whether it
encourages responsibility or just rage.
In the book "Bosnia By Television"1, the televised warin Bosnia
has been analysed by several journalists. In hisessay, "War Without
End? Bloody Bosnia Season onChannel Four", Ian Brough-Williams
begins his essay withthe following quote that is eerily relevant
today:
"Watching the news, we come to feel not only that theworld is
blowing up, but that it does so for no reason,that its ongoing
history is nothing more than a series of
1. Bosnia By Television, edited by James Gow, Richard Paterson
and Alison Preston,published by British Film Institute, 1996
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22
eruptions, each without cause or context. The newscreates this
vision of mere anarchy through its erasureof the past and its
simultaneous tendency to atomisethe present into so many unrelated
happening, eachrecounted through a series of dramatic,
unintelligiblepictures. And so we have the correspondent,
solemnlynattering among the ruins, offering crude 'analysis'
and'background', as if to compensate us for the deepbewilderment
that his medium created in the firstplace".2
In Mumbai, we saw some of what is quoted above comealive. There
was an erasure not just of the distant past,but even the immediate,
in the way the television camerasforgot that people had already
been slaughtered at CST.The present was endlessly telecast, leaving
viewers to watchalmost as if they were seeing something unreal. The
most"unreal" element was that of the NSG commandos beinglowered on
to the roof of Nariman House. Those imagesbeing telecast, we were
told later, might have compromisedthe entire operation and even
lead to the death of apoliceman.
And the "deep bewilderment" that Miller speaks of issomething
that most viewers will endorse. The first fewhours, no one seemed
to understand what had happened,least of all the journalists on the
spot. Their bewilderment,and that of viewers, was compounded by the
absence ofany kind of authoritative voice - from the police or the
stategovernment.
Veteran BBC reporter Martin Bell dubbed the 1990sas the "Decade
of the Dish". That is true even today with24-hour news television
and live coverage of eventsunimaginable even a few years back.
Wars, terror attacks,famine, floods, drought, all manner of
conflict, are nowbrought to us even as they happen. There is no
time tothink, to evaluate what is happening, to pause. You haveto
talk and report continuously, as the story emerges infront of you.
Being a TV reporter in such circumstances isa challenge that most
print journalists have never faced aswe have time to collect,
collate, verify and then write.2. Quote from Mark C. Miller, "How
TV covers war" in "New challenges for documentary"
edited by Alan Rosenthal, University of California Press,
1988
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23
The other aspect to consider, and that has a bearingon what
people learn from the media, is whether the veryfact of continuous
real time news, and the sub-text thatforms the commentary
determines outcomes. In thisinstance, was it the coverage that
brought home theseriousness of the problem, or would that have
registeredin any case? Did the constant gaze of the camera
prolongand hinder the operation, or did it not matter? Did
theoutrage expressed by civilians and telecast by the
channelstrigger the government's response or would it have
takenplace regardless?
For this too, it is useful to look at the experience ofsome
veteran television reporters who covered Bosnia. NikGowing, who is
now with the BBC but was with anotherchannel during the Bosnia war,
writes in the book quotedabove about coverage of the war and its
impact:
"The information and nuisance value of TV images wasclear to
diplomats, who, as one reflected, 'are used toworking methodically,
slowly, systematically andreflectively'. Real-time TV pictures
compress responsetimes in a crisis. They put pressure on choice
andpriorities in crisis management. They skew responses.They shape
the policy agenda but do not dictateresponses. They highlight
policy dilemmas but do notresolve them."This again is relevant in
the context we are discussing.
For instance, even before TV anchors had bothered tounderstand
the nature of the operation being fought bythe NSG in the three
different locations, they raisedquestions about the time taken to
complete the operation.Why so long, some asked. By doing so they
raised thewrong question, for they did not have the expertise
tounderstand what was going on within those three locations.Such
questions, however, did not deter those who knewwhat they were
doing from continuing their job. Yet, in themanner in which the
operations were questioned ontelevision, you would have imagined
that these were theexperts and those on the spot were amateurs!
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24
Another instance of media believing it could shapepolicy was the
way the Pakistan connection came up. Evenbefore news about the
identity of the one terrorist capturedalive had been fully
confirmed, channels began talkingabout the Pakistan connection.
Predictably, the rhetoricwas anti-Pakistan. No attempt was made to
distinguishbetween terrorists trained in Pakistan and those
directlysupported by the Pakistan government. The assumptionthat
what had happened in the past continued to happentoday, despite the
change of government in Pakistan andthe attempt to establish
democracy. And based on thisassumption, many channels began
demanding that thegovernment should take a "tough" line with
Pakistan andseveral of the people interviewed even suggested
"bombing"terrorist bases in Pakistan as a way of resolving the
problemonce and for all. Was this justified? Is it the job of the
mediato form judgements and attempt to influence policy in thisway,
or should it at a time of crisis, when all the facts arenot yet
known, attempt to place before the public as muchcredible
information as possible? In this instance, theelectronic media
became virtually another political actor,taking a line, arguing and
pushing governmentspokespersons to respond instantly to their
questions onpolicy that has enormous repercussions in the
region.
Fortunately, diplomacy is not led by media badgering.So whether
we agree or not with the governments response,it chose to do what
it felt best, despite the hysteriadrummed up by the media. This is
a sobering lesson thatthe media needs to learn. I am not sure,
however, that ithas as media anchors continue to believe that they
havethe power to drive policy.
What the media does drive sometimes is popularopinion,
particularly of the class that watches cable andsatellite
television. If an opinion survey is taken of peoplewho watch only
DD news and those who watch primarilyprivate channels, there is
bound to be a stark difference inthe perception of events,
including what happened in
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25
Mumbai on November 26. While the private news channelsdrummed up
considerable anti-politician and anti-Pakistan hysteria, which was
then reflected on the streetsof Mumbai through numerous
demonstrations, candlelight vigils and posters, DD in its usual
style underplayedthis reaction and was more sober. So if you had
accessonly to DD, would you join those who lit candles andshouted
slogans against politicians? Chances are that youwould not.
The electronic news media can also establishhierarchies of
importance of news, placing some news at ahigher level than other.
So while the attack in Mumbaiactually killed more people at CST
than at the two hotels,yet for the major part of the crisis, the
cameras remainedfirmly fixed on the luxury hotels. As a result,
even whenthe candlelight marches and demonstrations took placeon
the days after the crisis, they too were limited to thesetwo
locations. On December 3, a week after the end of thesiege,
thousands spontaneously turned up at the Gatewayof India. Yet, no
one went to CST. It was left to the portersat the station to hold
their own candlelight vigil for the 58dead. This says something to
us about the power of themedia to determine a hierarchy even in
tragedy, to givegreater importance to some locations because of the
powerthey represent over others that are "peoples palaces" if
youwill, like CST.
In fact, one of the little known and moving stories thatemerged
in the days after the terrorist strike was that of amiddle-aged
woman who actually lived at CST. She wasan orphan who moved out of
the orphanage when shebecame a major, did a variety of jobs, and
finally ended upwith her three bags sleeping at CST and working
duringthe day as a tourist guide. She got two bullets in her
leg.She will not be able to return to her work as a guide.
Otherstories, such as the one about the bravery and alertness ofthe
announcer, were first reported in the newspapers andlater picked up
by television.
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26
In many ways, the stories about the dead and thesurvivors at CST
is the real story of Mumbai, a city that isfull of ordinary people
who work hard, who save, who sendmoney back to their "native"
places, who live insecure livesas they sometimes don't know where
their next meal willcome from, or whether the homes in which they
live in aslum will still be there when they return, or whether
thedaily wage jobs that they do will continue and for howlong. Yet
these are not the people who are walking aroundwith slogans saying
"No security, No taxes". The peoplewho were angry, and were egged
on by the media thatgave them ample space and air time, are those
who aresecure, who have the money to make them secure, wholive in
houses from which they will not be thrown out, whodo not depend on
public transport, who go to privateschools and use private
hospitals, who rarely vote and arenot interested in politics. These
'non-citizens', in a sense,are the people who now feel insecure,
because for the firsttime "terror" has visited them.
Yet, if you watched and listened to television, you didnot hear
the voices of the voiceless of Mumbai but youheard plenty from
those who can get themselves heard atall times. As a result, you
were led to believe that the "mood"in the city was of anger, was
against politicians and wasalso anti-Pakistan. If the TV cameras
had ventured beyondthat cushioned part of South Mumbai, they would
havefound a different mood. There is plenty of politics in therest
of the city, people vote because they know that this iswhat
establishes their legitimacy as citizens, and manypeople are angry,
but at the media for presenting only apartial picture and
projecting only one voice and oneopinion.
Fortunately, our country does not consist of the peoplewho want
to disengage. In fact, what is encouraging, isthat in each
successive election, there is greaterinvolvement, greater
engagement, even in a place likeJammu and Kashmir. Far from
throwing up their hands
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27
and cursing the system, people are engaging with it, usingtools
like the Right to Information to expose the sloth andcorruption of
officialdom.
This is the response that was needed after 26/11, notslogans
like "Enough is enough".
But "enough" about 26/1, for the moment. Let us lookat the
impact of such an event, and its depiction by themedia, on the
minds of our children, of young people.
Last October, I visited two government primary andmiddle schools
in Bihar's Nawada district. In Loharpuravillage, the school had
around 530 students, but only fourteachers. The old building could
barely accommodate thechildren. They were being taught in
additional buildingsthat were still under construction. Even these
were notenough. In any case, with only four teachers, three
classescrowded into one room so that they could be taught.
We acknowledge that school learning is not everything.Children
pick up knowledge in many different ways andtoday television is an
important medium for suchadditional learning. But in Loharpura,
there was noelectricity on most days. So even this medium of
instructionwas not available to the children. And what they
learnedin the formal system was not much.
In Sikandra village the situation was better. There wasa pucca
school building and10 teachers for the middleschool and four for
the primary. But here again there wasno electricity. The water pump
did not work as its headhad been stolen within days of
installation. And the toiletshad been vandalised; the doors stolen
and the panssmashed.
As in Loharpura, in Sikandra too there was noelectricity on most
days except for a few hours. So fewchildren had access to a medium
like TV. Even if they did,it would most likely be to DD.
I wonder today what those children made of theMumbai terror
attack. Would they have seen anything, oronly the photographs in
the next day's newspapers shown
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28
to them by their teachers? The rest would be left to
theirimagination and the folklore emanating from stories
relayedthrough relatives and friends with a contact in the big
city.
Perhaps they would hear from relatives or friends ofthose who
were injured or killed at CST. Many of thosecaught in the terror
attack were people waiting to takelong-distance trains. On any
given day, the people yousee on the platforms of CST represent a
mini-India. So itwould not be surprising if the children in this
school hadsome fairly direct source of information. But it is
unlikelythat they would have seen the 60-hour terror drama
ontelevision.
In contrast, children going to municipal schools inMumbai, where
also the standard of learning is not of ahigh order, are exposed to
"learning" from many othermedia, including television. In most slum
homes, exceptthe very poorest, there is a TV set and a cable
connection.Even if your home does not have it, your neighbour
does.
And the night of November 26 and thereafter, manychildren would
have watched the on-going terror show forthat night and the next
day and night and day and night.
Since the end of the terror attack, there have beenseveral
reports in the newspapers about childrencomplaining of nightmares,
of being afraid of any loudsound. Most such reports are about
children of the middleclass or the elite. No one has bothered to
speak to thechildren of the urban poor. Yet, all children have
fears. Butwhen their fears become part of a reality show on
television,how do they deal with it?
Violence is also a part of the lives of people, particularlythe
poor. Children grow up seeing this violence all aroundthem. Yet,
seeing it on TV gives it another dimension.
In India, not much work has been done on the impactof violence
on children. But with the rapid growth oftelevision, and the fact
that news channels are now beamingimages of terror, of conflict and
of death right into our livingrooms, it is important that we do
assess the impact onyoung minds.
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29
Here I would like to quote Dr N. Bhaskar Rao3 on
thissubject:
"More than half of television viewers in India today arechildren
of below 15 years. And yet there is hardlyany sensitivity about the
relevance and impact of whatis dished out by various television
channels. All of themare operating in a competitive mode for one
upmanshipin the race for viewership. In this order channels
areconcerned more about 'what interests or attracts' ratherthan
what is 'in the interest' of children. Neither theGovernment nor
the parents or the teachers seems tobe concerned about this
situation. For the generationnext and the civil society of the
country is shaped andmolded by what they are exposed to today on
the 'idiot-box' day in and day out."The National Institute of Media
and the Family, a US-
based organisation that studies the impact of televisionon
children, makes some interesting points about theimpact of violence
on TV on children.4 It points out:
• Children are affected at any age, but young children aremost
vulnerable to the effects of media violence(Bushman, 2001). Young
children are more easilyimpressionable. They have a harder time
distinguishingbetween fantasy and reality. They cannot easily
discernmotives for violence. They learn by observing
andimitating.
• Young children who see media violence have a greaterchance of
exhibiting violent and aggressive behaviourlater in life, than
children who have not seen violentmedia (Congressional Public
Health Summit, 2000).
Of course, the incidents of terror are not the only imagesof
violence that children see. There is much more of it infilms and
even serials. But violence on the news possiblyhas a greater impact
on young minds, particularly whenthey watch it happening in real
time. Seeing images of thosesmartly dressed young men, walking
around jauntily withan AK-47 after killing over 50 people at CST,
is chilling. Itcould also result in a kind of admiration, of a
fascinationwith the audacity that they display.
3. Dr. Bhaskara Rao, is founder and Chairman of independent
Centre for MediaStudies (CMS), New Delhi
4. Website: http;//www.mediafamily.org/about/index.shtml
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30
Some of the violence depicted over those 60 hours wasimagined
through the sound and the fires but not actuallyseen. For instance,
the bombardment of Nariman House,the landing of commandos on that
building, the excitementin the voices of the anchors and reporters,
made the entireoperation look like a war movie. If a survey is
taken ofwhat children thought about that, I would not be
surprisedif some of them found it "exciting". When the context
ofviolence is removed from its depiction, people begin to lookat it
as an "event" to watch rather than something that isaffecting all
our lives and more specifically the lives of thosecaught in the
middle of it. We know now that all six of thehostages at Nariman
House were killed including the Rabbiand his six-months pregnant
wife.
To conclude, the Mumbai terror attack should makethe media as a
whole, but the electronic media in particular,pause and consider
the direction in which it is going. Doesit have a responsibility
towards its viewers, how is itshaping perceptions, is it more
concerned about accuracyor about popularity, and how can it ensure
that at timesof crisis it acts as a conveyor of information and not
panic.
At the same time, the media must consider the impactof the
depiction of violent events on young minds.
I end with the hope that out of tragedy comes somegood, or at
least some good sense. The electronic media inIndia has grown
exponentially. And in many ways thishas been a good thing for our
democracy. It has forcedgreater transparency. It has allowed many
more voices tobe heard. It has exposed inefficiencies and
corruption. Ithas put leaders and politicians on the spot. But with
allthis must also come responsibility.
The best way some of these issues can be addressedis by internal
guidelines developed by the media with thehelp of civil society
representatives including parents andteachers as has happened in
many other countries. Wecertainly do not need censorship or
government control.But we do need to develop the tools of
sensitivity andsobriety along with the awareness of the power we
have toinfluence young minds.
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ABOUT THE AUTHORMs. Kalpana Sharma
Kalpana Sharma is an independent journalist, columnistand media
consultant based in Mumbai. Her fortnightlycolumn in The Hindu
titled "The Other Half", whichcomments on contemporary issues from
a genderperspective, also appears in Hindi in Hindustan, in
Marathiin Saptahik Sakal, and on the websitewww.indiatogether.org
In addition, she writes a monthlycolumn on urban issues for the
websitewww.infochangeindia.org She also writes for several
otherIndian publications and for some outside India.
Kalpana Sharma was, until recently, Deputy Editorand Chief of
Bureau of The Hindu in Mumbai. In over threedecades as a full-time
journalist, she has held seniorpositions in Himmat Weekly, Indian
Express and Timesof India. Her special areas of interest are
environmentaland developmental issues and in 1982 she worked
withAnil Agarwal of the Centre for Science and Environment toedit
the first Citizens' Report on the State of theEnvironment. During
her years in The Hindu, she wasresponsible for the annual Survey of
the Environmentpublished by The Hindu, a collection of articles
oncontemporary environmental issues that appeared in theform of a
separate priced publication.
For her fortnightly column that currently appears inThe Hindu's
Sunday Magazine section but began withIndian Express in 1985, she
received the Chameli DeviJain Award for an Outstanding Woman
Journalist in 1987.In 2006, she received the Laadli Award for
gender sensitivewriting for her body of work.
Kalpana Sharma follows and comments on urbanissues, especially
in the context of Mumbai's development.She is the author of
"Rediscovering Dharavi: Stories fromAsia's Largest Slum" (Penguin
2000).
She has co-edited with Ammu Joseph "Whose News?The Media and
Women's Issues" (Sage 1994, 2006) and
-
32
"Terror Counter-Terror: Women Speak Out" (Kali forWomen, 2003).
She has contributed chapters to severalbooks on media and on
women.
Kalpana Sharma is one of the founding members ofthe Network of
Women in Media, which now includeswomen journalists from all over
India(www.nwmindia.org). She is also on the boards of SPARC(Society
for Area Resource Centres), which works with theurban poor, and
Panos South Asia, whose focus is mediaand development.
-
33
An
nex
ure
Mem
ori
al L
ectu
res
2007- 2008
NA
ME
DA
TE
VE
NU
ES
PE
AK
ER
TH
EM
EC
HA
IRP
ER
SO
N
Mah
atm
a17 J
an
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India
Pro
f. C
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Dir
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SR
Wes
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um
bai-
56
Sys
tem
Res
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The
case
of
conve
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DT
Wom
en's C
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entr
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n h
ealt
h C
hu
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gate
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um
bai
an
d e
du
cati
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r
-
1
An
nex
ure
Mem
ori
al L
ectu
res
2007- 2008
NA
ME
DA
TE
VE
NU
ES
PE
AK
ER
TH
EM
EC
HA
IRP
ER
SO
N
Mah
atm
a17 J
an
uary
India
Pro
f. C
hri
stoph
erIn
div
idu
als
Pro
f. M
rin
al
Mir
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i 2
007
Inte
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Win
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Pro
fess
or
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Mem
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lC
entr
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cati
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Cit
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s; R
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Ch
an
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ilos
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ohi, V
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Ver
ma
20
07
of E
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cati
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orm
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rofe
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Ch
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ark
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hop
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Hu
ssain
Cen
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ri R
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am
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guage
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ens
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hair
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ah
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ch,
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er
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robin
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ri M
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oj D
as
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cati
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Pro
f. S
an
jib G
hos
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olleg
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tern
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tre
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kata
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ram
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Inst
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tePro
f. N
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Men
on
Rea
lisi
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Equ
ality
Pro
fess
or
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an
dra
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ar
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entr
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Oppor
tun
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Rol
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Em
inen
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rite
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dic
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IDS
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enn
ai
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rite
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ife
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S,
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enn
ai
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tri
Ph
ule
12
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emb
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iben
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aw
ati
Dr.
T.
Su
nder
ara
man
Sch
ool
as
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entr
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fess
or V
idhu
Pat
elM
emor
ial
20
08
Wom
en's
Col
lege
Exec
uti
ve D
irec
tor
for
Hea
lth
Pro
mot
ion
Pro
fess
or
an
d H
ead
Lec
ture
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oad V
allapi
Nati
onal H
ealt
han
d H
ealt
h s
ervi
ces:
Dir
ecto
r PG
SR
Wes
t, M
um
bai-
56
Sys
tem
Res
ou
rce
The
case
of
conve
rsio
nSN
DT
Wom
en's C
olle
ge C
entr
ebet
wee
n h
ealt
h C
hu
rch
gate
, M
um
bai
an
d e
du
cati
on s
ecto
r
Page 1