JEDDAH, 12 June 2004 — The Indian voter has shown the ability to use his franchise as an empowering weapon and this is the most important aspect of last month’s election results, said Rajdeep Sardesai, managing editor at NDTV, India’s first 24-hour news and current affairs channel, in an interview with Arab News. Rajdeep is a towering character in Indian TV journalism — macho and hyperbolic. The winner of over two-dozen awards, last week he became the first recipient of the Apsara award — the prestigious award of the Indian Producer Guild — given for extraordinary achievements in the media. He is an institution unto himself, a sort of university of TV journalism. A lot of young journalists try to walk in his footstep but none measure up so far.
Apart from electronic media, he also writes profusely for the print media. His sentences remain etched in the mind. His campaigns against the ills of society remains clear-voiced and fearless, large in scope, consistent in their concern for the exploited, scathing in their criticism of the government and its institutions. He is a new face of aggressive journalism altogether.
A graduate of St. Xaviers College, Bombay and M.A. LLB from Oxford University, Rajdeep has been anchoring live all election programs in the last 10 years and hosted other popular programs like The X Factor and The Big Fight. He has reported from all parts of the world. With his professionalism, secularism, integrity and neutrality, Rajdeep has raised the standard of journalism in India.
But despite all his achievements, he is warm and ordinary, a quiet man you could easily miss. He tracks his quarry relentlessly. A man who plays by the rules, he can't stay out of trouble in pursuit of the truth.
Rajdeep believes today's politics and politicians have both let down the Indian voters. He is an insider in this debate and has been sharply critical about the criminalization of politics all over the country. Recently, the journalist was in the Kingdom to attend a program organized by the Urdu Academy, Jeddah. Arab News catches up with him on a range of issues in an exclusive interview.
Here are some excerpts.
Q. The media, including your NDTV, failed miserably to predict the outcome of the just-concluded national elections. What do you feel was the main reason for this?
A. I admit that we failed to read the voters' mind. There are many reasons. In many ways, it was a state election, not a national election. People voted on local issues. The media failed to grasp the "big story." We were caught up in Page-3 culture - who joins what party and movie stars glamour - and we failed to understand what was happening on Page 1. But having said that, I would like to add that the NDTV was not as much off the mark as others. However, we have learned a lesson and hopefully will do better next time.
Q. Despite media hype and a glitzy ad campaign, the NDA government was thrown out of power in Delhi. What are the reasons?
A. In the last month, something far more robust and engaging than psephology has happened: I look at it as the arrival of the Indian voter as a politically conscious individual. The Indian voter has shown the ability to use his franchise as an empowering weapon. Yes, creating an aspirational society and capturing the excitement of the market economy is important, but ultimately most voters just want to feel that small changes are being made in their life that create hope for the future. Which is why the new BSP - bijli, sadak, pani matter more even today than BSNL or a BSE for a majority of the Indian voters. The NDA government certainly failed to address the BSP factor and was seen as a government not concerned about the suffering millions. They felt it, and waited for D-Day and then voted out the NDA government.
Q. Chandrababau Naidu is said to have done a lot for Andhra Pradesh, but he too was booted out. Where did he fail to deliver?
A. Naidu's image as Andhra's CEO was based on the ability of his spin-doctors and media managers to hard sell him as a politician with a difference. While his style was refreshingly different to the rest, after Gujarat, it's now clear that Naidu in substance is no different to the Mamatas and the Samatas: politicians who only pay lip service to principles in public life. It's equally clear that the myth of Andhra Pradesh being India's economic tiger was being sustained largely by the beautification of Hyderabad. Step outside Naidu's info-city and the rest of Andhra Pradesh seems no better, and in many instances much worse than other parts of the country. The recent state-wise human development report, for example, shows that Andhra still remains well below most other states on several important social and economic indices. While Naidu has made the effort to turn things around, the fact is that concepts like e-governance alone can't work unless they are backed up with a long-term agenda for change.
Moreover, Naidu may be feted in the pink papers, but the voters wanted to know why enough was not done to prevent the suicides of small farmers.
One important factor in his defeat was his alliance with the BJP, the party seen as responsible for the killings of Muslims in Gujarat. On Gujarat though, the tightrope walk that Naidu appeared to have perfected has finally led to his fall. You can't weigh human lives on the basis of what the balance sheet will be in terms of votes. Naidu attempted to do just that, and there lies the reason for his failure.
Q. Do you mean the Gujarat carnage was a key issue in the elections?
A. See, the community is still divided in Gujarat. But certainly because of what happened there, both communities outside Gujarat did not vote for those who were associated with parties linked with Gujarat, showing they do not want violence. There are some principles that any government that comes to power in India will have to follow. Gujarat is an issue and it is that of justice. People need to remind the government again and again that it has to do justice. Not a single accused person has been punished so far. In all, 88 people from the police and bureaucracy stand indicted, including some top officials. Muslims feel persecuted and have lost faith in the administration. Chief Minister Narendra Modi did not do justice either to Muslims or the Hindus affected in Godhra. Till justice is done, people will not forget. The healing touch has to begin with justice. A regional emotional event can get success in that area, but it cannot create national emotional event, and what happened in Gujarat did not go down well in other parts of the country. There is a clear message in the defeat of the communal BJP in Ayodhya, Kasi and Mathura, which the Sangh Parivar had made its prestige seats.
Q. You talk loudly about secularism and tolerance and appeal to shun extremism. But your NDTV channel gives wide coverage to such people as Narendra Modi, Praveen Togadia and Bal Thackeray. How do you justify that?
A. I admit the media was guilty of projecting people as leaders who do not really represent the views of the community and the common man. Praveen Togadia, Bal Thackeray and Imam Bukhari are given undue importance, I agree, but it is not possible to blank them out.
Q. What changes do you expect the new government to bring about? Do you think that the government will survive its term?
A. Well, the mandate is certainly against the NDA government, but not a mandate to a particular party. It's for governing in a principled way. You cannot have corrupt, non-secular and people who are not transparent at the top. Now, with a man like Manmohan Singh at the helm, it is time for principled politics. I hope this government completes its full five-year term.
Q. Do you think that the peace process initiated by the NDA government will continue? What in your view is the solution of the main dispute - Kashmir?
A. Indo-Pak relations are getting better and the process to bring them closer will continue whichever government comes to power. Normalization of relations between the two South Asian giants is the need of the hour and is linked to the peace and prosperity of the whole region - you cannot overlook it. Well, as far as Kashmir is concerned, the only viable solution is to make the LoC a soft border and encourage trade and commerce between the two countries. It would certainly help in reducing the tension and lead to a lasting and permanent solution.
Q. Are you happy with present-day journalism in India? What qualities do you think should be there in a TV journalist?
A. News channels in India are evolving; it is not enough to be a pretty face, you need to be a good communicator and a journalist at heart. And to be a good anchor one needs to be a journalist first. You need to have the energy and enthusiasm to sustain yourself through live news shows. Although there is no need for specialized knowledge, covering elections does require a larger understanding of the political and economic realities. But there is no rocket science involved. The pressure on news channels to keep the ratings up does impact quality.
