At the outset, let me say I don’t share the discomfort many feel over Shashi Tharoor’s twittering ways. On the contrary, it is a remarkable source of inside information on the workings of Indian Government, regardless of how many really want to know about it. Tharoor has a knack of enlightening us – his twitter followers - with information on topics such as relations between African countries and India; but he also fulfils the deepest desire of a creative writer by tweeting some rather banal and humorous lines, much to the chagrin of a section of society rooted in a hackneyed vision of the political life where standards of decorum are such that we might as well use nameless, faceless logos for politicians, simply saying POLITICIAN. Unfortunately, today that evokes the image of an oily, cunning man maneuvering his way towards more power and money. So, Tharoor’s only source of inspiration brings him brickbats, notwithstanding that he may only be trying to be open and accessible, certainly not the traits of that wily homogenous creature called a POLITICIAN. Tharoor must be told that he is not expected to be accountable, secrecy being the buzzword for our notoriously un-industrious politicians.
Certainly the media could not comprehend how an incumbent minister could encroach upon territory it considers firmly its own. How he could bypass the traditional route of delivering political news, they probably thought. After all, the media has taken on the self-appointed job to affect stings on any member of that secretive group who has the misfortune to have his secrets betrayed. It usually does a good job of it too. But I fail to understand what purpose the ‘stings’ perpetrated upon Tharoor have served, other than to increase the ratings of a few TV shows and to make a reluctant, controversy-tainted celebrity of Tharoor, who, as he tiredly and ironically said, never had such problems with the international media during his days as undersecretary-general of Communications at the UN. The English language press too has taken the gauntlet; they have front-paged every little hiccup of Tharoor’s and given disproportionate, perhaps, even biased coverage to events like this IPL controversy. Where are the stories about Lalit Modi’s conviction for alleged use of drugs and kidnapping in the US? Perhaps, sections of the media cringe at Tharoor’s accent, wonderfully thick as it is. Or perhaps, they did not apprehend his sudden ascent in the muddied waters of Indian Politics even though he was an outsider. Or, may be, it’s just cynical marketing through a manufactured controversy involving a celebrated diplomat of yore. Whatever the truth, Tharoor may have been reminded of that quote: Once bitten, twice shy. The media, it seems, has lost the plot. Perhaps it needs to be the victim of a sting too. How many of those in the fourth estate truly understand the nature of their work? Have they forgotten what ethics and balance in reporting means? Are they themselves as cynical now as to follow the money and for the rest, well, let it go to hell, honey? Tharoor has made some errors of judgment, as in the case of his visa tweet. When you cut your teeth in Indian politics that is only expected. But has the media been fair to him? You only need to compare coverage given to silly matters like “Cattle Class/Holy Cows” with real issues of corruption and graft involving Sharad Pawar. Perhaps Tharoor is a soft target, an easy punching bag to people seeking a way to sell their news. But does that justify the media? Introspection is the word.
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