‘Thekedar of Nationalism’: Ravish Kumar Backs Barkha Against Arnab

Are we really going to ask the government to start censoring journalists, asks Ravish Kumar.

Refusing to shy away from the Arnab-Barkha spat, NDTV’s Ravish Kumar has lashed out at the self-appointed “guardians of nationalism”.

Speaking with The Quint at the ‘Talk Journalism’ seminar in Jaipur, Ravish said there was no question of not supporting NDTV’s Barkha Dutt on the issue and questioned Times Now’s Arnab Goswami asking the government to censor journalists.

When nothing else happens in the country, then such issues crop up. Nobody can co-opt patriotism and declare himself the thekedar (guardian) of nationalism. It’s valid that Barkha challenged this stand. There’s no question of not supporting Barkha on this. Are we really going to ask the government to start censoring journalists?  

Ravish Kumar

Ravish’s stand is remarkably more direct that that of India Today’s Rajdeep Sardesai.

In a generic (and seemingly balanced) blog post titled “Why I Will Not Speak on The Arnab-Barkha War”, Sardesai claimed that he wanted to stay out of the ongoing social media showdown – but he has finally decided to give in. The altercation between the two leading journalists started when Arnab on his popular Newshour debate reprimanded the media for siding with Pakistan – calling them “anti-Indians”.

Somewhere along the way, however, Sardesai’s ‘neutral’ stance shifts towards Barkha Dutt. He expresses his disdain for the TRP-motivated theatrics in the newsroom, sensational tabloid journalism, ultimately claiming a moral high ground.

Journalism is actually often about being a ‘monkey balancer’, of diligently seeking the truth rather than mindlessly scouring for TRPs, of making sense rather than seeking sensation, of informing the viewer rather than titillating him. [...] I wish to be a journalist who looks for nuance instead of noise, complexity instead of chaos, samvad (dialogue) instead of rhetoric.

Rajdeep Sardesai in his blog post

Also Read:
Rajdeep Sardesai Is on Barkha Dutt’s Side, So Why Won’t He Say So?
Barkha Dutt and Co Have Had Enough of Arnab’s Shrill ‘Nationalism’

Ravish Kumar took the stage later along with Dr Kumar Vishwas in the ‘Talk Journalism’ seminar.

Speaking about journalism in India, he said that five to six top journalists are the root of all problems. He said he feels burdened because a lot of people know him. Had lesser people known him, he said, he could have reached more people and done more.

Hinting at Arnab, Kumar said that journalists are running the country these days. He said that there is no need to debate on nationalism on TV everyday and added that these debates are ruining democracy.