THE CARMEL BEAT
The Dilemmas of the Common Man
Issues of National Importance vs TRPs
Sarah
Celebrities in India have always had importance and power that could rival a minor God and it has always been that way. Impersonators who earned their living through acting like them, huge posters and banners put up everywhere on any event in the celebrity’s life and complete anarchy when the celebrity does anything that ruins their image of perfection - all of these are the standard starter kit a celebrity receives as they enter the public domain. This idolization of celebrities is threatening rather than an honour, for the sake of the people as well as the celebrity.
Aryan Khan’s ‘scandal’ has been the highlight of the news from the moment it was created. October 3rd was the beginning of this chaos and finally came to a momentary standstill on the 28th of October when he was given bail by the Mumbai High Court. As most news channels fell on their knees trying to get extra information that they could put on their breaking news segments to give their audience of SRK fans and SRK anti fans, the country was still falling apart.
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The price of fuel in India had reached a shocking Rs. 101 in Delhi and Rs. 107 in Mumbai, which obviously pales in comparison to the current rates of Rs. 113 in Karnataka. The prices broke into the 100s range all over the country and yet most channels alerted the citizens of Aryan Khan’s unnecessary arrest by the NCB over and over again and him being accused of being a part of a ‘ganja trafficking network’.
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In a 24-hour shutdown that began from midnight on 3rd October, the state of Manipur saw a spoke in the wheels of normal life as members of the Joint Action Committee (JAC) protested the failure of the Manipur government to bring justice for Athuan Abonmei, a social activist according to The Hindu. The government quickly stepped up and the shutdown was deemed a success.
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Four farmers protesting in Lakhimpur Kheri, Uttar Pradesh were run over by a convoy of SUVs, one of which included the car of Union Minister Ajay Mishra's son. Four other people who were present there were also killed, according to the Hindustan Times. The call for the man's arrest or any action to be taken against the accused by farmer leaders had fallen on deaf ears. All this while certain sections of society burned Shah Rukh Khan effigies and posters in lieu of this arrest.
Of course, these are only three of the very important things that took place during this time frame,Priyanka Gandhi’s unwarranted arrest, the beheading of a Muslim man for his alleged affair with a Hindu woman and Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar’s statements to conduct 'sathe sathyam samacharet' on the farmers. This instance of news of National importance being overshadowed by Bollywood gossip has been a constant occurrence.Whether it was the controversy surrounding Rhea Chakroborty and Sushant Singh Rajput’s ,relationship during
a pandemic that had not yet been contained in the slightest or Raj Kundra’s PornGate Scandal when Indian vaccines were not getting the green signal internationally - there has always been something that has been deemed more important by news channels than instances of national machinery breaking down. The Indian media and its priorities have always been very clear: cover anything BUT things that matter most to the common man and make sure the details are juicy enough to help us forget things that affect us. In this year's long-suffering battle between issues of importance and TRPs, the latter always seems to have the upper hand.
Photo Courtsey PRweek.com