New Delhi: The concept of investigative journalism is unfortunately vanishing from the media canvas, at least in the Indian context, Chief Justice N V Ramana said on Wednesday.
"As a person whose first job was that of a journalist, I am taking the liberty to share a few thoughts on present day media. The concept of investigative journalism is unfortunately vanishing from the media canvas. It is true at least in the Indian context. When we were growing up, we eagerly looked forward to newspapers exposing big scandals. The newspapers never disappointed us," the CJI said at the launch of a book - Blood Sanders: The Great Forest Heist - authored by a journalist, Udumula Sudhakar Reddy.
"In the past, we have witnessed newspaper reports on scandals and misconduct creating waves leading to serious consequences. Barring one or two, I don’t recall any story of such magnitude in recent years. Everything in our garden appears to be rosy. I leave it to you to arrive at your own conclusions," he added.
He highlighted the media's role in the protection of red sanders, which is known for preventing forest fires from spreading in the vulnerable forests of Seshachalam hills and is facing the threat of extinction.
"There is a lack of the necessary will to enforce the laws that are already in place to protect the red sanders. The collective failures of individuals and institutions entrusted with the role of protectors need to be highlighted by the media. People need to be made aware of deficiencies in the process. This job can only be done by the media," said CJI.
Quoting Mahatma Gandhi, the CJI asked the media to introspect and test itself against his words that the newspapers should be read for the study of facts. They should not be allowed to kill the habit of independent thinking.
The book gives insights into all that has gone wrong with the fragile ecosystem spread over Chittoor, Nellore, Prakasam, Kadapa and Kurnool Districts of Andhra Pradesh. Red Sanders thrived in this habitat till a few decades ago. According to an estimate presented by the author, in the last two decades, nearly 60 lakh Red Sanders trees were cut. Smuggling from the forest area spread over 5,30,097 hectares resulted in the arrest of over 2,000 people from the neighbouring state alone.
