Editorial
Media policy on defence!
Where is the need, the rationale for it?
WE are taken by surprise at the Prime Minister's announcement at the Formation Commanders' Conference at the Army Headquarters that the government would formulate a specific policy soon relating to media publicity on Army and defence.
There is hardly any instance of a separate media policy for an institution of a state. Especially in a democracy this is an outright anathema.
Basically, we wonder what prompted the PM and what formed the background for her in making such a declaration! With full respect to her words, may we submit that if there are any misgivings about the media in any national institution for any reason whatsoever these are better removed or allayed or provided against, by engaging with the media, rather than by distancing from them through new policies. We are fully aware of and alive to the sensitivities of the armed services and the defence institution so far as these relate to national security concerns. And speaking of a policy, the Right To Information (RTI) Act has an Exemption List that is meant to address the concerns of the Defence Forces and similar bodies.
In the last few years there has been a spurt in efforts to forge closer civil-military relations through increasing contacts with the media and the public. The National Defence College engages the media and a high powered conference on civil-military relations has just finished its work. These efforts should be nurtured and taken forward, so that they can gather momentum and acquire depth and diversity on a progressive scale.
At the purely media, and operational level, it must be realised that a newspaper is a daily product and so is a TV channel news broadcast and, hence, they are in constant need of timely, authentic and factual information. So the answer lies in strengthening the Inter-Services Public Relations Directorate (ISPR) into a truly professional and functional agency of the armed services. That is where the government needs a policy to be formulated in consultation with the armed forces. There can be media inputs into the exercise for a balanced outcome in terms of mutual accountability and transparency across the board. Here lies the solution, not in a new media policy related to the armed forces.
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