Call to be Catalysts

If there is one news channel in the country which acutely feels the inadequacy in the systems that govern the lives of the people and initiate moves to remedy at least those which are within the purview of the audiences, it is undoubtedly the New Delhi Television (NDTV), headed by Dr Pronnoy Roy. I had a lot of admiration for the son of this soil, West Bengal, who today exerts a lot of respect in the national level, not only for his journalistic acumen, but more in the way he and his team puts across the news of the national level. It is not the so-called passive, indifferent news reporting; the different reporters of the channel break all myths of traditional journalism; they get involved in the scene, and would not hesitate to tell us how he/she felt at the time of the event... Barkha Dutt surely belongs to that category or fire-brand reporters.

But what caught my attention as I sat two days ago in front of the television to see the crude clippings of the siege of the Taj and Oberoi Trident in Mumbai, the team went behind the scenes to capture the sentiments of a wide spectrum of people; everyone had something to say about the events... what the channel does, though not directly, is building a healthy public opinion, to counter the vile attempts of the political parties to politicise every event possible. Until we dissociate events of the country from politics, there is no salvation. Rightly did the Mumbaites had the guts to tell the politicians to keep away from the scene... Could every citizen in the nation were to say that, we will have better peace and control in the country.

I was so delighted when anchoring the newscast two days ago in the evening at 9 o'clock news, Roy did two things that were quite unthinkable for a news channel : one minute of silence in the honor of the people who died in the encounter, and direct applause to the National Security Group for the commendable job they did in fighting back the attempts of terrorists to blow up the hotels. Giving due credit to all those who deserve will take us a long way in building a healthy atmosphere to fight against the evils that haunt our nation today.

While there are new news channels mushrooming every other day, a news channel of this kind is sure to contribute towards awakening the citizens from the slumber, created by politicians and pseudo intellectuals. In fact, each and every one can become a catalyst towards change within the circumstances we are placed. We are not expected to do something which is beyond our capacity, but if I feel the need to be a catalyst, then I will also find the ways and means of being one; it is not for self-glory or for priding that I need to be a catalyst in the society I live, but as a mark of my responsibility to the people I live with.

I am a teacher in a school, and how can I be a catalyst in my work place, in the school and in the family? It is not difficult to work out the ways how I can be a catalyst; think of the number of chances how I can educate my students on the need to respect one another, to go beyond "narrow domestic walls" of culture, religion and nationality. If every teacher becomes a catalyst in his/her school or college, then the future will be in safer hands. We may not need to face another siege of the Taj or any other place in the country. Today that is my prayer: to realise the need to come forward to take responsibility for the people with whom I live each day, and if I can do something for the good of the people before I leave the world, what more could I ever think of from this short life!