Having returned from Japan where I’ve been working for decades I’m hungry for news and views on a lot of issues. I often talk to people from a cross-section of society and also watch panel discussions where unfortunately angry voices are engaged in a shouting match on an Olympian scale. Is the person who shouts the loudest the hero or heroine and the winner? It is a sad situation indeed. I suggest a national shouting contest be started on TV so someone can be crowned officially Mr or Ms Shoutest.
Fortunately for us soft-spoken people, a lot of Indians do not subscribe to this philosophy. Strangely enough, I have seen moderators shout the loudest on TV and refuse to allow panelists the right to complete what they want to say. And, of course, the moderators butt in all the time. Is this democracy? Do we have to educate our moderators?
Looking back we oldies can recall how eloquent our post-Independence Indian panelists were for two generations. Gradually, we saw a decline in levels of politeness and respect for people whose opinions were different and today we are at an all-time low. Often the content is appalling. No point in boasting of our ancient culture and achievements for nowadays Indian TV panel discussions are an embarrassment on the global stage.
When the great philosopher and debater Adi Shankara was defeated by a surdra he gracefully accepted his defeat and walked away silently. If he were alive today and debating on TV we probably would not be able to hear what he has to say! Our loud-mouthed panelists would shout him out of existence. Isn’t it frightening?
Watching panel discussions on the BBC and other foreign channels makes me even more depressed. Why can’t we also speak with dignity and stop trying to outshout one another? Isn’t there a huge cultural gap between the culture of foreign panel discussions and our own?
Why do we continue in this ill-mannered way more than half a century after Independence?
