Source: www.organiser.org
INDIA, April 4, 2010, (an opinion piece by Shachi Rarikar): For decades the Indian media in English, both inprint and electronic, has been dominated by an elite who by virtue of their education, articulate speech and degrees, scholarships and awards from abroad face little or no competition at home. A handful of such people occupy most of the media space. All news and views are doctored to fit their ideological parameters.
To the common, average, educated Indian, especially the majority Hindus, this is a frustrating situation. He and his religion has become the object of ridicule and despise in the mass media.
For the Indian Hindu, there is not way to fight this malicious campaign. Neither are his letters to editors published, nor can his articles match the linguistic skills of the foreign-educated. Even his messages are not displayed during the TV programmes. His responses on a channel’s website are also never published.
Thus, the internet comes with fresh breath of air, providing a breathing space to the common man. With the advent of blogging, web groups, chat forums, free websites and social networking sites he gets an opportunity to express himself, gives vent to his thoughts which had been deliberately suppressed all these years. As more and more Indians become internet savvy, the web space is being filled with a new generation of Hindu activists.