JOURNALISTS' SALARIES IN GOA ARE PATHETIC, SAYS RAJAN NARAYAN FN / GoaJourno
PANJIM: Editor Rajan Narayan, the enfant terrible of the media scene in Goa for over two decades, made use of his 60th birthday felicitation function to highlight the "pathetic" salaries paid to journalists in Goa, to urge the Goa government to offer more housing schemes to scribes, and to also make a call for a "guerilla journalism" that takes on the Establishment. For the second time in a month, Narayan's 60th birthday was celebrated on Thursday evening, with a felicitation for him at a function held at the State-run Kala Academy's main air-conditioned auditorium. Narayan's readers, fans and current and former colleagues were present. Earlier, a July 4 birthday was marked at the Cidade de Goa hotel at Dona Paula. As against a targeted collection of Rs 25 lakh, to be given to the editor as a gift, Rs 20 lakh had been collected, former IAS chairman and ex-Mormugao Port Trust (MPT) chairman Arvind Bhatikar announced. NOT IN CASH "We won't give him the money, because money does not stay with him. We plan to buy a flat for Rajan Narayan, once he finds a suitable one," said Bhatikar, speaking in Konkani. Former State Bank of India chairman P.G. Kakodkar, whose book of memoirs has been published by Rajan Narayan, said he first came to know the editor when the paper he then edited (Herald) reported on pollution caused by a textile mill in his ancestral village. "Herald (under Rajan Narayan) was a paper that generally was never with the Establishment," said Kakodkar. He argued that Narayan's stewardship of that paper for two decades had "given rise to a number of well-informed Goans and even non-governmental organisations" in the State. "Narayan has played a prominent role in the 'conversion' of Goans (from earlier being lackadaisical about such issues)," he added. Gerson Da Cunha, a prominent Goan retired from the helm of the Mumbai advertising world, contended that Narayan had "a keen mind, a mind that could digest, ears sensitive to malpractices, and a voice to articulate protest." Narayan later shared his views on journalism and its fate in Goa. He argued that the "journalist's dharma" (duty) is "to spread or write the truth, fearlessly and as well as you can, or are permitted to do." He argued that truth-telling in the media was becoming "difficult" as pressures were coming from all sides. The profit-motive had ascended in a big way to take over the media, affecting its truth-telling seriously, he suggested. "We (in the media) have to engage in guerilla warfare. To take on the Establishment on its own terms. We need to accept that the system is corrupt, and will do all kinds of horrible things," argued he. "If we fight, victory is possible. It is important to recognise good journalism too," said the editor, mentioning by name the work of former Herald deputy editor the late Norman Dantas, Herald's chief reporter Vijay de Souza whom he termed conscientious and honest, and "one of the most sensitive journalists" reporting on grassroots issues John Paul Fernandes. Referring to the criticism against him of being a "banyan tree" and now allowing colleagues to grow, he questioned the view that "Goan newspapers were always edited by outsiders". Sitaram Tengse (Rashtramat) had long been an editor, as had Suresh Walve (Navprabha), Narayan argued. He pointed to others who had recently grown to editorship, naming ex-Herald's Derek Almeida (now editor of Gomantak Times) and Sandesh Prabhudesai (Sunaparant). "Many people insist that I was a banyan tree, and didn't allow others to grow," he said. He argued that journalists had not stayed back because salaries here were "pathetic". "In Herald, my monthly take-home salary (in 2003) after working there for 20 years was Rs 9750," he said. 'NOT IN FIVE LIFETIMES' "If (builder) Anil Counto, Bhaticar and all my friends had not come together and raised a fund, I would have died in a rented basement flat. I don't think journalists in Goa could ever afford even a roof above their head," he said. "With property prices touching what they have, at Rs 40-50,000 per square metre, the journalist in Goa won't even afford a simple flat in five lifetimes." He said that earlier governments had offered subsidised housing to an earlier generation of journalists at the Patrakar Colony in Porvorim. "I would like to request the CM (Digambar Kamat to take note that the) present crop of journalists has not benefitted." Narayan argued that it was another matter that "some of us" had consciously not taken up the housing offered by the government -- by way of land at lower rates -- as "we didn't want to be obliged to the government". Editors were "taken care of", he argued, saying the more pliable the editors were the better they were better obliged. "People who really need help are reporters," he said, later adding that sub-editors who did the 'back-room' and unglamorous operations too needed some support. "Goa is the only place in the country where they have press conferences at 2.30 am (in the pre-dawn hours). Yet nobody bothers to ask how the journalists are managing. They don't ask if they need a glass of water, let alone anything else," he argued. "Journalist don't fall into the category of the 20 Point Programme (beneficiaries from the below-the-poverty-line category given subsidised land)," he said, half-jokingly. Narayan pointed to the situation of former Indian Express correspondent Gurudas Singbal, whose wife was ill with Parkinson's, and, post-retirement, he was finding it tough to cope with the expenditures. He cited the case of artistes who had been given land at places like Bandra-East where a Kala Nagar had been set up. ("It's another matter that 50-60% of the residents there were those who came in with political patronage, and got homes due to their involvement with [trivial arts like] 'rangoli'," he argued.) "On behalf of my fraternity, I'd like to make a request to Digambarbab (on this score)," he argued. WILL THINK, CM SAYS Speaking later, the chief minister didn't come out with any specific promise but said he would "think along the same lines" to see if a journalist-oriented scheme for a Patrakar Nidhi (assistance fund), as had been started for artistes facing indigent times during their advanced years in life. (It may be recalled that the earlier Parrikar government had announced a scheme, amidst much fanfare, to offer funds or loans for journalists to buy computers. Apart from getting stuck at the level of just having a Rs 500,000 provision, the scheme never really took off. In the meanwhile, journalists kept arguing over what would be the best way of implementing that scheme.) CM'S PRAISE Chief minister Kamat also promised to make good the half-million rupee shortfall in the attempt to present Narayan with a Rs 25 lakh purse. He praised Narayan on his 60th birthday felicitation saying that although Narayan had not "left me (uncriticised)" he had still regard for his work and "style of criticism". Kamat noted that Narayan had called him the "Sultan of Margao" and "King of Migrants". Argued Kamat: "I don't see too much of investigative journalism, not just in Goa but even outside..... Narayan is a social activist too, and has contributed a lot to Goa." Earlier, Narayan made the point that if "journalist join hand with the common man", nothing can stop them from making Goa a better place. Narayan praised chief minister Digambar Kamat and referred to his "aam admi" (pro-commonman governance) slogan. "If the government falls, the land sharks will take over, " he argued. He argued that the journalist and the citizen, if they worked together, could "create a culture" to stem the rot that has grown in Goa. Later on, Prof Ram Punyani, the articulate campaigner against communalism and former IIT professor, gave an interesting argument against communalism. He said hate for people of other communities, an "us" and "them" approach, and politics largely based on religious identities were taking India all that crucial distance closer to communalism. "In communalism, what we see is a misuse of religious identities for political mobilisation," he said. (ENDS)