Today,any sixth grade student who has barely paid any attention in civics class will know what the three pillars of democracy are. Yet,it’s always the fourth pillar that remains unknown and uncontested. For those of you who skipped out on some civics lessons, the fourth pillar of democracy is the press.
The press is so ubiquitous in the 21st century that we often forget how important it is. The freedom of press is the freedom of being able to fearlessly hold an opinion, to have a thought and to be able to boldly call it yours. With India celebrating its 75 years of independence, we don’t just celebrate those who fought with their swords but also those who fought with their pens. The press is a timeless entity and its importance was highlighted a 100 years ago, in 1922 when Bapu was prisoned on charges of sedition, its being highlighted now with Kashmiri journalists still being cuffed with every idea they pen and will still remain of utmost importance when 20 years from now someone from this room will be using the same freedom to make a change in society. In a country like India,it is the vernacular press that made us reach where we are today. It was the string that stitched us together in the tapestry of the tricolor we proudly call ours.
The freedom of establishing your opinion also carries with it the brunt of responsibility. The power of being able to construct and deconstruct nations altogether. When the freedom of press is curtailed,the true essence of democracy crumbles to dust. In this dust lie the ashes of those like Gauri Lankesh and Danish Siddiqui but with them the plethora of names that we conveniently overlook at the end of our daily morning newspapers.
This liberty isn’t only limited to those sitting in a Reuters office or a politicians Bureau,it is equally applicable to everyone who wants to know what happened in the Capitol Riots or just simply understand whether religion is actually about beliefs or just political propaganda.It is applicable to children who want to know who won the Cricket match this evening and also those who just want to post a comment in support of Mahsa Amini on their Instagram profiles.The freedom of press concerns the one family in Syria whose only way out is through substantial change as much as it does the one reporter who wants to publish this as his last article because he will be facing harsh consequences to his actions.
The world names the ones who had to work tirelessly in hospitals in the wake of the pandemic as its frontline heroes. What about those who stood outside reporting these dire circumstances to you,ones who stood there unwaveringly firm so that you could have a glimpse of what was uncovering behind the N-95 masks and the oxygen cylinders from the comfort of your 75 inch TVs. A Dmitry Muratov or a Maria Ressa would have never been able to reach the surface if their liberty to efficiently report and deliver would have been scrapped off.
“Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high”
These lines were written by Tagore to explain to our country how glorious an independent nation would have felt. If it weren’t for the freedom of press these lines would have been a paradox in itself. The press gives people substance to build their opinion on,without substance what are humans if not empty vessels with decorative sheaths on themselves. Today I know what and what not to fear because my ‘Hindu’ subscription gives me the liberty to decide it.
When I was told to write this essay today, I was asked to explain the degree of importance that the press holds. My sheer incapability of writing this article if it weren’t for the freedom that was given to me to write it and to the ones that conveyed their ideas to me through square shaped columns and miniscule blog articles are proof enough that freedom of press holds the utmost important today,and always will even centuries from now.
This essay isn’t about students studying journalism in Yale or aspiring writers who want to make in the field it is about that girl who didnt have the privilege of missing her civics class because her education was blatantly scrapped off her schedule,on the lines of war and terrorism. She knows best what the fourth pillar of democracy is because it is the same pillar that came crashing down when she read of her brother’s name in the list of those martyred in the morning paper the day Kashmir was captured.
The press has successfully saved humanity in times of peril and those of comfort alike. As the fonts under every article progressively shrinks,it is our duty to make sure that their liberties as individuals don’t. it is our duty that we save today what has always saved us,to give back to the one construct that has never failed the ‘for the people’ part of democracy.
