IMPACT OF PRESS ON GOVERNMENT POLICIES

Sometime the Press reflects the popular mood and sometimes it creates the popular mood,” says the Secretry, Home Affairs, K. Padmanabhaiya. True. Since time immemorial, newspapers and the people area inseparable pat of the society. Newspapers have always influenced the people and people have naturally affected the newspapers.
In our so-called systemized, democratic society, bureaucrats play a crucial role they draft policies, deliver plans and they all read newspapers. Does a newspaper change their perception or helps in making policies what soever? Says Padmanabhaiya, ‘I won’t say that it affects our perceptions but it certainly gives tremendous amount of information, argument ideas”.
Media does play a great role in creating and changing the perception of people. But retired secretary, foreign affairs JN Dixit is not a optimistic as the Home Secretary. Dixit says, “Both the nature and spirit of the Indian newspapers have changed drastically. It is no more serious, analytical and over a span of time it has become more a product than an additional instrumentality which provides education and information to the people. In the name of investigation, sensationalism has become a routine. And since what sells is the criteria, accuracy has suffered.
“It is not that the newspapers work totally in vacuum,” contradicts a senior editor of times of India, Amulya Ganguly. “Yes, we care more about what will sell more but the ideology and policy are reflected in the editorials.
As a mater of fact, all the offices of the ministries have a proper clipping section. And every morning the concerned clippings form the dailies are produced to the bureaucrats. Moreover, all the major newspapers are delivered free of cost of the bureaucrats which are “obviously meant for reading.
“But bureaucrats in their usual manner interpret and justify their point, if the situation so desired, without affecting the policy,” asserts Swapan Dasgupta, Associate Editor of Indian Express, “In any case, feels Dasgupta, “Indian Press can most easily be manipulated.”
It has also been observed, that do u an internal ego problem among the press itself, the media has not been able to makes its presence felt. “If some story is broken by one newspaper, the other dailies never follow the story which dies its own death,” observes Dasgupta Before is the only case, which was pursued by all the newspapers.
Not denying the fact that Indian bureaucrats are quite competent and innovative, “with and appropriate motive to do something constructive”,  the total bankruptcy and incompetence among politicians, leave the Press with too many responsibilities and expectations.
Unfortunately, in recent times, unlike the past, debates over a policy has become a responsibilities of academicians, educationists, scientists and journalists,” says Swapan Dasgupta. As a result, “We end up providing arguments, analysis and not exactly the structure on which any decision or policy can be championed.
“But, that is aspiring too much,” feels Dixit, “because they do not have much information of inner views and workings.” Ironically, governments here, at Central and State levels, have traditionally been so possessive of information available to them as to have functioned secretively for the most part. The instinct of authority at even the lowest rung is to is tight on what is knows.
Even today, the number of key reports remain undisclosed to the public. Which include the Henderson Brooks reports on the 1962 North-East military collapse during he Chinese invasion, the LP Singh report on reforming information and Broadcasting and Central Bureau of investigation, the I&B’s report to the Home Ministry on the flow of foreign money to political parties, and of curse, the Thakkar Commisson report on the Indira Gandhi assassination case.
Yet, in the case of India’s help on arm and train the liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam kay Army.
Interestingly, report prepared by the information and Broadcasting Ministry in 1989, admits, “The tendency to treat everything as secret comes from an anxiety to prevent the people from examining how a decision was taken. Therefore in a poorly informed society, there is no such thing as enlightened public opinion the role of the people conveniently ends with the election of their representatives.
This result in poor availability to required information which at times is desperately required by the decision markers. For instance: in the Korean War of early ‘50s, when North Korea was designated as the aggressor and the United Nations has deployed their troops.  India’s foreign ministry also decided to send its combat troops  to Korea but “it was the Press who warned us that it was an aspect of Cold War, and finally the Ministry realized this and send medical help instead,” says Dixit.
The forth round of so-called secret talks between India and the United States is a classic example of purposeful leakage to the Press. Interestingly, the talk was never revealed in India but was “purposefully” the talk was never re revealed in the United Status to Aziz Haniffa of India abroad news service. Says JN Dixit, “Since the controversy blew up we had to take a very peculiar stand I the negotiation, later held in London, and that affected the total orientation of the dispatch. 

But the office of External Affairs was found to be very disturbed over the way the Indian Press blew up the comments on Kashmir by United Status Assistant Secretary of State, Robin Raphel. Opines Dixit “The Press played a very negative role by giving undue importance to a simple comment made by as below a dignitary as an additional secretary of an office and sensationalized the whole issue.
Meanwhile, the Indian Press has done a great job by reporting the reactions of Pakistan to the Commission of Jurists. According to the Home Secretary, “Only then, did we come to know that the document was leaked to Pakistan, otherwise we would have been in the dark about this development.