Does India Need a Government Imposed Broadcasting Code?

chillibreeze writer — Unnikrishnan Menon

The thread of democracy that runs through the social fabric of the country has had inherent in it, regulatory mechanisms of various hues and colors. Insurance to banking through the print and the cellular, a wide gamut of portfolios are bound by it. Ombudsmen sit in judgment arbitrating on the complaints and allegations, regulating services that have a direct bearing on the lives of people. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India had been in place for quite some time now keeping a tight vigil, quite often dictating terms with a much larger telecom industry that invariably has wider reach and larger clientèle. So why then a section of the contemporary media is making such a hue and cry, raising apprehensions as to whether the proposed Broadcast Regulatory Services Bill will stifle it. It's not that the perpetrators of this rising opposition are unaware of the realities. Perhaps it is the shoddy way, a comparatively uninitiated Information and Broadcasting Minister and the Government that he represents went about formulating it. There was a time when it was intensely deliberated that the Telecom Regulatory Authority itself is competent to adjudicate on matters concerning broadcast also. Nobody seemed to be much concerned about it then. Of course not many players were there in the field at that point of time. Prasar Bharati, the public service broadcasting service was much talked about in those days and was always and most of the time linked with the Broadcast Council which was to intercede on broadcast issues. While the former was ill conceived, the latter became a non starter. Subsequent administrations simply could not find time enough or rather never assigned the priority it demanded till the judiciary set free the sky waves compelling the administration leading to the entry of multiple operators. What the Government lost in the process was the chance for preemptive decision, the time advantage, when they could have easily negotiated a regulatory mechanism through.

Law as a regulatory technique is coming under intense scrutiny these days, more often prompted by rapid technological advancements. The traditional techniques of 'Command and Control' are seen as less effective when compared to mechanisms like self-regulation, reports the Fali Nariman Committee on convergence. Enforced self-regulation or rather co-regulation, as one might call it, persuades an industry to set its own standards. This will be inevitable if one is to avoid harsher, and as the vested may allege, less appropriate standards. The Information and Broadcasting Minister is obviously of the view that a free society does not mean everybody can have it their way, leaving the people with no choice. He has reiterated that the regulatory authority, when formed, would take cognizance of any misuse of the due rights of the electronic media.

The contention is that the administration is only trying to be sensitive to the cause of the society, the dignity of women, the interest of children, justifying accountability to the nation and ensuring the secular amity of its people.

While major newspapers like The Hindu have its own system of arbitration, more often this works out only if an enlightened public reacts. That kind of social consciousness is a rarity in a country of fourteen hundred million people. Will self-regulation as upheld by the news channels hold good in such a situation? That's anybody's guess. Opposition to content code in favor of self-regulation however is not at the cost of regulatory mechanisms as such. Most of the stakeholders do subscribe to the view that a responsible and accountable government should have a regulatory mechanism in place to protect the interest of the viewers and the society at large.

It is in this context that one tends to go back to Fali Nariman. The committee feels it necessary to develop a new form of reflexive law, something that will ensure indirect involvement which will generate opportunities that can influence progress. What is more important is the fact that the committee has directly addressed the core issue of all these contentions. That is the abuse of power. Isn't that what all those concerned about the regulations are apprehensive about?

Keeping this in mind it has suggested that mechanisms be provided primarily by the appointment of highly qualified and independent persons, persons of integrity to arbitrate on issues of strife.

Everybody admits that some form of regulation is necessary. The contenders are right about their uneasiness in imposing content code. So is the administration, which feels for the society, its accountability to the country and the nuances of good governance that demands it. That however can be ensured only by an unblemished legislature which authenticates it as politically correct. Is India fortunate enough to have such a faction in power? That's the question one has to address at the moment.

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Unnikrishnan writes for chillibreeze.

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