| March 9, 2002 | Saturday | Zilhaj 24, 1422 |
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TV in private sector
Much-needed relief
THE number of dead in the communal riots in India has crossed 1,000, but a mysterious silence seems to have descended on the world capitals. The way New Delhi condoned, by its inaction, the handling of the slaughter in Gujarat by that state’s extreme rightwing government is shocking. The death toll in Ahmadabad alone crossed the 300 mark within 72 hours of the Godhra train-burning incident, for which Muslims were dubiously blamed. Instigated by their leaders, Hindu mobs then went on a rampage, looting, killing and raping Muslim victims, and destroying mosques, while the police stood by and watched. The dead included a Muslim ex-MP and 19 members of his family, who were burnt alive. Independent media reports now confirm that the Gujarat government did nothing to control the situation, which resulted in the loss of so many innocent lives. No wonder, the international media raised questions about the secular credentials of Indian democracy and focused on the Hindutva politics unabashedly pursued by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and its Hindu fundamentalist coalition partners.
Regretfully, except Pakistan and Bangladesh, no other government or international organization has so much as raised eyebrows over the appalling loss of life and the barbarities committed on Indian Muslims. A solitary and somewhat warped statement issued by the US State Department showed a lack of sense of proportion when it condemned “senseless acts of violence” lumping together the widespread violence in Gujarat and the attack on a mosque in Rawalpindi, as if the two were linked. The European Union, the United Nations, the Commonwealth, Amnesty International and other human rights groups around the world seem to have turned a blind eye to the suffering of the victims. Despite the widespread coverage the violence received in the international media, relief agencies, such as the Red Cross, have not made their presence felt in any of the shelters where Muslim survivors of the carnage had sought refuge by the thousands.
The case of the Muslim minority in India is not much different from that of the white minority in Zimbabwe, where Mr Mugabe’s government is accused of condoning the black majority’s pillage of the minority community’s property and of endangering white lives. Though the number of white Zimbabwean victims has been far less than that of the Muslim victims in India, the recently-concluded Commonwealth summit in Australia minced no words in condemning the former. The EU and the US have also added their voice to Britain’s indictment of the Zimbabwean government’s policies. Unfortunately, they have not shown the same concerns when it came to the riots in India.
The Indian Muslims by and large form part of India’s economically depressed and backward multitude. The fact that they are a minority within the voiceless millions of India further compounds their misery. But by failing to respond to the woes of these victims of hate, and the BJP-led Indian government’s apathy toward them, the self-proclaimed guardians and watchdogs of human rights around the world have betrayed their historical prejudices. Nearer home, more saddening is the attitude of the Organization of Islamic Conference, for despite claiming to represent the world’s one billion-plus Muslims, it has chosen to keep mum.
WITH the promulgation of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority Ordinance, 2002, the satellite TV and cable industry now stands officially recognized. Pemra, thus, places Pakistan among countries where TV channels are owned by the private sector. The stated idea behind the setting up of the authority is to give the viewers a wider choice in the sources of information and entertainment, thus ending the monopoly of the state-run PTV and PBS over the airwaves. What remains to be seen is how Pemra uses its authority to make any real difference in terms of creating a competitive environment vis-a-vis the public sector electronic media and the channels beaming into Pakistan from abroad. The public, now having had the taste of the forbidden fruit, has begun to expect better quality programming in terms of both entertainment and current affairs.
One hopes that, as Pemra discourages the formation of electronic media monopolies and the concentration of media conglomerates in any one city by holding back licenses to the print media giants, it does not go too far in asserting its authority. The ordinance bars foreign companies from setting up channels in Pakistan, and binds all broadcasters to give at least 10 per cent of their airtime to government-recommended programming. Also, it leaves it to Pemra to judge which type of programming is consistent with the cultural, social and religious values, and “the sovereignty, security and integrity of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.” There is a danger in all this — the private channels may disappoint the viewers by producing the same kind of tepid and dull programmes they see on the state-controlled channels. One hopes Pemra will not take on the role of a mentor too seriously and thus kill the spirit behind its formation — which is to give the people livelier entertainment, besides news and comments that do not replicate government policy.
THE notification giving effect to the reduction of power rates by Wapda and the KESC approved by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra), though late by nine weeks, will provide great relief to the consumers, who have been groaning under the highest tariff in the South Asian region. Nepra had taken the decision reducing power rates of Wapda and the KESC by nine paisa and 13 paisa respectively on Dec 29 last under the quarterly automatic adjustment-based rate determination policy. The reduction is applicable to all consumers, except those who consume up to 50 units a month. The rationale for this exclusion seems to be based on the fact that they are already being substantially subsidized. The notification was delayed because of the wrangling between Nepra and Wapda, and this delay allowed the two utilities to collect windfall revenues.
In all fairness, the consumers should have been given the relief with retrospective effect, since they had become entitled to it on the basis of the decline in fuel prices. There is further scope for reduction in tariff in view of the fact that line losses on account of distribution and theft in the two utilities are said to be the highest by international standards. Nepra has been pressing both to bring down the losses to an acceptable level.