Journalism according to TJS George

TJS George, the doyen of Indian English Journalism, seen addressing the Journalism and English Department students of the Maharani’s Arts College in city this morning. Seen in the front row are (from right) Mrs. Ammu George, Star of Mysore Editor-in-Chief K.B. Ganapathy, Star of Mysore Features Editor N. Niranjan Nikam and staff members of the College.

Says Indira Gandhi responsible for “Dynastification of India”

Mysuru: Renowned Journalist and nonagenarian TJS George gave a perspective of the seven decades of Independent India, of which he has been a witness, by dividing the years into four distinct phases.

He was speaking at a special lecture titled ‘English Language, Literature and Media,’ and an Interactive Session thereafter, organised by the Department of Collegiate Education, Government of Karnataka and Departments of English and Journalism, Maharani’s Arts College for Women here this morning.

He said the first phase was the 1950s which was the Golden Age of India as it had people with great experience and there were writers like R.K. Narayan, Shivaram Karanth, actors like Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand, Nargis, Madhubala, singers like Lata Mangeshkar, scientists like Homi J. Bhaba and Abdul Kalam.

Then there was India’s humiliation after the China War where Jawaharlal Nehru became disillusioned and died just two years after and then Lal Bahadur Shastri was the Prime Minister for a brief while and he died outside the country.

The third phase is what George (who himself coined the words) described as Dynastification of India. Calling Indira Gandhi, the then PM, as a very complex character who wanted to see herself as a great leader, thinker all because she was the daughter of Nehru and it was when she imposed the Emergency on June 25, 1975 that the ‘Glorification of Dynastification’ began and fear set in and leaders like Jayaprakash Narayan, Advani, Vajpayee, Ramakrishna Hegde were jailed a day before the Emergency was imposed, he said. It was the time when an uneducated, unelected leader Sanjay Gandhi, who ran riot, with every Indian being afraid of him. Even his own mother Indira Gandhi was getting scared of him, he added.

What is this ‘Glorification of Dynastification?’ It is the ‘Family — Indira Gandhi, Sanjay Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi’ — and this process of Gandhis led to ‘MeToo Movement of India’ long back with every other leader following it, he said.

The MeToo Movement began in Karnataka too with Jharkiholis, Bellary Brothers and the best example is the Gowda family, with patriarch H.D. Deve Gowda, the ex-PM projecting grandson Prajwal Revanna as the future Prime Minister, Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy’s son Nikhil Kumaraswamy as the natural future CM.

The fourth phase is Religion and Politics which is a very sensitive subject today, said George. Nobody chooses his or her religion, it is an accident by birth that makes you belong to a religion; it happens by chance that one belongs to Hindu, Christian, Muslim or other religions, he said.

“Dr. Ambedkar was different because he chose Buddhism. But most of us ordinary people stick to the religion we are born to. This creates a huge problem and probably this is where journalism comes in. If you have a label you are pre-judged. Unfortunately, I was born a Christian and hence in my writings they question my patriotism and nationalism. Religion uses God, but God has nothing to do with religion,” said George.

He said that most of the religious leaders today have become businessmen. “I am not an atheist. But I stopped going to the church when I found the priest was a rascal. But my mother told me I must go to the church. It was faith which drove her to the church while it was reason which kept me away,” he said.

Eulogising the Hindu religion’s true aspects like Sanathana Dharma, he said, it is one of the most enlightened religions but in the current context it is Hindutva and not Hinduism that is gaining ground which is leading to all kinds of problems, he pointed out.