When I thought of getting into journalism, it was with the idea that it could be a means to an end and not an end in itself. That is to say, it was never my idea to be a journalist for life. My first “love” was politics and, second, public administration and, third, engineering. And, to begin with, I would have landed up as an engineer as physics as a subject was my forte. I loved this subject and it was my Bible, clear and closest to my heart. But some of my professors and well-wishers wanted me to get into a course that would keep all options open after graduation. And that jelled with the dynamics of my thoughts and wishes.

 

Journalism is for those who have the passion for writing and leave an impact on society at large, and make a difference in the quality and standard of living conditions of people. In a way, it can be described as a missionary role to “unsettle” the “unchanging dynamics of societal levers”.

 

Today, journalism, particularly electronic journalism, has a great role to play in society. No government or any other kind of establishment can serve at its best without the media as a ‘watch dog’ to keep snooping over its functioning. All great changes and even revolutions today are happening because of media. Just one example: Indira Gandhi had a mighty fall because of her gag on media. She could not get to understand the reality on the ground because of a ‘muzzled” media.

 

 

 Media, except the so-called national media, is not in a position to reward journalists with handsome salaries and bonuses. But money is not all that matters for many of us; what matters is the need to be able to do something that will unshackle a lethargic establishment and awaken it out of its deep slumber. A journalist with a missionary zeal has to have “minimum needs and maximum output” in order to bring in the change that makes a difference. Seeing things changing for the better could be more rewarding and satisfying than getting fat salaries and bonuses. 

 

 

Another few years and then, if all goes well, I will get into research and writing as my main occupation. Besides, off and on, I plan to resume lecturing in some of the universities I used to visit in my younger days.

 

As for my Ladakh ‘mission’, I plan to spend a few months every year after my retirement from the present establishment I am working for. Those months will be spent on research on Ladakh affairs; and that will be a part of media publication as well as books. In other words, anything that I would be working on would be media-related.

 

 

To be frank, I do not know how journalists are being “treated” in Ladakh. To be frank again, I must say a journalist should have no airs and be solely satisfied with his/her work. True, as Gandhi said, nobody can work on a hungry stomach, a journalist has the right to have his basic needs met. Beyond that, a journalist should be happy that he/she is doing one of the finest jobs of enlightening the society at large to make them see their rights and obligations. And, to go a little further on the rights of a journalist, he/she should have unfettered means to watch and report on what the public and the establishment needs to know and take care of for the good of all. 

 

 

The media should have a ‘reserved for media’ section at all functions and gatherings. Without that, the media can’t fulfil its duty properly. One way is to ‘wake up’ the organisers of functions and events on the need to provide such facilities “for their own good”.

 

 

Yes, very true, mass communication students have very little scope, particularly for the ambitious and the bold. Such aspirants should branch out to other parts of the country to meet their requirements. It is a perversion of truth to say that one can serve Ladakh only by being rooted in Ladakh. Nothing can be more farcical. One must always remember that given the will and the zeal, one can work for Ladakh from any corner of the planet.

 

 

Print media has to work under severe constraints in Ladakh. You don’t have a good and viable readership because of illiteracy and several other reasons. One of these “several others” could be the lack of means to make a journal financially viable. Any daily/ weekly/ fortnightly etc can have its lifeline intact only if it gets adequate revenues from advertisements. And Ladakh media, in the absence of industrial houses and also because of the lack of govt ads, has to suffer this handicap.

 

 

What is a journal without readership? Low readership means low advertisement. The very concept of advertisements in newspapers and other media wings is aimed at drawing the attention of the readers towards a product or service. So, no readers, no ads and no money inflow!

 

Q. Can you suggest three most important ways to strengthen print media in Ladakh?

 

One, getting more and more people involved in the habit of reading. Two, making business houses, travel agencies and service providers aware of the need to expand their interests through media publicity. And, thirdly, the need to have a group of dedicated journalists to break the initial impossibilities and get seriously entrenched into the business of giving truthful news and views. 

 

 

Be simple, clear and dedicated. The moment you decide to be a journalist, you have to be brave and bold and have an open mind, always. The path you will tread will be full of thorns and gorges!