HT Tangle: The Battle Begins

S K Pande

A NEW kind of state of emergency and press censorship has been declared in the Birla’s chain of newspapers --- the Hindustan Times Group. And the centre and the state government seem to be more than nodding partners in this diabolical game of permitting suspension of all forms of freedom of expression along with freedom of association. Added to it is the fact that all the existing laws, including the industrial disputes act and working journalists act, are being flouted with impunity.

Consider the following facts. In journalistic parlance, it is an emergency like situation in the 1000 square yards in Kasturba Gandhi Marg housing the Hindustan Times. Here the freedom of speech and expression, as envisaged under article 19(1) a and c of our constitution, is in grave peril. At stake are the jobs of most and security of many of the 300 journalists with variety of contracts and other not so voluntary retirement schemes, most unsigned taking the round each day, in a clear game of brow beating the journalists to the status of bounded contract labourers. Of course  few do in good old Hindustan Times and some with the new HT media, both with a heavy dosage of common ownership pattern, the same chairman K K Birla, the same executive director and many more commonalities. In the ‘new’ group there is new factor and that is the multinational Nickleson Henderson. Incidentally this company entered after Murdoch hopped out of HT for greener pastures.

Many journalists privately admit that a Damocles sword hangs permanently before them, with those on contract expecting the sack any time sooner than later- or further deterioration in contracts, to be reviewed come April next year. Not only this, specially in past 40 days a wave of contract and transfer has began with great speed. It is in different forms from different journalist performing the same job. Unsigned formulas like CTC (Cost to Company, and if you resign) not so golden handshakes are all there. The main objective is to hustle the scribes into total submission, as if to say to remain remember to bend and crawl both.

 In the latest round on October 18, one heard of a transfer wave. A company manager is reported to have boasted “today a juicy list is out, tomorrow or in the next week there will be another. We are doing it slowly and waiting and watching, he said. Today it is a journalist Gandhi for Gandhinagar, Rajpal Raje for Raipur, Uttaranchal journalist Asotosh Upretri for Guwahati and a well-know assistant editor reported to be packing his bags for demotion to the city of Moradabad, where there is no edition.

To further terrorise and browbeat the journalists, a few days ago, out came a new notice informing them of the new emergent situation where by office order the working journalist act would have a new reading: work eight hours continuously -or out.

From Kerala comes the firm news, the All India Newspaper Employees Federation is all set to battle for a new wage board, and all India Confederation of Newspaper and News Agency is all set too. But the question could soon be asked wage board for whom, for few would remain to qualify.

In the backdrop of all this; think of 362 workers, some of whom in semi-starvation due to illegal retrenchment coming daily to sit on dharna. They are without wages for more than a year, receiving the sack on Gandhi Jayanti 2004. There is more news for human rights activists. Over 350 of these are being even denied oxygen and virtually strangulated to death. The fact is that they cannot enter the premises to collect whatever bank balances they have in the banks inside the building. Two such workers are already dead with one called by the plant union a death of suicide due to hunger.

And yet they are responding to union calls in larger numbers. On 29 September a record 210 turned to march round the press area in solidarity. And it is a matter of record too that from the Patriot and Link newspaper illegally shut ten years ago and from Nehru’s Quami Awaz and Herald, besides the DUJ the numbers are increasing. From more than two years of Kumbhkarian slumber a new awakening is visible in the union. Seven rallies have already taken place and the matter has been placed before the information minister, the labour minister and the prime minister by the Delhi Union of Journalists. A broad front is emerging with the International Federation of Journalists also lending support. The HT union and the DUJ gave the call for a broad based action and have a joint action committee and control room now.

POSCRIPT

The Hindustan Times was handed over to GD Birla by Mahatama Gandhi to run the paper effectively as an instrument of the freedom struggle. It was associated with the likes of Pothan Joseph, Devdas Gandhi, freedom fighter C P Ramachandran and B G Verghese who both fought jointly for press freedom in the dark phase of the emergency. Ironically a prestigious national award has been given to the company boss for services rendered to the nation in sacking in complete violation of the countries law at one stroke of the pen 362 employees, and for bringing in a new form of curbs on journalists.