"No Dalit or Adivasi among top 300 journalists"
? Hindu upper caste men hold 71 per cent of top jobs
? Muslims account for only three per cent among key decision-makers
New Delhi: In the first-ever statistical analysis of its kind, a survey of the social profile of more than 300 senior journalists in 37 Hindi and English newspapers and television channels in the capital has found that "Hindu upper caste men" — who form eight percent of the country's population — hold 71 per cent of the top jobs in the national media. Women, non-upper castes, and Muslims are grossly under-represented in relation to their share in the population.
The survey notes that Dalits and Adivasis "are conspicuous by their absence among the decision- makers. Not even one of the 315 key decision-makers belonged to the Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes."
The survey was designed and executed by Anil Chamaria, freelance journalist, Jitendra Kumar from the Media Study Group and Yogendra Yadav, senior fellow at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS).
If men and women are taken together, the share of upper caste Hindus or `dwijas' in the upper echelons of the media is 85 per cent. These castes account for 16 per cent of the national population.
Brahmins alone, the survey found, hold 49 per cent of the top jobs in national journalism. If non-`dwija' forward castes like Marathas, Patels, Jats and Reddys are added, the total forward caste share stands at 88 per cent.
In contrast, OBCs, who are estimated to constitute around 40 per cent of the population, account for an "abysmally low" four per cent of top media jobs. In the English print media, OBCs account for just one per cent of top jobs and in the Hindi print media eight per cent. Muslims too, the survey noted, are "severely under-represented in the national media": they account for only three per cent among the key decision makers in the national media, compared with 13.4 per cent in the country's population. Muslims do better in the Hindi electronic media, forming six per cent of key decisionmakers.
In the English electronic media, the survey found there were no Muslims at the senior- most levels in Delhi. Christians, however, are proportionately represented in the media (mainly in the English media). Their share is about four per cent compared with their population share of 2.3 per cent.
2.Doubly disadvantaged sections of the population, such as women Other Backward Classes or backward caste Muslims and Christians, are nearly absent among the key decision-makers. The survey, for example, found that there was not a single OBC woman among the 315 journalists enumerated.
Gender balance
When it comes to gender balance, the English electronic media does best, with women accounting for 32 per cent of the top jobs. Women account for 16 per cent of top editorial positions in the English print media and 14 per cent and 11 per cent in the Hindi print media and electronic media. Explaining the survey methodology, Yogendra Yadav said details of designation, age, religion, caste, gender, mother tongue, and domicile of up to a maximum of 10 key decision- makers from 37 `national' media organisations were collected on a standard pro-forma between May 30 and June 3, 2006. In most cases, the data were generated by journalists from within each newspaper or television channel being surveyed. But he cautioned that the data might still contain some errors.
Courtesy: http://www.hindu.com/2006/06/05/stories/2006060504981400.htm
History of OBC Reservation
Under Article 340 of the Indian constitution it is obligatory for the government to promote the welfare of the Other Backward Classes.
The first Backward Classes Commission headed by Shri kaka kalelkar in 1953, and Mandal Commission headed by Shri B.P.Mandal in 1980 has given many useful recommendations for the welfare of Other Backward Classes. The population of OBC’s which includes Hindus and Non-Hindus was around 52% of the total population according to the commission.
27% of reservation was recommended owing to legal constraints that the total quantum of reservation should not exceed 50%.
One of the most important recommendations is that all private sector undertakings which have received financial assistance from the government in one form or another should be obliged to recruit personnel on the reservation basis. But, even after 2 decades we are unable to get it inspite of our continuous efforts.
On
One needs to understand the psychology of opposition of reservation to OBC’s.
When the jobs are nowhere and everything is gone private, then why are the upper castes angry with the reservation for Backward Communities?
The fact is that seats for dalits were rarely fulfilled and we have seen huge backlog. There has been no protest. It was easier to curtail the protest of the dalits because of their numbers and social background.
Now the reservation for backward communities being a reality, the powerful backward communities will hit and break the bone of upper castes. That is the fear of this community. They know that there are enough students from these communities who will join great institutes of technology and management.
The Supreme Court of India on
To be strong in the present scenario, it is more important to show our strength and unity of OBC’s. AIOBC association work towards social justice. AIOBC is giving hand and helping us in this regard.
The issue of under-representation of the socio-economically deprived, discriminated backward caste and classes in the spheres of education, employment, administration and commerce is burning at this stage. I appeal all the member associations to work hard towards the success of the reservation policies.
Let us truly reform our society and work for a truly democratic
Saturday, February 20, 2010
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