“A city can be judged by the quality of its water and its newspapers,” is a quote often attributed to the playwright Arthur Miller.
The day after BJP hoodlums went on the rampage in Calcutta, The Telegraph shows it is the city’s conscience-keeper, speaking out clearly (and courageously) against BJP’s advertised ‘goondagiri’, which lives off the quiescence of the media.
The Telegraph doesn’t beat around the bush of “balance”. It rages unequivocally against BJP’s illiterate, philistine, language-challenged, anti-intellectual president Amit Shah playing footsie with a revered Bengali icon, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar.
With seven pages of coverage of BJP vandalism on the streets of poll-bound Calcutta, on its front, nation, city and editorial pages, The Telegraph shows why a regional newspaper is a better custodian of local culture and ethos than the big chains.
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At a time when editors sit on the fence, hedge their bets, play it safe, and say this and say the opposite so as not to hurt anybody, all in the name of “balance”, The Telegraph‘s Editor R. Rajagopal sticks his neck out:
“Nothing less than a landslide against Narendra Modi can redeem us as a nation and pull us out of the rut of neutrality, if not nonchalance, and clothe the next government with the resolve that is needed for the daunting—and righteous—task ahead.”
Also read: Is The Telegraph trolling Narendra Modi and the BJP?
IJR 