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- By Parinda News Bureau, April 13, 2006, 11:10 IST
The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, emphasized that the national media has an important role to play in the process of consensus building, pointing out that it is its social responsibility as an institution and a pillar of our democracy.
Speaking at the Ramnath Goenka Awards function here today, Dr. Singh emphasized that our democracy may be better off if we can increase the area of agreement, rather than sharpen disagreements. "You have a responsibility to uphold and articulate liberal values and empower liberalism. You can of course purvey the views of those who take extreme positions. But you owe it to your audience, and our nation, to place those views in their context, in a perspective", Dr. Singh said.
The Prime Minister addressed media and said, "You have a social responsibility, as an institution and as a pillar of our democracy, to facilitate a consensus. You have a responsibility to uphold and articulate liberal values and empower liberalism. You can of course purvey the views of those who take extreme positions. But you owe it to your audience, and our nation, to place those views in their context, in a proper perspective.
"It is the great strength of a democracy, and the democratic process, that it shuns extremes. It forces every extremist political formation to moderate itself and to move to the center to be able to move to the center-stage. The political development of India stands a vibrant testimony to this great truth. Political movements that were launched in pursuit of extreme and sectarian causes, some with ostensibly anti-national objectives, have over time moderated themselves. They chose to join the national mainstream. They chose to move to the political center, away from the periphery of politics."
NDTV Barkha Dutt (of NDTV), Varghese K George (Indian Express) and Praveen Swami (Frontline) were given the 'Journalist of the Year' awards in broadcast and print journalism respectively that carried a cash prize of Rs.2.50 lakhs each.
Thirteen other journalists too were given awards in various categories.
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