Writing on human rights

THE RECENT workshop on Human Rights Reporting in India, organised jointly by the Press Institute of India and the British Council in Chennai, had a pleasant deviation from the norm. Journalists, instead of introducing themselves, had to speak about the neighbouring person after getting the relevant information. A meaningful move, because newspersons, on an average, tend to be poor speakers (though they could be compulsive talkers about issues close to their hearts).

The 256-page manual that the participants had 15 minutes to speedread before the discussion began, has a wealth of information, and several quotable quotes for newspersons committed to uphold human rights. With essays written mostly by working journalists in India and some from abroad, the manual focusses on hurdles that journalists could face while writing on human rights and suggests ways to overcome them.

The workshop, conducted by Ms. Usha Rai, Press Institute of India, and Mr. Val Williams of the Thomson Foundation, was split into two phases — a discussion on the manual and then a discussion among journalists in groups.

Though there are dos and don'ts, the basic issue is one of guts. When a senior journalist said that writing on some issues would mean that police would begin monitoring his movements, Mr Williams said, ``That's the way it should be!''

The last section on ``Reporting Human Rights'', had sub-sections on writing style, word economy, art of the intro (how to write an intro), and news story structure. These could be of immense value to students of journalism working towards a diploma or degree. To a practising journalist in the profession for over a decade, it would be considered a massive waste — of ink and glossy paper.

More than anything, a journalist should know how to develop the scheme for the essay and be able to follow the scheme doggedly to complete the writing; tighten the essay ruthlessly, and even rewrite it, if necessary; be ready to clarify doubts, if any, even from the juniormost in the profession, if warranted. After all, the journalists in the print media are responsible for what they write and always write for the readers. And I am sure everyone in this profession would agree.

The essays in the manual can help raise one's awareness to human rights issues, and certainly provide the critical back-up in terms of laws to identify human rights violations, but hefty, printed sources of reference can never provide the spark. The question is, ``How far am I willing to go?'' to find out what's going on.

GOUTAM GHOSH

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