The Hindu Business Line : Maintain sense of balance, Antony tells media

At the 125th anniversary celebrations of The Hindu in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday: (From left) Prof K.N. Panikkar, Vice-Chancellor, Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit-Kalady, Mr V.S. Achuthanandan, Leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly, Mr N. Ram, Editor-in-Chief, The Hindu, Mr A.K. Antony, Kerala Chief Minister, Mr N. Murali, Joint Managing Director, Kasturi and Sons, and Dr M.S. Valiathan, Executive Vice-President, Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment. - S. Mahinsha

Thiruvananthapuram , Jan. 5

THE media must always maintain a sense of balance and restraint, especially when reporting on sensitive issues, said Mr A.K. Antony, the Chief Minister of Kerala, while addressing a gathering organised in the city to celebrate the 125th anniversary of The Hindu.

Lauding The Hindu for its professionalism and independence, the Chief Minister emphasised that credibility is the greatest asset of the newspaper. A very special effort must be taken by the newspaper to maintain this credibility in the years to come, he added.

Touching on his own association with The Hindu, Mr Antony declared that his day is never complete unless he reads the paper. The Hindu has always been a strong supporter of the country's development institutions, and such encouragement will be extremely crucial in the years to come as India is poised to scale great heights, he said.

Mr V.S. Achuthanandan, Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Legislative Assembly, said the media needed to pay special attention to the issue of disinformation that is increasingly confronting Indian society. In this context, there is great relevance for a newspaper such as The Hindu, which is known for its unwavering pursuit of truth, he added.

The Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu, Mr N. Ram, while welcoming the gathering, said statute changes had become necessary to eliminate the problem of how some "reasonable restrictions" on freedom of speech and expression provided for in Article 19 of the Constitution had been used against the press. These restrictions have become unreasonable and illiberal in practice, he said referring to the way in which criminal defamation and criminal contempt of court laws have been used against the press.

Tracing the history of the paper, Mr Ram said The Hindu rededicates itself to its ideals of Panchsheel — truth telling, freedom and independence, justice, humaneness and contributing to social good. The paper is determined to make these five principles work, he declared.

Declaring that the secular space in the media is shrinking, Prof K.N. Panikkar, Vice-Chancellor, Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit-Kalady, pointed out that The Hindu has consistently defended the principles of democracy and secularism. This must continue, he added.

Mr N. Murali, Joint Managing Director, Kasturi and Sons, while proposing the vote of thanks also touched on the paper's growth over the years.

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