Prabhakar urged media to revive Ambedkar’s vision, ensure inclusive representation
Chitradurga
Chief Minister’s Media Advisor K.V. Prabhakar voiced concern that Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s Constitution has always acted as a barrier against Manusmriti and caste-based supremacy, which is why attempts to weaken it never stop. He said, “Unfortunately the media has often chosen silence during such threats.”
He was speaking at the seminar Ambedkar’s Perspective in News Media organized by the Media Academy, Department of Information & Publicity, and the SC/ST Editors’ Association.
Prabhakar observed that journalism today is moving away from healthy debate and critical analysis, with many preferring sensationalism over truth. The spirit of democracy is in the hands of media houses. Whether they protect it or crush it is their choice, he remarked.
He emphasized that freedom of expression, secularism, and social justice—core values of Ambedkar’s vision—are also the pillars of the Constitution. However, secular principles are being sidelined, which, according to him, amounts to dishonoring and even killing Ambedkar’s perspective.
Prabhakar pointed out the irony of building statues of Ambedkar while simultaneously diluting his Constitution, attacking its values, and even calling for the removal of secularism and socialism. He reminded that Ambedkar himself was a journalist, having founded newspapers such as Mooknayak (1920), Bahishkrit Bharat (1927), Samata (1928), Janata (1930), and Prabuddha Bharat (1943). His writings, spanning over 25,000 pages, including Buddha and His Dhamma, remain invaluable.
He also expressed concern about the negligible representation of Dalits and women in editorial positions, which shapes how news is chosen and presented, often ignoring Ambedkar’s outlook.
Calling for a revival of Ambedkar’s perspective in journalism, he recalled the 2012 Prajavani Ambedkar Jayanti special issue edited by Devanur Mahadeva as a rare and meaningful example.
The seminar was inaugurated by MLC Naveen, chaired by Ayesha Khanum, with senior journalist D. Umapathi and several association members in attendance.
