The dark side of India's debate system

Photo Credit: National Herald

On Tuesday, the first presidential debate unravelled between Donald Trump and Joseph R.Biden.Jr. which turned into chaos and rambling and babbling. 

In the melee of 90-minute, both the nominees interjected each other, left unheard, moved on to denounce, roared and insulted each other but they did not stop there, both created the joke of the debate for the world.

The debate which has now become the talk of every newspaper and news channel has made the Americans ashamed of modern American politics.

The Washington Post published the debate as to the cage fight, the New York Times published it as chaos and contempt, and full of cross-talks, lies and mockery. The Wall Street Journal called it the debate from hell. The moderator of the debate Chris Wallace said, "I'm just sad with the way last night turned out". While it's a shameful example for the world some Indians may not find the problem with the modulation of the Tuesday debate and how it turned out.

The modulation of the debate system in India shows how news channels like Republic TV and Times Now are busy roaring and appealing for eyeballs which are leading Indian debate system to cease. The debate starts with the moderators asking questions to the responders while the responders wait for their turn the moderators themselves starts screeching and turning the table. 

Be it the moderator or the debater everyone seems to be undercutting and disorienting each rather than on presenting and discussing the issues. 

Instead of providing information to the viewers, the debate turns aggressive, full of cross-talks and hate speech which creates unrest among everyone. And in the end, the viewer’s get barely any knowledge on the topic. 

In the high time, when Rajiv Tyagi a Congress leader died after one such vicious debate, which sparked a row on the 'toxic culture' perpetuated in today's news channels where yelling matches, calling by abusive names and heating arguments happen in the name of debate. 

Later, Talveen Singh, a senior journalist described it as, "humiliating moment for Indian media" and added we were better off in the old Doordarshan days.

Saba Naqvi a Journalist, who often appears as a panellist talked about how the toxic debates take tolls on her psychological health. And said, anyone who appears on the TV debates regularly is bound to be stressed out. 

Arfa Khanum who has worked as a news anchor at NDTV and Rajya Sabha TV now is the senior editor of The Wire said, TV debates have become extremely artificial now. As if it's a fixed match. And that they begin with a premise that they are going to take sides of the ruling party and everybody has to prove that they are not guilty.

On one such time, Ravish Kumar of NDTV came to Prime Time show screen to tell the viewer how TV debate is leading India into darkness and how TV has now become TB (a disease). And said, the pattern of television debate has changed where now half a dozen people give free reins to indulge in their anxieties, dreams and obsession on screen. In the name of opinion, we are slowly and surely killing opinion in the true sense. 

TV debate culture has created the dark doom well and is misguiding youth. An agenda is raised and hurl loudest to suppress the voice of truth and abuse to make a point. This is the new normal where our TV debate is teaching the youth to hate in the name of nationalism. 

Channels running with number one TRP runs debate with a panel that the number of a soccer team, it's mindless to watch so many faces on one screen who interrupts and talk in unison. Where the host himself, keeps his opinion in a biased way and run mock trials.

While the Indian news channels are playing in the hands of market revenue, revenue models which are based on eyeballs asking for blind trust and hatred feelings. So in the end when a hate speech creates havoc it is because of what is rewarded by the news market is what will be prevailed by the viewers.

So on Tuesday night, when everyone felt ashamed with the debate the Indians didn't felt awful because Indian TV debates compete with reality shows, full of drama, screaming, beating around the bush, racing for TRP, denouncing one another with names which later crossed all the limits when people starting cursing on the live debates.

The common sites we get to see on the live debate is the aggressiveness of the moderator, the chaotic cross-talks, acrid contempt squabble. And leaving unheard to one another. 

So when Indians watched the first topsy- turvy debate of both the nominee arguing, interjecting each other and pointing figures the scene was not something new for the Indians who sit with a blank mind to watch the acrid and hectored debate.