I have known Arnab Goswami for many years now.
I have been extremely fond of him. I consider him and his family to be an extension of my family. I see in him an elder brother that shares an equally unexplainable passion for journalism and for our nation India as I do.
I do not agree with him sometimes and have very strong contrary views to his equally strong views.
If Arnab has a viewpoint then he drives his viewpoint and if I have a viewpoint then I drive it too irrespective of the fact that it is Arnab on the other side of the table. That’s what a healthy friendship is all about, different views but collectively love for journalism and India. It also what democracy is about.
I remember way back in 2012, when I was threatened by a political family in Goa, it was only Arnab that ran a story on national TV and fought for my rights as journalist to not be threatened. No other national media even bothered to carry my story.
Of course along the way I have approached Arnab on many stories but we did not resonate similar thoughts on some stories I believed deserved a national media focus.
But that’s Arnab. He has his own point of view on a story and I respect that.
Arnab journalism is driven by his vision for a better India. I understand that passion.
You may not agree with him in the manner or style of his journalism. It caters to people who appreciate his kind of journalism. If it did not appeal to many people, then its viewership would be negligible and we would not be discussing his media channel or his style of journalism. But it does and people are enjoying not only his English debates but also the Hindi debates.
Like most professions, the media professions are also filled with envious and ruthlessly jealous people that cringe at the success of a fellow journalist or squirm in their underpants if a journalist has upset their fund-flow apple cart of political donations or advertisements.
India has the distinguished history of having a supposed renowned female journalist from a national disastrous TV channel brokering ministerial positions.
I remember when a particular renowned journalist from my home town Goa, who is also a part-time boxer in New York, was acting like a sissy boy when questioning the current Congress President Sonia Gandhi when she was UPA chairman.
That is the pathetic-levels that journalism had fallen too and continues to fall too in most cases.
The cabal of Lutyens media – where stories are brokered, bribes are paid, ministerial positions decided. Even the Indian Army position were subtly revealed during Kargil war and Commando positions during 26/11 Terror strikes at Taj Hotel became instructions guidance to the terrorists.
Arnab Goswami with his Republic TV has broken the backbone of the cabal of Lutyens Media. He is not backed by any strong business house. He owns his media channel and has turned it into a profitable business venture and a respected media brand.
To term Arnab Goswami as someone spreading communal hatred is a dumb a mooting that Rahul Gandhi has the aptitude to become the Prime Minister of India. Let me tell you that both are impossible notions.
Arnab does not have a bone in his body that has any intent to spread hate or communal tension. That his not his nature. If he was then he would not be giving voices to some of the most obnoxious representatives of the Opposition on his debates.
Have you heard some of the panelists like Nishant Verma, Vivek Srivastava, Royden Roach, Ravi Srivastava, Ifra Jan and Waris Pathan. They give the concept of a debate a bad-name. They yell like imbeciles and mouth inanities that would make a child hide in fear thinking this a remake of The Exorcist.
He even gives a chance to dumb Pakistani panelists that agree to come to his show and be insulted time and again. I suppose it is in their nature to get verbally bashed up by Indians. They enjoy the royal snubbing they get every time.
If I am on the show I try my level best to be civil, but sometimes these absurd panelists that talk incoherently on points irrelevant to the subject, force you to bring out your special rarely used skill-set ‘verbal baseball whacker’. And then I just go for the slugging.
At times when I am not on show but would like to listen to the show, I just prefer not to watch when I find no valuable inputs within the debate, especially the debates that have intellectually barren and scream infected panelists.
I have even expressed my displeasure on this to Arnab a couple of times.
To call Arnab a BJP stooge is even more ridiculous. I have seen him take on BJP on several issues when they have floundered.
In fact on the Sabrimala issue, I completely disagreed with his stand. But he took the stand he will always take, that of the law.
So when people tell me that BJP or a group of rich Hindus have bought out Arnab to spread hate and target the Muslims and Christians. I laugh at the absurdity of such thoughts and then come to the acceptance that such people have no grey matter in their brains.
You do not have to agree with Arnab or his debates or his Republic TV reportage, if you don’t like it don’t watch it. You do have a chose. If you continue to watch it and complain. Then you are just acting like old aunt that nags about everything under the sun.
Congress is only making Arnab more stronger with this unfounded and downright silly attack on him and his TV channel. They assume harassing Arnab will stop him. It won’t stop him. It will only embolden him. It will encourage him and he will continue to expose the Congress – in particular the Vadra Congress.
I think some leaders in the Congress want Arnab to continue to embarrass the Gandhis, that’s why they decided to act as protectors of the prestige of Sonia Gandhi name, knowingly fully well that if they harassed Arnab, he would go hammer and thongs in exposing Sonia Gandhi and her family.
No Congress leader of any high-standing or merit filled a case against Arnab. It is only the hangars in office-bearers positions in Congress across India, who were instructed to file the complaints. None of the big daddies in Congress keen to take on Arnab.
Surprisingly, no one from the Sonia Gandhi family actually filed a complaint against Arnab. No Sonia, no Rahul, no Priyanka. Are they afraid of Arnab?
Arnab is not going anywhere. He is here to stay and so is Republic TV.
Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Vadra are going to be even more embarrassed than Arnab has already embarrassed Sonia Gandhi on Prime Time TV.
The Debate on Arnab will continue to rage on. He will become a icon while the others attacking him will fade into the oblivion as dust on the feet of their political masters.
