Poverty and despair among the youth have to be addressed to deal with the menace of terrorism, according to Markandey Katju, Chairman, Press Council of India.
Participating as the chief-speaker at a symposium on ‘Reporting Terror: How sensitive is the media?’ organised by The Hindu here on Sunday, Katju said: “In my opinion, the cause of terrorism is the feeling of injustice.’’
He was also critical of the media on the modalities adopted while reporting terror. The media, both print and electronic, was “demolishing” the entire Muslim community wherever bomb blasts occur.
Stating that such “irresponsible” behaviour would not be allowed, Katju asked: “Do you have freedom to spread communalism?’’
Every freedom was subjected to reasonable restriction in public interest, Katju said.
Siddharth Varadarajan, Editor, The Hindu , said there was a nation-wide debate on the role of media while reporting incidents of terror.
Many experts, including Vice-Chancellor of NALSAR University Faizan Mustafa; Commissioner of Police, Ch Dwaraka Tirumala Rao; and Chairman of national Commission for Minorities Wajahat Habibullah also participated in the symposium.