It’s an issue, Queen B

It is not even an issue,” snapped West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee. “But a section of the media with vested interests are highlighting it to mislead people. I don’t even want to discuss this.” She was referring to the government circular that specified which newspapers would be allowed into the state’s public libraries. Eight papers were chosen, which included neither the largest circulated dailies, nor a single English newspaper. The rest were banned from the 2,500-odd public libraries that the state owns, sponsors or aids.
Ms Banerjee may be right. Maybe this bizarre censorship of public libraries is not an issue. Most of our public libraries are in a shambles, crumbling under systematic neglect. Does it matter what they have on their racks?
Actually, it does. Because it amounts to thought control. People who read newspapers in public libraries would only have access to positive coverage about the state government, punctuated by paeans to the Queen of Bengal. They would not have access to facts or opinions critical of Queen Banerjee, or her policies. They would slowly believe that all their problems were due to wicked conspiracies by evil Opposition parties. That every train accident, murder, rape, every failure of governance was a lie. They could live in a make-believe world ruled by Queen Banerjee, who knows best and can never be wrong. Once the queen has figured out how to banish non-friendly television channels, that utopia would be complete.
All dictators tend to control the media. Information is power and depriving people of that power keeps dictators safe. But in a democracy it happens in subtle ways. With the aid of juicy carrots and invisible sticks. With smiles, nods, perks and advertising revenue. But subtlety is not Queen B’s style. She likes to charge forth, all guns blazing. So her way of controlling the media is daringly direct: just cut off the public’s access to critical voices. If you want to be heard, Mr Paper Tiger, be nice to me.
The circular sent out by the department of mass education (extension and library services) announced that “the purchase of newspapers/ dailies by the public libraries in the state shall be restricted to only the newspapers/dailies shown in the (list).” These consist of five lesser known Bengali dailies, and two Urdu and one Hindi paper. All English dailies and the bigger newspapers in Bengali were forbidden, including the mammoth Anandabazaar Patrika, which, ironically, had played queenmaker before the Bengal elections, but had later resumed its role of an objective news provider.
Justifying its decision to restrict the public libraries to these eight Mamata-friendly papers, the brave circular had valiantly declared: “It is felt that the newspapers/ dailies, as named in the table, will, besides promoting language, particularly among the rural masses, significantly contribute to the development and spread of free thinking among the members.” Also: “In the public interest, the government will not buy newspapers published or purported to be published by any political party… as a measure to develop free thinking among the readers.”
To consider that free thinking can be spread by limiting, rather than widening, access to information and ideas is a revolutionary thought in itself. It calls for parivartan (“change”, used as a slogan by Ms Banerjee to oust the Left Front) in our way of thinking, especially as four senior personnel, including an owner, of those approved papers are Rajya Sabha members on Trinamul tickets.
Following an uproar as the news went public this week, the circular has been modified. It now includes one English paper (The Times of India), one better known Bengali daily, one Nepali and one Olchiki newspaper. You didn’t know there was an Olchiki newspaper? Well, now you do.
Public libraries are supposed to be repositories of ideas and information. They represent the intellectual freedom of the society they serve. The wider the range of information and thoughts on offer, the more freedom it breeds. Particularly in a poor country, where millions cannot afford to buy even a fraction of what they wish to read, public libraries offer a window to the world. Even today, stepping into a public library in a small town can be an eye-opener — you often find real gems tucked away among the dusty old books, and are almost always struck by the insatiable appetite for information that glints through the dowdy, inconspicuous, retired lot or the scruffy youngsters there. There are angry debates, anxious discussions in hushed tones on news and policies. Opinions are aired, ideas exchanged. Hidden away from the media glare, public libraries remain one of the crucial building blocks of our democracy.
In a democracy, freedom of speech and expression is crucial. By controlling access to newspapers, the Bengal government is curtailing that. Our right to intellectual freedom means we must not be prevented from seeking or receiving information, especially in an era of right to information. A diversity of thought and points of view is essential for a democratic society.
But for Queen B, “it is not even an issue.” It is all malicious propaganda, she says. Of course the freedom of the press is not affected. And no, stop complaining, she is not telling us what to read. But she may do that if you crib too much. “Till now, we haven’t named the newspapers that should be read, but in the future, we will do that as well,” she warned. “Given the way lies are being spread and slander and malicious campaigning is going on, I will have to do this in future.” The queen had her reasons. “The government is doing so many good things… But a section of the media is highlighting isolated incidents to discredit the government and mislead people. In search of negative news, they are often staging incidents….”
So the problem is not sparse funds that limits what libraries will buy, as the party had explained earlier. Nor is it a careless decision by a “small-time library services department” that happened without the chief minister’s approval. It’s about critical coverage. “Dragging the CM’s name into this ‘controversy’ is unfair,” said Trinamul spokesperson Derek O’Brien. “Are we suggesting she starts micromanaging even library department lists?” No, Mr Quizmaster with all the answers. We are suggesting that she stop micromanaging everything.
The people of Bengal had a lot of hope from Ms Banerjee, a remarkable catalyst of change. But library censorship and thought control is not the parivartan they wished for.

The writer is editor of The Little Magazine. She can be contacted at: sen@littlemag.com [2]