It is quite shocking that Zee news has targeted well known academics who are also widely respected public figures. Over the past week, Nivedita Menon — a feminist political scientist, writer, and translator — and most recently, Gauhar Raza — scientist, poet, film maker– have been labeled as “desh drohi” ‘anti-national’ by the channel. Gauhar Raza, was portrayed as part of what it terms in derogatory and unethical language the ” Afzal-loving poets’ gang”. In both cases, decontextualised video clippings of these individuals appearances in public events have been aired and their names repeatedly flashed through evening bulletins.
Singling out of individuals and creating a mass-frenzy against them using the medium of TV is a dangerous trend. Zee TV initiated this defamatory exercise in the case of the students of the JNU also, and these doctored videos have become the basis of arrest and harassment of Kanhaiya, Umar and Anirban. They have not yet apologised for this highly irresponsible act. Despite their bluff being called, they have persisted.
That Zee News can continue to flout all ethical codes of journalistic conduct, and conduct this relentless tirade against Nivedita Menon and Gauhar Raza is criminal and unacceptable. We call upon the Press Council of India and the Broadcast Association to take note of this criminality and initiate necessary action against the channel. We also appeal to the governments of Delhi and the centre to initiate criminal proceeding against the channel for putting a citizen’s life under threat.
We strongly condemn this unethical and criminal act of the Zee news and demand an unconditional apology from them.
ABHA BHAIYA
ABHA DEV HABIB, DU
ABHIJIT A.M, LOKAYAT, PUNE
ACHIN VANAIK
ADITI MANGALDAS
ALKA ACHARYA
AMAR KANWAR
AMEET PARAMESWARAN, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, JNU
AMIT SENGUPTA, JOURNALIST
AMITABH PANDEY
AMMU JOSEPH, BANGALORE
ANAND PATWARDHAN
ANEESH PRADHAN
ANIL CHAUDHARY
APOORVANAND, DU
ARCHANA PRASAD, PROFESSOR, JNU
ARINDAM BANERJEE
ARJUN DEV
ARUN KARTHIK B., GRADUATE STUDENT – IIT KANPUR
ARUNA RODRIGUES, MHOW, M.P.
ARUNDHATI DHURU
ASAD ZAIDI
ASHEESH MAMGAIN
ASHISH KOTHARI, KALPAVRIKSH, PUNE
ASHOK BHOWMICK
ASHOK VAJPEYI
ATUL SOOD
AVINASH KUMAR, ACTIVIST
AYESHA KIDWAI, JNU
AZHAR KHAN, JALGOAN, MAHARASHTRA
BAVISKAR SHARAD, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, CENTRE FOR FRENCH AND FRANCOPHONE STUDIES
BHASHA SINGH, JOURNALIST AND WRITER
BHAVNA SHARMA
BRINDA SINGH
C.P. CHANDRASEKHAR
CHANDRAKANT N GAIKWAD
CHIRASHREE DAS GUPTA
CYNTHIA KUMAR
DEV DESAI, GUJARAT
DIKSHANT
DILIP SIMEON
DIPA SINHA
DR AJITA WSS DELHI
DR KAREN GABRIEL, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, DU
DR SHAMBHAVI PRAKASH, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, JAWAHARLAL NEHRU UNIVERSITY
DR. ANAND TELTUMBDE, PROFESSOR VGSOM, IIT, KHARAGPUR 721302
DUNU ROY
EHTASHAM KHAN, JOURNALIST
G. ARUNIMA
GAUTAM NAVLAKHA, PUDR
GAUTAM THAKER
GHANSHYAM SHAH (AHMEDABAD)
GITHA HARIHARAN
HAPPYMON JACOB
HARIDAS T
HARJINDER (LALTU) SINGH
HARSH KAPOOR
HARSH MANDER, WRITER, ACTIVIST
HESTER DU PLESSIS
HIMANSHU JOSHI, JOURNALIST
HIREN GANDHI, – DARSHAN, AHMEDABAD
IMRAN KHAN
INDU CHANDRASEKHAR
IQBAL AHMAD, JOURNOULIST
IRA PANDEY
JAINANDAN
JANAKI NAIR, PROFESSOR
JAVED ANAND
JAYATI GHOSH, JNU
JOHN DAYAL
JUHI JAIN
JYOTI PUNWANI
KALPANA KANNABIRAN
KALYANI MENON-SEN, FEMINIST LEARNING PARTNERSHIPS
AMMU JOSEPH, BANGALORE
KAMAL CHENOY
KAMAYANI BALI MAHABAL- FEMINIST, MUMBAI
KAMLESH SHAHARE
KAREN GABRIEL, DU
KARTHIK BITTU, HYDERABAD
KARUNA D W, RESEARCHER, CHENNAI
KAUSAR WIZARAT
KAVERI INDIRA
KAVITA KRISHNAN, SECRETARY AIPWA
KAVITA SHARMA, JMS, DELHI
KHUSHBOO JAIN
KIRTI SINGH
KM SHRIMALI
KN PANIKKAR
KUMAR SHIRALKAR
KUMAR SUNDARAM
LALIT KUMAR
LEENA DABIRU
M. DAVID AMALANADANE, PHARMACIST, KARAIKAL
MADAN GOPAL
MADHAVI KALE
MADHU PRASAD
MADHU SAHNI
MADHURESH KUMAR
MADHURI KRISHNASWAMY, JAGRIT ADIVASI DALIT SANGATHAN
MAHESH PANDYA, GUJARAT SOCIAL WATCH
MAHTAB ALAM, ACTIVIST AND WRITER
MANAN TRIVEDI, GUJARAT
MANASI THAPLIYAL
MANGALESH DABRAL
MANISHA GUPTE, WOMEN’S RIGHTS ACTIVIST, PUNE
MANOJ KULKARNI
MANSI SHARMA
MARIEME HELIE LUCAS, SECULARISM IS A WOMEN’S ISSUE (SIAWI)
MARY E JOHN
MAYA PANDIT-NARKAR
MAYA VALECHA
MIHIR PANDYA
MILIND CHAVAN, PEOPLES’ UNION FOR CIVIL LIBERTIES
MINAKSHI SINGH, SAMARPAN
MK RAINA
MOGGALLAN BHARTI
MOHAMMAD AMIR
MOHAN KUMAWAT, FILMMAKER
MOHAN RAO
MOUSHUMI BASU
MURLI MANOHAR PRASAD SINGH
N.D. JAYAPRAKASH
NANDINI RAO
NANDINI SUNDAR
NASEERUDDIN SHAH, ACTOR
NASIRUDDIN HAIDER KHAN, JOURNALIST
NAVAID HAMID, PRESIDENT, ALL INDIA MUSLIM MAJLIS E MUSHWARAT
NEELIMA SHARMA
NEERAJ JAIN, LOKAYAT AND SOCIALIST PARTY (INDIA)
NIRAJ THOMBARE
NISHA BISWAS, KOLKATA
NIVEDITA MENON
OVAIS SULTAN KHAN
PAMELA PHILIPOSE
PANKAJ BISHT
PANKAJ CHANDRA
PARIMAL MAYA SUDHAKAR, HEAD-ACADEMICS, MIT SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT, PUNE
PARUL MUKHERJI
PATHIK ARORA
PENDYALA MADHUSUDHANA CHARY,JOURNALIST, TELANGANA
PERVIN JEHANGIR
PRABHAT PATNAIK, JNU
PRADIP DATA, PROFESSOR, JNU
PRAKASH K RAY, EDITOR, BARGAD.ORG
PRASAD CHACKO, SOCIAL ACTIVIST, AHMEDABAD
PRASHANT BHUSHAN
PRATHAMA BANERJEE, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR (CSDS)
PRATIKSHA BAXI
PRAVEEN JHA
PRITAM PAL
PROF. ADITYA MUKHERJEE
PROF. MAYA PANDIT
PROF. MRIDULA MUKHERJEE
PUNEET SHARMA
PURUSHOTTAM AGRAWAL
PYOLI SWATIJA, ADVOCATE, SUPREME COURT
R. RAMACHANDRAN, JOURNALIST, NEW DELHI.
RAJAT DATTA
RAJENDRA PRASAD
RAJENDRA SHARMA
RAJESH SINHA
RAJINDER CHAUDHARY, FORMER PROFESSOR, M. D. UNIVERSITY, ROHTAK
RAJIV KUMAR
RAKESH, GENERAL SECRETARY,IPTA
RAKHI SEHGAL
RAM PUNIYANI
RAMPRAKASH, JALES, MP
RAVI KUMAR, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, SOUTH ASIAN UNIVERSITY
RITOO M. JERATH
ROHIT, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, CESP, JNU
RUNU CHAKRABORTY
S.P. SHUKLA
SABA AZAD
SABA DEWAN
SABA GREWAL
SADANAND MENON, WRITER/CRITIC
SADHNA ARYA
SAGOLSEM PAVEL
SAHBA FAROOQUI, AIDWA
SAHIR RAZA
SANIA HASHMI
SANJEEV KUMAR
SANJIV BHATT
SANKARA NARAYANAN
SARAH HASHMI
SAROOP DHRUV. – DARSHAN, AHMEDABAD
SATYA SIVARAMAN, JOURNALIST
SATYAM VARMA (JOURNALIST, ACTIVIST)
SEEMA MISRA, ADVOCATE
SHABNAM HASHMI, SOCIAL ACTIVIST
SHAKTI KAK
SHALINI GERA
SHAMA MAHAMED, DENTIST, PUNE
SHAMEERA ASHROFF
SHAMIM MODI, SHRAMIK ADIVASI SANGHATAN
SHAMSUL ISLAM, NISHANT NATYA MANCH
SHARANYA NAYAK, ODISHA
SHARMILA TAGORE
SHEBA ASLAM FEHMI
SHUBHA MENON
SHUBHA MUDGAL
SHWETA BHATT
SMITA GUPTA, ALL INDIA DEMOCRATIC WOMEN’S ASSOCIATION
SOHAIL HASHMI
SUBHASH GATADE, NEW SOCIALIST INITIATIVE
SUBHASH KANE
SUBHASH, NEW SOCIALIST INITIATIVE
SUCHARITA SEN, PROFESSOR, JNU
SUDHA BHARADWAJ
SUDHIR DEVADAS
SUMAN BHATTACHARYYA
SUMIT SARKAR
SUNALINI KUMAR
SUPRIYA CHOTANI
SUPRIYA CHOTANI
SUPRIYA VARMA
SURESH PINGALE
SURJIT DABAS
SUSAN VISVANATHAN
SWATI DESAI
SYEDA HAMEED
TANIKA SARKAR
TEESTA SETALVAD
UDAYA KUMAR, PROFESSOR JNU
UJJWAL K HOWDHURY
UMA V CHANDRU, WSS, KARNATAKA
V. RAJENDRAN
V.G. ANTO, GANDHI NAGAR, THUMBAL P.O., SALEM – 636 114, TAMIL NADU
V.K. TRIPATHI, IIT DELHI
VAISHNA NARANG, PROFESSOR OF LINGUISTICS, JNU
Vijaya Venkataraman
VIKAS DUBEY
VIKAS RAWAL
VIMALBHAI, ENVIRONMENTALIST
VINEET TIWARI
VINOD KOSHTI, NEW DELHI
VISHNU NAGAR
WASI HAIDER
ZAKIA SOMAN