This shoe does BITE!

IT missed again! I am talking about the extremely popular online games of hurling a shoe at a minister — a new medium journalists have acquired to get their anger/hatred across.

First an Iraqi reporter did it to former US president George Bush and now Indian journalist has done it to Union Home Minister P Chidambaram.

Well enough of jokes. But seriously it was definitely one of the most atrocious things to happen in journalism recently.

I don’t know whether it was right for the Dainik Jagran journalist Jarnail Singh to hurl his shoe after not getting a convincing reply to his question from Chidambaram on the 1984 Sikhs riot issue.


I can’t say because lets not discount the fact that journalists are also human beings (I am not trying to defend Jarnail Singh’s act by saying this). He is a Sikh and I sympathise with him, as with other Sikhs for whatever happened in the 1984 riots.

More so after the CBI gave a clean chit to main accuse Jagdish Tytler, when everyone knows his involvement. It hurts. It will hurt you if you or your community is affected.

I know journalists are under huge pressure from the whole community, friends, family and almost everyone around, who want them to do something against the injustice done.

So, probably this would be one of the reasons that may have led a generally calm Jarnail Singh to hurl his shoe at the minister.

However, let’s look at this from a constructive point of view. Did it solve the purpose? Did the CBI reopen the investigations?

Instead, what it did was made the whole issue political with opposition parties banking on Jarnail’s action. A political party also announced to award the journalist with Rs 2 lakh prize money.

I am sure this was not the intent and outcome Jarnail would have thought off. I, however, wished he had given a thought before hurling his shoe.

I am afraid the shoe-throwing incident will set a bad precedent for the young crop of journalism students who aim to be there one day, especially after seeing a senior journalist doing such an act on national TV throughout the day.

It is not too far when journalism students may have to answer a critical question like this: What is mightier than a sword?
Option A: Pen
Option B: Shoes
Option C: Both