P. Sainath’s Engagement at MAHE Bengaluru

Bengaluru, nineteenth February 2024: Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Bengaluru invited the famend journalist Palagummi Sainath to convene two media workshops for his or her undergraduate and postgraduate cohorts. Palagummi is understood for his groundbreaking work in rural journalism and was invited by the Department of Liberal Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences (DLHS) of MAHE.

Out of his three-day go to, for the primary day, on the eighth of February, the writer of the acclaimed 1996 guide, ‘The Great Indian Drought: Stories from India’s Poorest Districts’, Sainath engaged with undergraduate media and political science majors, in a deeply invigorating dialog on, “Journalism for Empowerment: Understanding the Role of Alternative Media”. Young college students launched into a day-long workshop that primed them for the rise of different media and the discourse round its relevancy in at this time’s mediascape. The founding editor of the People’s Archive of Rural India (PARI) posed some pertinent inquiries to college students that urged them to critically consider their function as studying media practitioners in a deeply polarised and aggressive media setting. Ankita Sahoo, a second-year pupil who’s majoring in political science and historical past from the division describes the discourse as, “Sainath’s insightful evaluation unveiled the intricate workings of media politics, exposing how dominant narratives obscure actuality. His name for moral journalism resonated deeply, urging a dedication to fact and amplifying marginalized views”.

The second and third days with the 2007 Ramon Magsaysay Awardee for Journalism, Literature, and Creative Communication Arts noticed him delve right into a vivid dialog on the thought of journalism with the hope of empowering the marginalised. His expertise on the sector in unravelling narratives of poverty, structural and historic inequities, caste-based discrimination and violence, and the rights of farmers was mirrored in tracing the subject, “Reporting Development: A Subaltern Approach.” Christopher Miltus, a second-year MA in Multimedia and communication pupil notes his learnings from the two-day-long dialog spearheaded by the previous Rural Affairs Editor of The Hindu. Miltus explains, “The workshop was an eye-opening expertise, delving deep into narratives of poverty and discrimination with a concentrate on empowering marginalized communities. His insights challenged us to rethink conventional journalistic approaches and try for extra inclusive storytelling.”

For the division, this set of workshops with P. Sainath comes at a time when they’re specializing in exposing their college students to varied natures of journalism. These workshops additional the division’s efforts in getting ready future media practitioners to focus on their work towards ushering in change by highlighting the voices of communities on the peripheries. Dr. Shilpa Kalyan, HoD, DLHS, explains, “We are happy to host Sainath. We imagine his nuanced understanding of bringing tales from the bottom would allow our college students to be accountable journalists who will try to result in tales that normally go unheard.”

Sunayan, affiliate professor of media at the division, PG coordinator, and the facilitator of the workshops notes, “Sainath’s interplay with our college students was a promising sight for us. The enthusiasm they confirmed in not simply studying from him but in addition contributing to the dialog over the three days imbibed a way of hope in us. The workshops imbibed a way of crucial elevation among the many college students relating to the form of journalism they might need to do.”

The learnings college students take residence after interacting with P. Sainath over these three days underscores the essence of accountable journalism in amplifying marginalized voices. Through partaking discussions on various media and subaltern approaches to reporting, Sainath evokes budding journalists to empower communities on the peripheries, echoing the ethos of his pioneering work in rural journalism.