In the rural hinterland of Pakistan, a school-going girl was shot by the Taliban for going against the religious principles. Yet she showed immense courage and continued with her studies. This act of bravery and showcase of courage would have just remained obscure and lost in the chaos, and the world would not have known about that girl ‘Malala Yousafzai’. Thanks to the media for it had publicized the news, sensitized people about girl education, and empowered women that made thousands of girls in the same region take up education.

The media is defined as a platform to disseminate information in order to make people more aware, expose them to new ideas, publicize important information, empower them, and influence their thinking and perception. Media has played an important role in making the lives of people across temporal and spatial dimensions.

King Ashoka was known to spread his ‘ideas of Dharma’ through his rock edicts. The principles of tolerance, patience, non-violence, mutual coexistence (Sarva Dharma Sama Bhava) were propagated through this medium which ensured peace in such a big empire.

The Indian freedom struggle is replete with examples of how media, especially newspapers, worked to ensure peace and cooperation among Indians. Mahatma Gandhi’s ‘Harijan’, ‘Young India’, Raja Rammohan Roy’s ‘Sambad Kaumudi’, Annie Besant’s ‘New India’, etc., were very prominent in blurring the caste, communal, and regional lines among people, which brought peace and communal harmony in society and enabled people to work towards a common goal of obtaining ‘Poorna Swaraj’. In the same way, media can play a multifaceted role in ensuring peace of a country at multiple levels – peace in the home and at the workplace.

Women are at a disadvantage in a society where patriarchy dominates. Domestic violence, sexual harassment, dowry deaths, rape, gender discrimination, son preference, glass ceiling, etc., are some of the manifestations of patriarchy.

Media can break these inhuman practices by publicizing and showcasing the plight of women who have faced the brunt. Such news can sensitize people and make them empathize with the victims and help them change their attitude towards women.

The role played by media after the Nirbhaya rape case made the issue a hot topic which led to reforms in the legal and administrative systems of the country. The #MeToo campaign on social media also made workplace issues known to a larger public which took society towards peaceful homes and workplaces – peace for marginal sections of society.

The lower castes of society are subject to violence, discrimination, and inhuman treatment like manual scavenging in their everyday lives, which happens not only in rural areas but also in well-developed urban areas.

Media can highlight these persistent issues and evaluate the impact of these inhuman practices which can make people understand the futility of such caste discrimination. Niyamgiri protests by tribals of Odisha were well covered by media, which helped raise their issue at a national level after which the construction of a mining company was stopped, bringing peace to their lives. The movie “Article 15” also tried to showcase the caste discrimination which brought awareness among people for peace in society.

By highlighting the issues of Muzaffarnagar riots and Dadri lynching, media has shown the plight of the victims and refugees and the problems they had to undergo in the process of rehabilitation.

Such communal violence happens in the spur of the moment which can be stopped if people become more tolerant. By spreading the message of peace, communal harmony, and showing examples where coexistence has brought prosperity to the lives of people, media can play a positive role in peace-building measures – peace in the lives of poor.

By evaluating and monitoring the implementation of poverty eradication schemes like MGNREGA, National Food Security Act 2013, (LPG) Ujjwala Yojana etc., media can make people aware of the benefits of the schemes and also their impact on poverty. Flaws, malfunctions, corruptions can be exposed which will help in better implementation of schemes towards reducing poverty, hunger, malnutrition in the country bringing peace into the lives of poor people.

Environmental peace

It is high time that we must take steps to protect our environment. By analyzing the reports of international agencies and by running campaigns, preparing documentaries and covering the stories of environmental refugees, media can pressurize the governments to take action and also sensitize the public about environmental degradation and alter their consumption practices. This can bring peace to the world as a whole.

International peace

It is important to pursue peace in foreign relations. By constantly covering the news of violence-stricken areas and giving a platform for the voices of these areas to express their grievances, media can play a role as a messenger in the peace process. Highlighting the causes of conflict and suggesting important measures to be taken, by inviting experts to talk on these issues, by inviting representatives from the countries to talk and discuss, media can become a mediator in peace talks.

Internal peace

By promoting healthy practices like the practice of Yoga, meditation, healthy dietary habits, causes and cures for various diseases, programs on spirituality, media can help people obtain the much-needed internal peace in this very busy world. By showcasing the lives of important people like Mahatma Gandhi, Swami Vivekananda, Gautama Buddha, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, APJ Abdul Kalam, media can help instill the much-needed ethical and moral values in the public which are fundamental for having a peaceful society.

Thus, media can have a great impact on bringing peace at individual societal, national, and international levels. However, there are some challenges. The murder of Gauri Lankesh who wrote against communal hatred, arrest of journalists on sedition charges, banning the publication of material, blocking out news channels can deter and discourage the publication of truth. At the same time, the presence of fake news, paid news, committed media, biased media, and sensationalization of news hamper the credibility of the media and people will lose trust.

Our constitution guarantees the right to freedom of speech in Article 19 which empowers the media to publish the news without fearing anyone. In fact, for the healthy functioning of a democracy, the independence of media is essential. The government promotes journalism by giving subsidized land and tax benefits to the media companies. At the same time, governments must also give it maximum independence possible within the ambit of the constitution.

Media houses must also keep themselves away from getting influenced by money or other vested interests and must perform their role with utmost sincerity. Press Council of India must be empowered to have enough regulatory powers to take disciplining action.

Media is considered the 4th pillar of democracy and only when it is allowed to work freely independently can it help to better the lives of people and bring peace to the country.