Who will pay for the life of Prateeksha Patel, a 15-year-old who hanged self to death after watching the scene of Saddam's hanging repeatedly on television channels.
She had a tiff with her brother and after watching the execution on TV screen, she asked her father repeatedly if the form of death caused pain to person. She then locked her in a room and ended her life.
Indian visual media forgets that there are tens of millions of people in this country who are impressionable, depressed, mentally challenged, suffering from various forms of mental illnesses and anxieites.
And there are children/teenagers like Prateeksha. But the macabre act was shown again and again. Will the heads of these channels be questioned for the death. Indian Electronic Media sucks, it is disgusting. It is perhaps the most irresponsible media in the world.
But does anybody dare to raise a voice. The government, the ministers, the commissions and the NGOs must come out and rein in these channels. Just one tough directive from the government or a minister would be enough but sadly the establishment is not sensitive enough.
Meanwhile, another girl has ended life in Kolkata. Moon Moon (or Munmun) Karmakar hanged herself for wanting to "feel the pain Saddam did during the execution".
"She said they had hanged a patriot. We didn't take her seriously when she told us that she wanted to feel the pain, Saddam did during the execution," the girl's father Manmohan Karmakar was quoted as saying. According to Manmohan, Moon Moon had become extremely depressed after watching Saddam's execution on television.
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