Class 7th Boy Writes A Note Comparing His Mother To Indrani Mukherjea. Impact Of 24 Hr Coverage?

We were always encouraged by our parents and teachers to inculcate the habit of reading a newspaper every morning, so that we are more aware and updated about whats happening around us. But with the kind of news that's being given importance these days, it seems unimportant to pick a newspaper at all.

For the last almost a week, most leading national dailies are filled with prurient details of a woman which practically should not be disclosed.

Coverage overdose

Many out there feel, that the media has on several occasions crossed all limits while covering some stories. In this case the story we are talking of, is the murder mystery of Sheena Bora.

India Today

The case has received majority of the day's news coverage, for most part of the last week now. Media has pro-actively or in fact hyper-actively gone ahead of the police in locating various people associated with the case, explored all the different angles, and has probed too deep into a woman's personal life.

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'Excess of anything is bad' and the overdose of covering Indrani Mukherjee's personal life has had a detrimental effect on the psyche of this class 7 boy.

This is what the boy wrote

A class 7 boy of a reputed private school in Delhi was caught passing notes by his teachers. When the teacher opened the notes to read, she was taken aback. The note said: ¡°I am an illegitimate child. My mother is like Indrani Mukerjea. She likes having sex with many men¡±

The matter was immediately reported to the school principal, who called up the boy's parents. Consequently a suspension followed and the boy was sent for counselling.

Ashok Agarwal, senior lawyer and child rights activist who has been working for reform in the education sector feels that the Sheena Bora case is a clear example of how media has crossed all limits. He was quoted telling IBN Live, "Trial by media has to stop. Media needs to be sensitive to what information and content it puts out. The focus must remain on investigation. A line needs to be drawn, and it will have to be done internally by the media itself."

Not an isolated incident

A class 8 boy was caught flashing a girl from his class. When the girl was counselled and questioned over the incident she disclosed that several boys had exposed themselves to her earlier.

The incidents not only apprise us of the detrimental effects that news can have on children and teens but it also highlights the importance of introducing sex education in school, which has long been pending and the need to talk freely to the young so that they can talk their heart and mind.

Also parents and teachers must ensure that correct information is reaching their children from reliable sources, and the media certainly has a big role to play in this.

But we must not forget that it is because of this pro-active nature of the media, that several cases have come to light and managed to reach their logical conclusion. Guess the only thing that is to be kept in mind is self-restraint.