Debate, discussion should be used for disagreement: Mukherjee

Urging the media to "act as a watchdog of public interest and give voice to the marginalised", President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday said emotions should not overrun reason and disagreement should be expressed through debate and discussion.

Speaking at the National Press Day celebrations organised by the Press Council of India here, the president said journalists must bring to public notice the array of ills and deprivations that continue to beset large number of people.

"The power of the media should be used to reset our moral compass and promote liberalism, humanism and decency in public life. While opinion is free, facts should be sacred," the president said.

"Caution should be exercised in passing judgements, especially on matters where the due process of law is yet to be completed. We must never forget that careers and reputations take years to build but only minutes to demolish," the statement added.

He said the media fraternity of India are not only providers of news but also educators which empower the citizens and strengthens the democratic framework of the country.

Referring to the main theme of this year's National Press Day discussion, the president said cartoons and caricatures are good stress busters for the viewing public as well as those featured in them.

"The cartoonist captures the mood of the time and his art lies in being able to lampoon without hurting, caricature without distorting and to say with a few strokes of the brush what lengthy articles fail to express. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, our first prime minister used to repeatedly tell V. Shankar, the doyen of Indian cartoonists, 'Don't spare me, Shankar'," he said.

Mukherjee also gave away National Awards for excellence in journalism on the occasion.

Among this year's awardees is IANS agarttala bureau chief Sujit Chakraborty.

Prestigious awards are a public recognition, of talent, merit and hard work, by peers and leaders in the profession. Such awards should be cherished and valued by those who receive them, the president said.