Senior journalist Anil Datta passed away last Friday. He was working for morning daily The News International of Jang Group of Newspapers. It is said that the late journalist did not get his salary for the last four months and was unable to pay the rent of a small room he was occupying.
He had to cover the major political and literary assignments using auto-rickshaw and had to borrow some money from friends to pay for conveyance fares.
Anil Datta was not an ordinary journalist. He was an intellectual and a excellent English writer and reporter, had a clear perception about the current affairs. I had worked with him and found him a thorough gentlemen, although we differed on many issues but agreed on one point that feudal society and feudal mindset had affected the smooth development of democracy and institutions attached to it.
He was very sad about the rampant corruption taking place in Pakistan involving some leading politicians who mercilessly looted the national resources, thereby denying the socio-economic rights of the people of Pakistan. He would often say that Pakistan has paid heavy price for its relations with USA who exploited Pakistan against the then Soviet Union to fight in Afghanistan which brought untold sufferings to the people of Pakistan as well Afghanistan.
In the death of Anil Datta we have lost a great journalist and a prolific writer. As I wrote earlier he was not paid for the last four months, he was taking loans from friends to meet day-to-day needs including food and other routine expenses.
The News International is owned by Jang Group who has huge money at their disposal but do not want to pay the salary on time to their employees resulting in various hardships and miseries to the workers and at times resulting in their death in the form of heart attacks.
There are many large newspaper houses like Jang Group who do not pay the salaries to their staff on time which causes mental agony and frustration, some time leading to untimely death like that of Anil Datta. I think it is duty of theKUJ and PFUJ to look into the matter seriously and force big media houses to pay salaries and other dues on time, otherwise the matter should be referred to Pakistani Courts for the final decision in this regard.
The present Government should also constitutean inquiry into the matter as why big business houses have been withholding salaries of the journalists and other workers forcing them to commit suicide or embracing untimely death in the shape of heart attacks as happened with Anil Datta.