Nagpur: Varying viewpoints were expressed in a debate contest titled ‘Is media becoming a threat to social sentiments?.’ Those in support and against the motion crossed swords to drive home their points and made the debate interesting.The intercollegiate debate contest was organized by the Hindi department of Vasantrao Naik Government Institute of Arts and Social Sciences in which students of nine colleges participated.Renu Bali conceptualized the multi-lingual competition while head of the Hindi department Sunitra Patil was in the chair. Life coach Pankaj Shukla and CA Ashish Agarwal were the judges.Irshad Pathan and Nagesh Ingle of PWS Mahavidyalaya bagged the first and second prize respectively. Prachi Agarwal of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar College of Law secured the third position. The best team participation award went to PWS Mahavidyalaya.Taushik Raut of PWS Mahavidyalaya firmly backed the media, saying, “When politicians failed to resolve or deliberately ignored cases concerning the nation or the people, it was this medium which took up cudgels and ensured that justice was delivered.”Some of the participants came up with the view that it was not media but our conscience which is a threat to society and nation. Media is not influencer but an informer of what is happening across the world, they said. People should be their own critic and decide what is right, they added.Some contestants said that in Nirbhaya rape and murder case, media took a stand which ultimately forced the government to amend the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act. Social media is like a weapon and it depends on its operators how to use it. Proper use can ensure justice while a wrong move on their part can be disastrous, they said.However, some competitors came down heavily on media houses, saying that they were taking undue advantage of the prevalent situation in the name of freedom of speech and expression only to improve TRP.

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