I see many people on twitter, asking journalists who are sharing visuals of migrant workers, if the journalists are also helping them reach the destination or if they are just sharing photos and stories for political agenda. Our job as a journalist is to bear witness 1/n

and record the stories for future. Each time we shoot, speak or tell these stories, a part of us gets chipped away. If you think journalists are not human beings with feelings, you are mistaken. I also know many many journalists who are going above and beyond their duty 2/n

and are actually helping mobilise food, water, and aid for the migrant workers. Instead of asking the government to provide the transport, i find it ironic that journalists are being asked to provide help for migrants. We are doing our best but we are not the elected leaders. 3/n

We are holding the elected leaders accountable as journalists. Now please do your bit and amplify the stories of suffering and hold these leaders accountable. The least you can do is support independent media outlets like @SunoIndia_in and many others out there. Fin.

Something i wrote on FB a couple of days ago:
Some days the pain becomes too much- of reporting; of writing; of watching the world fall apart piece by piece; of watching the country you love dismantle its ethos and its empathy; And then i remind myself. I am here to tell stories

Stories that need to be told and heard; uncomfortable ones; unsensational but raw stories; of the society around us; Our job as journalists, storytellers, writers, cartoonists, photographers, editors is to make sure that every voice is heard.

Even when they die unfortunate deaths crushed by a train; or cycling 100s of kilometers for a safe haven, or surviving a disease but still reeling under the stigma, or telling you why labor laws matter and how our cities are made from the blood and sweat of the poor.

And over the poor; these are stories that need to be told. need to be read. need to be heard. need to be processed. Isn’t that literally the only thing we can do to make sure no person feels unheard or that they are invisible?

You may hate on us- the media, the journalists. Call us fake news. But we won’t stop telling the stories. we won’t stop making you uncomfortable. Your freedoms and rights and this country wasn't made by being comfortable. Do your bit. Feel sad. Feel angry. Feel pained.

And then do something about it. Be human for once & not just a tool in the hands of political masters. Put yourself in the shoes of those who are walking barefoot, children on their shoulders. Try. Give it a shot. Empathy isn’t hard. Sympathy does nothing.