The Press Council of India, in the midst of a raging controversy, is operating along the lines of the British Press Council. The latter was wound up a few years ago because it had failed to be an effective instrument for raising press standards. Now a new forum to deal with complaints has emerged, though India is still at the council stage, grappling with problems which the British Press Council faced and failed to sort out.
But it seems that the Press Council of India is not making any headway either, nor is it having any impact on newspapers. So the second question is: what should be the arrangement? The first point concerns dealing with the powers of the Council's chairman, Justice Markandey Katju, who is making himself busy in many areas, particularly in the forbidden field of politics. This was never anticipated either by the British Press Council or that of India.
