Role of Newspapers in UPSC: From Collective Amnesia to Civic Responsibility

The Collective Amnesia

Reading the newspaper was never really a choice for many 90s kids like me—it was an obligation. I had to finish the paper before I was allowed to do anything remotely fun. Over time, this ritual became a habit. I still remember those early days, when I maintained a scrapbook of my cricket hero Rahul Dravid’s achievements. But reading the newspaper was not always joyful. Alongside inspiration came reports of floods in Mumbai, bridges collapsing due to corruption, and rapes and murders that seemed to appear almost every other day. These stories left me nauseated. And they continue, perhaps even more pervasively now, forcing a difficult question: why do we read newspapers? Is it simply to acquaint ourselves with tragedies and then move on, or is there a greater purpose—to push us towards action in making the world a better place?

I must be honest: I too have often read the newspaper the way many do in this country—only to complain that life is unfair, to discuss tragedies in drawing rooms or WhatsApp groups, or to wear it as a badge of intellectualism. Reading the news is still seen in certain circles as an academic pursuit, not a civic duty. Man-made disasters from unsustainable tourism keep repeating; rapes catch our attention only when they are especially heinous, like Nirbhaya in Delhi or the Hyderabad and Kolkata cases. But every rape is heinous. Every preventable death is tragic. Why does our collective outrage flare up so selectively? This selective amnesia reveals a deeper problem: we consume news as spectators, not as citizens. That must change.

Reading newspapers must not remain an exercise in passive awareness. It should be a moral call to action—action rooted in compassion for those who suffer, in courage to hold the powerful accountable, and in responsibility to safeguard the freedoms we enjoy. Yet how, one might ask, can an ordinary reader struggling for roti, kapada, makaan make this leap? The answer is simpler than we think.

First, we must shed our culture of forgetting. No death that was unnecessary and avoidable should be brushed aside, nor should those responsible be forgiven so easily. Memory is a weapon—when citizens refuse to forget, governments are forced to act differently. Second, we must hold those in power accountable, starting with the simplest democratic act: voting. Not voting for caste, religion or patronage, but voting with the nation’s interest at heart. Responsible voting is the most immediate way an ordinary citizen can transform outrage into action. Finally, accountability must also extend to ourselves. Freedom is not a privilege handed down by the state; it is a responsibility that demands vigilance against injustice anywhere. To look away is to betray that responsibility.

It was this responsibility that made me pen this op-ed since newspapers are not only chronicles of despair. They also carry stories of resilience—of citizens rising to the occasion when governments fail, of ordinary men and women displaying extraordinary courage. Such reports remind us that news can be more than reporting of tragedy; it can be a source of inspiration, proof that individuals and communities do make a difference. The best lessons, after all, are often learnt through bitter experiences.

Ultimately, the newspaper is a mirror. Too often, we treat it like a spectacle, glancing at the reflection before moving on with our lives. But mirrors are also meant to confront us, to show us what we would rather not see. If we read the news only to complain or to appear informed, then headlines will remain fleeting. If we read it as a call to conscience, then even a small act—refusing to forget, voting with integrity, holding ourselves accountable—can ripple outward.

The daily newspaper is more than ink on paper. It is an invitation to moral vigilance. Whether we look away or act upon it determines not just our headlines, but the course of human progress itself. So, let us not postpone our duty, for as Langston Hughes reminded us:

“I do not need my freedom when I’m dead. I cannot live on tomorrow’s bread.”

“I do not need my freedom when I’m dead. I cannot live on tomorrow’s bread.”