Thiruvananthapuram: Indian Newspaper Society (INS) president Pratap G Pawar on July 14 said the move to introduce foreign direct investment (FDI) in print sector had to be fought and resisted just like the country opposed colonialists.

Addressing a seminar on the "Impact of FDI in Indian Media" organised by the Press Club, he expressed the hope that the government would pay heed to the sentiments expressed by a large section of mediamen against the move and reverse the decision.

He said though FDI had initially been allowed in stages, the multinational giants could easily grab newspapers using the advantage. They could have control over the total number of shares if they managed to own 26 percent, he said.

Pawar said he did not think that Indian newspapers were poor in quality production. "India may not be a fully developed democracy, but if there are lacunae, there ought to be solutions," he said.

Frontline Editor N Ram, who delivered the keynote address, said FDI in Indian press had come as part of a "package deal".

"It is derivative and absolute and borrows its justification from thesis of the unstoppable policies of liberalisation and globalisation," he said.

The powerful players in the international media along with their allies in India were trying to project the image of print media as a corporate entity through hyper- commercialisation, he said.

PTI