Hafta 575: The Naravane book row, WaPo layoffs, and TM Krishna on ‘making democracy a culture’

This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, and Jayashree Arunachalam are joined by musician and author T.M. Krishna and defence analyst Ajai Shukla for a conversation that spans Parliament flashpoints, billionaire ownership in journalism, and the deeper cultural fight over India’s national symbols.

The panel opens with a discussion around the furore in Parliament over former Army chief General M.M. Naravane’s yet-to-be-released memoir this week. Questioning Om Birla’s claim that the Opposition was planning an attack on PM Narendra Modi, Manisha says, “It’s fear-mongering… the same story as what prime time had done back when the Prime Minister got stuck in a traffic jam.”

Ajai Shukla opines that the very fact that a former Army Chief’s account is stuck in clearance limbo shows how tightly the government controls uncomfortable narratives around national security and China.

The discussion then transitions to the layoff purge at The Washington Post, which Jayashree describes as a symptom of a world where media outlets are “bought by a billionaire” and then “gutted to maximise profits”. 

Abhinandan argues that economics is not just a study of money, but a study of societies, adding that journalism is a public good that cannot be left to the mercy of a billionaire.

Finally, TM Krishna discusses his new book, We, the People of India, which examines India’s anthem, flag, and other national symbols. Krishna contrasts Vande Mataram with Jana Gana Mana, arguing they reflect very different ideas of India. He also points to a deeper democratic failure. 

“We entirely failed in making democracy a culture,” Krishna says, arguing that constitutional values were reduced to textbook lines you “just mugged up to write in an examination.”

This and a lot more. Tune in!

Timecodes

00:00:00 - Introductions and birthday announcements!

00:05:25 - Headlines

00:28:14 - T.M. Krishna on his book and being an artist today

01:28:00 - Controversy over General MM Naravane’s book

01:49:11 - Letters

02:08:10 - Recommendations

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Produced by Priyali Dhingra, with assistant production by Ashish Anand. Sound by Anil Kumar

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