NL Hafta

In this week’s episode, host Abhinandan Sekhri is joined by Madhu Trehan, Raman Kirpal, the political editor of The Caravan magazine Hartosh Singh Bal, and a Newslaundry subscriber of Kashmiri origin.The podcast kicks off with the Newslaundry subscriber expressing her sentiments on the abrogation of Article 370 and the heavy deployment of troops in the region. She says, "For us, it is a progression of the loss in the faith in the Indian Constitution." The panel talks about why Ladakh and Jammu will soon ask the government to ban people from other states from buying land in the region, and the chances of a plebiscite. Hartosh notes the impact of the Modi-Shah-Doval trinity on the minds of the Indian people.The panel goes on to discuss how members of the Congress who didn’t even want to share space with P Chidambaram earlier are now supporting him inside and outside court. Raman wonders if political influence caused the CBI to dramatise the arrest and questions the credibility of Indrani Mukerjea's statement. Abhinandan tries to understand the reason behind primetime reporters spitting venom against the former finance minister.The deficient media coverage this week on recent protests over the Ravidas Temple demolition urges the panel to thrash out why this wasn’t given space on primetime news. The panel also discusses this movement’s rise in Punjab. Hartosh says, “The thing angering them the most was that green zone exceptions have been made for hundreds of thousands of reasons and it couldn’t be made for this?”The group also discusses fake news and why people don’t mind spreading it, before moving on to remember legendary music composer Mohammed Zahur Khayyam Hashmi.For this and more, listen up! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

NL Hafta has gone behind the paywall, but we love our listeners. So here's a little sneak peek into the complete episode. In this episode of Newslaundry Hafta, The Caravan’s Staff Writer Praveen Donthi and Independent Journalist Makepeace Sitlhou join host, Abhinandan Sekhri, Newslaundry’s Managing Editor, Raman Kirpal and Correspondent, Gaurav Sarkar.The podcast begins a discussion on the National Register of Citizens (NRC). Abhinandan wonders if NRC is “some sort of a political masterstroke”. Makepeace, who covers stories from Northeast India and has been covering NRC, draws out the details of the situation. The panel moves on to talk about recent developments in Kashmir, including reports of human rights violations, with inputs from The Caravan’s Praveen Dhonty. Later, Gaurav Sarkar, who has been covering the Chidambaram case, joins the conversation. Abhinandan asks him to spill the beans on the informal happenings in the court that did not make into his report. Abhinandan also talked about Ravish Kumar’s acceptance speech for the Ramon Magsaysay Award, the rise of fake news and the choice and plight of young journalists.Listen to the full Hafta here: https://www.newslaundry.com/2019/09/07/hafta-240-nrc-kashmir-chidambaram-and-more Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s episode, host Abhinandan Sekhri is joined by Anand Vardhan, Washington Post's India correspondent Niha Masih, and Sneha Koshy, the head of NDTV's Kerala bureau. The podcast starts with the panel’s take on BBC’s report on Kashmir, which was rumoured to be untrue. Niha was in Kashmir for five days and she talks about the communication shutdown there, also describing how restrictions on movement for the media was different on each day. Abhinandan asks: “Why does a Washington Post correspondent get a curfew pass [while] a HT bureau chief who has been working for three decades in Kashmir is denied one?” Niha responds, “It was not my pass, but I was travelling with someone who had a curfew pass. But a lot of people said that the local Kashmiri journalists found it harder to get curfew passes, but the ones from Delhi found it easier.” Abhinandan expresses how he felt about the sound of bullet firings in the BBC video. Anand points out: “It could be a deliberate message to suppress information and then release it later.” He urges the audience and the panel to read his piece on Kashmir to have a clearer view of the limitations of constitutional patriotism and why the claims of the nation-state are still thriving.Moving to the Pehlu Khan case verdict, Anand feels the problem in India is “more of mob justice than about mob lynching”. About the recurring floods in Kerala and most of South India, Sneha explains how environmental exploitation and urbanisation has taken a toll on Kerala. Paddy plantation in Kerala has seen a downward graph, and the sustenance of the growth of paddy has also become an issue. She describes how mono-cropping is becoming a huge challenge.The panel then discusses Sonia Gandhi stepping up as the interim president of the Indian National Congress. Anand says charisma or tradition is the appeal of leadership. Abhinandan feels there is no representation in the Congress and jokes that the party should get Kanhaiya Kumar as president, saying: “In today’s’ day and age, a good speaker is what you need.”For more, tune in! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

NL Hafta has gone behind the paywall, but we love our listeners. So here's a little sneak peek into the complete episode.In this week’s episode, host Abhinandan Sekhri is joined by Madhu Trehan, Raman Kirpal, author & journalist Puja Mehra, and France 24 correspondent Surabhi Tandon.The podcast kicks off with Puja Mehra, author of The Lost Decade, explaining the relevance of surplus funds with the Reserve Bank of India and how the way these funds will be used by the government could decide the country's economic future.Talking about cases of human rights violations in Kashmir, Surabhi says, "It's also a lack of respect for ordinary life and for human beings. I think the Indian state and the machinery repetitively demonstrates a complete disregard for the dignity of ordinary human beings." The panel also discussed the significance of renaming Feroze Shah Kotla stadium and the United States backing out from the Indo-Pak dispute amongst other things.Listen to the full Hafta Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s Hafta, Abhinandan Sekhri is joined by Manisha Pande, Raman Kirpal, Anand Vardhan, and R Jagannathan, Swarajya's Editorial Director. The discussion kicks off with the panel talking about the abrogation of Article 370, and the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories: Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Abhinandan said, “I thought it would be impossible in my lifetime." R Jagannathan also weighs in about the government’s actions. The panel also discussed the triumphalism portrayed by a majority of the Indian public. Manisha said that rhetorics like “teaching them a lesson” are demeaning. Focusing on the current state of communications in the former state, the panel examines the role of the media in providing information to the rest of the country. The panel discussed claims such the move being for improvement of employment opportunities and literacy rates in the state. The panel also talks about the inability of individuals in Jammu and Kashmir to communicate. Jagannathan states, “The first job of any state is to ensure law and order.” The panel also speaks about Sushma Swaraj's demise, her legacy and achievements are also discussed. Anand speaks on the glorification of famous individuals after their demise. Abhinandan recalls his personal interaction with her when he was in his twenties. There’s this and so much more, tune in! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s episode, host Abhinandan Sekhri is joined by Manisha Pande, Madhu Trehan, Raman Kirpal, and author and columnist Sushant Sareen.The podcast kicks off with a discussion on the life and times of Sheila Dikshit. Sushant says, “There was decency about her, the way she managed to get things done. She was a performer.” The panel talks about her achievements as Delhi's chief minister and the political maneuvering that made her successful. Speaking about her death, the panel notes Rahul Gandhi’s absence and what that means.Up next is the RTI amendment and its impact. According to Abhinandan, “The RTI was the only good thing to come out of policy and Parliament that actually impacted citizens.” They discuss the probable reasons behind the government pushing this amendment and the lacklustre coverage in the media. Raman says, “The government was foolish in bringing in the amendment because the RTI is more or less dead.”The podcast moves on to Donald Trump’s offer to mediate on Kashmir and the furore that followed. Sushant thinks India’s response should have been a lot firmer. They discuss the reasons behind Trump’s statements and the US president's capabilities when it comes to such a situation. In Madhu’s opinion, the Indian government's response was appropriate and avoided a direct confrontation between Trump and Modi. Finally, the panel talks about the open letter issued by celebrities and its counter-letter. They analyse the underlying issue of the weaponisation of the phrase “Jai Shri Ram”. Abhinandan says: “We as a nation are so disempowered that when people do something vile, they feel empowered.” The panellists also talk about Arnab Goswami’s response to the letter which leads to a heated discussion on Arnab’s way of covering issues.For this and more, tune in! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

NL Hafta has gone behind the paywall, but we love our listeners. So here's a little sneak peek into the complete episode.In this week’s episode, host Abhinandan Sekhri is joined by Madhu Trehan, Raman Kirpal, the political editor of The Caravan magazine Hartosh Singh Bal, and a Newslaundry subscriber of Kashmiri origin.The podcast kicks off with the Newslaundry subscriber expressing her sentiments on the abrogation of Article 370 and the heavy deployment of troops in the region. She says, "For us, it is a progression of the loss in the faith in the Indian Constitution." The panel goes on to discuss how members of the Congress who didn’t even want to share space with P Chidambaram earlier are now supporting him inside and outside court. They also talk about the lack of media space given to the protests over the Ravidas Temple demolition.Listen to the full Hafta here: https://www.newslaundry.com/2019/08/24/hafta-238-article-370-chidambaramarrest-ravidas-temple-and-more Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s episode, host Abhinandan Sekhri is joined by Manisha Pande, Anand Vardhan, and author and blogger Arnab Ray.The podcast kicks off with a discussion on Richa Bharti who was arrested for putting up an objectionable post. The judge asked her to distribute copies of the Quran as punishment.The panel then moves to discuss the controversy surrounding Tiranga TV, which Abhinandan refers to as “fracas”. They talk about Barkha Dutt’s tirade against Kapil Sibal and the larger protest against the channel by fired employees. Arnab noted, “They bet on the Congress winning in the election and they were obviously wrong.” The panel then moved to a larger discussion about the content industry. Abhinandan said, “Anything related to content will go through a huge churn in the next few years.” Moving on to the Chandrayaan-2 mission, Abhinandan questioned the very purpose of going to the moon when so many have already gone. He said, “I think it's a vanity project just to make us feel good.” The panel discussed space programmes in other countries and how India, in general, manages to pull off feats cheaper than in other countries.The panel also talked about the floods in Assam which have submerged large parts of the state. They discuss the problems the floods have caused, its impact on the NRC process and more.They also discussed the latest twist in the Kangana Ranaut-media saga. The panel uses this as a lens to talk about the media and journalists’ behaviour in general.For this and more, tune in! NL Sena Project https://www.newslaundry.com/senaRegister for TMR: http://themediarumble.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s episode, host Abhinandan Sekhri is joined by Anand Vardhan, Washington Post's India correspondent Niha Masih, and Sneha Koshy, the head of NDTV's Kerala bureau. The podcast starts with the panel’s take on BBC’s report on Kashmir, which was rumoured to be untrue. Niha was in Kashmir for five days and she talks about the communication shutdown there, also describing how restrictions on movement for the media was different on each day. Moving to the Pehlu Khan case verdict, Anand feels the problem in India is “more of mob justice than about mob lynching”. About the recurring floods in Kerala and most of South India, Sneha explains how environmental exploitation and urbanisation has taken a toll on Kerala.Listen to the full Hafta here: https://www.newslaundry.com/2019/08/17/hafta-237-article-370-and-kashmir-kerala-floods-sonia-gandhi-and-more Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

NL Hafta has gone behind the paywall, but we love our listeners. So here's a little sneak peek into the complete episode.In this week’s Hafta, Abhinandan Sekhri is joined by Manisha Pande, Raman Kirpal, Anand Vardhan, and R Jagannathan, Swarajya's Editorial Director.The discussion kicks off with the panel talking about the abrogation of Article 370, and the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories: Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Abhinandan said, “I thought it would be impossible in my lifetime." R Jagannathan also weighs in about the government’s actions. The panel also discussed the triumphalism portrayed by a majority of the Indian public. Manisha said that rhetorics like “teaching them a lesson” are demeaning.Listen to the full Hafta here: https://www.newslaundry.com/subscription-data/2019/08/10/hafta-236-article370-sushma-swaraj-more Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.