Suhas Palshikar: A monumental failure of governance // ‘There should be no clampdown on information, people can voice grievances on social media’: Supreme Court

NB: The only caveat I have to make on this incisive comment refers to the (admittedly conditional) phrase: “instances that must haunt any ruler left with an iota of conscience.” Our rulers do not have an iota of conscience. Within days of the latest lockdown, the RSS general secretary was talking about anti-national forces conspiring to… Read More Suhas Palshikar: A monumental failure of governance // ‘There should be no clampdown on information, people can voice grievances on social media’: Supreme Court

Nine Things BJP Leaders Said Recently About the Pandemic / Sakshi Joshi: Oxygen tanker ड्राइवर ने खोल दी पोल, किसानों के ख़िलाफ़ दुष्प्रचार

Nine Things BJP Leaders Said Recently About the Pandemic – But Shouldn’t Have #COVID19​ #CovidIndia​ #COVIDEmergency2021​It has been 414 days since the World Health Organisation (WHO) first declared COVID-19 infections to be a pandemic and 389 days since Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured the country that “21 days” of lockdown was all that was needed… Read More Nine Things BJP Leaders Said Recently About the Pandemic / Sakshi Joshi: Oxygen tanker ड्राइवर ने खोल दी पोल, किसानों के ख़िलाफ़ दुष्प्रचार

India’s News Upstarts Challenged Modi. New Rules Could Tame Them. By Mujib Mashal and Hari Kumar

Online portals have practiced aggressive journalism in a mostly compliant media landscape. But trolls and the government could now be empowered to stop them. India’s prime minister has cultivated and cowed large parts of the country’s normally raucous news media in recent years as part of a broader campaign against dissent. One group remains untamed: A relatively new generation… Read More India’s News Upstarts Challenged Modi. New Rules Could Tame Them. By Mujib Mashal and Hari Kumar

SC stands up for voicing disapproval, backs editor Patricia Mukhim

Expressing disapproval of a government’s action “cannot be branded as an attempt to promote hatred between different communities”, the Supreme Court said Thursday while quashing an FIR against Patricia Mukhim, the editor of Shillong Times, over a social media post about an incident of assault on some non-tribal youth in Meghalaya last year. A bench of… Read More SC stands up for voicing disapproval, backs editor Patricia Mukhim

Igor Ilyash: How Lukashenka declared war on Belarusian journalists

Independent media outlets in Belarus have been through a lot during the past 27 years of Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s dictatorship. Newspapers have been closed down and websites blocked, while journalists have faced civil and criminal prosecution, beatings. Several have even been murdered. Yet Lukashenka’s relationship with the country’s media has varied over time. Frosty periods have been… Read More Igor Ilyash: How Lukashenka declared war on Belarusian journalists

Kate Williams: The behaviour towards Meghan shows Britain learned nothing from Princess Diana's treatment

NB: What is it with the UK tabloid press + royalty’s obsession with skin colour? They seem demented. But who are we to talk, with our pet paranoia about caste pollution or religious identity. What part of the media works to heal the scars, rather than pour salt on them? DS The story of modern… Read More Kate Williams: The behaviour towards Meghan shows Britain learned nothing from Princess Diana's treatment

Bharat Bhushan: Nervous government explores ways to 'manage' media

The leaking of the alleged Report of Group of Ministers (GoM) on Government Communications is an exceptional event for a government that prides itself in being successfully opaque. Reminiscent of McCarthyism, the report suggests “neutralising” journalists who write against the government and spread “false narratives”. An incredible proposal from an establishment journalist suggests that journalists… Read More Bharat Bhushan: Nervous government explores ways to 'manage' media

Martand Kaushik, Ahan Penkar: Reporting is not a crime. So why has India’s government charged our magazine?

On 26 January, India celebrated the anniversary of its constitution, which 74 years ago promised citizens a secular, democratic state and justice, equality and liberty for all. But as the traditional Republic Day parade took place in New Delhi’s centre, across the city those very values were being violated in the most egregious manner. Hundreds… Read More Martand Kaushik, Ahan Penkar: Reporting is not a crime. So why has India’s government charged our magazine?

In "Writing With Fire," reporters from India's lowest caste defy the patriarchy to seek justice

The inspiring documentary, “Writing with Fire,” premiering at the Sundance Film Festival, chronicles the impact Dalit women in the Uttar Pradesh state of India have had reporting for “Khabar Lahariya,” a newspaper and website. The journalists, who are in the lowest caste in India, have been working for nearly two decades, despite being told what… Read More In "Writing With Fire," reporters from India's lowest caste defy the patriarchy to seek justice

Bharat Bhushan: 'Arnabgate' undermines the Modi govt's national security narrative

NB: ‘The government cannot feign ignorance of the allegations as Goswami’s chats celebrate the Pulwama terrorist strike, about which he says, “with this attack we have won like crazy”. This could lead to conspiracy theories about the Pulwama terrorist strike which resulted in the death of 40 security personnel…’  Only one question needs to be asked of… Read More Bharat Bhushan: 'Arnabgate' undermines the Modi govt's national security narrative