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Views On News 22 September 2015
Views On News 22 September 2015
Views On News 22 September 2015
IS SHARAD PAWAR
PLAYING THE CASTE CARD?
CHINKS IN MODIS
GUJARAT ARMOR
VIEWS ON NEWS
48
52
www.viewsonnewsonline.com
`50
Indrani-Sheena Storm
WHERE
DID THE
REST OF
INDIA GO?
SHASTRI
RAMACHANDARAN:
How media
handles
Sino-Indian
tussles
36
RAMESH
MENON:
How the
dish blew
away the
antenna
26
BHAVDEEP
K ANG:
Will the
new Kisan
channel
succeed?
32
KRISH
WARRIER:
Is laughter
the best
bet
in ads?
42
EDITORS NOTE
OUR COUNTER-STORY
YOU WILL wonder why this issue of Views On News
(VON) has devoted so much space to the Indrani Mukerjea-Sheena Bora story which has been hogging the
headlines for the past two weeks. You wake up to that
story, you eat to it and you go to sleep watching it. So
why should VON, whose editorial policy has been one
of holding up a mirror to the media in which it can see
its own face, join and run with the rest of the pack?
It may seem ironical, on the face of it, that while
being critical of the trend towards sensationalism and
single-focus journalism, VON is itself guilty of the
same practices in devoting its cover and so many
pages to the same story. For that reason, I would urge
you to read the relevant stories carefully.
What we are indulging in is not a me-too cacophony, but what I would describe as counter-coverage.
We are, in this cover package, attemptingand I hope
with a measure of successto bring into perspective
the dangers of what lies ahead when news coverage
is seen as a three-ring circus with anchors playing ring
masters along with an attendant crew of trapeze artists
and contortionists and clowns and animal tamers.
Ajith Pillais lead article
sums up VONs areas of
concerns, the major one
being that in the rush for
TRPs and the mad competition between TV channels,
their cameras just turned
away from the rest of India to
focus on this high society,
Page 3 murder mystery,
often throwing to the winds
the basic concepts of good,
informative and responsible
journalism. How the story
was covered, how it was
shamelessly sensationalized
36
SURVEY:
44
INDIA L EGAL
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SEX VIDEOS
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loopholes 50
EDITORIAL
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wields a
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VOLUME. VIII
ISSUE. 24
Editor
Rajshri Rai
Managing Editor
Ramesh Menon
Deputy Managing Editor
Shobha John
Executive Editor
Ajith Pillai
Business Editor
Shantanu Guha Ray
Political Editor
Bhavdeep Kang
Associate Editor
Meha Mathur
Deputy Editor
Prabir Biswas
Art Director
Anthony Lawrence
Deputy Art Editor
Amitava Sen
Graphic Designer
Lalit Khitoliya
Photographer
Anil Shakya
News Coordinator/Photo Researcher
Kh Manglembi Devi
Production
Pawan Kumar
C O N
LEDE
Overkill
12
The Indrani Mukerjea case saw the media on an overdrive in the mad
race for TRPs. The basic tenets of journalism were not followed,
observes AJITH PILLAI
Media as Judge
16
21
T E N T S
Indrani All the Way
22
Governance
FOCUS
SMALL SCREEN
32
48
26
Spotlight on Kisan
BOOK EXCERPT
Wayward Press
36
ADVERTISING
Tickling Tales
When can humor be used
for selling and when does
it go overboard, asks
KRISH WARRIER
42
R E G U L A R S
EDITORS PICK
Gujarat Distances
Itself from Modi
52
Edit..................................................04
Grapevine........................................08
Quotes........................................10
Anchor Review...................................25
Media-Go-Round..............................35
As The World Turns...........................41
Web-Crawler.....................................45
Breaking News.................................46
Cover design: Amitava Sen
VIEWS ON NEWS
Grapevine
Organizational
Expertise
FIFTY PROFESSORS,
students, administrative
staff and doctors from Harvard visited Kumbh Mela
in Allahabad in 2013 to analyze issues that emerge
from any large-scale
human gathering. The
team geographically
mapped and extensively
Chauhan As Shiva
AFTER TAKING Film
and Television Institute
of India (FTII) by a
storm literally, chairman
Gajendra Chauhan,
known for his role in the
TV series Mahabharata,
is now readying to play
the role of Shiva in the
prestigious Ram Lila
that takes place at the
Ram Lila grounds in
Delhi every year. Along
Communication
Gap
A COMMITTEE of
secretaries to the
government of India met
recently under the leadership of the cabinet
secretary for a
brain-storming
session to prioritize area of
focused attention for communication strategies.
It seems that the people
8 VIEWS ON NEWS September 22, 2015
Lift Kara De
THE INCIDENT of the Bihar State
Guest House lift, that got stuck with
Amit Shah and his followers in it, refuses to go out of the news. Someone in
the Bihar government said the lift was
equipped to carry 340 kg and the repair bill would be forwarded to the
BJP. A probe panel, headed by the
principal secretary, has been set up to
see if there was any sabotage. The
panel has decided that all occupants
would need to present themselves before it and record their weights. Time
for bariatric surgery?
IT SEEMS that after losing elections and falling out with the
masses, politicians take stock
and realize the real truth, just
like Congress has suddenly realized the worth of ex-PM, PV
Narasimha Rao. Jairam Ramesh
recently described Rao as a master tactician, a fox who was remarkably decisive. Now he feels
that it was a mistake to neglect
Some Premonition
DELHIS POWER corridors are abuzz
as to why Home Secretary LA Goyal
was shifted out of Home. Well, setting
aside the talk of his disagreement on
the Naga accord, an etymologist (one
who studies the meaning of names) is
saying that names starting with Go
combine with Home in an ironic way.
So Anil Goswami and LC Goyalboth
had to exit unceremoniously before
completing their tenures. My advice to
the next will be: Do-well (Val).
Late Realization
What A Parrot!
VIEWS ON NEWS
U O T E S
Shekhar Gupta,
editorial advisor,
India Today
Mihir Sharma,
journalist,
Business Standard
Rename a road. But try not to convey a crass, heavy-handed hint to Indian Muslims while you do. If you're
not Kalam, you're Aurangzeb, eh?
Abhinandan Sekhri,
founder, Newslaundry
Gaurav Sawant,
India Today
Sachin Kalbag,
ex-editor Mid-Day
VIEWS ON NEWS
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Governance Section
FTII
VIEWS ON NEWS
SCRIPT GOING AWRY
By Abhay Vaidya
46
ROAD TO DISASTER
By Darryl DMonte
50
www.viewsonnewsonline.com
`50
Nepal or Vietnam??
ADVERTISING:
Kolaveri Di in
Turkey
BOOKS:
Farewell
Kabul
By Shobha John
By Rajendra Bajpai
16
32
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Murder
Overkill
Getty Images
OU could call it a TRP and readership-driven news blackout. For days on end after Indrani Mukerjeas sensational
arrest on August 25 for the alleged murder of her sister,
Sheena Bora (later revealed to be her daughter), the media
has been on an overdrive. Undoubtedly, the drama that unfolded in Mumbai had a formidable Page 3 star cast. Indrani
was the second wife of former Star TV CEO, Peter Mukerjea. Not only were the
star couple part of the swish party circuit of Delhi and Mumbai but were in the
news in 2007 when they launched the high-profile INX Media Network with Indrani
as the CEO. The couple later exited INX after it ran up huge losses in 2009. The
VIEWS ON NEWS
WHAT IS IMPORTANT ?
(Below) The One Rank One
Pension (OROP) agitation
was relegated to the
background due to the
Indrani story
ECLIPSED
(Above) On August 24,
a day before Indranis
arrest, the Sensex
tanked 1,642 points,
but was edged out of
primary focus
VIEWS ON NEWS
Playing Judge
and Jury
Even as the Indrani Mukerjea murder case is being probed,
a dangerous trial by the media is on. And those wanting
their two minutes of fame are seen shamelessly
casting aspirations on her
BY BIKRAM VOHRA
Heinrich Heine wrote:Where they burn
books, they will also
ultimately burn people.
While former friends and colleagues are rushing like lemmings off the cliff of basic decency
and breaking confidences on multiple TV channels in what is a travesty of Indian upper class society (using the word class loosely) and the
dubious adhesive that binds it, they can be pardoned for sheer bad manners and rancid narcissism. Clearly, the fact that they are only interested
in projecting themselves and the subjectbe it
cabbages, kings or carnageis purely incidental
in this desperate need to be seen on the screen.
ADVANTAGE INDRANI?
(Bottom) The hype
created by TV chanels is
not only unwarranted but
needless and can be
used by the defense
counsel during court trial
VIEWS ON NEWS
HUMOR IN
DIFFERENT HUES
(Clockwise from above)
The Fevicol, Greenply
and Mentos ads
MEDIA TRIAL?
(Above from left)
Indrani Mukerjea at
the Bandra
metropolitan
magistrates court in
Mumbai; Peter
Mukerjea, former CEO
of Star India and
Indranis husband, at
the Khar police station
in Mumbai
VIEWS ON NEWS
How do the
channels
know that
Indrani is not
co-operating?
That the
former
husband
confessed he
was sleeping
in the car
while the
girl was
murdered?
Inside the
Newsroom
Views on News visited TV channels to
get a feel of the frenzy that engulfed
them as the Indrani story broke
BY SHANTANU GUHA RAY
The same visuals, same commentarymostly halfbakedsame cops and accused continued to be on the
screen for long hours. By then, Sheena had turned from
sister to daughter, a brother had emerged, a former husband had confessed to the crime and the live-in partner
was discovered with his face covered.
Everything must be on air, everything, argued TV
producers across India. This is Indian news channels acid
test, the reporters were reminded. We are living inside a
pressure cooker, confided one.
Crude judgments followed, extrapolated from what
was essentially raw footage, everyone had an opinion
about good mothers and bad mothers and why men
should not fall for female fatale. It was Neetas Natter
on tube.
Siddhartha Das, Indranis former live-in partner, also
emerged after a news portal said he had escaped to
Bangladesh. He was actually in a fish market in Kolkata
someone tweeted: Ki farak painda, Kolkata ya
Bangladesh.
Following Siddhartha was his landlord. He also
seemed to want his two minutes of fame. Worse, the landlord was identified as Siddhartha and remained on air
for over six hours before the error was detected at
21.00 hours.
But the executive producer was least bothered. Dont
worry about it, there is a tinge of Sid in him yaar, he
argued.
Anything connecting to Indrani would do. After all,
this was a TRP game, news could take a backseat.
VIEWS ON NEWS
September
40
37
35
30
25
15
10
10
0
0
Times India
Now Today
20
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
20
20
ABP
3
AAJ
TAK
INDIA
TV
ZEE
NEWS
3
0
Times India
Now Today
ABP
AAJ
TAK
4
0
INDIA
TV
ZEE
NEWS
46.60%
25%
35%
31.60%
20%
Was There No
Other News?
Times Now
India Today
ABP
Aaj Tak
India TV
Zee News
HE Indrani Mukerjea case has riveted the nation for the past one
week, with every day throwing up
new theories and counter-theories, lies and
half-truths and new characters crawling out
of the woodwork. While the case has all the
spicemurder, sex, lies, celebritiesto interest any viewer, the fact is that the story of
the crumbling lives of Peter Mukerjea, former Star TV India CEO, and his high-profile wife, Indrani, a former HR consultant,
carried on for too long at the cost of other
important national news.
This story was about Indrani being arrested by the Mumbai police for the alleged
murder of Sheena Bora, her daughter, whom
she claimed was her sister. Other participants in this grisly story were Indranis former live-in partner, Siddhartha Das, who
claimed that he was Sheena and her brother
Mikhails father; Sanjeev Khanna, Indranis
first husband from whom she had a daughter, Vidhie; Peters son, Rahul; and Indranis
former driver who is believed to have helped
in disposing off Sheenas body in Raigad.
While this was, no doubt, a gripping and
horrific story, did it warrant maximum coverage on the part of news channels, each of
which claimed to have breaking news?
Being national news channels, did they not
think it important to cover issues erupting
in other parts of the country, be it Bihar
politics, Hardik Patel angst, floods in Assam
or the Telengana crisis?
A survey conducted by TMM among six
national news channelsTimes Now, India
Today, ABP, AAJ Tak, India TV and Zee
Newsshowed how much time each gave to
the Indrani case in terms of the number of
special programs, number of debates and
percentage of total news between August 26
and August 30, 2015, from 10am to 10pm,
making it a total of 60 hours.
Coming to the number of special programs, Zee News led the pack with 37, folVIEWS ON NEWS September
23
September
and see which regions they gave importance to. Out of a total of 154 news segments, India Today had 79 on the Northern
Region, followed by 33 on Western and 30
on Southern Region.
Out of a total of 203 news segments from
Aaj Tak, 135 were on the Northern Region,
followed by Eastern (47) and Western (21).
Times Now had 89 for Northern Region,
36 for Western and 27 for Eastern Region,
out of a total of 178 news segments.
India TV had 121 news segments on the
Northern Region out of a total of 203, followed by Western and Eastern Regions at
9
15
9
250
200
150
2
7
17
136
30
100
89
50
36
27
TIMES
NOW
135
79
51
21
33
11
INDIA
TODAY
4
8
9
54
47
AAJ
TAK
ABP
3
5
6
48
22
9
NDTV
121
Northeast
Central
South
North
West
East
39
22
INDIA
TV
Anchor Review
Indrani Case
HOOTING &
SCREECHING
OVER INDRANI
Anchors of most channels devoted an inordinate amount of time to this case
with differing decibel levels of excitement
BY BHAVDEEP KANG
Small Screen
Study on Digitization
How the
Dish Blew
Away the
Antenna
With the DTH revolution sweeping India and the increasing emphasis on
entertainment, what does it mean for Doordarshan which is losing viewers?
BY RAMESH MENON
A study done in Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat and Odisha by The Media
Foundation and supported by the Ford Foundation between June 2012 and July 2014, shows that
a majority of households prefer to pay for DTH
rather than take the free dish given by Doordarshan as they want the freedom to choose the content of their choice. The Study is titled When the
Dish Knocked Down the Antenna: Impact of TV
Digitization on Low Income Viewers and Public
Broadcasting.
Interestingly, in 1962, there were just 41
households with TV sets. But by 2013, this
exploded to 167 million, showing the immense
potential in this market. Of these, 76 percent had
ADVANTAGE INDRANI?
(Top) The hype created by
TV chanels was not only
unwarranted but details
exposed could offer her
an advantage once she
faces trial in court
RURAL LEAP
(Above) In 2013, there were
89.6 million households
with TV in rural India, much
more than the 77.7 million
urban households
VIEWS ON NEWS
Small Screen
Study on Digitization
Path-breaking
programs like
encouraging pregnant
women to consume
iron tablets changed
the health scenario.
PK Srivastava, head
of programming,
DD Kendra, Raipur
POVERTY BARRIER
As far as barriers to television watching are considered, the study found that poverty was one of
the reasons why many could not afford even a TV
set. Other reasons included frequent power failures and scheduling of programs at wrong times
when they would be busy working in the fields.
Other findings were that content on DTH
platforms was often not ideal for family viewing
as it was titillating and embarrassing to sit with
children and watch. Many respondents complained that the remote was monopolized by their
children and so, they had no choice but to watch
what the kids wanted.
The study found that digitization had made
watching TV less affordable for the urban poor.
When the cable operator was around, the poor
said they often could bargain and plead with him
for discounts or for delayed payment. With DTH,
Some DD programs
effectively combine
entertainment and
education.
Sona Sharma,
Advocacy and
Communication,
Population
Foundation of India
It would be worthwhile
to reach out to the
7 million households
in India in remote
places that have no
access to television.
Arti Jaiman, station
director, Gurgaon
ki Awaz
guage or localized programming on these platforms as it was available only as terrestrial signals.
Ironically, even the DTH platform of Doordarshan does not carry programming from its narrowcasting kendras or in local languages like
Kutchi in Gujarat or Halbi in Chhattisgarh.
Unfortunately, people often miss out on
Doordarshans programs due to the shift to cable
or DTH. For example, the staff in Chhattisgarh
often came up with wonderful stories and programs from the deep interiors, including Naxalite-infested areas. But these are hardly seen as
most viewers in the state have cable or DTH.
The study showed how Indias public broadcaster has been caught in a mesh where content
and demand are mismatched. DD executives told
VON that there was pressure to raise funds. This
was the principle reason why it was creating
entertainment content, ignoring key areas like
VIEWS ON NEWS
Small Screen
Study on Digitization
There is no substitute
for good writers and
they should be roped
in by DD to script
programs. They would
be willing to work
for DD.
Mrinal Pande,
senior journalist
30 VIEWS ON NEWS September 22, 2015
Share of entertainment in
DD National programs
60.00%
51.05%
50.00%
40.00%
39.84%
37.88%
Entertainment
Science
Information
Health
Education
Agriculture
51.25%
40%
30.00%
30%
21.46%
20.00%
20%
12%
10.00%
0.00%
50%
Andhra
Odisha
Gujarat
Chhattisgarh National
10%
0.%
0.58%
HARD DEAL
(Above) Urban households
feel that with DTH,
the scope for bargain
with the cable operator
and delayed credit
payment is gone
VIEWS ON NEWS
Doordarshan has
broken new ground
with a 24x7 channel
for farmers. And it is
nowhere near the
staid Krishi Darshan as
it is interspersed with
entertainment,
dramas, reality shows
and movies
BY BHAVDEEP KANG
32 VIEWS ON NEWS
Week 32
64.7
70
Week 33
DD Northeast
DD Madhya Pradesh
DD Rajasthan
DD Oriya
DD Lucknow
DD Bihar
DD Urdu
DD Punjabi
DD Sports
DD Bharati
DD Yadagiri
DD Bangla
DD Chandana
DD Sahyadri
DD Podhigai
DD Malyalam
0
DD News
21
14.5
17
8.3
15.5
10.2
11.4
6.5
7.1
6.3
5.1
4.6
4.9
4.3
4.1
3.1
4
1.3
3.6
2.1
1.9
1.2
0.8
11.7
10
DD Kisan
20
17.7
30
27.8
23.9
27.2
33
35.6
31
29.4
40
40.6
45
32.8
50
46.6
60
13.4
SCEPTICAL REACTION
The channels launch was met with scepticism,
with even Prasar Bharati insiders anticipating that
it would be an expanded version of DDs longestrunning and arguably most boring show, Krishi
Darshan. Perhaps with that in mind, channel executives included entertainment segments, notably the mythological drama, Draupadi. Theres
an up-coming reality TV show and movies from
time to time.
Given the big institutional push the channel
has received, its natural to wonder whether it represents the stated policy objectives of a technology
enamoured government or the traditional farming
approaches of the RSS. Channel head and DD
ADG Ranjan Mukherjee sees no contradiction:
Food security and farmer prosperity is the lietmotif... a second Green Revolution, based on
environmental sustainability and improved productivity and the technology to get us there.
The very fact that this is a 24x7 channel for
farmers means there is a leaning towards organic
or low external input farming systems, which are
informationrather than capital-driven. The
focus on animal husbandry as integral to agriculture and indigenous, low-cost technology options
seems to support that contention. As does
Mukherjees assertion that the channels approach
is Gandhian: The farmer is not just a producer
and a consumer. Hes also a craftsmen and an artisan. Were aiming at the Gandhian village, a selfsufficient farming community.
DD Girnar
FARMERS FRIEND
(Above) A screen grab of
DD Kisan
(Facing page) Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, I&B Minister of State
Col Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore
and others at the inauguration of
the channel
VIEWS ON NEWS
33
and technology. The channel plans to set up studios at these institutes to broadcast on-site reports
in real time.
The big question is whether the `45-crore
budget allocation for the channel is justified in
terms of viewership. Prima facie, 21 million viewers may seem an impressive figure for a threemonth-old niche channel, but it is impossible to
judge, because it is the only one in its genre. It cannot, for instance, bear comparison with Discovery
or National Geographic, which are far more
general in their programming and command vast
viewership. This was a fact pointed out by the
International Chamber of Media and Entertainment Industry while giving it a special award last
month: This is the only channel of its kind in the
whole world, dedicated to the farmers and their
welfare...serving more than 65 percent of the
Indian population.
RECOGNIZING INNOVATION
As for on-the-ground feedback, 624 kisan moni-
34 VIEWS ON NEWS
EDIA-GO-ROUND
India has
over 350 million
internet users
INDIA HAS ADDED 52 million internet
users in the first six months of this
year, taking the total user base to 352
million as on June 30, 2015, Internet
and Mobile Association of India
(IAMAI) said, according to The Hindu.
Interestingly, 213 million users
accessed the worldwide web through
mobile devices, ie around 60 percent
of the total users. The number of
internet users has grown by over 26
percent from 278 million in October
2014. The number of mobile internet
users has also grown by about 40 per
cent from 159 million users in October
last year. IAMAI added that the consolidated numbers affirm that internet
in India has now become inclusive,
which augurs well for the industry
and society.
VIEWS ON NEWS
Book Excerpt
Journalism: Ethics and Responsibilities
Indian
Media: Just
Another Wall
In baiting and pillorying
China and thwarting
cooperation with India, the
media seems to be more a
player than a fair, objective
and dispassionate observer
and recorder of events and
developments
BY SHASTRI RAMACHANDARAN
36 VIEWS ON NEWS September 22, 2015
INTERPRETATION
GONE WRONG
MEA
VIEWS ON NEWS
Book Excerpt
Journalism: Ethics and Responsibilities
Photo Division
LOSING INTEREST
(Above) Prime Minister
Manmohan Singhs
meeting with Premier
Wen Jiabao during his
China visit in 2008,
didnt interest
mediapersons as the
boundary dispute
didnt figure in it
SEEDS OF DISTRUST?
(Top) Did Nehrus
rebuff to Chou En-lai
during his India visit
lead to the 1962 war
(above)?
VIEWS ON NEWS
Book Excerpt
Journalism: Ethics and Responsibilities
BORDER WORRIES
(Above) residents of
Demchok village in
Ladakh standing
along the LoC during a
face-off with China
Alison Parker
Adam Ward
style interface for faster back-and-forth messaging. LinkedIns new revamp is to compete
with similar social networking sites like Facebooks Messenger, Twitter and Snapchat.
LinkedIns 380 million members can send
messages to each other through its InMail
service, but this new feature lets them add
emoji (emoticons) and GIFs (Graphic Interchange Format) to messages.
Filmmaker
Egypt sentences
three journos to jail
THREE AL JAZEERA journalists were sentenced to
three years in jail for broadcasting material harmful
to Egypt and spreading false news, a verdict which
has been condemned as an attack on the freedom of
the press by various rights group and media organizations. The verdict was issued against Mohamed
Fahmy, a naturalized Canadian who has given up his
Egyptian citizenship; Baher Mohamed, an Egyptian;
and Australian Peter Greste, who was deported
in February after spending 400 days in prison. The
three are accused of aiding the banned Muslim
Brotherhood group, an allegation they have denied.
VIEWS ON NEWS
Advertising
Humor
Tickling
the Funny
Bone
to Sell
GENERATING HUMOR
The print ad for Omax
Wide Angle Lenses
WAR OF WORDS
(Top) The tongue-in-cheek
effect is effectively used
in the print ad for The
Times of India, Chennai
(Above) The Hindu
responded to the ad in
equal measure
VIEWS ON NEWS
Advertising
Humor
HUMOR IN
DIFFERENT HUES
(Clockwise from above)
The Fevicol, Greenply
and Mentos ads
The latest
wave of
factor-analysis
reveals that
humor can now
sell.... But I
must warn you
that very, very
few writers can
write funny
commercials
which are
funny. Unless
you are one
of the few,
dont try.
David Ogilvy,
ad guru
Back to
Hogwarts
POTTERHEADS ALL over the
world cheered in celebration
when JK Rowling, author of the
Harry Potter series, tweeted
about James Sirius Potter, son
of Harry Potter, making his way
to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry on the Hogwarts Express on September
1. Soon after her tweet, Back
to Hogwarts started trending
Horrifying
visuals
IMAGES OF A drowned Syrian
toddler found on the shore of a
Turkish town have raised alarm
across international media as the
complete horror of human
tragedy struck the world. The
condition of Syrian refugees fleeing war and the brutalities of the
IS have gained renewed attention.
There was an outpouring of
anguish and anger on the social
media at the apathy of European
governments.
Flipping out
A BACK-FLIP at the edge of a cliff takes
some serious daring and Parkour enthusiast,
Toby Segar, did just that. The 21-year-old
who hails from Godalming, Surrey, performed the somersault on the edge of Trolltunga or Trolls Tongue cliff in southern
Norway. The flat rock on which Segar performed the stunt stretches out over a 700
meter drop on the edge of Ringedalsvatnet
Lake. In a report by the Daily Mail, UK, the
parkour artist who has been training for almost a decade says: Everyone is scared of
heights, it just takes time to learn how to deal
with that fear rationally. The stunt made
headlines across international media.
VIEWS ON NEWS
DATE
20/8/15
21/8/15
21/8/15
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25/8/15
26/8/15
NEWS
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DATE
26/8/15
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NEWS
CHANNEL TIME
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12.52 PM
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Governance
Focus
Sharad Pawar
PLAYING THE
CASTE CARD
Maratha leader Sharad Pawar sullied his
image of being forward-looking by stoking
caste politics when folk historian Balwant
Purandare was awarded Maharashtras
highest award for his work on Shivaji
BY ABHAY VAIDYA
Shivaji (first published in the late 1950s), produced a magnificent play (Jaanta Raja, the Enlightened King) which has been presented on
stage almost 900 times and delivered innumerable
lectures on Shivaji within and outside India.
All of this has been widely appreciated by the
people of Maharashtra right from the time of the
states first CM and Pawars political mentor, YB
Chavan. The Maharashtra Bhushan honor for
Purandare, therefore, was not just fitting but long
over-due.
HISTORY DISTORTED
However, the first cry of protest against the award
ceremony came on August 19 from Pawars blueeyed boy, Thane MLA Jitendra Awhad. According
to Awhad, Babasaheb, in his biography of Shivaji,
had presented a distorted account of history with
a Brahmanical prism and unsubstantiated references to Shivaji, his father Shahaji, mother Jijabai
and others. Awhad was also critical of the depiction of the Brahmin teacher, Dadoji Konddev, as
Shivajis teacher and mentor. The MLAs stand that
VIEWS ON NEWS
Governance
Focus
Sharad Pawar
EXPECTED CRITICISM
(Below) MNS leader Raj
Thackeray criticized
Pawar for stoking the
flames of caste politics
MARATHAS VS BRAHMINS
The fact is that till a few years ago, Purandare was
a popular celebrity in the state and absolutely noncontroversial. Even today, the issue at heart has
nothing to do with Purandare per se but with the
fact that he is a Brahmin by caste, as is the states
CM, Devendra Fadnavis.
The Marathasthe caste to which Sharad
The issue at
heart has
nothing to do
with Purandare
per se but with
the fact that he
is a Brahmin
by caste.
VIEWS ON NEWS
Editors Pick
Harish Khare
Disowning Modi
BEFORE THE
STORM
(Below) PM
Narendra Modi
at Red Fort on
Independence
Day, oblivious
of the
impending
threat
U-TURN
(Left) In the
1980s,
Patels were
opposed to
reservations
Governance
Editors Pick
Harish Khare
surveys from Raisina Hill, the pseudo-secularists are licking their wounds, and even the judiciary seems disinclined to uphold secular values and practices.
The majority in Gujarat has nothing to fear. Its protector
is the chief magistrate and sheriff. The intimidated Muslims have already retreated into their pitiful ghettos.
The eruption in 2015 of Patidar violence from the same BJP
strongholds of 2002 suggests that
the objective conditions that propelled the Modi phenomenon in
Gujarat became redundant with
his election victory on May 16,
2014. Suddenly, the objective conditions that sustained the Modi
phenomenon have melted away.
In pure realpolitik terms, the
2002 business has finally lost its
power and raison detre. Even antiCentrism, the main plank of the
Modi phenomenon in Gujarat, got
dismantled on May 24, 2014,
when the new Prime Minister
took his oath of office in the Rashtrapati Bhavan forecourt.
WHATS LEFT OF THE GUJARAT MODEL
The all too obvious communal underpinning of the Modi
project apart, the Patidar eruption demands a sober
reassessment of all that we have been persuaded to believe
about the Gujarat model of development.
The thinness of the so-called Gujarat model now
stands so demonstratively exposed. Those who questioned the claims made in its name were dubbed anti-Gu-