Irony can get to the front pages of your papers in many ways, sometimes in very symbolic ways. As the Archies assembly line have provided your papers with all those pink bubble days (Mothers, Fathers, Valentines, Brothers, Daughters, Sons have to be flattered with days named after them), the proletariat is too clichéd to find place in front page symbolism. But irony can, and it did. On May Day, you had The Times of India (May 1, 2012) informing you about Adidas India’s financial troubles and Coca Cola’s production blues in China, while both TOI and Hindustan Times had the Gallup index showing the ‘suffering’ financial state of Indians. The index is for the consumption of those Indians who ‘suffer’ if EMI rates for their cars go up and if they have to cut their orders for desserts after a dinner in a chatterati-exotic restaurant. Wouldn’t some information and stock-taking of the large unorganized as well as organized work force have put the day in perspective? But obviously, irony couldn’t wait to be starker on Labour Day. Was Marx’s prognosis of the false consciousness of the superstructure getting vindicated through the Manuscripts of 1844, or is Gramsci having the last laugh through those Prison Notebooks?

The day did make a mark on opinion pages of papers. Although tangentially, Sitaram Yechury’spiece (Lowering the Bar, HT, May 1, 2012) placed the day in the context of a policy discourse. However, Julian Somavia’sNot An Ordinary First Of May, (The Hindu, May 1, 2012) was the only articlewhich reflected on the state of the labourclass in the second decade of the 21st century. The paper also commented on a significant aspect of the promise that the Indian Republic had made to a wretched section of the working class. As the paper observes (1,18,474 Too Many, The Hindu): “The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and Their Rehabilitation Bill, which is to be introduced in the monsoon session of Parliament, is another attempt to prevent employment of people in the cleaning, handling or carrying of human excreta. Despite the renewed stress on rehabilitation in the present bill, doubts persist about the will and the ability of the Central and State governments to end this dehumanising activity.”

If you thought that Presidential Polls in India were in the ‘going through motion’(to borrow Mark Tully’s description) affair for the titular head, the political parties are adding spice to the race and the papers are reporting on it as if they are writing a thriller. The Indian Express,TOI, The Hindu and HT reported on the emerging political stands in the build-up to the poll. We got to know of the DMK backing Pranab Mukherjee and Hamid Ansari, the BJP giving a thumbs down to both the names, and the fissures in the NDA over BJP’s unilateral advocacy of Kalam’s name. IE also inferred that the emerging scene is ruling out the possibility of consensus and it “sets stage for a contest” (May 1, 2012). With the damage done, BJP had to press the damage control button. And not only did the papers note the firefighting within NDA, theTOI editorially advised the BJP to keep realpolitiking in check, and went on to observe: “Given the all-round public cynicism about the political class and the continued erosion of institutions and constitutional bodies, it’s become essential toredefine the presidency. Rather than play hardball, political parties should sink their differences and select a non-partisan nominee on grounds of merit.’’ The thriller surely had a subtext of political discourse too.

Another ‘national’ crime thriller that kept the papers hooked werethe latest developments in the Aarushi murder case. IE, HT, TOI and The Hindu all reported the rejection of bail and two days in jail for Nupur Talwar. So the papers had something to give the voyeuristic soap opera a new lease of life.

For media watchers, IE’s story with the sinister headline ‘Ban & Seize: Cong MP Bill Out to Gag Media (May 1, 2012) caused a few ripples, and the paper was scathing in its editorial comment carrying the Hollywoodsque titleKill the Bill (May 1,2012). But word for word, argument for argument, the story and the edit should be juxtaposed with Justice Katju’spiece, Media Cannot Reject Regulation (The Hindu, May 2, 2012).It is interesting that other papers (TOI and HT) neither splashed the story on their front pages nor editorially commented on it.

And have you seen the erudite historian walking through the lawns of Delhi University and trying to unfold for herself ancient Indian history? If you haven’t, you still can get a whiff Nayanjot Lahiri’s concern for historiography in the piece (Hurting our Heritage,HT, 30.04.2012).

Did you get developments in Syria, Myanmar and France on your front page? No. But then what about developments in Bihar, Kerala and Arunachal? Looking for that on State pages? Not found.

Some front page exclusives included TOI’s report (03.05.2012) on a parliamentary panel asking the government to delink recruitment to the Indian Police Service (IPS) from the Civil Services examination. IE had a flyer with a heading that informed you about the latest on NCTC impasse (Centre Climbs Down, Brings State DGPs And Police Into NCTC’s Grid, IE, 03.05.2012). And did you find this story with a Southern accent (involving death of two Kerala fishermen) on the front page of any paper other thanThe Hindu? The paper reported (Court Allows Italian Ship To Leave India, 03.05.2012). Now that’s called ‘a national paper with a southern accent’. Didn’t The Times, (London) describe the paper that way in while listing it as one the world’s most respected newspapers way back in 1960s?

Amidst the Naxal hostage crisis, there was a radiant piece of writing, carrying the imprint of the man himself. Luminous, terse and insightful- that’s the way Gopalkrishna Gandhi puts his views across in his piece, (Alex’s Bravery Is An Example To Cherish And Follow, The Hindu, 30.04.2012)  Civility expressed.

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