Hello Team,

Hope you all are doing well.

Please find below my views and opinions on the discussion of NL Hafta 78 (will send extra separately)

I am against death penalty but I am for abortion. A woman must have right to terminate at any point she chooses. At times I wonder what are Madhu’s sample sizes… when she says ‘many’ is it a statistical number basis which one can generalise to a population or just ‘Because I think so syndrome’. I used to be afflicted with this syndrome till recently but in other hypotheses… it is also ludicrous to say that bring upon a child with Down Syndrome and ‘I know many…’ we should refrain from such statements when discussing serious topics. I agree with Dawkins that if given a choice terminate a pregnancy and try again. I doubt if there is study done to see whether people would have chosen to bring upon a life had they known the full implications of such an action. I doubt one will chose if we take away the morality from the equation… We should see the plight of children from the underprivileged sections of the society to realise the pain, anguish and grief they go through, globally and specifically in India and other developing countries it is a no-no.

Anand was absolutely right about societal issues in classifying ‘reneging to marry’ as ground enough for rape. In my view, even if there are false cases being brought upon men it should stay considering the havoc we created in the lives of women. Anand again is right to say that in hinterland India and I will add that large sections of urban middle class as well the promise of marriage emboldens the girl to go ahead and have sex since our society taints one for life for premarital sex.

Kishalay brought a totally new perspective to the way we look at insurgency and militancy. Things make immense sense the moment one looks at these regions (North-East and Kashmir) as territories and not as our fellow citizens. The ingrained bias that we in mainland India have towards people from these regions, especially calling NE as ‘chinkis’ says a lot about what KB meant by ‘us versus other’ and therefore send in the military to rein in the subjects. Because subjects have to toe the line of the ruler and citizens have to be engaged. He buttresses it well with the example of Naxal insurgency and not sending military in mainland India… Thank you AS for suggesting KB’s book and have already added to wish list.

Arnab is a dangerous concoction of crony capitalism mixed with an insensitive consumerism and a dash of cruel privileged class (rich and the upper middle class of India). It is duty of you all in journalism to bring him to book, it is long due. All this while because nobody told him anything led him to believe that he is god and has now started this dangerous game of inciting and enraging the listeners. I disagree with the rationale about listenership of English channels, there is merit in number but these listeners are the ones that influence opinions and decisions. The helps, drivers, peon, watchmen, elders in family etc. look up to their employers and children for the views they hold and when they overhear them speaking the dangerous Arnab language it percolates down the society. Combine this with the horrible news and opinions peddled in vernacular medium and we have a perfect misinformation.

It is no secret that Times group considers the advertisers as its consumers and therefore delivers what will sell. No issue in it but this fact should be mentioned loud and clear every time anyone talks about Benett Coleman Group so that readers, listeners and viewers are aware that we are getting a compromised and bastardised version of journalism and reporting. I have seen in my working capacity how this group was the torchbearer of peddling ‘good reporting’ or not reporting ‘uneasy news about companies and industrialists’ in lieu of agreed amount of advertisements. Today many do it but they are the original rotten apple.

You all must start a Hindi Hafta as well so that the message can reach wide and far. Unfortunately in India the fourth estate is nothing more than a nautch girl of crony capitalists. I agree with Madhu when she says that we should listen, watch and read such reporting however, it is our duty thereafter to highlight the wrongs. And if it is not changing then might as well stop watching it, personally it took me lot of willpower to stop watching Newshour but then I decided that I will not abet a dickhead like Arnab… it provides a classic nukkad ki ladai format and at a core it is the titillation and the gladiatorial instinct to which it appeases.

Regarding inviting people, I will suggest Arun Shourie, Asish Nandy, Dipankar Gupta to begin with and one can have interesting topics to discuss. It will be nice if you can mail  the topic to subscribers so that we can send in our questions basis the invitee’s work and then editorial team can pick few that you deem relevant.

Lastly, thanks to AS that school memories were rekindled with the Karan-Arjun song… Made me connect with friends with whom I went to watch this movie…

Rajiv Rao

Hi NewsLaundry Team,

Over the time that I have listened to #NLHafta, I have heard and read people asking you guys to dive little more deeper than you do on Hafta into week’s news, to go into more details. I also have heard your counter that because the podcast was initially started as critique of things that made news and how news organization’s presented them, it doesn’t leave space for details as Hafta was not place to consume news in particular. So far, all good. Of the many ideas and principles that went into starting NewsLaundry, one, if I’m not wrong is to serve no ads, to not sell its consumers as products. Bravo! In fact, that was the major reason, apart from quality content why I started paying (small amounts whatever I could afford and save). Yes Abhinandan, I’m a subscriber and quite proud to be part of NewsLaundry in my own small way. Now, because some subscribers, people who pay, have complained that they pay but don’t get anything ‘extra’ than those who don’t pay, you guys have come up with ‘Deep Dive’ where you’ll discuss news in detail. But this ‘Deep Dive’, news in detail, will only be available for Subscribers, people who pay, actually people who can pay! Over the time that I have discovered NewsLaundry, I have recommended you to many of my friends and colleagues, that interview you took, that Hafta, that article Anand wrote and many others, and with that recommendation I have also told them how you don’t serve corporate but people, that they would have to pay to keep good things running in case they liked what they just consumed. I don’t know how many of them did for I never inquired.

Coming to the point, if you listen to these ‘subscribers’ and made something exclusive, only for those who paid then you would essentially be listening to these subscribers – which you might think is for good as you aren’t listening or taking orders from corporate like other media houses are doing but from your audience. But think of it, you are doing what people who can pay want you to do. May be those aren’t big pockets but are pockets in anyway. They are people who can afford to pay and set things the way they like. Remember when few shouted outside JNU how students inside were studying there with their (taxpayers) money? And that they ought not criticize what they think was anti-national? Think of it. The people who listen to you are not essentially all who can pay you, they might be students who want to get their share of news, students who are tired of traditional media, people who may not have money to pay today but may pay you backtomorrow. I don’t know. But in anyway, I believe you are depriving them of their right to quality content. Yes, you aren’t a public entity to distribute your day-of-labor for free and I totally agree with that. You all have heard about Reliance Jio probably. If you also have noticed their advertisement pamphlet, you’ll know how they are planning to give free SIM card with free unlimited 3G/4G internet, free unlimited calls and SMS for starting three months! I know and you know it too how this is a bait! What different are you doing? Tomorrow probably, you’ll go ahead and have ‘Deep Dive’. Then, may be, the little detail (sometimes you go) in Hafta also will be cut-off and will be saved for ‘Deep Dive’. What happens to Hafta then? A skeletal out of compulsion hanged for the sake of it like they do in biology lab? I’m only guessing, may be reacting strong and worrying hard where I should not. But it’s heartening to see what I admired going where I wish it not.

How many listen to Hafta or watch a YouTube video you published, and how many of them subscribe? I’m quite certain the numbers do not match. The people who pay are less than those who consume. Recent study shows how the websites that started having ad-block-blocks have suffered traffic losses. People consume free news for most part – they pay only when they see something different is going on in that particular organization. I saw it quite ago and started paying myself. I’m fan of government schools where anyone and everyone can go and get knowledge. I know people make fun of them and say they teach below average. May be some are but not most of them. I have learned all my life in government schools. Today, I work at same place where people who paid lakhs to learn are also working! News to me is kind of an education in itself and I don’t believe in funneling it to people who have money to spend and to those who don’t.

Look at Ravish Kumar for instance. Had NDTV went for fancy degrees, would we not have lost an amazing journalist of our times? I fully understand, not the Bhupendra Chaubey type, but I really do, news organizations need money to survive. They do. When you ask for subscriptions, you say, contribute – now contributions is for all! At the end of the day, its your decision and probably I will agree with that. And to set the record straight, I will continue to pay the small sum that I can. For me it’s not about money. Tomorrow, if you miss one Hafta, I won’t go and complain, why you didn’t do it? I pay you moron!! I won’t. My only desire like I mentioned in my previous letter is to see you cover rural news, news from outskirts where ‘national’ media won’t go. That doesn’t mean I will hold your throat for that demand. I’m accommodating that way. I wish to see NewsLaundry grow into a huge tree that serves all who come to it but is watered and taken care by few who care to do so. With time may be that caravan will grow. I wish and pray it does. Like the Wikipedia – here again, there are people who contribute to Wikipedia but there are others, hell lot of them who consume it daily but don’t contribute a penny. If that can survive, why can’t our NewsLaundry?

I don’t wish for exclusivity to content like few of my fellow subscriber’s are asking but if some want exclusivity, then they can be offered that exclusivity in other ways as well. Like a community page where they can interact and discuss with fellow subscribers, and occasionally with guests on Hafta or NewsLaundry team. Like Reddit AMAs!Or you can devote a page on NewsLaundry website for Citizen Blogs where only subscriber’s can write – here again it can be purely based on upvote and downvote by fellow subscribers or NL team can decide which article features and which doesn’t with at least a mention that who all wrote. Like a contest where there are winners and others are counted under consolations! Or anything else. I was about to suggest gifts like NL T-Shirts and all but then again, it is spending which is not advisable!!

Guess, like my last letter, I overstretched here too. Last time I wrote when Abhinandan joked about donating blood to support NL which made me start donating and now making content exclusive to those who pay.

Lastly, thanks for listening to all of us. That’s something special and valued which not many do. Big hug to the team.

Regards,

Dheeraj Kalgutkar

Dear NL Team,

Thank you so much for the Naxalbari book as a gift.

Finally, Anand started writing again and came up with the fantastic piece on Dalit’s status in the country. Except the title of the article I agree with every word because it is not about bravery, not yet! It is not that we are not brave enough to face the truth but we do not know the truth, we are ignorant crowd. By ignorance, I do not mean to say that Dalit atrocity or the discrimination doesn’t exist, it does and that too in every breath of life. Nevertheless, Indian catharsis is a distant dream. My own personal journey says so as I have been: a passive perpetrator, an active observer, and dormant doer.

Dalit and Harijan are the words known in books and literature while in real life it is bhuiyan, dusaad and the rest. At homes of upper class, not just there are separate utensils for the dalits but there are separate corners to store those utensils. The highest place which they get to sit on is the floor of the house. People are groomed in such a way that it becomes a way of life, though somewhere human instinct says that is not OK. We are the lot who wants to know the full name as the first thing because this gives direct link to the caste. Of course, at one place Singh is King then other Singh is a chamar also and that makes Brahmins to cringe.

I started my professional career from Chennai and very well as an IT professional, and to make it more obvious; was an employee of Tata Consultancy Services. I had an experience where an old person was not ready to take water in the Bus even though he was almost drowning in his sweat. The water was being offered by a woman, to whom that ‘grand pa’ said ‘I am a Brahmin and I do not take water from anyone’. To which she said, Sir I am also a Brahmin! And there ‘grand pa’ lambasted her due to the fact that being a Brahmin she is offering water to a stranger. I thought, wow, sophisticated discrimination. Me being a Jharkhandi, it came as very polished way to project one’s caste supremacy.

It is largely everywhere in India like those cultural trait which is too good to resist but too bad to name. A person who says they never knew their caste is either in a utopian world or come from upper caste.

Regards,

Jyoti