Hafta 87: #SurgicalStrike, Fawad Khan and the Dark side of Comedy

The big news this week is that for the first time that we can remember, the Indian Army admitted to having conducted a “surgical strike” along the Line of Control. Is this the mooh tod jawab that the country was waiting for after terrorist attacks like the ones we suffered in Poonch and Uri? Lieutenant General HS Panag, a Newslaundry columnist, gives us his expert point of view. While the Army has been measured in its approach, the same can’t be said of the media. Rajdeep Sardesai made an appearance on a Pakistani channel and we discuss his comments. BK Bansal and his son’s tragic suicide notes mention Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah as well as senior Central Bureau of Investigation officers. While the media reported on the discovery of the notes, no one mentioned Shah’s name. Was that just fear of Shah made plain? Also, it turns out there are Fawad Khan fans in Newslaundry (much to Madhu Trehan’s surprise). Was actress Tannishtha Chatterjee expecting too much when she said she thought Colors’s “roast” would be clever? Trehan, Abhinandan Sekhri, Anand Ranganathan, Manisha Pande and Deepanjana Pal dissect some of the most talked-about news stories of the week. Plus, there are some must-read letters with great suggestions and a song for our fauji brothers.

For references:

1. A Review of #NLHafta from Rashmipriya Mishra, Shirley Jacob, Divyang Upadhyaya, Ankush and  Ankit Jain
2. The Awful and Awesome Entertainment Wrap: Episode 12
3. Sticher‘s podcast: Real Time with Bill Maher
4. Newslaundry: #UriAttack: How Should India Respond to 18/9?
5. Newslaundry: Pakistan – Goodbye & Good Luck
6. YouTube: Ranga Uncle‘s Nichod – Episode 2
7. The Indian Express: Obsessed with Pakistan
8. Literary Hub: How Long Until A Robot Wins A Pulitzer
9. Fountain Ink: The Gorakhpur mystery
10. Amazon: 1991: How P. V. Narasimha Rao Made History

Listen to NL Hafta on iTunes here and Stitcher here