Rafa 

Hello NL,

I'm hoping that this week, there'll be a discussion on the Shimjitha/Deepak suicide case from Kerala. I think the incident contextualises the NL interview with Barkha Trehan. She may not seem as silly now as Abhinandan made her appear (or maybe he didn't need to make any effort). I do think Indian laws (on paper) are skewed in favour of women; despite that, it's difficult for women to get justice due to a lack of clinching evidence in most cases (apart from other systemic flaws). However, smart women game the system and innocent/powerless men become the victims of the women-favouring laws. Why can't we have gender neutral laws which give the powerless (men or women) the power to get justice? Would love to hear what you think? Keep up the good work.

*** 

Abhijeet 

Someone asked last time how to play Hafta on TV, and I think not many people will like the casting method. So, here's what I do every week -

1. On the Newslaundry phone app, open the Hafta page with the embedded video.

2. At the bottom of the video, click the "Watch on YouTube" button. Just start the video.

3. Go to your TV. Open YouTube.

4. Even though the video is unlisted, it's in your history and will probably also show up on your YouTube homepage. Play it on your TV.

5. Thank me later. :)

(Of course, this only works if you have your YouTube history enabled.)

***

Sajeev Khan

Hi NL Team,

I recently travelled to Bengaluru for a couple of months. One of the most terrifying experiences is seeing people drive on the wrong side without any fear or shame. But with utter disdain for fellow citizens. I can understand if delivery boys take shortcuts. But this is done by techies, senior and middle-aged people, and even families with young children. This makes day-to-day driving extremely dangerous. Please, can we talk about this in NL? Hafta raises citizen awareness so that we all acknowledge that this is dangerous behaviour. Driving on the wrong side is equivalent to a person waving a sword in a busy street. I hope this wrong behaviour is not replicated in other cities. Would you consider interviewing Arundhati Roy about her latest book, "Mother Mary comes to me"?

Sajeev – From a tiny part of Kerala

***

Varun Das

Hi NL team,

Catching up on past Haftas, I was struck by Abhinandan’s praise for how other countries handled their trade negotiations, and his dismissal of India’s “stuck” position. With Trump now reneging on those very deals and slapping fresh tariffs on everyone (the EU, the UK, South Korea), India’s position makes a lot more sense. Once you cede ground to a bully, he returns for more.

I also couldn’t help a bitter chortle when Jayshree read out the murder in Manipur, which was glanced over, followed immediately by the Noida incident, which you then dissected in granular detail. The panel then had the temerity to puzzle over “why certain news catches the public fancy while other news doesn't”. As someone from Manipur, this hit home. Perhaps it is time for genuine introspection into how NL's editorial biases inform their news reporting. I am not sure how many subscribers share my view, and perhaps I am in the minority. But I won't be doing my duty if I don't hold you all to a higher standard.

Hope this is taken as positive criticism, not the one-off ramblings of a subscriber.

***

S Srinath 

On a purely human level, what happened to Mr Ajit Pawar (and the others who perished during the crash) was tragic. But in terms of his political legacy, I was surprised to see little to no mention in the press – including in the NL piece by Prateek – of his alleged corruption scandals, his opportunistic changing of allegiances to stay in power, and his benefiting from the BJP “washing machine” system. I admit I didn’t know much about his reputation and track record in Baramati specifically. Still, he’s had a bigger (and more mixed) footprint in Maharashtrian and Indian politics than the press seems to be soft-pedalling in almost hagiographic terms. Am I being too harsh?

Thanks,

Srinath

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