S 

Reg. Hafta 574: 

1. I totally agree with Anand on the format of ‘I Agree’ interviews. This can only further fragment our society into fissures, as I have seen in the US through my lived experience. The “anti-intellectual” sentiment will only grow stronger. Frankly, I was quite shocked to learn that in these interviews, guests are not informed about the format's satirical undertone. 

2.  On NL's editorial/regional biases, I do feel that as a whole, stories from eastern and northeastern India are indeed neglected. They only appear when something ghastly happens or when central BJP leaders are involved. I’m speaking as someone hailing from West Bengal. 

Keep up the great work. Loving the stories from TNM and NL equally.

***

Srinath Sampath 

Another subscriber’s question about what you cover versus don’t on Hafta 574 made me wonder if you’d be willing to pull back the curtain on how you make your editorial choices. How does NL make judgment calls about what’s “in the public interest”? 

On a lighter note, I think Manisha had recommended Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s “Disse Kulli Yaar Di” as an outro song on Hafta a few weeks ago. I wanted to suggest a more recent Coke Studio Pakistan track – “Paar Chana De”. If you haven’t heard it yet, it’s a great listen, and the following might be apocryphal, but I heard (or read) somewhere that this was the first instance of an Indian artist (Shilpa Rao in this case) being a part of a Coke Studio Pakistan project. Enjoy!!! 

Cheers,

Srinath Sampath

***

Amar

Dear Hafta panel,

This is regarding the discussion on Episode 574 on UGC Equity rules. My observations:

1. This government is good at coming up with names that sound great, at least to their vote banks. Equity is one such label. Sudipto and other members were correct in their analysis that the rules don't amount to much. Also, following Sudipto, I am enjoying Savarnas' sense of victimhood against their own beloved government. You can imagine my amusement at the turn of events, especially after finishing Ravikant's book ‘Meet the Savarnas’ and Manu Joseph's ‘Why the Poor Don't Kill Us?’

2. As far as the anti-ragging rules go, Anand is right that all the students are required to fill out the online undertaking. But they do it without going through the rules of UGC and the Supreme Court guidelines. I try hard to explain the rules and punitive measures to all the students, but they clearly aren't interested in understanding them. The institution is small, and students are in closer contact with the teachers, so we haven't seen the menace of ragging. Still, I find it tough to understand that students don't even spend 10 minutes reading the rules, which are available in most languages. There is also a provision for the Anti-Ragging Squad. I guess nobody in the squad ever conducts surprise visits in different places on the campus, including hostels. Also, no principal or vice-chancellor has been removed for any ragging incident.

***

Drishti Bhattacharya

Dear Newslaundry team,

I'm a regular subscriber to Newslaundry, and I listen to NL Hafta while working. On the new UGC law issue, I think the mentality is that the General category has a [sense of] entitlement (not all people, some), and also some ST, SC, and OBC have a victim mindset.

As per history, Sudipto Mondal also mentions that torture of other people has happened in history. In a country like India, where women are worshipped, but in reality, it does not happen. So, maybe you don't agree with this, but of course, we're not the same. 

In the end, please continue your work like this. 

Regards,

Drishti Bhattacharya 

***

Anish 

Hello, this is a rant regarding the app’s podcast player. Recently, it seems to have gotten worse. The podcast doesn’t play and it is stuck on the loading. I tried switching between the shows, but it didn’t help. It is getting to the point of giving up listening to some of my favourite shows. Could you please look into it? I also tried to upgrade the subscription so that I can get RSS feeds to play on Apple Podcasts. However, I couldn’t find an option. Otherwise, keep up the good work. I love listening to Abhinandan’s and Jayashree’s “optimistic” views on everything. Don’t want to miss those.

***

Digital Prisoner 

Dear Team,

I wanted to share my experience with digital safety after ln Hafta 566. I regularly listen to Abhinandan on Hafta. My elder brother inspired me with his BRAVADO attitude. Once, when I received a scam call, I confronted the scammer with abusive language. What happened next was terrifying. While driving home from work, my phone started beeping nonstop. I kept receiving OTPs from various websites, and the SMS messages wouldn’t stop. After turning off SMS notifications, OTP calls began flooding my phone. I had no choice but to put my phone on airplane mode. This harassment lasted for two to three days. Complaining to the service provider didn’t help, and I had to spend two days without a phone. After researching, I learned I was a victim of SMS bombing. This experience made me realise how vulnerable we all are digitally. I want to share my story: ignoring scammers is safer than confronting them. 

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