A review of #NLHafta by Pallavi, Divya Swaminathan, Chandramauli, Ayush and Anonymous

Hi Team Newslaundry

I am Pallavi, and am a proud subscriber.  I live abroad (don’t want to reveal where and other things please) . I have been consuming your ‘stuff” since 2013 and became a subscriber when my muftkhori posed a threat to my free consumption of Hafta . I was very happy to become a subscriber and will support you guys till you exist unless you really fuck up badly in future specially with the intention of your model.

What I learn from online versions of news channels about the happenings in India makes me really restless and angsty and I want to cry. As a critique of the media your initiative is lovely but since the past few weeks I sense an acute pessimism and brazenness in Hafta which makes me more restless and angsty.  On – how I think you can improve , – where you guys are totally fucking up and , -what are the things I like about Newslaundry , on a later date . But if I cannot write soon two important things for now :

1) The arrival of Anand Vardhan on the Hafta scene has been great, he has considerably increased the charm and depth to drab and autocratic Hafta discussions ( jahan pe only Abhinandan and Madhu could shout and have their opinions ).  If you lose him , I think I will lose faith in your intentions

2) Abhinandan, kindly refrain from saying things like “I don’t know much about feminism / women issues” (then can you please SHUT THE FUCKING FUCK UP, sir? and talk about things you really know ?) ? Jabb se Hafta shuru hua haii tabb se aapka yeah stand haii–pakaa dala haii yaar. It is unbearable now.

For the pessimism and brazenness, I feel has seeped into Hafta discussions (understandably so, because of the unbelievably ghastly and gory incidences happening in our country), I have these words to offer you guys.

Much love and all best,

Pallavi.

“Frustiyaao nahin moora,

Narbhasaao nahin moora,

Anytime moodwa ko, anytime moodwa ko-

Upsettaao nahin moora…

Jo bhi wrong-wa hai usey, set right-wa karo ji,

Naahin loojiye ji hope, thoda fightwa karo ji…

Thoda fightwa karo ji… moora…

Ab sataao nahin moora,

Ghabraao nahin moora…

Naahin pagla re bann,

Act sane-wa re moora…

Anytime anytime,

Diye chance-wa jo life,

Anytime anytime

Refuse-aao nahin moora…

Jo bhi wrongwa hai usey,

Set right-wa karo ji,

Naahin loojiye ji hope,

Thoda fightwa karo ji……….”

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Dear Abhinandan and NL Hafta team,

I am going to say it – you got the concept of an arangetram completely wrong. It is not a coming of age ceremony. Nope.  The word literally translates to ‘ascending the stage.’

I am seconding Anagha’s letter and taking her explanation a bit further. She is right about the history of Bharatanatyam and the brahmanical reform it went through at the hands of Rukmini Devi.

An arangetram is in fact the first time – any girl, boy, man or woman, will take the stage as a soloist- after perfecting what is called a ‘margam’ in Bharatanatyam. Typically it means you have learnt this art form for a minimum of 7-10 years and are ready to take your journey as a solo artist forward- it is an artist’s debut.  Last year in Delhi a 60 year old did her arangetram- yay she had learned her first  margam – and had the requisite discipline and stamina to see this through. So please don’t equate it to traditional ceremonies that celebrate the onset of puberty. Arangetram and those ceremonies are poles apart. And most certainly all major classical art-forms in India or elsewhere around the world have debut performances. That is the spirit of an arangetram- you are ready to face your audience alone after having toiled to earn it. And yes, I can’t stress this point enough.

There are 2 other points I would like to make.

First, in today’s reality gender, caste and age are no bar to learning of a dance form or doing an arangetram- the actual bar is economical. How many people can afford – sustained classes over years and then a debut performance? Take the arangetram as a starting point of a solo career – most people will still fall off the wagon despite their desire to continue dancing because they can’t afford it. Dance needs one to pump money into it as a career before there is return on investment.  Despite this, the number of male dancers in Bharatanatyam in on an upswing and they are doing pretty well. Female dominance of the art form has been dented and that is a stark departure from tradition. Around the world hundreds of children- a subset of whom are TamBram kids- are learning Bharatanatyam and other dance forms. Today, major dance names are of Brahmins- but I predict the rate at which kids are learning and coming up- within a decade or two their stronghold will end. It is just a matter of time.

Second, social media and crowd funding are helping young dancers get started. There actually exists an NL Sena for dance. ;).  It is heartening to see them raise money for their projects online and some of them are doing really good work- organizing dance festivals, regular music concerts, summer dance camps for kids. You no longer need permission or approval of seniors in the field to go out and do your own work- it is good if you have it but it’s necessity is gone. In that sense, social media platforms are working as equalisers.

Lastly, if one Mr. Vaibhav Arekar comes to Delhi for a Bharatanatyam performance, please do check him out. He is an artist in his prime and it will be totally worth your time. And, yes his arangetram was the starting point of his journey as a soloist.

Love Newslaundry and the work you do. You have a staunch supporter in me. :). I am going back to listening the hafta now ;).

Cheers,

Divya Swaminathan.

PS: It will be great if careless statements like ‘Girls don’t have to dance their way to heaven’ can be avoided. :(. I know I am being needlessly sensitive but dance takes way more effort and deserves more respect. Excellence or striving for it is never time pass.

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Hi Hafta team,

I am Chandramauli from Surendranagar, Gujarat. I am a civil service aspirant age 25. I recently subscribe to NL. I think institution which you people run is need of hour because most of which we see mostly on prime time is reduced to legitimate porn as despite knowing most stories run on prime time is either highly biased or carrying unnecessary political overtone. Better to switch to Rajya Sabha TV for decent debate and presentation of news as news. News 92 network of Pakistan’s prime time channel run a show named muqabil where two journalist Rauf Klarsa and Ameer Mateen take on each institution at their disposal case by case in most fair way. Someone in main stream news channel should take a leaf out of such show and come out where people wait for that program with genuine views rather than fun of how journalist A or B will make this completely irrelevant thinks to politics and feed us.

Two events in last week that prompted me be your subscriber. First is how media reacted or rather hijacked the issue of Gauri Lankesh’s gruesome murder and make it platform to accommodate their personal grievance and rant at the expense of core issue. Second being how Raghuram Rajan interview on NDTV by Srinivasan and one with Rajdeep carried out. Both almost literally trying to feed word in his mouth for sensationalise headline. And What’s more cynical that Rajdeep snidely telling him he is trying the to make catchy headline out of his words. It’s terrible to see how Rajdeep suck up so much to get those few words. No one even asked or even insinuate what was Madhu mam’s first response last week hafta that why he was silent till now.

I like Ranga uncle’s data analytic tweet on journalist death toll and reactions which put fact there and let people draw their conclusion and at least start thinking on such matters. I also like his Social Darwinian view which so much echoed with mine so always good to hear from him. Balance view of Anand Vardhan sir is appreciated and Abhinandan…!!!man your voice arguments rant view whatever you speak you speak with full heart love to listen your view however it contradicts with mine. Madhu mam missed love your clothesline… Please resume it. Constitution show is awesome.

Love you all guys please keep making such amazing show and I will try to persuade my friends to subscribe who are in search of fair news or alternative view. Thank you.

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Couple of points of contention I had with the latest Hafta.

At the 1:16:03 mark, Ranga Uncle stated that most Afghan refugees in India are Muslim. That is incorrect. Of the 8,000 or so Afghan refugees in India, close to 88% are of Hindu or Sikh faith. It has been a government policy since Indira Gandhi’s time to restrict refugee acceptance to minority faiths, which has thus overlooked Muslim minority sects, especially the various Shia sects such as the Kurds and the Yazidis facing persecution from Syria to Iraq and Afghanistan, while focusing on Hindu, Buddhist or Sikh faiths.

“India is actively pursuing a good relationship with Myanmar’s army officials in the hope that it can enlist their help in acting against militants in India’s northeast, many of whom are based in Myanmar’s Sagaing jungles.” BBC 5^th September 2017

1:18:10 mark Dada stated that India has enough problems of its own and does not need to accept in any more refugees or interfere in the affairs of another country. Yes the Dalai Lama, or his office, does not make any political statements in India. But his interview with John Oliver, and his trips to Arunachal Pradesh smack of politicization, so the Indian government bends this non-political angle whenever it plays to it’s perceived benefit. The expulsion of Taslima Nasreen from Kolkata was less to do with her making political statements and more to do with the pressure from West Bengal elites, of all places, for writing a goddamn book, and failing to side with her against the Muslim clerics in India braying for her head. Whither anti-sedition law oh Congress, I wonder.

We routinely “interfere” in the affairs of other countries by offering conditional foreign direct investment plans, arms deals, foreign aid, and other soft and hard power support. India is currently actively trying to circumvent China’s One Road One Belt Initiative by currying the support of every country from Afghanistan to Vietnam. Hence the recent investments into a major transnational highway, and green lighting from the Burmese side makes this response so much more interesting.  So let’s go easy with the “woe is me and my country” narrative. It is in India’s narrative to side with the Burmese military, especially in relation to the international reputation of both the army’s occupation of Kashmir and its ignored half-cousin, anti-Naxalite operations in Central and Eastern India. I am no Arundhati Roy, but the Indian state does seem to share the Burmese narrative of using the state apparatus to crush any forms of indigenous protest for the great dream of a strong-ethnocentric nation state. This approach is so basic that the early 20^th century wants its dogmatism back.

Furthermore, while India may not be a signatory onto the UNHCR Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees or its 1967 protocol, the fact that 145 countries have both signed and ratified the convention means that the resolution is now customary international law. As a result, repatriating refugees without first consulting with the refugees in question, the state where the refugees have come from (oh the injustice of repatriating stateless persons), or the UNHCR itself constitutes a violation of customary international law.

Now while Mrs. Trehan and Dada might argue that customary international law means as much to her as the kachhas the RSS wear, the fact of the matter is that such customs are the bedrock of international law and diplomacy. As is the custom of judging those who don’t stand up for the national anthem, a debate as pointless as the Supreme Court’s order to have the national anthem played in cinema halls. It is India’s best interests to follow these customs, because we are yet to gain enough pull to start rewriting global rules.

Furthermore, the panelists seem to forget two important aspects of our Indo-Burman History. In his novel, Srikanta, Saratchandra Chattopadhyay gives a beautiful description of the mass of Indians -both Muslims and Hindus who moved to Burma in search of employment, a combination of British colonial practices which sought to staff Burmese civil society with civil officers under British control and tutelage, and Indian economic migration. In 1930, we saw massive anti-Hindu and anti-Muslim pogroms by Burmese nationalists, as well as in 1962 when General Ne Win expelled around 300,000 Indians and their descendants from Burma. State defined ethnicity, ‘134 groups under 8 racial classes’ is an integral aspect of Burmese subnational politics, and is one of the key reasons for stoking the violence in the Rakhine by the Burmese politicians who use anti-Muslim dog whistles to rally their base. Sound familiar?  {Source: Burke, A. (2016). New political space, old tensions: History, identity and violence in rakhine state, myanmar. Contemporary Southeast Asia, 38(2), 258-283. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/10.1355/cs38-2d}

Let’s not assume for one second that India is an ailing nation state which can barely fit any more refugees. We are neither Lebanon nor Jordan for whom 1/6^th of the total population are now refugees and their descendants. We simply want to turn our back to the problem in exchange for currying favor with the Burmese military, who are more than happy to let Aung Saan Suu Kyi become the international punching bag while providing her with half-baked information of the potential linkages between ISIS and Rohingya Muslim insurgents/separatists/activists what have you. That last point is the only one for which I lack any credible sources, and is probably based on a kernel of truth.

Looking forward to the next Hafta guys, you really got my mind churning with this one.

Thanks,

Ayush

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Hope you all are doing well

I’ve been listening for a long time now and have written few times – under different names J It’s usually fun to see how responses and tonality change when we know the identity.

Anyway, for this letter please do not give my name to anyone including the panel.

I will try to put bullet points. However, note that all points can be letters unto themselves

• Anand V and Anand R – Goebbels and Heisenberg of NL and modern times, I say this as extreme examples of what they’ll become should India become Reich. No offence we can have a coffee J.
• Respect AV calm tone and measured responses and staying on course a topic, all others can learn a thing or two. His knowledge is deep about topics and perhaps the only one who comes prepared to discussions. AV uses this to justify, provide a slant, and give a nudge to anything and everything that the right-wing spews. AV can justify anything and by his yardstick, an average person is definitely not concerned about democracy so we should all just give up our rights to his friends – RSS and Great Leader I suppose.
• AR should listen to how he sounds and behaves when countered e.g. quoting ToI and India Today is akin to referencing Wikipedia in a paper, you all practically agree on it. Yet AR was riled up when Atul pointed out his views based on fake news which AR was defending on a recent podcast (NL 133 if I am not mistaken); his defense ‘where do you get news from papers’; yes, but why didn’t he play devil’s advocate with news to check other websites, just a click away? Shoddy homework is no justification and definitely not an excuse to get angry.
• AR was indulged unnecessarily in another podcast where entire panel apologised to him as he played the victim card saying others pounced on him yet it took him seconds to ascribe insinuation on Sekhri by implying as if out of personal grudge AS doesn’t call AV our resident Goebbels for discussions (AR please listen to that podcast).
• You all must have watched ‘Hitler – A Career’ and if not then please do and it’ll give a feeling of déjà vu J It’s not surprising that our Great Leader chose 9-Nov, the day of failed putsch for his failed demonetisation.
• There’s a saying for people who play ‘devil’s advocate’, it’s called if I cannot enrich a discussion I’ll confound everyone, please learn from Manisha the art of keeping your mouth shut when you cannot add value.
• AR and AV if you’re offended by the stretched analogy it’s because of the times we are living in, I apologise as the aim was to make a point not attribute their deeds. I hear loose talks at parties and gatherings where educated people talk about killing few lakh Muslims to satiate pent up anger in Hindus. Where the well-fed and entitled talk about doing something about the poor as they’re giving a bad name for the country. You’ll be surprised but some justify it using rather tweaking out of context your line of arguing; most don’t understand nuances and context so it is upon people such as you both to ensure what fodder you’re providing to this blood lusting lot waiting take India ahead.

AS, please invest in the app so that comments can be written, as unlikely many will go to a website to do so. I have rarely seen any retweets or likes from your @newslaundry account where subscribers have posted your stories, if you don’t believe in yourself then after a point how much can we do.

Finally, AS please refrain from running down your panel; certainly some of people write very well-articulated mails but surely not all are better than your panel and even the good ones in us are a one-off case.