Reporters Without Orders Ep 155: Farmer protests and Priya Ramani case

In this episode, host Ayush Tiwari is joined by Newslaundry’s Akanksha Kumar and Anna Priyadarshini.

The conversation starts with the reporters sharing the bizarre news stories of the week, from an Indonesian woman claiming a gust of wind made her pregnant to the Indian higher education regulator UGC asking universities to encourage students to write a “cow science” examination.

The discussion begins with Anna’s report on the verdict in BJP leader MJ Akbar’s defamation case against journalist Priya Ramani. Akanksha then talks about her experience covering the ongoing farmer protest at Singhu on Delhi’s border. On how the farmers plan to adjust their protest to the approaching summer and their apprehensions about the new agriculture laws, she says, “Another fear they have is that with the entry of private players contract farming may result in some sort of exploitation. Their fears are not completely unfounded, they do have a basis.”

Akanksha also talks about her story on Dilbag Singh, a farmer from Pubjab who cycles around the Singhu protest to lift spirits.

Ayush then moves to Anna's report investigating Rinku Sharma’s death at Mangolpuri which the Hindu nationalist ecosystem has sought to communalise. Anna shares her experience covering the story and what the people there felt about the reporter’s presence in the area.

This and a lot more as they talk about what made news, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have.

Tune in!

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Produced by Jude Weston, edited by Samarendra K Dash.

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