Hafta letters: Abhinandan on millennials, western reaction to Russia-Ukraine, The Kashmir Files

Abhinandan, for god’s sake, millennials are 26 to 40+ years old. At this point, we know what Encyclopedia Britannica is and we had them when we were young. Shift your jokes to Gen Z/Zoomers.

Ashima

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I was very frustrated at the false equivalence Suhasini brought up in criticising the unilateral actions taken by Russia and the West.

Yes, both actions were unilateral, but the Russian action was an unprovoked action which resulted in thousands dying. The West was simply reacting to the Russian action! Furthermore, the fact that we used the word “West” and not “US” alone shows how it was indeed multilateral, without using organisations. The fall of organisations like the UN is sad, but that does not mean the West shouldn't try to act in its own territorial interest. And the sanctions have actually been quite successful compared to other sanctions.

As a side point, I have to commend Abhinandan for standing up to accusations of blaming the “white man”. Syria is far away from Europe, but physically and culturally, Ukraine borders the EU. To react differently if there's a bombing near your house versus in a far flung place is completely justified.

Aryan

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I watched the movieThe Kashmir Files. It is an excellent propaganda movie, merely putting on screen what I had heard from my friends attending shakhas during my medical school days. The face of religious extremism and anti-India sentiment shown in the movie is not hard to believe either, as I have seen it first hand amongst doctors employed at the institute from Kashmir. I am sure the truth is somewhere in between the two competing narratives as it usually is.

The fact that over one lakh people were driven away from their homes has been brought forward in popular culture by a fascist regime is shameful for all those who call themselves liberal/secular. People in cinema and journalism who think they are on the right side of history should take this movie as a wake up call and stop turning a blind eye towards extremism in the minority communities. By not talking about such issues, we concede the space to those who later weaponise it for their own motives.

Anonymous

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Hi,

Please keep me anonymous. I noticed the Hindu Yuva society (the RSS student wing abroad) of my grad school has organised free screening of The Kashmir Files at a theatre outside campus. This is obviously much more expensive than regular film screenings at the school theatre. The Hindu Yuva are also offering transportation to the theatre, much like NL reporters saw in Delhi NCR. Please reach out if you need their flyer from my school. They have shared it on Whatsapp, but not on their site or Facebook page yet.

I don't know if this a one-off incident at my school, or a much bigger event that Hindu Yuvas across the world are doing. Maybe it's worth NL's time. Great work on the NL Sena election project.

Best wishes,

Anonymous

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An article recently published in Newslaundry called the Karnataka verdict as upholding the “hijab ban”. Please stop spreading misinformation. The court order merely upheld the school's right to prescribe a uniform that applies to all. So, if this is a “hijab ban”, it should also be called a “dhoti ban” or “lungi ban” etc.

Sagar Prasad

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I have been following NL since it was free and requesting for voluntary subscriptions on PayPal (I was one of the supporters 😊 paying monthly on PayPal). At that time, when Madhu mentioned that she wanted to follow the model of subscription based journalism, I thought that it was a foolish idea for the Indian market and that NL would die when you implement that model. I am very happy I am proven wrong and that you survived 😊. I am very thankful for all subscribers.

I have purchased a yearly game changer subscription for the first time to extend my support. Access to RSS links is great! Good job you all. Love you NL team and subscriber community.

Rhishikesh Jagtap

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Hello team,

A very happy Holi to all of you. Loved the election coverage.

A quick feedback on how the Hafta episodes are listed on the website. A lot of NL subscribers consume Hafta whilst driving or performing other activities. It’s super annoying when, by mistake, Chhota Hafta starts to play and one has to stop driving (or any other activity) to change it to the full episode.

To solve it, could you please filter the Hafta episode list API as per the status “full episode” or “Chhota Hafta” and show only relevant results (with full episodes and not a mixed list) when a logged in, paying subscriber scrolls through Hafta episodes.

Best,

Surya