Hafta 394: Release of Bilkis Bano's rapists, stabbing of Salman Rushdie, Rohingya refugees

This week on NL Hafta, Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, Raman Kirpal, and Mehraj D Lone of Newslaundry are joined by Mahesh Langa, senior assistant editor of the Hindu.

They discuss the release of the 11 men convicted of gangraping Bilkis Bano and killing her three-year-old daughter during the 2002 Gujarat communal carnage. Speaking about the technicalities of their remission, Mahesh says, “It’s not clear who took the final call." He talks about how this is a “special case where such a judgement is passed”.

Mahesh also talks about how the men were welcomed with sweets and garlands by members of the Vishva Hindu Parishad and other Hindutva groups. At this, Abhinandan wonders “how far we have come from being considerate about such a sensitive issue”.

They also discuss the stabbing of the author Salman Rushdie in America and how union minister Hardeep Singh Puri’s tweet about housing Rohingya refugees landed him in a spot, and sparked a row within the government and between the BJP and the Aam Aadmi Party.

This and a lot more, only on NL Hafta.

Hafta letters: Abhinandan’s authoritarian tendencies, freebies, expert voices on Hafta

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Song: बीती न बिताई रैना

Timecodes

00:04:35 - Headlines

00:09:44 - Bilkis Bano case

00:43:50 - Salman Rushdie stabbing

00:55:06 - Hardeep Puri’s tweet

01:02:48 - Revadi culture

01:12:56 - Subscriber letters

01:22:38 - Recommendations

References

An Area of Darkness

Gujarat followed old policy to release convicts in Bilkis Bano case

Midnight's Children

Once burnt, twice shy: What the BJP silence on Rushdie attack tells us

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The Satanic Verses

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At 75, India needs to talk: Some of our problems need dialogue, between parties, between communities, between ideologues

The secret to upward mobility: Friends

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Joseph Anton: A Memoir

Check out previous Hafta recommendations.

Produced and recorded by Tehreem Roshan, edited by Hassan Bilal.