Governance Section
MUMBAI MAYHEM
RESHUFFLE
VIEWS ON NEWS TRANSPORT CHAOS 47
HOW FAR WILL THE BABU SHAKE-UP GO? 44
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JULY 07, 2015
THE MODI MUDDLE
PLUS:
Wh Who W h did did what h t to whom and why? 10
Lalit: Bad times for Good Times Charlie? 17
BIKRAM VOHRA: Abuse rocks the airwaves 25
`50
UP SCRIBE’S KILLING: Politics of brutality 34
FACEBOOK’S INSTANT ARTICLES: Denting neutrality? 30
EDITOR’S NOTE
FREE PRESS VERSUS JUNGLE RAJ THE STATE OF Meghalaya, which hardly ever makes headlines, is suddenly prominently in the news because of a ground-breaking judgment delivered by the high court. The order, passed unanimously by Justices Uma Nath Singh (chief justice), T Nandakumar Singh, and SR Sen, bans the publication or broadcasting of “bandh” calls and diktats by banned organizations. “In case of violation of this order,” reads the judgment, “the court may not only proceed under the Contempt of Courts Act, but it is also directed that the state government shall register criminal cases under appropriate provisions of the law.” On the face of it, this directive may sound like an infringement of the right to free speech and could, in the course of time, be the subject of an appeal by civil libertarians. So it is worthwhile to examine the reasons—given in the judgment—why their lordships arrived at their decision. A “bandh” or shut-down-your activities-and-business call is a peculiarly Indian political tool of protest. The purpose is to paralyze all life to show popular displeasure against injustice or oppression. And it was a popular tool against Britain’s colonial raj during the freedom movement. It worked–and had moral authority–because it had the sanction of the overwhelming majority whose participation was voluntary. Increasingly,
4 VIEWS ON NEWS July 7, 2015
though, the bandh has been used by political parties as an instrument of bullying and the illegal restraint of trade and essential services. Today, it is a handy weapon in the hands of terrorist and extremist organizations, whose violent enforcers forcibly close down shops, burn them, beat up people who refuse to participate. In short, a bludgeon in the hands of goondas who do not command popular support. From time to time, Kashmir has exemplified this practice. The Meghalaya judgment came in response to a complaint filed by the local administration against a bandh called by the Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC), banned as an unlawful association by the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Tribunal Delhi. The bandh call, widely publicized in the press, paralyzed hospitals in Shillong, district courts, businesses. Noting that bandhs had become a regular feature in the day-to-day life of Meghalaya on the slightest of pretexts, the court took a strong position. The judges averred: “Since calls of bandh infringe on the fundamental rights of the citizens under Articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution, the organizers and sponsors calling the bandh shall be held liable under the law to recoup and make good the loss and damages.” The court went a step further: “Even the state government can be asked to pay damages to the citizens if it fails to stop bandh, strike, hartal etc; essential services shall always remain available in all eventualities, and the district administration can be authorized to call para-military forces to deal with the situation.” The order not only took to task the banned organization, the administration and media in preventing disruption of public life in violation of Articles 19 and 21, but also put the onus on citizens to
participate in ensuring law and order: “We also direct the (government) to issue notice to all such shops and business establishments, in particular the medical shops and hotels and also taxi owners, as to why their licenses not be cancelled for staying away from their lawful avocations and for keeping their establishments closed despite repeated press communiqués of assurance issued by the state government that they shall be provided adequate protection…” The order is not without judicial precedent. In 1998, a full bench of the Kerala High Court (Bharat Kumar vs State of Kerala) held that political parties can be asked to recoup the losses and damages suffered by citizens of their lives and properties. Later, the apex court, while upholding this ruling did, however, differentiate between a “bandh” and “hartal” (strike.) According to the court, a bandh violates the fundamental rights of people as a whole which cannot be made subservient to the claim of fundamental rights of an individual or a section of the people. (Communist Party of India ,M, vs Bharat Kumar, 1998). It is not the purpose of this editorial to delve deeply into the legal distinctions of voluntary boycotts, unions’ right to strike or protest. The issue currently is of banned and violent and coercive organizations using strong-arm tactics to frighten those who disagree with them to toe their line, or to blackmail governments into giving in to improper demands. This routinely happens in every state in India and political parties who pander to these tactics are often the main culprits. The Megahalaya judgment certainly needs closer scrutiny regarding strictures on the press which should not be used by the authorities as an excuse for wider censorship. But it certainly is a
Some Banned Outfits
United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) Set up on 7 April 1979, it wants to establish a sovereign Assam state through armed rebellion. The union government banned it in 1990. National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) wants a sovereign Bodoland for Bodos in Assam. Since 2000, NDFB has specifically targeted Bengali Muslim immigrants. Manipur People’s Liberation Front (MPLF) was set up as a separatist armed group fighting for a separate state of Manipur. It was the first organization from Manipur to have been trained by the China's
People Liberation Army. It is active since 1978. Students Islamic Movement of India is a banned Islamist student organization, formed in April 1977. The mission of SIMI is “liberation of India” from the western materialistic cultural influence. It was banned by the central government in 2001, shortly after the 9/11 attacks. Communist Party of India (Maoist) is a Maoist insurgent communist party which aims to overthrow the Government of India, through people’s war. It has been functioning since 2004. It was banned by the UPA govt in 2009.
reminder to the rest of the nation that there are laws in the books which provide for stern measures to prohibit the right of protest from turning into jungle raj, including the cancellation by the Election Commission of the registration of political parties breaking these rules.
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July 7, 2015 5
VOLUME. VIII
ISSUE. 19
Editor Rajshri Rai Managing Editor Ramesh Menon Deputy Managing Editor Shobha John Senior Editor Vishwas Kumar Associate Editor Meha Mathur Deputy Editors Prabir Biswas Niti Singh Art Director Anthony Lawrence Deputy Art Editor Amitava Sen Graphic Designer Lalit Khitoliya Photographer Anil Shakya News Coordinator/Photo Researcher Kh Manglembi Devi Production Pawan Kumar
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6 VIEWS ON NEWS July 7, 2015
LEDE
The Modi Muddle
10
The brouhaha over the so-called favor done by the external affairs minister to facilitate a travel document for cricket tycoon Lalit Modi has created a who-did-what-to-whom thriller in the Modi government , reports BHAVDEEP KANG SHANTANU GUHA RAY observes that the business tycoon will find it hard to cut much ice, both in political circles and also among the powerful Delhi media
MEDIA MONITORING
The War On TV
SAHANTANU GUHA RAY reports on the war over TV ratings, with BARC coming out with a new methodology on selecting the top channels
22
T E N T S Governance
PERSPECTIVE
Malice In The Newsroom
25
HAWK EYE
Not So Diplomatic
BIKRAM VOHRA looks back on the good old days of journalism in the 1960s, that were far different from the dog-eat-dog battle that reigns in media today
AASHA KHOSA observes that Modi’s gaffe’s abroad show his diplomatic naivety
FOCUS FOCUS
Brutal State
34
Shahjahanpur-based scribe Jagendra Singh’s horrifying death exposes the extent criminals will go to stamp out the truth, reports MEHA MATHUR
HYPE
Not A Healthy Mix SOCIETY
Bold Moves
28
ROSHNI SETH observes the recent phenomena, in cinema as well as in advertising films, to openly talk about hitherto tabooed subjects
NEW MEDIA
FB’s Trump Card
30
ZOYA RASUL examines Facebook’s, Instant Articles, through which publishers can host articles directly onto the website’s servers
38
DINESH C SHARMA looks at the media coverage of the Maggi controversy, and feels that superficial issues like celeb endorsements robbed the main discussion
R E G U L A R S Edit................................................04 Grapevine......................................08 Quotes...........................................09 Media-go-round.............................20 As The World Turns........................21 Web Crawler...................................33 Breaking News...............................36
Rehuffle Saga
42 44
In the recent shake-up, while the principal secretary got the coveted post on merit, others might have been axed for falling foul with political masters, says a VON report
TRANSPORT POLICY
Maximum City, Maximum Chaos
47
VIDYADHAR DATE finds that lack of basic facilities like proper pavements and bureaucratic inertia against encroachers have triggered mayhem on Mumbai’s roads
SPOTLIGHT
Broom Work By Babus
50
ROSHNI SETH wonders what the next jumla would be after the Cleanliness Week, where govt officials cleaned their offices Cover design: Anthony Lawrence Cover photo: Getty Images
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July 7, 2015 7
Grapevine Despite Being a Woman… THE PRIME Minister’s “despite being a woman” remark at Dhaka took the TV channels, newspapers and the social media by storm. However, this is not the first time that the Prime Minister has made discriminatory
Woes of Smriti Irani THE WOES of HRD Minister Smriti Irani never seem to end. Now the entire AAP is after her education certificates. Her protective shield, her ex-OSD Sanjay Kachroo, is not offi-
cially around to help her. Interestingly, Irani has been upset with her personal secretary, an IPS officer whose husband is in the Intelligence Bureau, for not helping with Kachroo’s IB clearance. She was pulled up, much to the amusement of all.
remarks. In his early days as Prime Minister, he had said: “Plant five trees where a daughter is born. When she grows up, you can sell the timber to fund her marriage.” Was he referring to dowry? Again, on Civil Services Day, while exhorting bureaucrats to spend quality time with their families, the PM de-
Mahabharata on Demand
THE ACTORS of the TV serial Mahabharata that many years ago used to bring the nation to a standstill, are now much in demand. Gajendra Chauhan, who played Yudhishtir, has been appointed Chairman of Pune’s prestigious Film and TV Institute (the students are up in arms about this). Mukesh Khanna, who played Bhishma Pitamah and also starred in the Shaktimaan serial, is the head of the Children’s Film Society of India. Nitish Bharadwaj, who played Krishna’s role, had joined the BJP and is now a member of the Lok Sabha. Quite a mythological lot!
scribed the ideal scenario as when the official returns home to see his wife and children waiting at the door. What happens when the wife is a civil servant? Mr PM, does she return home and quickly take a welcoming stance by the door?
Politics of Garbage DELHI SAW a real-life sequel to the 1980s saga Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron, whose line, “Kisi desh ki unnati ki pehchan agar kisi cheez se hoti hai, toh woh hai gutter”, rings true even today. The politics of garbage played out fully on the streets of Delhi; roads were blocked with litter, and politicians led by Rahul Gandhi capitalized on it. Unimpressed East Delhiites were heard saying that if only Rahul Gandhi had picked up a jhadu during his PR exercise, it would have been more effective. Or if the BJP was really serious about Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan, this was the right moment to sieze.
Make Shoes in India AFTER BOOTING out Nano, West Bengal is now moving on to become the “shoe hub” of India, thus promoting the Prime Minister’s Make In India campaign. Not just Bata, international shoe brands like Hush Puppies, Clarks and Caterpillar are setting up manufacturing centers in West Bengal. After the Dhaka bonhomie, Didi certainly is putting her best foot forward! —Compiled by Roshni Seth Illustrations: UdayShankar
8 VIEWS ON NEWS July 7, 2015
Q
U O T E S
We do not want to use nuclear capability but if our existence comes under threat, why do we have these nuclear weapons for? If I say in Chaudhary Shujaat’s style, do we have nukes saved to be used on Shab-e-Baraat? ——Former Pakistani President, Pervez Musharraf, to Dunya News
In Islam, the biggest name is that of Mohammed and I think Mohammed saab is a great yogi. I think that a Muslim is one with ‘iman’, thus a Mussalman. I am a true Muslim. — Sakshi Maharaj, Member of Parliament from Unnao, in The Times of India
The RJD-JDU alliance is just a show for the media. This is an alliance in which both Nitish and Lalu will meet with knife and backstab each other. —Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan
When you date, marriage is not on your mind since first you don't have an understanding of the equation of the relationship. However, I am very open to timepass romance.
Shekhar Gupta, editorial advisor, India Today
Mrs Bharti alleges Somnathji unleashed dogs on her when she was pregnant. Never knew dogs could be so dishonest in loyalties within a family.
Barkha Dutt, anchor, NDTV
We always wear our press freedom as a badge of honour, as proof of our lively democracy. Attacks in UP abhorrent, elected govt or gestapo?
Congress leader, Sanjay Jha Lalit Modi has always been an ambitious fellow. A few more years in London he will seriously think he can be the PM of UK.
Saba Naqvi, Political Editor, Outlook
In the UK doing my yoga one hour, 25 Surya Namaskars, to all the trolls still abusing...let them free their minds of hate.
Madhu Kishwar, Editor, Manushi No surprise that Jaitley far more popular in Congress than in own party coz he safeguards Congress interests far better than ever did the BJP’s.
Rahul Kanwal, anchor, India Today TV
When I first visited Fox News in US I thanked my stars that India didn't have such crazies. Arnab makes Fox look like a sensible channel!
— Actor Kangana Ranaut
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July 7, 2015 9
Lede
Sushma Swaraj-Lalit Modi Controversy
The Modi Muddle T
The brouhaha over the so-called favor done by the external affairs minister to facilitate a travel document for the controversial cricket tycoon has created a who-did-what-to-whom thriller in the Modi government BY BHAVDEEP KANG HE Lalit Modi spot on Sushma Swaraj’s once-pristine daaman is a Rorschach inkblot: the harder you stare at it, the more images you see. What at first appears a pedestrian instance of Lutyen’s cronyism becomes a window to the sleazy world of money, sex, drugs and gambling created by IPL cricket. Stare a bit more and you detect the contours of internecine warfare, a chilling spy versus spy saga that threatens to consume the BJP and destabilize the government. Conspiracy theorists had a field day when the story, broken by The Sunday Times in London, gathered momentum on Indian TV channels. Theory #1: Swaraj’s intervention with the UK authorities on behalf of Lalit Modi was greenlighted by the PMO. The story was then leaked, to annihilate her politically. Theory # 2: Sushma acted on her own, out of a quid pro quo compulsion to help Lalit Modi. Her detractors
IN THE EYE OF THE STORM (Left) Lalit Modi and Sushma Swaraj; (Facing page) Vasundhara Raje Scindia
10 VIEWS ON NEWS July 7, 2015
in the party (read Arun Jaitley) serendipitously received documents implicating her with a former BCCI official and covertly leaked them to pals in the media. “Asteen ka saanp,” tweeted BJP MP Kirti Azad indignantly. Theory #3: Forces inimical to the NDA government (Congress?) have coerced Lalit Modi into leaking documents embarrassing to his erstwhile friends, with the objective of destroying Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s image. The Congress subscribes to Theory # 1. The BJP and RSS to Theory # 2. In the latter version, Arun Jaitley, whose daaman remains unspotted by scandal, nonetheless emerges as villain. The unfortunate bsence from the scene of RSS leader Suresh Soni, who has always presented Jaitley’s viewpoint and has faithfully supported him, was perhaps responsible for this. Soni, once the RSS’s interface with the BJP and still the most politically savvy member of its core committee, was undergoing an angioplasty at Medanta in Gurgaon. Although Jaitley
The Legal Noose Tightens LALIT MODI faces legal charges, including charges of money laundering and financial irregularities. This is why External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s help to Modi to get travel documents to fly to Portugal has led to a huge storm. Officials of the Enforcement Directorate, Income Tax Department, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Passport Office and police officials of a few cities have some pointed queries for Modi. ED cases against Modi The ED is probing Modi for numerous cases: A few cases related to violation of
provisions of Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999, amounting to `425 crore regarding franchise ownership in IPL and the nature of foreign investment; The $80 million amount paid by
Multi Screen Media (MSM) to World Sports Group (WSG) as facilitation fees to withdraw from the telecast rights contract and the allegation of $25 million of the $80 million paid by MSM to WSG being routed into the illegal accounts of Lalit Modi, his associates and political beneficiaries; Allegation that he had told selec-
tive bidders how much to bid for and win during the first IPL team auction in 2008;
and has been living there since then. Multiple notices have been issued by the ED and Ministry of External Affairs. In 2011, Mumbai regional passport officer revoked Modi’s passport for “wilfully” avoiding summons issued under FEMA. Modi’s plea challenging this revocation was at first dismissed by Justice Rajiv Shakdher but a division bench of Justices Badar Durrez Ahmed and Vibhu Bakhru of Delhi High Court set the order aside and ordered restoration of Modi’s passport on August 27, 2014. Lame rescue Sushma Swaraj says she took a humanitarian view in facilitating his documents as Lalit Modi had to go to Portugal to sign the consent papers for his wife’s cancer surgery, but europatientrights.eu, a website on patient rights, has given a whole new angle to the controversy. It says that in Portugal, although consent is required prior to treatment or surgery, it can be given by patients themselves except in the case of legal incapacity. The website adds: “A written consent is not required in Portugal… the consent can be expressed through any means....
Investment of `10 crore made by Modi's wife in an Indian heritage hotel through a Mauritius-based company.
“A minor of 14 years of age and more can give valid consent to medical treatment if he has the ability to fully understand what is involved in the medical treatment in question.” Given these legal provisions, what was the humanitarian need for Modi to rush to Portugal and for Swaraj to help him?
After being interrogated by the ED, Modi fled to London in 2010
(Compiled by : Priyvrat Singh Chouhan)
Allegation that Modi used unac-
counted-for money to buy his corporate jet through a Cayman Islands Company;
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Sushma Swaraj-Lalit Modi Controversy
The Brit Connection The email exchanges between Lalit Modi, Swaraj Kaushal (husband of Sushma Swaraj) and Keith Vaz, a British lawmaker of Indian origin, published by The Huffington Post give a fair idea about how India’s foreign minister’s family took help from Lalit Modi, and in return, helped the former IPL chief. Times Now probe had already exposed the mails earlier. Kaushal and the minister’s daughter, Bansuri Kaushal, are also marked in some of the mails:
was in touch with RSS number 3 Dattatreya Hosabale, who had just returned to India, there was no way to stop the story from spinning into a damselin-distress narrative, with Swaraj as the protagonist. RALLYING FOR SUSHMA Sympathy for Swaraj swelled in the RSS circles, as she was seen as a victim of machinations by her rivals. The former BCCI chief, N Srinivasan, is said to have hired an Israeli financial investigator to gather evidence against Lalit Modi and passed on the data to his political friends. Swaraj’s equity with the Sangh may not be as great as it was when the late KS Sudershan was sarsanghchalak, but it is still considerable. After two days of unusual silence, “KK”, as Jaitley is sometimes referred to in Sangh circles (an abbreviation of Kailash Colony, where his private residence is located), and Home Minister Rajnath Singh appeared at the BJP headquarters to publicly defend 12 VIEWS ON NEWS July 7, 2015
An email dated August 26, 2013 from Swaraj Kaushal to Lalit Modi shows that Kaushal requested Modi if he could help in getting his nephew admitted to Sussex University. It reads: “This is the msg the admission counsel…received from Sussex. Jyotirmay will be happy if he can get Sussex. Not many students becaz of the present Exchange rate.” An email dated August 29, 2013 from Modi to Vaz says: “Mrs Sushma Swaraj called to see if we can do anything to help her nephew get into the law program at Sussex. Can you help with this.’’ The reply from Vaz says: “Sure, can you get him to send over his CV and name of Professor, etc.” Swaraj. BJP chief Amit Shah and RSS leader Krishna Gopal, who took over Soni’s job as RSS-BJP interface earlier this year, were insistent that the Cabinet must be seen to close ranks behind her. Oddly, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia—who allegedly supported Lalit Modi’s UK immigration bid in 2011 but hid it from the Indian authorities—failed to garner parallel sympathy. This may well have to do with her troubled relationship with the RSS, and with the PM. The question why Lalit Modi, who has been a close friend of her, would seek to expose her, remains unanswered. Raje fell out with Modi after winning the 2013 Rajasthan assembly election and becaming chief minister for the second time. With Modi abroad, she began relying on Rajya Sabha MP Bhupendra Yadav, a Jaitley acolyte, who had helped her with personal legal matters in the past. Lalit Modi openly warned her against her new advisors.
On July 31, 2014, Vaz writes an email to immigration official, Sarah Rapson: “Foreign Minister of India has spoken to me making it very clear that the Indian Government has no objection to the travel document being granted which is contrary to what the refusal notice has stated. Mrs Swraj has also spo-
ken to Sir James Bevan, who even though is on leave, said he will speak to the relevant person in the Home Office. Frankly everyone has been involved in this apart from Ban-kiMoon.” (sic) On August 1, 2014, replying to Modi’s email, Sarah says the issue has been resolved.
On August 1, 2014, Modi on getting the good news, sent an email to many people, including Swaraj Kaushal and Naomi Campbell, which says: “Thank you for putting all your might and help and sleepless nights in resolving this major issue which has taken us thru tremendous roller coaster ride.” “Roger and his team backed by just super star
Keith Vaz with the support of numerous friends in India, Malta, Portugal, Virginia Waters, Tel Aviv, Lisbon, Lyon and some unnamed stars I cannot thank you enough. The sigh of relief I got even for a minute as I held the document before relinquishing to my Portuguese friends was sheer delight. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.”
In the same mail trail, Vaz replied to Modi: “From the horses mouth! I will do a thank you we will need her again.”
UNCHARACTERISTIC SILENCE Swaraj’s silence is not in character. No stranger to controversy, she has thus far fought her own battles. In her initial tweets, she took a potshot at a senior journalist who was point-person for the story and known to be very close to Jaitley, but allowed the party to mount a defense. Her reluctant champions struggled to explain why Swaraj had intervened with the UK government on behalf of an absconder, in order to get him travel documents on humanitarian grounds—which he then used for fun, games and schmoozing with jet-set divas. When l’affaire Romesh Sharma surfaced in 1998 —she was accused of aiding the Dawood Ibrahim crony who claimed he “knew her well” —Swaraj, who was then Delhi CM, defended herself before the media at the BJP’s Ashoka Road headquarters. She swore on the Bhagwad Gita that she had never so much as met the man.
Swaraj was never able to adequately explain why she had insisted on the overnight transfer of Income Tax commissioner Vishwa Bandhu Gupta, who was investigating Romesh Sharma. He had seized Sharma’s properties and helicopter when Swaraj stepped in, claiming Gupta was threatening businessmen in South Delhi with tax raids. Why this constituted grounds for a transfer remained a mystery, but former Delhi CM Madan Lal Khurana’s efforts to rake up the issue during the UPA regime fell flat. While serving as Leader of Opposition, she was at the center of the Karnataka mining scandal, characterised by the media as godmother to the notorious Bellary brothers, mining mafia dons-
PARALLEL POWER CENTER Finance Minister Arun Jaitley might have pointed questions to answer, within the party
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Sushma Swaraj-Lalit Modi Controversy
turned-politicians. The rise of the Bellary brothers coincided with the entry of Swaraj into Karnataka politics, when she was fielded against Congress president Sonia Gandhi from Bellary in 1999. Although regarded as the safest seat in the country for the Congress, which had held it since Independence, she gave Gandhi a run for her money. Swaraj lost but retained her links with Bellary, largely through the brothers. After the scandal broke, she hit out at her own party colleagues. In an interview, she insisted that while she had no hand in the political making of the Bellary brothers, Jaitley was the state prabhari (incharge), operating with the assistance of senior party leaders Venkaiah Naidu and Ananth Kumar. Whatever the Bellary brothers had gained politically, she said, was thanks to Jaitley and the then chief minister, BS Yeddyurappa. She herself had opposed the appointment of the entire Bellary brigade—three members of one family—as state ministers. Prior to the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, she strongly opposed the re-induction of B Sriramulu of the Bellary brigade into the BJP (he was taken back and went on to win the Bellary seat on a BJP ticket).
How the cookie crumbled From being the cricket czar to escaping to the UK, Lalit Modi has seen a mighty downfall. But the recent exposures threaten to take down quite a few political bigwigs too. A timeline of the events as they unfolded:
14 VIEWS ON NEWS July 7, 2015
Swaraj would appear to have chosen her friends none too wisely. When she was Information and Broadcasting minister during the NDA regime, Lalit Modi strode the corridors of Shastri Bhawan, which houses the ministry, with absolute confidence. He was then boss of Modi Entertainment Networks, a joint venture with Walt Disney. He later became sole distributor for ESPN Sports. The “family relationship” Modi claims with the Swarajs, clearly served him well. Swaraj Kaushal, the minister’s husband and her daughter, Bansuri, are both part of his legal team. That the relationship was intimate and constituted a conflict of interest is hard to contest, even though the nature of the quid pro quo may not be clear. Raje has already paid a high price for her proximity to Lalit Modi, in terms of her falling out with the RSS. It also resulted in her parting ways with the man credited with scripting her electoral success in Rajasthan in 2003—Sudhanshu Mittal. Modi’s machination in Rajasthan—which included going into business with her son, Dushyant (the company is now the subject of a financial probe for alleged money-laundering) and interference in government
April 25, 2010
July 2014
Lalit Modi, chairman and commissioner, Indian Premier League (IPL), is suspended by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on charges of financial impropriety, from rigging IPL bids, offering bribes and betting to money laundering. He is officially sacked in September 2010.
According to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Lalit Modi seeks her help at that point of time, as his wife is suffering from cancer and he had to be in Portugal for a surgery on August 4. Swaraj had taken over as EAM just over a month ago.
July 31, 2014 British MP of Indian origin Keith Vaz (below) sends an email to immigration official Sarah Rapson, informing her that the Indian Government has no objection to the travel document being granted to Modi.
March 3, 2011
August 1, 2014
Mumbai Regional Passport Office revokes passport of Lalit Modi to pave the way for his return to India for investigations. Modi, who is residing in the UK, cites threat to his life as reason for not returning to India.
Rapson writes to Vaz that the issue has been resolved, and the documents have been handed over to Lalit Modi’s solicitors.
On The Hit List? affairs—deeply offended the RSS. Their lack of support was seen as a big factor in her 2008 defeat. FRIENDS IN HIGH PLACES Those who have met Lalit Modi in London say he claims a cosy relationship with the Indian PM and the BJP president—but he has avoided saying so publicly, even as he parades his friendship with Sharad Pawar, Praful Patel, Swaraj and Scindia. He even claims former UPA minister Rajiv Shukla as a buddy, although he is widely know to be Jaitley’s man. His network of friends in the UPA clearly did not help him when the IPL scandal broke, for which he blames former Finance minister P Chidambaram. Former External Affairs minister Salman Khursheed points out that the UPA did try and extradite Modi but was thwarted by the UK government on the grounds that he had arrived on British soil with a valid passport and visa. Lalit Modi’s alleged amity with PM Modi and Shah has to do with cricket. The PM was once pres-
ident of the Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA), a post now held by Amit Shah. Back in 2010, the owners of the Kochi IPL franchise claimed the GCA, along with Lalit Modi, had tried to persuade them to give up their franchise, but this was denied. The Lalit Modi-Sharad Pawar duo cultivated Shah in an effort to keep the N Srinivasan-Arun Jaitley lobby at bay. In cricket broadcasting terms, the former are said to be aligned with the pro-BJP Subhash Chandra Goyal’s Zee TV
August 27, 2014 Delhi High Court restores Modi’s passport but makes it clear that it’s not expressing any opinion with regard to the alleged violations under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) by Modi.
June 14, 2015 The Sunday Times, UK, breaks the story “Howzat! Vaz name-drops to help tycoon” on the controversy involving Lalit Modi, British MP Keith Vaz and Sushma Swaraj. Following the uproar, Sushma Swaraj, defending her stand, posts a series of tweets.
June 15, 2015 Statement from UK Home Office spokesperson says Lalit Modi’s case was determined in accordance with the appropriate rules. Enforcement Directorate prepares to slap final
penalty notices on 16 cases of alleged forex violation amounting to `1,700 crore against Modi for alleged irregularities in IPL.
June 16, 2015 The BJP comes out in support of Sushma. BJP President Amit Shah backs her, saying what she did was on humanitarian basis. On same day Kirti Azad (above) alleges internal feud behind Sushma’s row, starts #asteenkasaanp on Twitter. The Congress drags PM, alleging the travel permit had PM’s approval
June 17, 2015 In another twist, a three-page note released by Lalit Modi's public relations firm Adfactors PR, says Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje had supported Lalit Modi's application for immigration to the UK in 2011, when she was opposition leader in Rajasthan Assembly, but on condition of se-
SPECULATION RIFE How long will Rajnath Gadkari and Jaitley survive?
crecy. The demand for Vasundhara’s resignation grows. BJP distances itself from Raje till everything is clear. Sushma defends her daughter Bansuri on Twitter. Her daughter is reported to be the legal counsel for Modi. At a press conference, former finance mnister P Chidambaram demands that the government should bring back the former IPL chief to India. He also rubbishes the allegations of Lalit Modi that he was hounded by the UPA government.
June 19, 2015 PM Narendra Modi, BJP president Amit Shah meet and discuss the strategy to counter opposition attacks. According to media reports, they agree that Lalitgate should not hit the party’s image. (Compiled by Vijay Patil)
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Lede
Sushma Swaraj-Lalit Modi Controversy
Twitter: Sushma’s Defense Series of tweets on June 14: Look who is preaching propriety -
of all the persons Navika Kumar ! He was in London. After his wife's surgery, he came back to London. What is it that I changed? What benefit did I pass on to Lalit
Modi – that he could sign consent papers for surgery of his wife suffering from Cancer? Tweets on June 13: Process in 2013 – one year before
ALL EYES ON NAMO Everyone is wondering what the next step of the Prime Minister will be
I became a Minister. Regarding Jyotirmay Kaushal's admission in a law course at Sussex University, he secured admission through the normal admission Taking a humanitarian view, I conveyed to the British High Commissioner that “British Government should examine the request...” He told me that he had to be present in the Hospital to sign the consent papers.
against Rupert Murdoch’s Star Network. Hence, perhaps, Lalit Modi’s publicly expressed angst against Murdoch—who he has accused of leaking Swaraj’s emails. Regardless of which conspiracy theory skims the truth, heads must roll or a heavy price paid, by the BJP and PM Modi personally. The powers that be would be only too happy to get rid of Raje, who annoyed the PM by refusing a Cabinet berth at the center in favour of continuing in Rajasthan. As for Swaraj, she was at the vanguard of the anti-Modi brigade, but has of late resigned herself to his leadership. Jaitley’s detractors would like to see Swaraj go, to create a space for him in External Affairs. Given that he enjoys the PM’s confidence— despite differences on economic issues with Shah and butting heads with RBI governor Raghuram Rajan, whom the PM likes—this is unlikely. BIHAR SPIN-OFF The assault on Jaitley by members of the party’s Bihar unit is significant. Charge of the Bihar assembly elections has been given to Petroleum Minister Dhar-
16 VIEWS ON NEWS July 7, 2015
mendra Pradhan and MP Bhupendra Yadav, both of who are close to Jaitley (Yadav is also close to Raje), thereby annoying a section of Bihar leaders. The Swaraj-Raje imbroglio has come at a good time for squeaky clean JD(U) chief minister Nitish Kumar, mitigating the negative impact of his alliance with the scam-tainted Laloo Prasad Yadav. If Swaraj survives, she will owe her position to the PM. She would have been cut down to size as Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari were, the former when his son was allegedly rapped on the knuckles by the PM for wheeling-dealing (later denied) and Gadkari for allegedly accepting corporate hospitality. But the PM himself would have suffered a serious blow, calling to mind his predecessor’s uneasy tenure: a clean prime minister presiding over a tainted cabinet. As skeletons continue to crawl out of Raje’s closet—alleged money-laundering, nepotism, giving away heritage properties to her buddies—her position becomes increasingly untenable. But she has survived Modi’s wrath for over a year, testimony to her strength in Rajasthan. She may well insist that if she goes, so does Swaraj. As veteran LK Advani jumped into the fray, obliquely indicting the PM’s leadership, it becomes vital for the government to regain its moral authority. Without doing so, it would be unable to pursue cases against Robert Vadra and others. The strategy arrived at by the BJP and RSS appears to be that the NDA must be seen to give Lalit Modi no quarter. An appeal against his passport being restored and pushing for his extradition, given the number of cases pending against him, seems inevitable. And those that he, the proverbial loose cannon with a network spanning the political spectrum, chooses to take down with him must fend for themselves. A few months ago, a BJP MP complained to senior RSS leaders against dirty politics in cricket. His target was Jaitley, who had backed Congressman Rajiv Shukla for the post of IPL chairman. Instead of sympathy, he received a homily on the evils of mixing cricket with politics. One that seems prophetic.
Lede Profile
Sushma Swaraj-Lalit Modi Controversy
The Flash That Went Pop! No more takers for cricket’s enfant terrible BY SHANTANU GUHA RAY
I
N the last 10 days, Lalit Modi, enfant terrible of world cricket—he personally prefers to be called Cricket’s Rasputin—has spent more time on his handset than on his food, wine and sleep. He has given one interview, called India’s topmost anchor a “monkey”, and simply told other reporters who flew down to meet him next to the bay at Montenegro to “buzz off”. And then he said he was sorry; actually it was his lawyers who told him to adopt “a silent mode”. WHO STARTED THE FIRE? A friend who benefited a lot from Modi’s largesse, especially in fighting a prolonged battle against N Srinivasan, long considered the czar of cricket, reminded Modi—through a trans-continental call— that he must remember what happened on March 21, 2010, should actually keep a low profile and let the tide flow overhead. Modi remembered that day, that year. A Cessna Citation II aircraft took off for Chennai from the private base at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji airport, carrying three passengers—Venugopal Dhoot, Videocon chairman; Manoj Jain, the first cousin of Nigeria-based businessman and Modi’s brother-in-law Suresh Chellaram; and his wife
TROUBLED TIMES Lalit Modi with wife Minal
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Lede Profile
Sushma Swaraj-Lalit Modi Controversy
Modi is under the ED and IT scanner, so are his yacht and private aircraft, used extensively by the chief minister of Rajasthan, Vasundhara Raje, with whom he is closely linked.
Reema, daughter of the late Bollywood actor and director Raj Kapoor. They all returned to Mumbai at 3.33 pm; by then bids for two new Indian Premier League (IPL) teams had closed and Videocon had lost the race. An enraged Reema Jain rued the great miss. And then, all hell broke loose. Modi’s blackberry started buzzing, cabinet ministers got involved, so did power-brokers in the Indian capital. Seven tweets later, the life and fortunes of Modi were in total disarray. Many then compared Modi’s tweet troubles to how a fire hydrant had pushed the life of the legendary Tiger Wood to some intense public scrutiny and remarked how Modi, who once styled himself as cricket’s answer to F1 czar Bernie Eccleston, had dug himself into a gigantic hole. He was suspended as IPL commissioner on charges as serious as betting and money laundering, and pushed out of India.
MESSED UP FINANCES Five years later, Modi is still desperately trying to buy peace. Once, he had—on April 15, 2010 to be precise —reached out to Mukesh Ambani, and sought his help. He was turned back, the richest Indian making it clear that Modi must explain to the investigating agencies that his cash was clean. His father, KK Modi, once tried to help the son and told a few in Delhi that his son should create a league of his own and forget the BCCI. But that did not happen. Modi knew he was no Kerry Packer to trigger a rebel league. Many—especially Subhash Chandra of Zee Telefilms—also remembered how Modi had busted the Indian Cricket League (ICL) by banning current Indian Test players from participating in the same. His cash is under the ED and IT scanner, so are his yacht and private aircraft, used extensively by Vasundhara Raje, the chief minister of Rajasthan, with whom he is closely linked. 18 VIEWS ON NEWS July 7, 2015
GLITZ AND GLAMOR
Photos: lalitkmodi/Instagram
High on the ED radar is the $80 million amount paid by Multi Screen Media (MSM), formerly Sony Entertainment, to World Sports Group (WSG) as “facilitation” fees to withdraw from the telecast rights contract. WSG had bagged the rights for $918 million for a decade, but the contract was cancelled and a new one signed between IPL and MSM for $1.69 billion for a nine-year period. And MSM paid $80 million to WSG. ED officials are probing whether $25 million of the $80 million paid by MSM to WSG was routed into the illegal accounts of Modi, his associates and political beneficiaries and if Modi used this money to buy his corporate jet through a Cayman Islands company. Many of Modi’s private assets are owned through overseas entities incorporated in the British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands. Modi knows he is under pressure and has got a top Delhi lobbyist to broker peace. He could even reach out to Ram Jethmalani to fight a long-drawn courtroom battle once New Delhi pushes for
(Clockwise from facing page) Moments of family bliss; with Paris Hilton in Cuba; with Naomi Campbell in Cuba; with his host Alejandra and TV actor Kevin Spacey in Italy; and with Deepika Padukone and Shahrukh Khan at the premier of Happy New Year in Dubai
his extradition. But it will be difficult for him to cut much ice, both in political circles and also among the powerful Delhi media. Once he rubbed the crown prince of India’s largest newspaper chain the wrong way when his men unceremoniously unseated him from a box in Mumbai during an IPL match. The owners of Delhi’s other big daily have irreconcilable family-related differences with Modi. Even worse, the flashy IPL guru had once called the editor of an influential daily and wanted to know “who was that twit” trying to dig up details of his yacht; the person concerned happened to be the daily’s head of investigations. Modi, once probed for cannabis-related offenses in the US, was almost sent to prison after he rubbed a member of the UAE royal family the wrong way, during a cricket match in Sharjah. He was bailed out by friends in the Congress and put on an aircraft back home. But this time, both the ruling BJP and the Congress want him back. No one, sadly, is helping cricket’s man in hurry. VIEWS ON NEWS
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EDIA-GO-ROUND
Arun Chacko passes away PROMINENT JOURNALIST Arun Mathai Chacko passed away on June 16 at the age of 66. He held distinguished positions in many media organizations and also served as Director of the Press Institute of India. A graduate from St Stephens College, Delhi, he completed his masters at Lucknow University. In
New role for
Kalli Purie THE INDIA Today Group has appointed Kalli Purie as the group editorial director, broadcast and new media. Earlier, she was the group synergy and creative officer. The group recently launched a new channel replacing Headlines Today. In her new role, Purie will be responsible for all the editorial decisions in the broadcast division, which includes television (India Today Television, Aaj Tak, Dilli Aaj Tak) and radio (Oye FM), as well as new media that consists of a number of websites of the group. She has been working with the flagship magazine of the group, India Today since 1996. Since 2011, she is also the director of the India Today Conclave, an annual event that brings together leading politicians, film stars, celebrities, educationists and other prominent people from around the world, to discuss various issues.
1971, he joined the Delhi bureau of Indian Express. He was also instrumental in establishing World Report news syndicate. In 1982, he joined India Today as senior associate editor. His other stints were as consultant with the International Labour Organisation (2000-2004), and IANS (2008-2012).
Media boycotts Congress press meet
JUST A day after Congress president Sonia Gandhi admitted that the party needs to learn a lesson from the failure in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls and improve its communication and marketing skills, it again set an example of bad PR skills when mediapersons boycotted its press conference at the AICC headquarters. They said they were kept in the dark till the last minute about Rahul Gandhi’s visit to east Delhi to join a
PK creates a
record in China
protest by safai karamcharis. They also claimed that Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken had earlier denied any such impending visit by Rahul Gandhi. The party had to record spokesperson’s statement and send a video link by email.
AAMIR KHAN starrer PK has become the first Indian movie to touch the three digit magic figure of 100 million Yuan ($16 million or `109 crore as of June 10) in the Chinese movie market. Prasad Shetty, who is a partner in Chinese firm Strategic Alliance, a company which is promoting Indian movies in China, said that the movie was having a dream run since the release of its Chinese version. PK’s collection in China had exceeded even its collection from US and Canada ($10.6 million, `65 crore) the traditional overseas market for Indian films, he said.
Attack on UP journalists A FEW days after the brutal killing of a Shahjahanpur based social media journalist Jagendra Singh, another incident of attack on a TV journalist has come to light in Pilibhit. Haidar Khan was attacked by local criminal Arvind Prakash for reporting land grabbing case against him. Khan, a stringer with a local TV news channel, told mediapersons in the government hospital of Pilibhit, that on June 13 he received a phone call about an important story in a nearby village but when he reached the spot he was attacked by Prakash and his two friends. He added that Prakash was pressurizing his own father to transfer his brother’s property in his name.
20 VIEWS ON NEWS July 7, 2015
S THE WORLD TURNS
Pink’s Twitter account hacked AMERICAN SINGER Pink’s account was hacked recently. A tweet suddenly appeared on the singer’s Twitter feed: ‘‘Free Site For Adult Movies & Adult Content’’. It had been re-tweeted more than 150 times before it was pulled down. Besides, over 150 people made the tweet their favorite. At the time the tweet was posted, Pink was at the premiere of Inside Out. It is unclear whether she will take legal action or not.
Twitter CEO to step down TWITTER CEO Dick Costolo is all set to step down after a five-year tenure in July. Jack Dorsey, the co-founder of Twitter, will take his place as an interim CEO. With 300 million users, Twitter has been lag-
Michelle Obama is now editor
AFTER FEATURING on the cover of several magazines like People, Vogue and Time, Michelle Obama is trying her hand at editing a magazine. The First Lady of United States is “guest editor” of More magazine for the JulyAugust edition. Not only will she be the magazine's first guest editor, this will be the first time she would be editing an entire 148-page magazine. More is a women’s lifestyle magazine published ten times a year. The issue highlights topics concerning military families, encouraging young people to continue their education after high school and helping girls attend and stay in school.
ging behind rival Facebook, and the growth has been slow. After Costolo’s announcement, the company’s stock jumped. In a surprise move, US rapper Snoop Dogg wants to be the next CEO of the microblogging site. He is campaigning with the hashtag #SnoopforCEO asking his 12.3 million followers to support him for the post.
Hillary Clinton on Instagram
HILLARY CLINTON has joined Instagram, a popular photo-sharing app. The Democratic presidential candidate posted her first picture of a row of red, white and blue pantsuits with the caption “Hard Choices”, a reference to the book which she authored last year. Clinton got more than 19,000 followers within two hours of her first post. Many of the other presidential candidates, for the 2016 race, already have Instagram accounts, so it was only a matter of time until Hillary joined the social media platform herself. After Facebook, Instagram is a popular app among youth. Clinton wants to reach these young voters for the 2016 election. VIEWS ON NEWS
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Media Monitoring TV Ratings
THE WAR ON TV As channels kick up dirt on each other in the ratings war, BARC gives the top slot to Times Now BY SHANTANU GUHA RAY
HIGH DECIBEL NEWS WINS Times Now has emerged as the market leader 22 VIEWS ON NEWS July 7, 2015
I
T was in 2001 when two intrepid reporters in Outlook scooped one of the biggest scandals in India: the television rating points, and highlighted how the system was faulty. But that did not change the system, as media buying agencies continued to rely on such ratings to push the lucre to some selected television channels, whether entertainment, sports or news.
And interestingly, almost all news channels— Hindi, English or any regional language—continued advertising in B2B magazines to claim they were No. 1 in “their own segment”. They, however, did not answer what was the segment. Or, whether, it was a particular time on a particular day their channel ruled the roost. They also did not clarify whether their channel continued to beat all competition to dominate the market. Their advertising campaigns were based on TAM (Television Audience Measurement) ratings, some on INTAM (Indian National Television Audience Measurement) ratings. But confusion remained, refusing to go. RELIABILITY IN DOUBT Last month, Uday Shankar, the head of Star TV network, told The New York Times that he found television rating points “lacking credibility”. Shankar hit the nail on what many considered the bane of Indian television market, which is faulty ratings. Because everyone claimed the number 1 slot, everyone in the market—through expensive full-page advertisements—claimed their supremacy. At the Kalinga Litfest in Bhubaneswar, in the heat of May 2015, a panel discussion revolved around whether “media plays ball only to riches”. But, strangely, the discussion strayed into a virtual slugfest between the speakers, majority gunning for the Mumbai-based Times Now and its unputdownable anchor, Arnab Goswami. Both, in short, were blamed for “hogging all the limelight, not giving an inch of space —as mentioned in the epic Mahabharata—to the rivals.” Worse, the one-sided slugging had power point presentations showing Goswami in khaki, a gun in hand like Salman Khan in the 2010 blockbuster, Dabangg. The ping riflemen were from a particular channel, whose editor—once Indian television’s ideal poster boy—had already filled newspapers with half-page advertisements to end what he
‘WHO BREAKS THE NEWS, LEADS THE GENRE’ Once, television ratings were mere scandals. But a new format, even though it has attracted criticism and controversy, has changed the game. BARC uses a French technology that is still new in the world. Indian channels are—finally—falling in line. BARC chief Partho Dasgupta talks to SHANTANU GUHA RAY. Following are the excerpts: TAM is now history. BARC has taken over with its innovative tracking system. What is it that puts the BARC method in the topmost category? BARC India is a joint industry which has taken a big technological leap compared to the existing system to fulfill its commitment to what India watches (including rural that was being ignored). As a result, today BARC India is a game changer for many reasons. First, it’s all about transparency. BARC India follows the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting’s notification with regard to: Sample size: Initially, BARC India will be releasing data for 1 lakh + cable and satellite (C&S) markets, which corresponds to a sample size of 10,500 households. BARC India will monitor 12,000 sample households for this, using a stratified random sampling technique that is proven statistically. This will go up to 20,000 reporting homes, with addition of the less than 1 lakh urban markets and rural areas to represent “what India watches” in line with the MIB notification. Secondly, it’s about who owns BARC. No broadcasting or advertising company holds
over 10 percent of BARC’s shares. In fact, it is held by associations and federations of broadcasters, agencies and advertisers. Thirdly, it’s the way we do the audit. We subject ourselves to both external and internal audit. Our whole process is being audited by a team of Ernst & Young from Florida, specialized in auditing audience measurement systems globally. There are over 325 channels currently being watermarked with BARC world’s leading technology for measurement. BARC India relies heavily on its state-of-the-art technology. Having invested 76 percent of its budgets on technology, BARC will give the market the lead for generations to come. We are in the big league with France and the US, having adopted the same watermarking technology. India is a huge market, and there are over 250 news channels. How does BARC handle work pressures? Being a joint industry body, maintaining transparency and regularly communicating with our stakeholders enables us to handle the environment. The first BARC report on news channels has not been liked by many because Times Now has emerged miles ahead of the rest. In short, the other channels are just not being viewed. Is that right? If that is the case, where is Times Now and where are the rest? The English news genre in the overall TV viewership pie is very small and hence sub-
jected to week on week swings. Times Now currently is the clear leader with 75 percent share in the genre. Why is Times Now moving at a high speed and the rest floundering? What is the BARC assessment of the mind of the Indian viewers? It is a very competitive genre and recently we have seen Headlines Today being renamed to India Today. Channels need to continuously assess the viewers to be ahead in the content and distribution game. The numbers will follow. If your ratings are perfect, why are the rest clamoring for blood? Are they upset because they lost the race or are they upset because they do not have faith in BARC and they feel they are still the best? After all, they keep advertising that they are number 1 in the market. Anything new will have its share of turbulence. These are still very early days and the journey has just started. Our stakeholders have been very patient and supportive in our initiative. What are the new perceptions of the Indian news market? Does you study show some interesting trends? Can you please share some here. On all-India level, 93.5 million viewers are consuming Hindi and English News (including business news). In an event week, like the Nepal earthquake story or the Salman Khan story, the viewership moves to 129 million viewers in that week (up by 40 percent). Who breaks the news, generally leads the genre in terms of viewership figures, during event weeks—example ABP News during the Nepal earthquake story (in the Hindi news genre) and CNN IBN (in the English news segment), but Times Now’s persistence with the story gave them the viewership numbers.
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Media Monitoring TV Ratings
FIGHT FOR THE TOP Veteran journalist Mark Tully at the Kalinga Literary Fest that became the venue of a heated slugfest
Goswami has succeeded because he and his team have taken on the powerful when they are in power, asked the right questions, have worn patriotism on sleeves. called “tabloid journalism in television”. As if there was a matching contest, another top news channel changed its look, exhorting its viewers “not to be a part of the circus”. But the charge against Goswami—who many fondly call Chulbul Pandey (Salman Khan’s reel life name in Dabangg) of news reporting in India —is largely misplaced. It is wrong to blame him for “not giving space to Barkha Dutt and Rajdeep Sardesai”. One of the panelists even had problems with Goswami’s graphics because it was constantly breathing fire. It seemed to me Goswami was the cause for all ills in the media, reasons ranging from why celebrated farmland reporter P Sainath does not get a better platform (even if Sainath is not complaining), why bottom lines were becoming 24 VIEWS ON NEWS July 7, 2015
more important than bylines, why guests continue to rotate in various television news studios. One newsmagazine even put Goswami on its cover to prove he was indeed “the killer of television news”. The Light Brigade at the Kalinga Litfest missed out one important point: Lesser the baggage, bigger the chance of a journalist to succeed in life. Goswami has succeeded because he and his team have taken on the powerful when they are in power, asked the right questions, wore patriotism on sleeves. It is his work that has helped him acquire an air of finality his rivals miss so badly. Goswami, unlike others, often stands alone on the burning deck. His blood has news, a vital ingredient for a powerful newsroom. In the latest Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) ratings, Times Now has a whopping 75 per cent market share. Obviously, the rest have not liked the BARC way of tracking news viewing. They argue that it still needs testing. But it does not bother Partho Dasgupta, who heads BARC, and knows he has a tough job because he cannot please everyone.
Perspective Media Scenario
Imaging: Amitava Sen
A murky dog-eat-dog battle reigns, as ridicule, personal attacks and mediocrity precede over old-fashioned journalism BY BIKRAM VOHRA
W
MALICEin the NEWSROOMS
HEN we got into journalism in the late sixties it was more by default. Journalism was considered clerical at best and people from “good families” didn’t just go there. There was no word like media and no pundits of pedantry. Our Hall of Fame had few frames on its pristine walls. Maybe Frank Moraes and S Mulgaonkar, Khushwant Singh and BG Verghese, the unseen CS Irani, the Jains and the Goenkas. The editors were a tribe apart and had their own toilets which folks like Jiggs Kalra, Ramesh Chandran, Badshah Sen and myself took great pleasure in despoiling.
On the tabloid side the only stuff which endured were the two legacies of RK Karanjia and DF Karaka from Blitz and Current. There was no TV, no radio news of great import so we were the opinion makers. It was a heady wine and we drank it by the carafe. HEATED DEBATES Our wars were simple. Like debates on whether we liked Kuldip Nayar writing or not. Much beer and saltee biscuits with sardines on them were consumed over this great debate. Did Mulgaonkar actually meet his chief re-
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Perspective Media Scenario
cause they did not pander to Fatima Zakaria, who was queen of the Weekly when the Weekly was the Weekly? Did Ramnath Goenka have an elevator which would not open on the 25th floor of Express Towers if he intended to dismiss the occupant sans ceremony? Take it from me, he did. Did everyone in Express News Service hate everybody else? You bet they did. Did the top editors in the Times in Mumbai walk down to the JJ College of Art to ogle at the girls during lunch break ?...these were the penny ante excitements of our times.
TIT-FOR-TAT BRIGADE For all our reservations about Arnab Goswami’s TV journalism, pulling him down through malicious articles is unacceptable
26 VIEWS ON NEWS July 7, 2015
porter BS Rao at a party and ask who he was because his face looked familiar? Was Arun Shourie the first non-journalist to ruin the ploughing of the fourth estate, devastate journalism, ridicule it by practicing it in another format and poison it forever? Great discussion. Did Khwaja Ahmed Abbas actually write the back page column for both Blitz and Current and both the editors never knew he was conning them. Terrific stuff. Things like did Morarji Desai actually address a question by Inder Malhotra at a press conference by saying, if you are the editor of the Times you should know the answer. Humor at best. We could be nicely nasty. Did Khushwant throw out Qurratulain Hyder and Gauri Deshpande be-
RULES OF THE GAME But against this canvas, there were some rules. Cardinal ones. We never sacrificed members of the staff. We stood by them and they were not expendable commodities. We also never took “off the record” lightly and conned our sources or ever gave them up because it was convenient. We did not cross the line. I remember being dispatched by editor of Sunday Standard in 1980 to run the Ahmedabad edition. In my undergrad excitement I decided to conduct an ad campaign of no great brilliance when compared to today’s assaults by releasing home ads on “Being Ahead of the Times”. Chuffed with pride I still felt a bit tacky. Surely we can take on the competition without being personal. The novelty wore off and the Times rose above my pathetic .22 calibre shot across their bows. And I learned a valuable lesson. You never get personal. And you don’t recognize the Opposition by disguising it thinly and then whacking it. And even though I have practiced my art and craft largely outside the country these past 30 years I was a recipient this week of some ugly e-mail about two people who are in the limelight. BELOW-THE-BELT ATTACKS I have never met Barkha Dutt (at least I think I haven’t) but the cowardly, mean-spirited contents left me awed. What business is it of anybody’s
Our wars were simple. Whether we liked Kuldip Nayar’s writing or not. Did Mulgaonkar actually meet his Chief Reporter BS Rao at a party and ask who he was because his face looked familiar‌. whom she is married to and why is such a horrendous malice not countered by the fraternity? Do people actually enjoy the discomfort of their colleagues, does it make them feel good that one of them has been smote by the sharp edge of a sword dipped in hate? The second article (muck, actually) is about Arnab Goswami. I have no great affection for him as an anchor and I believe he does a great disservice every night by taking serious, relevant and valid issues and then by deliberately straining them through the sieve of white noise, trivializing everything. He also seems to have reduced 1.2 billion opinions into a 20 people zip file so fine, if he gets on your nerves as he does mine, switch off your TV. But to engage in scurrilous writings and innuendo and dispatch them via mobile services is criminal. It has to be another journalist and I am offended to be a recipient. And I am in Delhi these days and I see several repeats of an ad campaign by a channel as sober as NDTV clearly attacking Goswami. You have to possess a two digit IQ not to figure it out. It is in screaming bad taste and actually should make NDTV red in the face. Try crimson. Makes my sortie thirty years ago seem like small beer. Trapped a couple of times in the white noise on TV, I watch a couple of journalists labeled Sr (I assume means senior) in the voluntary captivity of a Goswami pigeonhole. Sometimes they are called editors. And I shudder to think that a profession that once prided itself on being measured by what it wrote is now so desperate for a spot in the limelight even if it is sour and rancid. The lure of TV is so overwhelming that these
people raise their hands to become cannon fodder for this travesty. And they have the nerve to call themselves editors and lead teams of journalists to new frontiers. We used to mock journalists who jumped the fence and became PRs. If someone turned political we laughed out loud. If he or she became a party hack that was the pits, sell baby powder instead. But so fallow is the fourth estate and so weak and febrile its leaders that the green eyed monster has a blast. There is a bushel of envy to choose from. I turn to social sites and newspeople are reaming their own colleagues in public forums for slights, real and imagined. I google the list of famous journalists in India today and their names are linked to self propulsion, the singer is more important than the song. And hostility seems to be the canvas for the barbs. The fact that personal attacks are now a norm is a blot on all those who call themselves journalists. Sad. Very sad. Track the trail and it leads to mediocrity and the fear of being found out. After all, most editors sold their souls to the company store for shekels and now cower behind the security of survival at all costs. None of which is permission for the dog-eatdog dictate that so obviously manifests itself. What happened to us... and when?
THE LEGENDS In the sixties the icons to look up to were journalists like Frank Moraes (top) and Khushwant Singh (above)
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Society
Changing Mores
NEWS FEED
In the film Piku, the father’s progressive stance, despite his idiosyncracies made a mark
BOLD I MOVES
Recent films have showcased a growing acceptance of hitherto tabooed subjects BY ROSHNI SETH 28 VIEWS ON NEWS July 7, 2015
NDIA’S first advertisement featuring LGBT community, for ethnic wear brand Anouk, showing a lesbian couple preparing to meet the parents of one of the partners, is making waves. In a country where homosexuality is illegal and sexuality is not openly discussed, a brand opting for an advertisement based on a lesbian relationship, is a bold move. But if one goes by the reviews, the advertisement seems to be resonating well with people, especially the youth. It is successful in portraying the changing face of Indian society, which is becoming more inclusive and tolerant towards “other choices”. Shoojit Sircar's Piku has been a phenomenal success. Apart from entertaining Indian masses, it has brought into the public domain topics that were taboo in social conversations. The open conversation in Piku on “need-based” sex is also new for the mainstream Hindi cinema. The father in Indian cinema has been traditionally portrayed as being
worried for the daughter’s marriage. Piku’s father is totally indifferent to the loss of his daughter’s virginity and subtly rejects regressive notions about pre-marital sex; at the same time, he is a selfish father, who would not like his daughter to get married as he needs her to be around him. Piku strongly promotes individuality of women. Bhashkor (Amitabh Bachchan) in the film doesn’t like a girl who gives up everything for her husband and child, including his own wife. In one of the scenes in the film, Bhashkor asks his younger brother’s wife why she had not accepted a job offer she had received in her earlier days. The lady, looks down and mumbles: “Because my salary would have been more than my husband’s.” Bhashkor promptly replies: “So?” Why does a woman have to lurk in the shadows of a man? A lot of men are still not comfortable with their wives earning more than they do because the idea of being the main breadwinners is deeply etched into their minds. The film boldly questions this mindset. Few people argue that Piku is not about feminism but about a father, who is worried about his ailments and wants undivided attention and care from his daughter. Bhashkor preaches women’s independence but practices differently when we learn that Piku’s mother gave up her job to let Bhashkor grow in his career. Notwithstanding the contrary
Cinema has always been a mirror to society. The recent portrayals of feministic and sexual themes suggest that urban Indians today are unburdened by caste and cultural prejudices. view, Piku has definitely managed to pull issues like pre-marital sex out of the taboo list and put them into societal discussions. This is a task well begun. Another short film which has been trending on social media (and reported in VON earlier), My Choice, showcases 99 women and urges the society to let women lead a life of their choice. “To have sex before marriage, to have sex outside of marriage, to not have sex. My choice. To love temporarily, or last forever. My choice. To love a man, or a woman, or both,” these words by Deepika Padukone in the film set it apart from many other similar films on women’s freedom. Recently, a Brooke Bond advertisement campaign also touched upon a taboo subject, “live-in relationships”, stirring up the generation divide. The short film shows that a young boy’s parents, unaware of his current status, talk about getting him married soon, but later they come to know that he has a live-in relationship with a girl for quite some time. The story shows acceptance of the son’s relationship by the parents. Cinema has always been a mirror to society. The recent portrayal of various feministic and sexual themes seems to suggest that urban Indians today are unburdened by caste and cultural expectations. The society today has a more “modern” perspective, and a more mature mentality. The film-makers have judged the changes and are steering away from stereotypes in a bid to make cinema and ad films more relevant to the new-age viewers.
GLASNOST FINALLY The ad for fashion brand Anouk shows acceptance of gay relationships
VIEWS ON NEWS July 7, 2015 29
New Media Instant Articles
FB’S TRUMP CARD Through this new program, publishers can host articles directly onto the website’s servers. But how fair and net neutral would this be? BY ZOYA RASUL
30 VIEWS ON NEWS July 7, 2015
E
VERY time you click on a news article appearing in your Facebook feed, it takes you to its web-link which opens into another window. According to Facebook, articles posted to its site normally take about eight seconds to load on mobile devices. Facebook knows that people don’t like to wait. So it has worked out a solution— Instant Articles. Through this new program, Facebook allows publishers to host their articles directly onto its servers—which will load them phenomenally fast—in less than a sec-
Amitava Sen
ond. Journalists, however, are skeptical about the move. On the surface, it sounds simple and fair. But that may not be so. Interestingly, Facebook announced the launch of Instant Articles on May 12 with nine elite launch partners including The New York Times, The Atlantic, Buzzfeed and National Geographic. To begin with, the terms of the deal look great for all stakeholders—readers, publishers and Facebook. A perfect win-winwin situation. Readers get a never-before experience with the articles loading ten times faster than
Facebook’s Launch Partners for Instant Articles
standard mobile web articles. Publishers will be able to present their articles beautifully, with noninterrupting, remarkable interactivity. Rich media features—full-bleed cover video, audio captions, interactive images and maps, ability to like, share or comment, the option to share it on Twitter and Pinterest—all are bound to enrich user experience. What’s more, publishers can independently measure traffic using third-party tools like comScore. Also, they can run advertisements and keep the revenue or allow Facebook to do so after taking 30 percent of the revenue. As for Facebook, it gets to run the show. It holds all the cards—and that’s where the worry is. “Facebook is so insecure that it wants our business as well,” says Adam Singolda, CEO, Taboola, a content marketing platform, at a conference on Big-Data in New Delhi on May 26. Dan Gillmor, a veteran journalist and social-media watcher tweeted; “Facebook’s Instant Articles will be good for a few media organizations in the short run. But journalism will be far worse off as whole.” This, in essence, is Sectors how most journalists and inFacebook dustry-veterans are viewing Pinterest the development.
Facebook will deepen and fortify its hold on users. Tech companies have always vied to be the user’s doorway to the digital world. With Instant Articles, Facebook is doing just that. comes as a package, delivered tidily at the doorstep. As Google used to be a few years ago, now social media—primarily Facebook and Twitter are the new front pages, gateways for news organizations but the stories are no longer threaded in any order. Control over content is further diluted with Instant Articles. If a user reads a NYT story on its website and finds it interesting, he is tempted to click on other suggested stories on the page, thereby rewarding the publisher for great content. But in Instant Articles that choice is reduced to just three and that too at the end of the article, leaving little space for inbound marketing as the user
Shareaholic Social Media Traffic Referrals
MARKET CONTROL Among the notable things that digitization has done to journalism is the unbundling of news stories. News no longer
Change from Sep’14-Dec’14
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New Media Instant Articles
Facebook Page Likes (in Millions) 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
The Times Dainik of India Jagaran
Dainik Bhaskar
The Hindu
Hindustan Navbharat The Indian The New Times Times Express Indian Express
Courtesy: Easymedia.com
is likely to go back to Facebook. If Facebook is giving refreshing design, ad revenue and web traffic analysis to the publisher (apart from instant uploading of articles), what does it gain? The gains, in fact, are huge. It will deepen and fortify its hold on users. Tech companies have always vied to be the user’s doorway to the digital world. With Instant Articles, Facebook is doing just that. News content hence becomes just a means to an end. When a user reads this interactive article on Instant, it is developing a relationship with Facebook primarily and not the publisher. It will further enforce Facebook brand loyalty for bringing quality content. Whether publishers will gain loyalty remains elusive. Many feel that Facebook is too powerful in building audience reach to be ignored. Well, it does play a role but to what extent? An analysis conducted by
FIGHT FOR MARKET Adam Singolda, CEO, Taboola, a content marketing platform
32 VIEWS ON NEWS July 7, 2015
Pew Research Center in 2014 on US Internet traffic to 26 of the most popular news websites showed that direct visitors—those who type the specific URL or have it bookmarked—spend three times (4 min 36 sec) more time as compared to those who reach the site through search engines (1 min 42 sec) and Facebook (1 min 41 sec) on an average. It also deduced that they visit a site three times as often as Facebook or search visitors. These figures go against the notion that Facebook is one magical solution to tap loyal users.
WHITHER EQUALITY? One of the cornerstones of Internet has been equality. It is about equal opportunity without gatekeepers. But with this program, publishers will be categorized—those who share their content through Instant and those who don’t. The idea that anybody who has a story to tell and a mouse is a publisher goes for a toss as now, there are a selected few outlets who are in partnership with Facebook. It is pertinent to add that the huge uproar on net neutrality is precisely this—the issue of equality and fair play. There are many more what-ifs to this. Whatever we see in our feed is tailored by an algorithm, predicting what we might be interested in seeing. What if Facebook tweaks its mysterious algorithm (which it has said it will not) to propel Instant Articles’ reach? What if it changes the rule of the deal on revenue sharing? Indeed, this is a scary scenario for news organizations. As of now, Instant Articles is available on Facebook’s iPhone mobile app only, but an android version is coming. With that, its reach and impact will surely grow manifold. It will be interesting to see how news organizations will react.
Web Crawler Zoya Rasul
Google’s Goof-Up On Modi
GOOGLE IS undisputedly the all-knowing techgod many swear by. And when the god goes wrong, sparks are bound to fly. When #top10criminals emerged as the top national trend for showing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s picture in the image search result for the same keywords, alongside notorious criminals
Fans Want Zayn Back AT 22, ZAYN MALIK, one of the five members of the successful pop band, One Direction, has the fan following to create a Twitter blizzard even with a whiff of rumors. On March 25, Zayn walked out of the boy band after five years, saying he wants to be “a normal 22year-old”. The news sparked more than 4,600 tweets a minute on Twitter, with crazy fans trending selfharm hashtags and pictures of slashed arms, imploring him to stay with the band. While the hysteria managed to subside, his fandom has gone agog yet again. #zayniscomingback trended worldwide on the heels of the news that the star’s bio has allegedly re-appeared on One Direction’s official
website and a post about his exit was removed from the Facebook page. Emotions ran high, with people hoping rumors to be true indeed. Without any official word from the band or the heartthrob himself, the rumour mill continues to spin, prolonging the anxiety for millions of Zayn’s fans.
like Dawood Ibrahim and Osama Bin Laden, Google was instantly turned into a demon by the politician’s fan club on Twitter. An apology by Google followed: “These results trouble us and are not reflective of the opinions of Google.... Sometimes, the way images are described on the Internet can yield surprising results to specific queries. We apologize for any confusion or misunderstanding this has caused. We’re continually working to improve our algorithms to prevent unexpected results like this.” Congress’s Digvijaya Singh tweeted: “Team Modi how did you allow this? Or has it been done by frustrated elements turned rogue of Team Modi? As an Indian to find my PM's name in the top 10 criminals list is a matter of national shame. I hang my head in utter shame. I certainly do protest though there may be an element of truth in this.”
Rathore’s Faux Pas THE INDIAN ARMY’s retributive strike on the Myanmarbased militant group responsible for the deadly June 4 Manipur attack was a perfect tip-off for many who wear nationalism as a shiny sash. The army’s endeavors spiraled into a political squall and an Indo-Pak squabble, more than anything else. The trigger was the statement to the press and subsequent tweets by Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore. Making an otherwise covert military operation overt, the minister tweeted at #ManipurRevenge and hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “massive political will” as the anchor of the operation. The conversation hence moved from the army’s valor and the government’s line on
terrorism to needless chestthumping and diplomacy breach. What left the social media ablaze was the indication that the operation had a message for Pakistan, followed by some zealous replies from Pakistani officials and ex-President Pervez Musharraf. Myanmar’s flip-flop on whether the operation was carried out on their soil or the Indo-Myanmar border added an extra angle to an already raging twitter-war. With all the perfect ingredients of a palpable debate, the topic ruled social media trends for days. VIEWS ON NEWS
July 7, 2015 33
Focus
Journalist Killing
BRUTAL STATE
Shahjahanpur-based scribe Jagendra Singh’s horrifying death exposes the extent criminals will go to stamp out the truth BY MEHA NATHUR
T
NEWS FEED Jagendra Singh’s Facebook page, Shahjahanpur Samachar
34 VIEWS ON NEWS July 7, 2015
HE nefarious police-politician nexus in Uttar Pradesh came to the fore once again as Jagendra Singh, a journalist making use of social media to expose corruption in the state, was burnt to death. The incident, while highlighting the dismal law and order condition in the state, brought into focus the risks journalists take in small-town India to report their stories. The nonchalance and contempt with which politicians treat ordinary people was underscored when UP Horticulture Minister Parasnath Yadav said: “There are some incidents that happen in the
course of nature and destiny.” Shivpal Yadav, UP PWD Minister and brother of SP leader Mulayam Singh Yadav, said the accused won’t be asked to vacate his post. It is learnt that Singh had been posting stories against Ram Murti Singh Verma, UP’s minister of state for backward class welfare. Landgrabbing and gang-rape were some charges that he had leveled in these stories, posted on his Facebook page, Shahjahanpur Samachar. One such story was posted on April 18. Ten days later, as Singh was heading home, a few bikers attacked him and fractured his leg. Undeterred, Singh posted another story on May 7, leveling the land grabbing charge. To intimidate Singh,
a case of kidnapping, attempt to murder and loot was filed against him. On May 28, Singh again wrote about Verma’s involvement in a gang-rape case. On June 1, he was fatally attacked at his home. Preliminary reports claimed that when the police reached Singh’s home for probing the charges against him, he panicked, locked himself and set himself afire. The police rushed him to the District Hospital. When his condition deteriorated, he was rushed to the Civil Hospital, Lucknow. In his statement from the hospital bed, Singh accused Verma. In a distinctly audible voice, he said: “I recognized everyone. The Kotwal of Kotwali thana Shri Prakash Rai beat me mercilessly with his lathi. He had about half a liter petrol, which he poured on my head, and lit fire.” The attackers took him to the District Hospital, and vanished from site. Amitabh Thakur, IG, says that in view of the fact that Singh is dead, this should be treated as his dying statement. Prima facie, this should also act as evidence. Journalist Govind Pant Raju, appearing on VON’s sister channel APN, dismissed the original theory of Singh committing suicide to evade police. He said: “I know how difficult it is for journalists to work in districts. Still, if a journalist, through social media, exposes wrongdoings of politicians he can’t be so weak that he sets himself afire on seeing the police, as is being claimed.” ROUTINE CLAMOR Singh breathed his last in the Lucknow hospital on June 8, a week after the attack. Political parties have been swift to capitalize on the issue. IP Singh, BJP spokesperson, blamed the episode on the fatherson duo running the state. “The state is burning and the ministers are out to loot,” he said. The Congress demanded compensation for the family, sacking of Verma and the concerned police officers. At the same time, the police, fearing political pressure and
also because their own colleagues are involved, decided to go slow. A Satish Ganesh, IG, law and order, said: “I, on behalf of the police force and DGP, pray for the peace of his soul.” There were also threats to the family. Singh’s son Rahul informed APN: “When lady inspector Seema Singh came, I was sitting there, so was my mother. Seema Singh said that what happened was bad, that father can’t be brought back. And those who are ‘jumping around you will not be there for you after some time, they won’t help you even with Rs 10. So it’s better, to think hard before taking any step’.” The family refused to cremate Singh until an FIR was registered. Thakur told APN that he sought an assurance from SP, Bablu Kumar, that speedy action would be taken. The family went ahead with the cremation only after that assurance. An FIR has been registered against Verma, his four associates and four policemen. Bablu Kumar said that a team had been constituted to conduct investigations. A forensic team had already collected samples from the spot. Proceedings will be recorded on video. One thing that emerges out of the episode is the level to which social media has penetrated smalltown India. Singh was using the Facebook page as a media platform, and his reportage was perceived as a threat to those in power. But can these stories from these towns and villages have a pan-India audience, until such tragedies strike?
The incident, while highlighting the dismal law and order condition in the state, brings into focus the risks journalists take in small-town India to honestly report their stories.
VIEWS ON NEWS
July 7, 2015 35
DATE 6/6/15
8/6/15
8/6/15
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11/6/15
11/6/15
12/6/15
12/6/15
NEWS
NEWS
CHANNEL TIME
Land transfer agreement with Bangladesh during PM’s visit to the country; Bangladesh to get 111 Indian villages; India to get 51 Bangla villages.
3.52 PM
KV Chowdary appointed new Chief Vigilance Commissioner. The post was vacant for nine months. Vijai Sharma is the new Chief Information Commissioner.
3.38 PM
3.38 PM
Nitish declared chief ministerial candidate for the JDU-RJD combine in Bihar. Lalu Yadav warns communal forces that the combine will stop them in the tracks.
2.12 PM
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3.53 PM
Prime Minister had given green signal to Indian Army’s operation in Myanmar just after his return from Bangladesh; had called upon soldiers to crush insurgents.
4.46 PM
4.47 PM
Saket court rejects Jitendra Tomar’s bail application. The law minister in Delhi’s AAP government had faked his educational qualifications.
11:30 AM
11:31 AM
Delhi Police arrests singer Mika Singh; accused of beating up a doctor; Charges framed under Sections 323, 326 and 327 of the Indian Penal Code.
4:00 PM
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2.16 PM
11:31 AM
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Bus carrying a marriage party comes in contact with live wire in Rajasthan; 25 dead.
Rahul Gandhi meets sanitation workers of East Delhi’s Corporation; employees on strike because of non-payment of wages; East Delhi streets stink with garbage.
36 VIEWS ON NEWS July 7, 2015
4.19 PM
4.19 PM
10.45 AM
10.45 AM
Here are some of the major news items aired on television channels, recorded by our unique 24x7 dedicated media monitoring unit that scrutinizes more than 130 TV channels in different Indian languages and looks at who breaks the news first.
DATE 15/6/15
16/6/15
17/6/15
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NEWS Supreme Court cancels AIPMT exam; directs CBSE to reconduct the exam in four weeks. Large-scale cheating using blue tooth.
NEWS
CHANNEL TIME
11:35 AM
11:36 AM
9:40 AM
9:53 AM
10:00 AM
10:22 A:M
10:23 AM
10:53 A:M
Chidambaram’s scathing attack on Sushma Swaraj over Lalit Modi controversy in a press conference. Asks government, why is it not bringing the former BCCI chief back.
5:08 PM
5:10 PM
5:12 PM
5:13 PM
Advani says emergency can’t be ruled out. In an interview to Indian Express he says: “...the forces that can crush democracy… are stronger.”
9:30 A:M
10:08 A:M
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10:13 A:M
11.36 AM
11.37 AM
10:37 AM
11:00 AM
11:04 AM
11:22 AM
10:19 AM
11:32 AM
1:34 PM
11:36 AM
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Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt applies for parole once again.
Delhi police to file a charge sheet against 21 MLAs in 24 different cases; chargesheet possible against Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia too.
Saif appears at Quila court for hearing in a matter of brawl with an NRI.
Rajnath Singh meets Narendra Modi at PM House, discusses Aadhar Yojana.
Minor lovers insulted by panchayat in Gorakhpur, Police remain mute spectator
VIEWS ON NEWS
July 7, 2015 37
Hype
Maggi Controversy
NOT A HEALTHY MIX
Media coverage of Nestle’s noodles’ recall had a heavy serving of superficial issues like brands and celebrity endorsements; the main question of food safety wasn’t the key ingredient of panel discussions BY DINESH C SHARMA
I
NDIA is currently witnessing perhaps its worst-ever food scandal. The Maggi affair has not only hit Nestle but the entire processed food industry. The proportion and gravity of the Maggi food scandal is now in the same category as some of the worst food controversies of recent times—baby food scandal of China where toxic industrial chemical melamine was found in milk powder (2008); European horsemeat scandal which led to the recall of millions of burgers that contained
38 VIEWS ON NEWS July 7, 2015
horsemeat instead of beef (2013); E.coli outbreak in Europe due to contaminated sprouts (2011) and the Mad Cow Disease outbreak in 1990s. India too has had scandals like pesticide in colas and bottled water and wormin-chocolate, but they remained confined to respective product categories. The magnitude of the present scandal is huge. Nestle has had to recall all variants of its noodle brands from the market and destroy stocks available in factories and depots, costing it a total of `320 crore. It had interna-
ENDORSE AT YOUR OWN RISK (Facing page and left) Madhuri Dixit faced the heat for featuring in Maggi ads
tional ramifications too, as food regulators from several countries, including the US, Singapore, Australia are testing noodle imported from India for lead content. Nestle’s stocks have plummeted following the crisis, as it could suffer erosion of its brand in case of other popular product categories as well. Meanwhile major players in the ready-to-eat segment in India— Hindustan Unilever and ITC—have withdrawn their products from the market or have changed labeling to reflect correct ingredients. MEDIA INTEREST The noodle affair has generated unprecedented interest in the Indian media—print, television, online and social media platforms. A search for “Maggi” on Google News throws up a whopping 4.1 million results in less than half a second. The two-minute noodle brand managed to remain in headlines for almost two weeks, and continues to generate follow-up stories in print and on television. The reasons for such a huge interest are many. The brand involved was very popular and it belonged to a leading food giant. Its visibility was ubiquitous—on store shelves, roadside vendor carts,
The coverage of food safety in India is largely “episodic”, with stories on synthetic milk, adulteration of street food, and food poisoning appearing, as and when disaster strikes. point-of-sale publicity, hoardings and of course, in television commercials featuring Bollywood stars (Madhuri Dixit, Amitabh Bachchan and Priety Zinta). Second, the charge against the noodle brand came from a government agency, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and not from action groups like the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). Third, social media played a role in amplifying the controversy unlike in the case of past food scandals. Moreover, the brand was something which editors and journalists in newsrooms could relate to unlike, say, adulterated milk or khoya. . The story first broke in newspapers in Uttar Pradesh, mostly in Hindi dailies. Amar Ujala carried a three-paragraph story on May 6, saying that samples of Maggi picked up by food safety officials VIEWS ON NEWS
July 7, 2015 39
Hype
Maggi Controversy
in Barabanki had been found to contain dangerous levels of MSG which could be harmful to children. The report said the Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA) had banned sale of one particular batch of noodles in the state. The Times of India, Lucknow, did a follow-up report three weeks later. The New Delhi edition of TOI also did a 250-word story, based on the Lucknow edition story. Mail Today followed it up and splashed it on the front page. This was soon lapped up by television channels. It is interesting how the story had to travel from Barabanki to Delhi in order to grab national attention.
ERODING CONSUMER FOLLOWING Kids who couldn’t do without Maggi, say “No” to the brand
40 VIEWS ON NEWS July 7, 2015
SPICED UP AND CONFUSING The overall tone of TV coverage was sensational. News reports began by carrying spot news from Uttar Pradesh and subsequently broadened the scope to footage coming from different states. All the state reports were identical—reporters doing walk-ins in food stores, holding packets of Maggie and talking to odd customers or Maggi fans. Bytes of food safety of-
ficers, consumer rights experts and health experts were limited. The sketchy reports were often followed by in-studio discussions on almost all channels. Studio guests on TV channels included advertising and public relations gurus, image experts, minor celebrities (as a proxy for real endorsers), celebrity dieticians and consumer rights activists (it seems India has very few of them, if one goes by those appearing on TV). Missing from the studios were nutrition scientists, food quality and standards experts, consumer affairs experts and specialists in toxic heavy metals. TV discussions largely veered round themes like brand building and trust (“how can a multinational like Nestle to do this?”), shooting the messenger approach (“how can you trust results of Indian food testing labs, they are so pathetic?”), extrapolation to other food safety issues (“In country where you can mix urea in milk and use sewage water in gol gappas, you are questioning hygienically packaged product like Maggi!”) and indemnity of celebrities. Some anchors and newsreaders, in their early 20s and 30s, narrated their personal experience with the brand and described how they have grown up with it. These discussions left out main issues that the noodles episode has brought into focus—food safety, food regulation, food labeling, heavy metal contamination, misleading ads, and health impact of processed and ultra processed food, as well as contaminants like lead and MSG. Besides studio discussions and random reports based on food store visits, no channel tried to do an indepth report on the status of food safety and food regulation in the country or past experience with food safety issues. Newspaper reporting on the affair was less sensational, but this too was heavy on the side of opinion rather than facts. Initially, busi-
ness papers played down the controversy and projected Nestle’s clarification. They also focused on damage to the brand and how Nestle could have salvaged the situation. The coverage picked up after FSSAI ordered the recall and Nestle’s global CEO Paul Bulcke flew in for firefighting. Some stories were clearly aimed at helping the company save its image, with headlines like “Maggi Fails in Lax India, Passes in Strict Singapore”. After the recall, The Economic Times argued that “if regulators become concerned when public health gets jeopardized by consuming food that’s unsafe, then most foods being sold in our neighborhoods would have been blacklisted by now”. The article titled “Is Banning Maggi The Only Solution for India?” also claimed: “Our children fall sick by contaminated food served in state sponsored mid day meal programmes, and yet, there is a sense of euphoria as the state and central machinery are working overtime to prove that Maggi is not what it is meant to be.” This news piece was accompanied by another titled “Nestle’s Goal 2020 Packed with Health; Pledges to Follow 38 Commandments”. It read like a desperate piece of PR by Nestle but was on editorial pages of the pink newspaper,. BIG PICTURE The coverage of food safety in India is largely “episodic”, with stories on synthetic milk, adulteration of street food, and food poisoning appearing, as and when disaster strikes. This is the case despite the fact that food and food processing industry are widely covered in various forms. We have dedicated food channels and food columns, with some publications also having the post of food editors. Yet, media houses don’t have correspondents and editors to cover food safety issues. This was amply demonstrated in the present case. Many journalists did not even know that India does not have an FDA—in its place we have FSSAI—and that there is a food safety law. While the focus was on MSG and celebrity endorsement—these being familiar subjects—the serious issue of heavy metal contam-
A search for “Maggi” on Google News throws up a whopping 4.1 million results in less than half a second. The two-minute noodle brand remained in headlines for almost two weeks. ination was barely discussed. Media houses also don’t have dedicated correspondents to cover consumer rights as a full-time beat (some in Delhi may be covering the Ministry of Consumer Affairs). Overall, media expertise in covering issues relating to health, nutrition, medicine and science is lacking. There are also doubts regarding how media covers stories involving advertisers like Nestle, given the fact that some media houses have “private treaties” with advertisers and a system for “paid news”. Agencies like FSSAI, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, are also to blame for ill-informed or poor coverage of critical issues because they make no effort to reach out to public or engage with media on a regular basis. FSSAI and state food safety commissioners need to make their functioning transparent and engage with media and public proactively. Hopefully, Maggi recall will become a turning point for both media and food safety agencies.
SCRATCH THE SURFACE Need of the hour is to highlight serious food safety issues
—The writer is Fellow, Centre for Media Studies, New Delhi VIEWS ON NEWS
July 7, 2015 41
Governance Hawk Eye Modi’s Remarks
NO SO TWEET ON P FOREIGN TURF
Modi’s gaffes sometimes show his diplomatic naivety in conducting himself on foreign missions BY AASHA KHOSA
RIME Minister Narendra Modi’s otherwise spectacular visit to Dhaka ended on a distasteful note. Soon after winning accolades for scripting a bold agreement that would end the 40-year-old border dispute with Bangladesh and the misery of about 50,000 stateless people living on the border, Modi faced flak for his yet another indiscreet remark— this time about his host, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. It was during a function at the University of Dhaka that Modi tripped on diplomatic niceties by making these remarks: “Everyone knows how to fight a war, how to fight an enemy…How to fight terrorism, nobody knows....It is a happy moment for me that the Bangladesh prime minister, in spite of being a woman, is fearlessly declaring zero tolerance towards terrorism.’’ India’s premier thus chose to speak of the two-time prime minister of Bangladesh, who had repeatedly pulled her nation out of bigotry and religious fundamentalism.
FACING FLAK Modi betrayed what critics called a “chauvinistic” attitude. This time, the selfie-loving and Twitterhappy Modi had to pay a price. His remarks triggered outrage. Netizens wondered if women leaders are to be normally taken as weak-kneed. Trends condemning Modi’s remarks ruled 42 VIEWS ON NEWS July 7, 2015
social media websites, especially at the micro blogging site Twitter, where #DespiteBeingaWoman trended globally for two days. Modi’s Dhaka remarks also put the focus on his relationship with his wife, Jasodaben, and his grounding in the RSS ideology where women are not treated at par with men. By the time Modi was flying home after what was otherwise a historic visit, the focus shifted from the real issues to the prime minister’s remarks on foreign soil. He seems so smitten by his own rhetoric and charm that he forgets diplomatic etiquette and protocol while abroad. Somehow one gets the feeling that Modi is still in election mode and considers foreign soil as home turf to perform his duty of showing down the opposition. No doubt, Modi has become a one-man army for promoting brand India in the world—in the process rendering his own foreign minster Sushma Swaraj nearly jobless. The first time Modi chose to settle scores abroad with his rivals was in Canada. He spoke about his government’s efforts at “removing the dirt accumulated by the previous governments”—something that saw red faces in both the Congress and the BJP. The rousing receptions by NRIs probably made Modi notice his own power and charisma, and he got into trashing everything that happened before his advent on the scene. HITTING NATIONAL PRIDE However, in Shanghai, China, Modi rubbed many on the wrong side. His remarks that Indians were once ashamed of their country and wanted to leave, angered many. “There was a time when people used to say ‘we don't know what sins we committed in our past life that we were born in (India)’,’’ he said in Seoul, the capital of new-age technology in Asia, citing reasons for the flight of NRIs and talent from India. Though this was Modi’s way of promoting brand India and seeking investments, his comments
By the time, Modi was flying home after what was otherwise a historic visit, the focus shifted from the real issues and achievements to the prime minister’s remarks on foreign soil. bordered on narcissism. Modi is hugely becoming a believer in his own magic and he doesn’t mind flaunting it, though meaninglessly. His remarks led to unprecedented criticism not only amongst his political rivals but even among common folk. Former Jammu & Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah’s reaction on Twitter was sharp: “Born in England, choose to carry an Indian passport & no Mr PM I’ve never been embarrassed to show my passport anywhere, ever.” Modi’s China visit was the most important of all his foreign visits, for he was engaging with a nation the world loves to compare India with. He was required to focus on bilateral ties. However, he was unable to resist the temptation of falling for his image again. His one-liners were meant for his political rivals at home. “I am finishing work not done in the past 30 years,” he said. As if this was not enough, he chose to throw some of his barbs at Congress’s Rahul Gandhi from China: “For the last one year, I have not taken even one day’s leave. I have worked day and night. Did I go on any vacation? Do I take rest? Am I not implementing my promise?” What did the Chinese make of this?
OF BARBS & GAFFES (Facing page) Modi with Bangladesh Premier Sheikh Hasina; (Above) Rahul Gandhi was at the receiving end of the PM’s remarks in China
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Governance Focus
Bureaucracy
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N the eve of completing one year in office, Prime Minister Narendra Modi went in for a big administrative reshuffle that included appointment of a new cabinet secretary and secretaries for half-a-dozen key ministries. And the much-anticipated change has the clear stamp of prime minister’s office (PMO), which has now become a trend. Modi played safe in choosing Power Secretary Dr Pradeep Kumar Sinha and giving him the charge as cabinet secretary. Sinha is a UP-cadre IAS officer from 1977 batch. In doing so, the
RESHUFFLE SAGA The recent shake-up of babus became the talk of the town. While the new principal secretary earned the coveted post on merit, many others might have been replaced for falling foul with political masters BY VON TEAM
44 VIEWS ON NEWS July 7, 2015
prime minister scotched all speculations in the corridors of power that a much junior Gujarat cadre IAS officer, Rita A Teaotia, of 1981 batch would be preferred. Sinha, who was scheduled to retire on July 18, this year, would now get a two-year tenure, as per the cabinet secretary post mandate. His elevation also shows that bureaucrats from the Uttar Pradesh (UP) cadre still dominate the central bureaucracy. The retiring Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth (1974 batch) also belongs to the UP cadre. Modi may have gone by the rule book in opt-
ing for Sinha, but sources say that Principal Secretary Nripendra Mishra (considered the most powerful bureaucrat in the Modi government) played a pivotal role in Sinha’s appointment. Mishra, a retired IAS officer of 1967 batch, too, belongs to the UP cadre.
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post-graduate in economics, Sinha has also done masters in social science. He started his career as a bureaucrat in 1979, as assistant collector of Allahabad and held several key posts in UP. Although he served the state under different political dispensations, it is believed that he never curried favor with any particular party in power. Sinha also has had a long stint with the central government. Prior to his appointment as secretary, power, he was secretary in the Ministry of Shipping. He had a long and distinguished tenure at the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, as
The transfer of civil aviation secretary V Somasundaran as secretary in the Ministry of Women and Child Development created quite a buzz in the corridors of power. joint secretary and financial advisor, additional secretary & financial advisor, and special secretary and financial advisor. Besides Sinha’s appointment, several other transfers in important ministries like civil aviation and human resource development have become the topic of discussion among babudom. The most talked about is the shifting of civil aviation secretary V Somasundaran, a 1979 batch IAS officer of Kerala cadre, as secretary to the Ministry of Women and Child Development. His transfer came in less than seven months.
TEAM SELECTION (Facing page) The reshuffle had the imprint of Modi (From left) Principal Secretary Nripendra Mishra; Pradeep Kumar Sinha, the new cabinet secretary
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Governance Focus
Bureaucracy
Who Moved Where
V Somasundaran (1979 batch, Kerala cadre), as secretary in the Ministry of Women and Child Development. Vinay Sheel Oberoi (1979 batch, Assam cadre), as secretary, Department of Higher Education under the HRD ministry. Satyanarayan Mohanty (1980 batch, Telangana cadre), as secretary General, National Human Rights Commission. Dr Anup K Pujari (1980 batch, Karnataka cadre) as secretary in the MSME ministry. Rajiv Nayan Choubey (1981 batch, Tamil Nadu cadre) as civil aviation secretary. Rita A Teaotia (1981 batch, Gujarat cadre) as
commerce secretary. Pradeep Kumar Pujari (1981 batch, Gujarat cadre), secretary, power ministry. Ameising Luikham (1981 batch, Manipur cadre) as secretary, Department of Public Enterprises. Balvender Kumar (1981 batch, UP cadre) as secretary, mines. Shashi Shekhar (1981 batch, Tamil Nadu cadre) as secretary, Ministry of Water Resources. Anuj Kumar Bishnoi (1981 batch, UP cadre) as secretary, Department of Fertilizer. Dr Subhas Chandra Khuntia (1981 batch, Karnataka cadre) as secretary, Department of
School Education and Literacy in the HRD ministry. Vrinda Sarup (1981 batch, UP cadre), as secretary, Department of Food and Public Distribution. Devendra Chaudhary, (1981 batch, UP cadre), as secretary in the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances. Sunil Soni (1981 batch, Maharashtra cadre), as secretary, Inter State Council Secretariat. Anil Kumar Agarwal (1981 batch, West Bengal cadre), as secretary, The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs. CR Viswanath (1981 batch, AP cadre), secretary in the Department of Consumer Affairs.
quently cancelled without citing any reason. However, it is believed that since Choubey was due for promotion to the rank of secretary, his appointment would have made the PMO top heavy. But there was no doubt that he would get a plum assignment at an opportune time.
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SHOWN THE DOOR Vrinda Sarup and V Somasundaran
He was appointed on August 30, 2014. It is being said that he was not getting along well with his boss, Ashok Gajapathi Raju, the civil aviation minister. It seems that even Modi was not happy with his performance. Somasundaran’s replacement with Rajiv Nayan Choubey (1981 batch, Tamil Nadu cadre) as the new civil aviation secretary does indicate that the PM was not impressed with him and wanted to replace him with an officer whom he could bank upon. This is significant for turning around one of the key ministries concerned with transportation and infrastructure. In June last year, Choubey was appointed in the PMO as additional secretary which was subse-
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he transfer of two bureaucrats in the HRD ministry, headed by Smriti Irani have left everyone guessing. Subhash Chandra Khuntia, a 1981-batch Karnataka cadre IAS officer replaced Vrinda Sarup, a 1981-batch officer of UP cadre, as secretary in the HRD ministry’s Department of School Education and Literacy. It is being said that Sarup, who was posted to the department barely five months ago was not in good terms with Irani. She has now been posted as secretary, Department of Food and Public Distribution. Similarly, higher education secretary Satyanarayan Mohanty (1980-batch, Telangana cadre) was replaced by Vinay Sheel Oberoi (1979 batch, Arunachal-Manipur cadre). Mohanty, brought to the HRD ministry only five months ago, is the new secretary-general of the National Human Rights Commission.
Governance
Transport policy Mumbai
Maximum City, Maximum Chaos Lack of basic facilities like proper pavements and bureaucratic inertia against encroachers have triggered mayhem on Mumbai’s roads BY VIDYADHAR DATE
WHAT A MESS
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(Left) A traffic junction in Mumbai; (Below) The BEST bus service barely manages to ease road congestion
FTER years of public protests, an illegal ramp built by film star Shahrukh Khan outside his luxurious mansion at Bandra Bandstand in Mumbai was demolished by the municipal corporation in February. While the action is laudable, the delay points to the mess prevalent in the governance of urban transport. Let’s look at some more examples from Mumbai. The hideously expensive new monorail project has been a flop and the Metro III urban rail project threatens to demolish hundreds of houses and uproot trees. The scenario is bleak. Authorities are obsessed with imposing hi-tech and expensive transport projects. They seem to have little interest in offering VIEWS ON NEWS
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Governance
Transport policy Mumbai
CONTROLLING CHAOS (Above) The expensive monorail project that has been a flop; (right) a skywalk in Santa Cruz
simple, low-cost solutions to cater to people’s basic needs. In the case of Shahrukh Khan, the authorities acted only because BJP MP Poonam Mahajan took up the issue. The media glare prompted the actor to reimburse the Rs two lakh incurred by authorities while demolishing the ramp. The actor was using the ramp to park his huge vanity van. Instead of taking timely action against the encroachment, for the last several years the police would block the adjoining road used by thousands of pilgrims to visit the famous Mount Mary church. TARDY RESPONSE This is the case for most ramps outside countless buildings in the country, where they extend to the road outside, obstructing the footpath and denying pedestrians right of passage. Authorities have simply looked the other way instead of tackling these obstructions through proper enforcement. Politicians like Poonam Mahajan who rush to grab the limelight when it’s a high-profile case like that of Shahrukh Khan, look askance at other cases. So while the municipal corporation was eventually forced to act against Shahrukh Khan, it criminally fails in other cases. Like Mahajan, her predecessor Priya Dutt, too failed to take up the issue. There is no footpath on Nargis Dutt Road on Pali Hill, named after her late mother.
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Yet these lacunae have not stopped the Maharashtra government from asking Rs 100 crore from Bloomberg Foundation of New York for organizing road safety in Mumbai. Road safety requires commitment from the government, not funds from abroad. I have been walking in front of the Mantralaya, the state government headquarters, for the last 30 years as a journalist. Crossing the road there is replete with peril as policemen take no action against offending motorists. This, despite the fact that two former cabinet secretaries, BG Deshmukh and S Rajgopal, used to live across the road and several bureaucrats and ministers continue living in the vicinity. If there can be a complete breakdown of law and order in front of the Mantralaya, what can one expect elsewhere? LITTLE AWARENESS The urban transport sector in India is beset with basic problems of governance. Except for a few of-
In the case of Shahrukh Khan, the authorities demolished the illegal ramp outside his house only because BJP MP Poonam Mahajan took up the issue that had a huge publicity potential. fun, play games or dance on the street. Though the effort at having group fun is laudable, it is a case of upper class assertion of their claim to the street. The Equal Streets scheme will make sense when common citizens get equal access to roads and the monopoly of the motorist lobby is curbed.
ficials in the ministry, there is little awareness at the bureaucratic level about the need for promoting public transport, discouraging private motor cars and providing safety. Even the responsibility of safety of children is placed by the ruling class on the poor children themselves and not on the motorists. The authorities eat out of the hands of the automobile lobby, so nothing is ever done against them. The right to road is interpreted differently at different times by people. Recently, on Linking Road in Bandra West, as part of an Equal Streets campaign organized by an international NGO, poor children from a primary school carried placards urging the use of skywalks or footpaths. In reality, the footpaths don’t exist at most places, and the skywalks are ugly and a waste of expenditure. Ironically, every Sunday morning, half the width of the main road in the upper class suburbs of Bandra, Khar and Santa Cruz West is closed to vehicular traffic and people can walk freely, have
THE REAL PICTURE Though Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has tried to curb parking on streets and levied fees on motorists for parking cars near their houses, he had to yield as the rich were up in arms. The affluent, owning huge houses in Churchgate and Marine Drive, did not want to pay paltry amounts for parking in public spaces. I have been attending the Urban Mobility Conference of the government in Delhi for the last five years and it is clear that while proper noises are made on the dais, little change is taking place on the streets. On a positive note, however, the government is now accepting that public transport has to be given priority. But in practice, common people, buses and non-motorized transport get marginalized, while private car owners get priority in total violation of the National Urban Transport Policy. All this talk of smart cities and seamless transport is an eyewash. This is shamefully evident in the deterioration of the BEST undertaking, once a premier body in the country. It has failed to even operate the electronic system displaying the route and number on buses and has failed to handle it manually as well. Bus numbers are scribbled in chalk below the windshield. Surely, we can do better. VIEWS ON NEWS
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Governance Spotlight
Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan
Broom Work By Babus After yoga, government officers were busy cleaning their offices, even as garbage piled up on Delhi roads had not been cleared BY ROSHNI SETH
CLEANING THE MESS Government officers on the cleanliness drive
Interestingly, when the Prime Minister launched Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan, it was lauded by all. When Arvind Kejirwal won with a huge mandate in Delhi, hopes for a clean Delhi were again rekindled, since his party has the broom as its election symbol.
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S the world celebrated International Yoga Day on June 21, the companies manufacturing yoga mats did brisk business. The government machinery came almost to a halt in preparation for the yoga day, with the Prime Minister taking personal interest in the event. Senior bureaucrats ensured that they practiced their bends and stretches, putting on the back-burner many key and important decisions facing the nation. However, after the yoga day, there was no time to lose for the government babus. Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth, on the last leg of his extended career, wrote to all ministries and departments of the government that there was need to give a boost to the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan, especially inside the premises of government offices. He felt that it was of prime importance that the government offices were seen as well-maintained and clean at all times. So he put emphasis for a renewed attention on the upkeep and cleaning of all offices and disposal of unusable files and papers, especially old files and records. The cleanliness drive was observed for a week from June 22-26 in all government offices. Seth asked for a report of all the activities done during the cleanliness week by June 29.
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STRIKE CALL However, the joy was short-lived as a few days ago, thousands of safai karmacharis who were not paid their salaries, went on a strike in Delhi. Protesting workers refused to pick up trash and left the capital drowning in garbage. Although the strike was called off, the situation is still horrifying and thousands of tons of garbage is piling up in different parts of the city. Ironically, the government’s cleanliness drive coincided with the World Health Organization study which proclaimed Delhi as the most polluted city in the world. The air pollution in urban areas has reached alarming levels and raises severe health concerns. It clearly establishes government failure in this regard and one wonders why clean air has never been the priority of any government. Interestingly, though the central government has been hiring expensive professional agencies for the Swachh Bharat campaign, it has no money to pay salaries to the safai karamcharis. The BJP and AAP have been pointing fingers at each other but one wonders if the governments, across political parties, would ever join hands to ensure people don't have to breathe poison or live in garbage. Swachh Bharat has started on a high note, but cleaning up the country and focusing on air pollution as well, is serious business. The way the issue has been tackled so far, it may remain an empty promise. While numerous officers cribbed on being forced to do yoga and then get on with the cleanliness drive, the people of the country were left wondering what the next jumla would be.
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