The Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday issued a statement, calling the reports in the Chinese state media that has attributed statements to NSA Ajit Doval as ‘false’.
The Ministry further urged the media to refrain from such “speculative reporting”.
“We have seen reports in Chinese state media, including in China Daily and Huanqiu Shibao (Global Times), which had attributed some comments to NSA Ajit Doval. These reports are completely false and are not based on facts. We urge the media to refrain from such speculative reporting,” the statement from the MEA read.
The statement was presumably in response to an editorial published in the China Daily dated September 3, 2020, which said that NSA Ajit Doval had said that “Indian Army is ready for a long-drawn standoff with China”.
Chinese PLA troops fire warning shots after being repelled by Indian Army in India’s Ladakh
The clarification issued by the MEA came against the backdrop of the ongoing border standoff between China and India along the Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh. Last night, the Chinese PLA troops’ attempt to unilaterally alter their tactical inferiority in the Southern Bank of the Pangong Tso Lake were deterred by the Indian forces perched at the strategic heights, keeping a strict vigil on the devious Chinese manoeuvres.
Chinese forces had then attempted to intimidate the Indian Forces by firing warning shots in the air. But, on the predictable lines, the Chinese propaganda machinery swung into action, blaming the Indian Forces for the transgression of the Line of Actual Control and opening fire in the air.
In its statement, the Ministry of External Affairs had stated that it was China’s PLA troops, who were trying to close-in on one of the Army’s forward positions along the LAC and when dissuaded by the Indian forces, they resorted to firing in the air, so as to intimidate the Indian Army personnel.
“At no stage has the Indian Army transgressed across the LAC or resorted to using of any aggressive means, including firing,” the statement said.
In a series of revelations, Amir Khan’s long-forgotten brother Faisal Khan (known for his movie ‘Mela’) has alleged that he was forcefully given the wrong medication and was kept under house arrest for one year by his family. In an interview given to Bollywood Hungama, the actor who is now making the directorial debut debunked the rumours of his mental illness.
Faisal Khan stated that there was some misinformation regarding the production of his upcoming movie. “I am not associated with Lal Singh Chaddha or Amir Khan Productions as of now. Six years back I had left Amir Khan Production”, he clarified.
Khan rejected the talks around his depression and mental illness as a lie. “I was never depressed or had paranoid schizophrenia”, he said. However, he made some serious allegations against his family. “When my family was under the assumption that I am depressed I have paranoid schizophrenia, they kept me under house arrest for one year. They gave me forceful medication which is not right and it’s illegal”, he revealed. “I was quietly tolerating it all hoping that they will finally understand”, he added.
Faisal Khan said that he had to run away from his house after his family asked him to give up his signatory rights because they thought he was not normal. This was followed by a court case. Khan has further stated that there was a legal battle over his mental fitness and he was deemed normal after an evaluation by JJ Hospital.
In a 2015 interview with Indian Express, Faisal Khan had also stated that he never suffered from mental illness and the court verdict has proven that.
If Sushant had mental illness, he would not have been able to work in films, says Faisal Khan
Speaking about late actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s mysterious death, Khan said, “See, film line and acting are complicated things. If a person is bipolar he won’t b able to act. Because it is a tough job to act before people. But he was doing it well and was giving hit films. I don’t know what the matter is. Things will unfold”. He said that there was nepotism and groupism in the industry which was very bad. “The sad part is that there is groupism and people support their own people. This is ‘Kalyug’ and industry is no different”, he said. However, he also said that people might get their first chance but ultimately they have to prove their mettle else they can’t survive in the industry.
Levelling serious allegation against director and producer Karan Johar, whose name has been associated with nepotism in the industry, Khan said that he was mistreated by Johar on Amir Khan’s 50th Birthday party. “If your are a flop, they dont’t look at you also. They don’t treat you well. This is what happened with me at my brother’s 50th birthday. I was, you know, looked down upon by…I don’t want to take this person’s name. Karan Johar acted weird with me and tried to put me down. He insulted me when I was talking to a person, just trying to connect with the person.
However, quite contrary to what Faisal Khan maintains about his mental health, a statement was given by Aamir Khan in 2007 where he said that his brother was declared mentally ill by the doctors of J J Hospital. He had also told that he had even applied for his brother’s custody but the court granted it to their father.
Dismayed by the loss of a large chunk of the user base, coupled with revenue loss, PUBG Corporation has expressed its willingness to make amends, seek solutions and become ‘complaint’ with Indian laws and regulations.
On September 7, South Korea based PUBG Corporation in a blog offered insights into how the company is planning to convince the Indian government to reverse the ban on the game. The company said, “PUBG Corporation fully understands and respects the measures taken by the government as the privacy and security of player data is a top priority for the company.”
Chinese Tencent Games removed from publishing PUBG in India
In a big announcement, PUBG stated that the Chinese Tencent Games will no longer be authorised to run the franchise in India and that it will be responsible for both the development and the publishing of the popular game. “In light of recent developments, PUBG Corporation has made the decision to no longer authorize the PUBG MOBILE franchise to Tencent Games in India. Moving forward, PUBG Corporation will take on all publishing responsibilities within the country… The company is actively engaged in developing and publishing PUBG on multiple platforms, including PUBG MOBILE in select territories, to provide the best player experiences possible.”
PUBG Corporation thanks Indian fans
Thanking the Indian fans for their passion and enthusiasm, PUBG said, “PUBG Corporation is actively monitoring the situation around the recent bans of PUBG MOBILE Nordic Map: Livik and PUBG MOBILE Lite in India. It has seen an overwhelming amount of support for the game from the country’s player base and would like to thank the community for their passion and enthusiasm.” The company further emphasised, “The company explores ways to provide its own PUBG experience for India in the near future, it is committed to doing so by sustaining a localised and healthy gameplay environment for its fans.”
Tencent Games suffers loss of billions
China’s gaming and social media giant Tencent’s shares crashed by more than 2 percent on Thursday after India banned its popular gaming app PUBG along with 117 other mobile apps. The market value of this drop is estimated to be around USD 14 Billion in just a day. Tencent also has investments in the news and entertainment platform Newsdog, camera app YouCam and e-commerce platform Shein. All of these apps are now banned in India. PUBG was one of the most popular gaming apps. India alone contributed almost 175 million installs to date, which is almost 24 percent of its total installs worldwide. PUBG had over 50 million active users in India.
India bans 118 ‘malicious’ Chinese apps including Tencent owned PUBG
Invoking its power under section 69A of the Information Technology Act read with the relevant provisions of the Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking of Access of Information by Public) Rules 2009 and in view of the emergent nature of threats, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India decided to block 118 mobile apps, on September 2. This bold move by the Indian government came amidst the heightened tensions along the Line of Actual Control after the Chinese troops were found surreptitiously intruding into Indian territory in the southern bank of Pangong Tso lake on the intervening night of August 29 and 30. The Indian Army had outfoxed the Chinese manoeuvres and repelled the Chinese incursion.
The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has arrested late actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s rumoured girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty today under various sections of NDPS. Reportedly, to break the drug cartel her custodial interrogation is needed. Media reports said that the agency has sufficient evidence against Rhea Chakraborty.
Reportedly the NCB had filed a separate case in which Rhea was also an accused, after her brother Showik during interrogation on Friday named her as the one for whom he bought drugs.
Rhea’ brother, Showik Chakrabarty has already been placed under arrest. The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Saturday was granted 4-day custody of Showik Chakraborty and Samuel Miranda by the Mumbai court. The duo was arrested in connection with the drug probe related to Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death. The two will be in NCB remand till September 9, 2020.
Showik “dealt in drugs with many others”, the NCB told a court here as it obtained his custody along with that of Rajput’s house manager Samuel Miranda till September 9.
Several other drug peddlers involved in the case have also been arrested by the NCB
After the Narcotics Crime Bureau (NCB) served the summons to actress Rhea Chakraborty in connection to the drug case associated with the death of Sushant Singh Rajput, her lawyer Satish Maneshinde has dubbed the case as a ‘witchhunt’. He claimed that Rhea was paying the price for loving her boyfriend Sushant.
Mumbai Police has decided to launch a probe into alleged consumption of drugs by actor Kangana Ranaut. The Home Minister of the state, Anil Deshmukh said on Tuesday that the Maha Vikas Aghadi government will investigate Kangana for allegedly taking drugs.
As per request submitted by MLAs Sunil Prabhu & Pratap Sarnaik, I answered in Assembly & said that Kangana Ranaut had relations with Adhyayan Suman, who in an interview said she takes drugs & also forced him to. Mumbai Police will look into details of this: Maharashtra Home Min pic.twitter.com/4ztVcqtP71
“As per request submitted by MLAs Sunil Prabhu & Pratap Sarnaik, I answered in Assembly & said that Kangana Ranaut had relations with Adhyayan Suman, who in an interview said she takes drugs & also forced him to. Mumbai Police will look into details of this,” Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said.
In an interview to DNA in 2016, Adhyayan Suman had said that his ex-girlfriend Kangana has forced him to take drugs.
Deshmukh had earlier stated that Kangana has ‘no right to stay in Mumbai’.
The faceoff between the Maha Vikas Aghadi government and Kangana was triggered after the latter compared Mumbai to Pakistan Occupied Kashmir in the wake of Azaadi graffiti seen on the streets of the city, and the subsequent inaction of the Mumbai Police.
The ‘Queen’ actress has been subjected to threats of violence, and even derogatory words by Shiv Sena leaders. Sanjay Raut had called her ‘haramkhor ladki’ while Pratap Sarnaik had threatened to ‘break her mouth’.
Kangana to be given Y-category security
After the open threats of violence against Kangana by ruling party leaders, the actress had appealed for security to the centre and Himachal Pradesh government. As per reports, the centre has approved Y-category security for her. She had earlier announced that she will reach Mumbai on September 9.
Shiv sena leader Sanjay Raut calls Kangana “haramkhor ladki”
Earlier, Kangana had claimed that the Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut had allegedly threatened her from entering Mumbai. The Shiv Sena spokesperson even called Kangana Ranaut as “haramkhor ladki” in an interview with a news channel. When his comment drew flak from several quarters, Raut coined a new definition of the abusive word, saying in Maharashtra “haramkhor” means “naughty” and “dishonest”.
BMC officials raided Kangana’s office premises
Besides ad-hominem attacks, even the state apparatus has been pushed into taking punitive action against the actor for her remarks that were at odds with the Maha Vikas Aghadi government. Yesterday, the distraught actor had shared videos on Twitter, alleging that Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials had raided her office premises and threatened to demolish her property the next day.
She further stated that BMC officials have forcefully taken over her office and are measuring up things and harassing her neighbours. “What that madam has done you all will now have to pay for it,” the BMC official told the neighbour, she said. Kangana further informed that the BMC might be demolishing her property tomorrow.
The Shiv Sena and the Mumbai Police have been facing constant criticism for misusing the state apparatus to derail investigations into the Sushant Singh Rajpur case.
The so-called drug consumption probe against Kangana comes at a time when Sushant’s girlfriend Rhea and many others are under probe by the Narcotics Bureau for alleged usage and selling of drugs.
In Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, another case of Love Jihad has been reported, where a 14-year-old Hindu girl was allegedly trapped by a Muslin youth pretending to be Hindu. The incident was reported in Kanpur’s Gopal Nagar. The victim’s family, with the help of Bajrang Dal State Secretary Ramji Tiwari, approached the police on Monday with a complaint and sought action against the accused- Fateh Khan alias Aryan Mehrotra.
Fateh Khan who allegedly posed as Aryan Mehrotra to trap the minor girl originally hails for Bengaluru. He was living on rent in the victim’s house in Kanpur’s Gopal Nagar, allegedly pretending to be a Hindu for the last three years. Bajrang Dal State Secretary, Ramji Tiwari, while speaking to OpIndia said that Fateh Khan alias Aryan Mehrotra posed as a Hindu to establish closeness with the Hindu family. He did everything he could to pass himself off as a Hindu. He wore a Kalawa (Hindu sacred thread) around his wrist, sported a Tilak and frequently visited temples, added Ramji Tiwari.
As per the family’s complaint, the accused Fateh Khan has been sexually exploiting the minor girl too. The family has alleged that Khan has been trying to convince the girl to convert into Islam. When the victim’s family members learnt about this they approached the local Bajrang Dal leader Ramji Tiwari for help. Ramji Tiwari along with the victim’s family and other activists approached the police Monday and submitted a complaint against Fateh Khan.
Accused had forged ID cards, was living under a false name
The accused who was handed over to the police, by the activists of the Hindu organisations, admitted that he had been living in the victim’s house, posing as Aryan Mehrotra. The police have recovered two identity cards from him, one with his original details and the other being a fake one with the Hindu name.
SP South Kanpur Deepak Bhukar confirmed of receiving the complaint and said that the SIT constituted to probe the ‘Love Jihad’ cases would be investigating the case.
There have been numerous cases of such ‘Love Jihad’ where Hindu girls, often from a vulnerable age group, have been trapped into relationships by Muslims faking a Hindu identity, only to be raped or blackmailed later. The increasing number of such case has recently thrown Kanpur in the spotlight, compelling Uttar Pradesh police to constitute a special investigating team (SIT) to probe allegations of ‘Love Jihad’ and forced conversion.
India Today and Republic TV have chosen sides in Sushant Singh Rajput’s case. While Arnab Goswami’s Republic TV is standing with Rajput’s family, India Today has come to the rescue of Rhea Chakraborty and has been raising voice against the comments made by various news agencies against her. This one case has turned the rivalry between the two channels into a sort of war.
On 8th September, Kanwal wrote on his Twitter account that while “Banana Republic” channels are questioning India Today’s integrity for interviewing Rhea Chakraborty, they are hounding Rhea across Mumbai city desperately hoping that she will talk to them. “India Today got an interview you wanted,” he added and compared Arnab Goswami with Nazi leader Joseph Goebbels.
Same #BananaRepublic channels that were questioning @IndiaToday for interviewing @Tweet2Rhea are hounding Rhea all over town desperately hoping she will speak to them. So why be a sore loser. @IndiaToday got an interview you wanted. Learn to lose with grace Goebbels.
Republic TV did not take time to reply and tagged India Today, Aaj Tak and Aroon Purie, where they shared weekly TRP data of the top five news channels. Republic wrote, “Can you give this (weekly TRP report) to your newsdesk with our compliments and tell them to take a chill pill.”
When a case resulted in a spat between the two channels
Rahul Kanwal of India Today, and Arnab Goswami, editor-in-chief Republic TV are not leaving any chance to indulge in the war of words during shows and social media. When Rajdeep Sardesai took Rhea Chakraborty’s interview a week ago, Arnab Goswami took hard on his ex-boss. During his show after the interview, while quoting Sushant’s sister, he said that India Today had cheated 130 crore people of India. They have provided a platform to Rhea Chakraborty, who is the main accused in the case.
He said, “Can the country forget that Rhea Chakraborty is the prime accused in the Sushant Singh Rajput’s death case? Can the country forget that Rhea is the prime suspect in the Sushant case?” He raised questions if the channel is attempting to project a suspect as a great person by providing her a platform to explain her side of the story. Rajdeep Sardesai was also criticized for calling Sushant Singh Rajput a ‘mediocre actor’ during a discussion.
Goswami’s views on India Today during an interview with OpIndia
In the interview with Nupur J Sharma on OpIndia, Arnab Goswami took potshots on India Today without taking names. He said, “I will push a case for too long because I believe If I don’t push a case for long, Sushant Singh Rajput won’t get justice. It is my channel, I will do what the hell I want to do. Those people who are having problems with my persistence, they are jealous of Republic TV,” Arnab said, adding, “The people who do coquettish interviews with scamsters have no moral right to ask me why I do things for too long.”
Kanwal’s attack on Republic TV
On 7th September, Kanwal tweeted that he cannot understand how justice for Sushant is more important than Justice for Rhea. He alleged that the Sushant’s side is being taken because of upcoming elections in Bihar, and the situation might have been different if the elections were in West Bengal. He said, “Banana Republic channels are accusing her of murder. Even CBI is not charging Rhea with murder.”
Same #BananaRepublic channels that were questioning @IndiaToday for interviewing @Tweet2Rhea are hounding Rhea all over town desperately hoping she will speak to them. So why be a sore loser. @IndiaToday got an interview you wanted. Learn to lose with grace Goebbels.
The spat between the two channels is not new. They both have accused each other directly or indirectly for publishing content with different points of view. Republic, however, is gaining the top position in terms of viewership.
Viewership stats of top five Hindi and English news channels (Image by Republic TV’s twitter handle “Republic”)
Both Republic Bharat and Republic TV are leading the TRP charts in the top five Hindi and English news channels, respectively.
The Westminster Magistrates Court on Monday dismissed a plea from diamantaire Nirav Modi’s defence counsel to hold the next deposition of its witness, former high court judge and Congress leader Abhay Thipsay, away from the public glare.
The defence team of fugitive Nirav Modi led by Claire Montgomery asked judge Samuel Goozee for a secret hearing of Abhay Thipsay or impose reporting restrictions on the proceedings so he does not become subject of criticism like the previous time.
The defence counsel argued in the court that Thipsay in May had to face a “disgraceful attack” by Prasad in a press conference and suffer from the “very hostile reporting” in the mainstream media. She contended that her clienr feared that another public deposition might unleash another flurry of attack against him.
However, the British judge cited the precedents to claim that circumstances did not justify the secret hearing of the case or putting a curb on the media reporting. He mentioned that the Congress leader had not declined to provide further evidence in the case.
BJP attacked Abhay Thipsay for appearing as witness for fugitive economic offender Nirav Modi
Congress leader Thipsay had to bear the brunt of backlash last time when he told the UK court via videolink from India in May that the Indian government’s charges against Nirav Modi would not hold up in an Indian court. The next day, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad called a press conference and mounted attack against the Congress leader.
“There is overpowering suspicious circumstances from which we can infer that the Congress is trying its best to save and bail out Nirav Modi,” Ravi Shankar Prasad sharply noted in a press conference in May while accusing Thipsay of working at the behest of Congress to save Nirav Modi.
Rahul Gandhi attacked PM Modi for shielding Nirav Modi while Congress leader Abhay Thipsay appear as witness for Nirav
It is worth noting that former Congress party President Rahul Gandhi, with no credible issue to attack Modi government, has time and again resorted to the Centre of shielding the fugitive economic offenders such as Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi, Vijay Mallya and others. Rahul Gandhi went so far as to draw an “uncanny similarity” between PM Modi and Nirav Modi in the run up to his campaign for General elections 2019, in which he disastrously failed. While the Congress leader attacks PM Modi for allegedly helping the offenders, his party members such as Abhay Thipsay appear as witness in the case for Nirav Modi.
In a shocking incident, a hospital staff member was brutally thrashed by the kin of a 45-year-old patient named Tashinara Bibi. The incident took place at Jagannath Gupta Institute of Medical Sciences in Budge Budge area in South 24 Parganas of West Bengal.
The Background of the incident
According to the authorities, Tashinara Bibi was brought to the hospital in a critical condition. The doctors informed the patient’s family that she had to be admitted to an Intensive Care Unit (ICU). However, they expressed regret that all beds were occupied. Meanwhile, the kin of the patient barged into the ICU ward, without seeking permission, and began clicking pictures. Later, they returned to the hospital, thrashed, and gravely injured frontline worker Soumyadeep Sen.
Family members intimidate security personnel with lethal weapon
At the same time, another family member intimidated a security personnel at the hospital with a lethal weapon. Speaking to Khabar 24 X 7, a security guard recounted, “They came to the emergency ward with the patient. There were two people with the patient. We allowed one person in the emergency ward and asked the other person to wait.”
He continued, “The doctors told them that an ICU bed would be required but there were none available. Then, several other family members came and forcefully made their way to the ICU. One of them showed me a weapon and asked, ‘Do you want this?’ Meanwhile, they started beating our staff member.” He further stated that they will hold demonstrations, demanding justice for a fellow frontline worker. “Why was our staff member assaulted?” he asked.
Soumyadeep Sen thrashed unprovoked by kin of Tashinara Bibi
In the video shared by BJP Bengal, the victim can be seen as bed-ridden with crepe bandage tied to his arm. Shattered by the harrowing experience, Soumyadeep Sen stated, “I was filling the ICMR form for COVID (test). A family member came to me and asked about the patient’s health. Konkon da (another hospital staff member) told me that the patient needed an ICU bed. I told the family member politely that no bed was available for the patient. Other family members told me to accompany them to the ICU but I continued with my work.”
Kin of one Tashinara Bibi physically assaulted and threatened Covid front-liners with firearms in a medical college in Bengal’s Budge Budge area. Hospital staff are still in shock. Expectedly, no police action even after 24 hours. Pishi heads both home and health department. pic.twitter.com/qv5wARDcIZ
On being asked by the reporter whether he will continue to work, post his recovery, Sen broke down in tears. He lamented, “I will not be able to work here anymore. I have been staying in Budge Budge area for 8 years now…. I last went home during Durga Puja. I have liver problems. I am on saline for the past 3 days.”
No hospital staff should every get beaten like me, hopes victim
“Ami kosto te bhogchi tarpor o duty korchi, tao abar COVID ward e sobair jonno. Ami bhalobasha bolechilam ja sotti hi chilo na bed. Tarpor o tara sunlo na…Ami chai jara hospital e duty kora tara jeno amar moto maar na khai.Keu jono amon maar na khai. Ami khub koshto pacchi (I am in pain but still I am doing my duty at a COVID ward for the people… I told them cordially and thrutfully that there was no bed at the ICU… They did not listen to me and (instead thrashed me)… I want that no hospital worker ever gets assaulted as I did. I am in intense pain)”, the victim told reporters.
BJP demands for police action against the accused
The State Unit of the BJP has condemned the incident and complained about the lack of police action. In a tweet addressed to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the party stated, “Kin of one Tashinara Bibi physically assaulted and threatened COVID front-liners with firearms in a medical college in Bengal’s Budge Budge area. The hospital staff is still in shock. Expectedly, no police action even after 24 hours. Pishi heads both home and health departments.”
Muslim mob attacks Kolkata hospital
NRS Medical College and Hospital was attacked by a violent mob last year in June 2019, following the death of an old patient. Mohammed Sayeed, a resident of Tangra in Kolkata, was brought to the hospital in a critical condition. Although he was admitted to the Emergency immediately, family members claimed that no proper care was given. The deceased was a local imam, claimed sources.
The Hospital turned into a battleground after family members assaulted junior doctors at the institution. The Police, when it arrived eventually, had to resort to lathi-charge to bring the situation under control. Doctors at the institution were forced to temporarily shut down its gates demanding protection.
The current obsession of the English and Hindi TV media is the Sushant Singh Rajput case. Thousands and thousands of hours’ worth of content has been aired over the past couple of months. Reams and reams of content have been written on how a massive waste of time these thousands and thousands of hours’ have been! And most of this written content has one underlying theme – It is Arnab Goswami who is responsible for the fall of the English TV media! With Arnab now overtaking Aaj Tak to become the most-watched Hindi news channels too, the attacks have only sharpened and increased.
My mind immediately went back to something I wrote way back in 2012. Past few years, we have seen many memes that make jokes on how there -10 panellists on the TV screen shouting over each other. More often than not, meme makers have focused on Arnab’s shows only. Well, here is a snapshot from the year 2011.
Figure 1: Snapshot of a debate on CNN-IBN from the year 2011
The snapshot is from then Sagarika Ghose’s show – “Face the Nation”. 8 people debating the Lokpal bill, and the debate ends in 20 minutes! The anchor isn’t in the picture so that actually makes it 9 people debating the Lokpal bill for a whopping 20 minutes. The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha discussed this bill for about 12-13 hours each! Make as many memes as you want; make as many jokes as you want – but it wasn’t Arnab who pioneered the art of filling up your TV screens with multiple people. That fault lies elsewhere!
We all have just seen how an anchor was chided for asking a panellist to focus on the topic (Sushant Singh) and not diver the topic (towards the GDP). There are examples galore can be cited on non-serious issues that have been aired by the media. So, what is the answer to the question on why aren’t seriously debated on prime time? For today, we go back all way to the year 2009.
In May 2009, in an online chat, I asked Dr. Prannoy Roy: “What do you think the media has learned from this election?”.
His full reply is in the snapshot below. The relevant line from his answer is this – “serious issues like hunger or unemployment do not come into focus because these are hard to sensationalise.“
Figure 2: Snapshot of an online chat with Dr. Prannoy Roy in the year 2009
Back in 2009, Dr Prannoy Roy was one of the most powerful media owners (perhaps the most powerful too!). NDTV was at their peak and was often the go-to channel for thousands of viewers. Some surveys even indicated that they had a 60% market share. NDTV’s anchors were involved in cabinet berth negotiations. And the words of the then most powerful media organization – “hunger or unemployment are hard to sensationalise”.
Also, don’t miss this in his answer – “So media needs to learn to focus on real issues during campaigning“. And this was the year 2009. I don’t have to tell you, the smart viewer, how absolutely nothing changed from the year 2009. It only got worse with every passing year. So, make as many memes as you want; make as many jokes as you want – but it wasn’t Arnab who pioneered the art of filling up your TV screens with multiple people. That fault lies elsewhere!
When Obama came to India in 2010, another sermonizer Bhupendra Chaubey gave us a very critical piece of news that redefined the political paradigm of our country – “Gursharan Kaur and Sonia Gandhi were wearing a similar colour saree, a sort of red colour”.
In February 2012, the media conducted day-long debates on a Supreme Court Judgment. The biggest sermonizer of them all, Rajdeep Sardesai was at the forefront of conducting the debates the whole day. And he tweets late into the night that “Reading SC judgement on the way back from office.” And when questioned how he conducted debates the entire day without even reading the judgment, he replies “read the main points in the day. now reading the fine print. thedevil often in the detail!”
Who amongst us can forget how Sagarika Ghose faked an entire interview with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar in the year 2011? Who amongst us can forget how she first tried to brazen it out and later issued a small apology on TV? What can be worse than faking an interview? What can be more damaging than cheating your viewers?
There is no dearth of many such examples (dearth of coverage of important debates in Parliament, linking the sterling and pioneering discovery of Higgs Boson to Internet Hindus, falsely accusing people of murder etc). Prannoy Roy, Rajdeep Sardesai, Sagarika Ghose, Barkha Dutt – these were popular names during the times of the rise of the reach of English TV media. These were powerful names with clout in the corridors of power. At the peak of their power, each one of them has sermonized on what ails the very same media they are pioneers of!
Journalism needs to rediscover its soul – Rajdeep Sardesai (2012). Rajdeep was disillusioned with journalism when he has owned a powerful media channel in 2012. After 2012, Rajdeep has gone on to get violent on the streets, conducted extremely ill-prepared interviews with senior politicians, announced the death of a former President of India while he was alive, got called out by many interviewees for his boorish nature and yet survives in the industry!
I don’t watch English news anymore. In fact, haven’t watched any channel for many years. I am not a fan of loud debates. I am not a fan of Arnab Goswami, just like I am no more a fan of Rajdeep and Prannoy. I have written against their style of coverage extensively, even rejecting an invite for a “debate” on NDTV back in 2012!
The chicanery, lies, agenda and incompetence of some big names in the TV media have been first exposed by ordinary people. They continue to be on the forefront to do so. So, make as many memes as you want; make as many jokes as you want – but it isn’t Arnab who is responsible for the situation in the TV media. Those who pioneered this fall must stop faking their concern and also stop sermonizing us. Because facts speak otherwise!
