Well this one is a kudos for Mr Anand, the voice of the weak on Hafta:

(1) who valiantly came in defence of the puny Mauritius when people called it a tax haven,

(2) defended innocent 'upper castes' who were poorly portrayed in the movie Article 15,

(3) supported BJP's most marginalised voice Mr Amit Malviya's claim that in fact there’s danger of future generations taking Emergency to be history, we only deserve real history like Kashmir Files, Kerala Story, Modi “Mera Gujarat Jal Raha Hai” the movie, Vaccine Wars etc.

I really also liked your suggestion of Dr  Sarvapalli's Indian Philosophy, especially its volume 2 which has 40+70=110 instances of plagiarism of one Mr Jadunath Sinha’s thesis, a case which was settled outside court by mediation of Shyama Prasad Mookherjee.

Anyhow, Anand, don't be sneaky and obfuscatory in your arguments just because you're sitting with three left-leaning liberals. I am sure Hafta wouldn't mind a right-leaning debater, and neither would the audience.

Anonymous

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In NL 501, Anand Vardhan said that the First Amendment landscape in the United States is wild and there is no definition on what is curtailed, while India’s Article 19 is superior. This is inaccurate. 

There is decades of SCOTUS precedent on what is protected speech and what is not protected speech with clear tests and standards to be used to classify something as protected or not protected under the First Amendment. These tests and standards clearly laid out by SCOTUS over decades of case law, cut across criminal and civil domains and extend across all spheres of life and are routinely utilised by federal, state and local governments. 

VR

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This isn't a topical letter or feedback. It's more an attempt to start a conversation, and probably most closely motivated by Sudipto on What’s Your Ism, which I’m loving. I’m surprised at the so-far absence of Gandhianism though.

Rather than comments with my opinion, I am going to frame these as questions, and I would be interested to hear all the regular panel’s views, plus Anand/Shardool/Sudipto.

(1) Is there a role that you see for good-faith conservatism in India?

(2) Do you see India coming to be as a single political entity as happenstance? And do you see its continuation as convenience? Or is there a positive reason for this nation to continue?

(3) How does national interest coexist with subnational and individual interests? Do you think it’s possible for a political party to have all three on their agenda in India? Do you know of a current or historical party that has managed it? 

(4) Do you think Indians can get along and work together without a shared purpose?

Methodman from Discord Server 

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Dear Abhinandan,

You mentioned in the last Hafta, that henceforth only the NL+TNM subscription will be available and the individual NL subscription won’t be. My question here is whether TNM follows an ad-free funding model like NL. Please clarify.

Cyril

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