Reporters Without Orders Ep 143: UP mother and child's death, FDI in digital media, Sudarshan TV

In this episode, host Snigdha Sharma is joined by Newslaundry’s Ayush Tiwari and Akanksha Kumar.

“If you give birth to a girl, we will not let you or her stay alive,” this is what Pappi Devi’s in-laws allegedly told her before she and her baby girl died in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri. The conversation begins with Akanksha narrating the young woman’s story and the mysterious circumstances of her death and her baby's. She talks about how the woman's father had to file 15 complaints over fourth months before the police filed an FIR. Akanksha and Ayush both term Uttar Pradesh as an “absentee state”.

Next, Ayush talks about his report on the sudden shut down of HuffPost India. He labels it “dramatic” and goes on to add that the website may be the first “casualty” of the new FDI policy for digital media announced by the Narendra Modi government. The policy restricts foreign investment in Indian digital media to 26 percent. Snigdha points out how this further reduces the space for independent media in the country.

Lastly, the panel discuss Ayush’s story on the Sudarshan News show ‘UPSC Jihad’. Ayush explains how the show propagated a conspiracy theory about the infiltration of Muslims in the Indian bureaucracy. He notes that the Supreme Court ordered the show to be taken off air, saying it is “in bad taste and there is a likelihood that it would produce communal attitudes".

All this and a lot more as they talk about what made news this week, what didn’t, and what shouldn’t have. Tune in!

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Text by Riya Aggarwal.