Hafta letters: Tejasvi Surya, thoughts on diversity, Mahua Moitra in NYT

Dear NL team,

It was heartbreaking to hear about Ashish's death due to Covid. Hugs to all of you.

I have two points to make.

First on why Modi and BJP ministers continued to hold rallies even if Covid was increasing. This government is not answerable to the media or the people and believes that electoral results justify all actions. Surprisingly, most of the population and the media also believe this narrative. Thus, the increasing Covid cases in the middle of Bengal election implied that they would become a referendum on the Covid crisis. This increased the stakes even higher and the need to continue campaigning. The usual measures of judging their response are being manipulated in front of everyone and a positive spin in a year should be expected.

Second, I have a question for Mr Raman Kirpal. How hard is it to obtain data on how much Serum Institute and Bharat Biotech paid the BJP with electoral bonds for the recent elections? Much of the head-scratching regarding the vaccine price policy might be resolved by this information.

Mohit Singh

***

Hi everyone,

I have been watching and following Rana Ayyub's recent interviews on international platforms and I completely agree with Manisha's view, although I think Rana's intention here might have been misunderstood. I don't think she was trying to disregard reportage of domestic media in her interview to score some points for herself. I think she's just trying to highlight how dictatorial this government has become.

My problem with those interviews is that she is being introduced as a journalist by anchors while her statements have the feel of an irate activist or an anxious citizen. She makes some sweeping generalisations and adds editorial speculations to underscore how awful this government has been in dealing with this virus.

In some ways, it's understandable, there is absolute chaos all around. But it's not journalistic, in my opinion, to be so casual with wholesale judgements.

Shoorveer Singh

***

Hi all,

Did not bother going through your Rana Ayyub thread but your former editor-in-chief Madhu already made clear what Rana Ayyub really is in an interview for NL.

Rana and Madhu are two sides of the same coin. Watch the two NL interviews and you will see the similarities.

Rana:

Madhu:

Yaar, if I have to dig up NL interviews to make a point for NL, kya hoga NL ka.

Tumse na ho paayega Abhi? (Gangs of Wasseypur)

Best regards,

Dhiraj Bhandary

***

Hi,

In the last Hafta, Abhinandan referred to a debate between him and Mehraj on religion. I would very much like to listen to it. Can you please share the link with me, as it was not shown as a part of the recommendations on the Hafta page?

Qasim Hasnain

***

Hi NL team,

I have been consuming your content for free for the last three years. This month, I got my finances sorted and promptly subscribed to pay to keep news free.

The last Hafta had a spirited discussion on the need for inclusivity and diversity, and Abhinandan ranting on how he has to go to great lengths to keep the panels diverse.

In an episode of Hafta last year I remember Abhinandan speaking about an NL diversity census which would be out soon. What happened, how did it pan out, where can we access it? Hope it was not one of those jumlas that has been conveniently forgotten 'cause the last time I checked, most of you were UC Bharmins.

PS: I really like your work and would consider extending my subscription for another six months.

Recommendation:

1. The Discreet Charm of the Savarnas (for all except Mehraj)

2. TVF's aspirants (for Anand, possibly a review on A&A)

***

Hi NL team

I am Siddharth and I am a subscriber of NL for I think six months. I think since the Hafta was taken behind the paywall. Congratulations, your move worked.

I want to bring the panel’s attention to the plight of small businesses during lockdowns. While I understand that saving lives is way more important at this time, and the government has been pathetic to that end, they have been even worse towards the handling of the financial burden of this. Businesses like my own have hardly any revenue, but still have to continue to make bank EMIs, salaries, rents and vendor payments. We have been left on our own, and the country should expect a lot of small businesses to become NPAs. Would like it if you discuss it on the Hafta podcast.

Regards

Siddharth Suneja

***

Hi there,

In in 2022, Akhilesh Yadav wins Uttar Pradesh, he's the man to be PM. If he sweeps UP in 2022, he will be your man with 60+ MP seats in 2024.

Mark my words!

You will laugh at me but...this is what I am gambling my bets on. (Remember, he was even ready to compromise with Behenji.)

Best regards,

Dhiraj

***

Hi,

There was a discussion in last week's Hafta on diversity and representation. I would like to recommend An apartment on Uranus, a book by Paul B Preciado. Here's a summary of the book from MIT Press:

A “dissident of the gender-sex binary system” reflects on gender transitioning and political and cultural transitions in techno-scientific capitalism.

It changed my outlook and the way I viewed gender and sexuality completely. At the very least, even if it doesn't change your view, the writing is beautiful, so I guarantee you will discover a new writer. Would be icing on the cake if, in the future, someone from the NL team could share their opinion on this book.

More links to this book:

Summary: https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/apartment-uranus

Introduction: https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2020/01/30/an-apartment-on-uranus/

Review: https://www.cardiffreview.com/review/an-apartment-on-uranus/

Thanks,

Manasvi Karanam

***

Hi NL team,

Hope you guys are doing well and I wish good health to all of you.

I had a criticism with regards to the piece discussed about Tejasvi Surya and his debacle with BBMP. I honestly feel that the discussion about him was not very well-researched. He did try and communalise the issue about bed scarcity and later he apologised (secretly). He is an absolute idiot and a total bigot and as you rightly put it, he is something else. I live in Karnataka and I know how the BJP government has failed us miserably. I feel that Jayashree should have researched this whole scandal a little more.

Love your work and keep independent journalism going.

Wishing you all the best.

Best regards,

Sandeep Patel

***

Hello,

Great Hafta last week. Totally agree with Manisha about Tejasvi. I would like to specifically bring in Ramdev and Sambit too in the mix. Every time I hear their words, I wish to unleash all the abuses I learned during my days in Kanpur.

I think the point that Jayashree said about diversity was a very subtle yet important point. I think diversity in itself is not enough. It is the inclusion that matters. And it can be really tough to achieve that. For example, even among liberals, people applaud if there are panels with women. That is a good start. However, the real reason that they were called was due to the fact that they are competent. We need to show that these are equally competent people who were otherwise not given opportunities just because of their gender. We did not call them just to fill in some quota of representation. I am not saying that NL is guilty of that. I have heard some liberal people complaining that a person was invited to a panel just because they are a minority.

Great work as always. Be happy and stay safe.

Deepam Gupta

***

Hi all,

Appreciate your good work.

Can you please recommend any NGOs that you know personally that are helping people in these troubled times?

Want to send a donation, but not sure which one's are legit.

Regards,

Siddharth Gadkari

***

Dear Hafta panel,

Hope all of you are well as one can be right now. I'm a long time follower of NL, but a recent subscriber (just a few minutes ago, actually) because till now I was using my mother's subscription. I've been earning for a few months now and decided it was time to pay to keep news free :)

I request you to keep my name anonymous if you are reading out this email.

I'm writing to give some extra information regarding the Tejasvi Surya incident in Bangalore that was discussed on this week's Hafta. Tejasvi Surya was elected from Bangalore South, an extremely Brahmin dominated area, which probably explains why BJP has consistently secured a win from there. He is the golden boy of the BJP here, a proud janawara sporting (janeau for you) Brahmin and Hindu. He is probably the grandson every South Bangalore Ajji-Thatha (grandparents) wish they had.

This News Minute article covers the incident fairly well, and this covers the unfortunate aftermath where all those people whose names were read out lost their jobs. The person Jayashree mentions as not being a part of the BBMP War Room is Sarfaraz Khan, the joint commissioner of the BBMP. His name was dragged into it by the Whatsapp forwards because, of course, he is a Muslim. As he writes in this Facebook post, he is not even a part of the team that runs the War Room. I find it so tragic that he even had to write this post, and that Muslims time and again have to prove their patriotism this way. In fact, in Bangalore, a significant chunk of the Covid relief work over the past one year has been done by Muslim organisations (Mercy Mission, for example). They usually go out of their way to assist in hard times, and one does wonder if a part of their motivation is to "prove" themselves as good citizens. Because of course the bar is so much higher for them than a dominant caste Hindu!

Sorry for the long email. It was good to hear a Bangalore-centric issue being discussed on Hafta, but I felt it was lacking in detail and hence this mail. And please don't be under any impression that Bangalore (or indeed Karnataka) is any less vulnerable to the BJP-RSS combine. In fact, RSS has a long and solid history in Karnataka, and Bangalore as well I think. Moreover, out of all the southern states Karnataka is most firmly in BJP's hold.

Best wishes

***

Dear NL team,

First off, kudos to Manisha for calling out the inability and sheer laziness of the international media when it comes to choosing Indian voices. I have personally seen American podcasts that deal with international affairs (Pod Save The World, for example) being more comfortable with quoting from Rana Ayyub's Twitter timeline than referencing articles from Indian media houses.

Secondly, just a brief comment on the NYT opinion piece by Mahua Moitra. I would love to be a Mahua Moitra stan, but that article was a criminal waste of space. The heading is so promising, but the actual content lacks substance. My takeaway from the article was that BJP lost because of their leader’s misogyny and once-in-a-century pandemic. And why did TMC win? Well, the only TMC action mentioned in the piece is a series of unsuccessful pleas to EC to reschedule the election. Neither of them speak highly of Mamata's own appeal or ability to sell a vision of future to India in 2024 or beyond.

I have probably been super inarticulate in making my point above. But I'll offer a counterfactual that might make my argument more explicit. Imagine Kejriwal/Sisodia/Aatishi/Durgesh Pathak writing a piece with the same heading after Delhi elections. Would they tout BJP's divisive politics as the reason for their win or would they celebrate their own 5 years of governance? My guess is that the piece would lead with a photo of Melania Trump in Delhi’s government schools, followed by a regurgitation of their governance successes.

Even after 10 years of being West Bengal’s CM, I don’t think that Mamata has any fairy tale story of governance to sell to a national audience. Modi made his national pitch on a (falsehood-laden) Gujarat Model. For Mamata, no such visions or illusions abound. And Mahua’s unfortunate piece does little to ameliorate this concern.

Take care y’all!

Vastav