Hafta letters: Election coverage, women heroes, BJP's economic agenda

I just want to say that I am very impressed with the election coverage by Manisha and co. in Goa. I was not thinking about contributing to NL Sena, but the content I saw on YouTube made me contribute. Thank you and wish you good luck.

Rinzin

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I have finally gotten a six-month subscription, I was subscribing on and off because of financial issues. This message is specifically for Abhinandan.

In the previous Hafta, you had mentioned that your niece had pointed out that there was not a single woman in your wall of heroes. Over the past few years, I have had a similar conversation with myself and here are some of my recommendations.

Aruna Roy was the first person I could think of and I think she has gotten the right balance of activism and a type of politics that aligns with government procedures. Secondly, Savitribai Phule. She should be celebrated all over the country and if we think that lower classes/castes have made some progress in this country, then it isn't possible without her.

Finally, someone who is alive and not a Savarna: Mayawati. Fuck all of them who think she doesn't deserve to be here. To survive in politics with so much misogyny is no joke. And when she decided to ally with SP, suddenly everyone cares about her "honour".

Srinath

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Just wanted to share this link. It is in Bengali but understandable for all. It is so apt for the current political situation of our country. I don't understand why opposition parties dont make and circulate such videos to help the masses of north India realise what is happening in our country.

Anonymous

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Hi NL team,

I want to flag Abhinandan's repeated claims that the Modi government doesn't have any economic agenda whatsoever. He says he hates Modi and that's his prerogative. I am not saying the BJP's economic agenda is good but one would expect some rational argument from a Hafta panelist on such claims, given many citizens vote for the BJP mainly for its economic promise. I think such loose statements put off many potential NL subscribers who don't hate the BJP but tune in to get different perspectives.

I want to ask Abhinandan and the other panelists (who stay mute on such claims) how they analyse various economic reforms done by the current dispensation such as bankruptcy code, GST etc. Specifically, why would someone with NO economic agenda invest significant political capital and "intend" (execution was bad) to pursue farm reforms, Land Acquisition Bill, demonetisation etc?

Finally, wouldn't it be great to invite reporters on BJP beats like Nistula, Liz Mathew to answer some of these questions?

Kartheek

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Hi NL team,

My critique is on the first part of Hafta 364. The discussion with Sumaiya should have been on her specialisation – neuroscience – and not Covid in Australia. Understandably, quite a lot of assertions were off the point.

First, Australia is a federation of states. States have their autonomous health systems that vary quite a lot. While one can freely travel from Victoria to New South Wales, Western Australia is closed for inbound travel.

It was said that in Australia, you are fined for not taking vaccination. Quite the contrary, I know quite a few people who chose not to vaccinate. Of course, the governments put restrictions that make life of the unvaccinated difficult. It is the same as that you can perform all functions without having to have a phone or internet banking; it's just more tedious. Fines are heavy for breaking protocols such as home quarantine. Police visits are frequent and if you are missing during that period, you might as well sell your home.

Regards,

Abhi

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Dear NL team,

I come from a family that has always voted for SP or its "Lohiaite" socialist predecessors, and I must say that there seems to be a huge difference in the SP's pitch this time. It seems that the SP isn't just pandering to non-Yadav OBCs for this particular election, it has brought structural and ideological changes to the party. With the BSP's decline, the SP has aggressively postured to cover their lost ground and it has tried to distance itself from their traditional "parivar vad","gunda raj" monikers. The party has brought back its social justice narrative that it had lost over the past five to 10 years.

Despite this, I hear many anti-BJP voices call the SP a casteist party who, like the BJP, polarises voters on caste rather than religion! I find this absolutely absurd. Caste is a reality of our society and representation is the first step to break down those barriers. If someone talks about this reality how is that casteism!? Please let me know your thoughts.

Ayush

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Hi! I've been a subscriber since 2013-14. I am a banker, an ordinary subscriber, unlike other subscribers with unpronounceable degrees and job profiles.

Nevertheless, what is important is that we all agree on one thing, that's “pay to keep news free”. Looking forward to the assembly elections coverage. Keep up the good work.

Abhinandanji, what's the progress on the app and Kashmir Ki Kahani graphic novel? I'm eagerly waiting for both of these.

Warm regards,

Anurag

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With Kejriwal's slippery slope finally reaching the anti-conversion law, will Abhinandan still say that it's just political and Kejriwal cannot stoop lower in ethics just for power? It's my bias that still makes me believe in the AAP and that even if it comes to power by playing soft Hindutva, it will never pass such laws.

I want to be optimistic but a lot has changed since my first and probably last donation to a political party (AAP). I will prefer to donate to and support the fourth pillar. Mugged up about four pillars of democracy in school, but now I fully understand it. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your fearless reporting!

Mr B

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Hello Hafta team,

I have been a subscriber of yours since the last five years. I subscribed especially for your commentary on the media and for your podcasts and for your interviews.

I wanted to ask the Hafta team, why don't they comment on foreign media more often, especially their commentary on India? For example, I found the following article in Financial Times. I agree with the basic premise of the article, but some of its content is outrightly wrong.

Trigger for the article was the installation of Bose's statue at India Gate. First, I don't agree with the author's view on Bose. Also, there is a blatant lie in the article where it says that “Mein Kampf is used as a textbook to teach leadership skills in some Indian business courses”. Since I am a maths student, this is a textbook example of getting the answer right but some steps being wrong.

Like to hear your views on this article and some other similar articles that you remember.

AK

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I know I am coming late to this but I listened to Abhinandan on the Seen and the Unseen podcast and thoroughly enjoyed it. It made me wonder if there is so much we don’t know about your personal journeys. And I also enjoyed the long format that allowed a relaxed conversation. Wish we could have them at Newslaundry. It could even be a limited series – “know your NL team” – where we can listen to our favourites talk about their journey. I appreciate Hafta format may not accommodate these so suggesting a separate podcast.

Big supporter of the Newslaundry team!!

Nimish

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With respect to Hafta 365, please share the list recommended by Nisha Susan. I too would like to have some women heroes/icons.

Thanks.

Aviral Tiwari

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Annual subscriber who availed the Hafta 360 offer here! Thank you! I request anonymity.

Firstly, a big thanks to all the team members, including those we don't hear/see: the production team, website team, administrative staff and housekeeping staff. Good job. Special thanks to Jayashree, Manisha and Raman Sir. Abhinandan Sir, thanks as always for this platform.

I have a suggestion. NL could consider a weekly MOBI format downloadable for subscribers (or a mailing list for this format). That way we can read the longform and other text reports on our Kindle devices. A magazine called Foreign Affairs already does this.

Thanks!

Anonymous