A Journal of the press Institute of ISSN 0042-5303 January-March 2020 Volume 12 Issue 1 Rs 60 A strange democracy where voices hardly count? CONTENTS • A refreshing change from the litany of divisions and hatred / Dissent is a fundamental part of democracy. Voicing dissent Sarita Brara is not a crime. Unless we are veering away from democratic • A freedom fighter’s call for norms. And if we are, that is yet another reason why citizens brotherhood is so relevant today / should be rising in protest. Sakuntala Narasimhan says she Bharat Dogra has not joined any protest march or meeting, she is only a • Are ‘socially-relevant’ ads all that bystander and observer, but she has questions that tens of they set out to be? / thousands of other Indian citizens are pondering over, seeking Manjira Majumdar answers • A digital initiative to reach out to sexual harassment victims / s I write (December 20) two persons have been killed in Mangalore Rina Mukherji during protests against the Citizens Amendment law. Bengaluru • Social theatre has the power to Ahas had Section 144 imposed (prohibiting congregation of more change mindsets / Madhura Dutta than four persons) though hundreds of citizens gathered to voice their pro- • Is media transforming the future tests despite the prohibitory orders; several were arrested by the police. of education? / Kanchan K.Malik Elsewhere around India, too, people have gathered in large numbers to • Women power speaks as IWPC voice their anger over a law that discriminates on the basis of religion which turns 25 / Usha Rai the Constitution expressly forbids. The law provides for asylum to outsid- • An editor of considerable intellect / ers from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan except for Muslims. Mrinal Chatterjee These are some of the questions I have: • A nuclear scientist who shone as an investigative science journalist / • Why is the Act specifically leaving out Muslims, when they are a large Dinesh C. Sharma minority, have been part of our country’s history for centuries, and have contributed significantly to its ethos in multiple ways? We have • A film sounds grim echoes of had Muslims occupying Rashtrapati Bhavan in as president, and where we might be heading / Ranjita Biswas Muslim vice-presidents; the community has seen its members serve as distinguished ministers, freedom fighters (I have seen Maulana Abul • Chasing a dream while battling Kalam Azad in my childhood) judges, artists (M.F. Hussain, Raza severe odds / Shoma A. Chatterji and others), musicians (several ustads who were honoured as distin- • The absent spectator / guished role models — from Ustad Amir Khan to Bade Ghulam Ali V. Ramnarayan Khan, Tarana Samrat Ustad , to name just a few); • When India notched up her first defence personnel, academics, you name it, you find Muslim names as Test victory / Partab Ramchand high achievers and leaders. Can we meddle with the promises made under our Constitution that forbids discrimination on the basis of • Remembering Manobina Roy / Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi / religion? Dr Shriram Lagoo / Bhaskar Menon / Tara Sinha / R.G. Nadkarni Vidya (Continued on page 3) Bal / Nabaneeta Dev Sen / Gita Siddharth Kak / Ram Ray

January-March 2020 VIDURA 1 FROM THE EDITOR Where is the India we know – a country of tolerance, acceptance? ictory for the Aam Admi When millions of poor Indians will threaten the cultural and lin- Party was about a big are worrying about their next meal, guistic identities of the state. Vthumbs-up for the good there are thousands protesting Many people are asking, when work the party had done the past against the Citizenship Amendment the economy is in such a bad shape five years in Delhi. The results Bill (CAB). CAB amends the Citizen- where was the need to rush in such were a reflection of how day-to- ship Act of 1955 to give eligibility for a legislation without taking every- day issues that concern the com- Indian citizenship to illegal migrants body into confidence? It was clear mon person matter far more than who are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, there would be protests but the gov- politics. People want food, clothing, Jains, Parsis and Christians from ernment hadn’t bargained for such shelter, education, health, water, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Paki- a scale with women constituting a electricity, transport... Often, I won- stan, and who entered India on or major chunk – from Shaheen Bagh der if only political parties focused before 31 December 2014. The bill in Delhi to Besant Nagar in Chen- on such issues after they came to does not mention Muslims. Mus- nai. What made matters worse were power and worked with dedication lims fear that the bill could be used, scenes from many places in India and commitment, how much India along with the National Register of of protestors being rounded up, would have progressed! We might Citizens (NRC), to render many of beaten and arrested. No sympathy have even become a developed them stateless because many may for those resorting to violence, but nation by now. Arvind Kejriwal has not be able to produce birth or iden- what about innocent people want- shown the way. Sadly, the Delhi tity proof requirements. ing to voice their views? elections set a new low in politics Opposition parties say the law is study commissioned by the – they were ugly, venomous and discriminatory as it singles out Mus- Thakur Family Foundation divisive – reflecting the wider mal- lims who account for about 15 per A titled, Getting Away with Mur- aise in society. cent of population. The government der, documents at least 40 killings India My Valentine is being says Pakistan, Afghanistan and Ban- of journalists, 21 directly linked to organised by a small group of peo- gladesh are Muslim-majority coun- their work. It also documents 198 ple (mainly actors) in on tries, so Muslims cannot be treated serious instances of attacks on jour- February 16. The message is: Make as persecuted minorities. The fact is nalists during 2014-19, of which at India your Valentine. The organis- that the bill does not protect all reli- least 36 were in 2019. The study ers wish to celebrate “the India we gious minorities, it does not apply to finds that the nexus between politi- know and love – the India of toler- all of India’s neighbours. The Ahme- cal power and the law-enforcing ance, the India of acceptance, the dias and the Shias face discrimina- administration is often very strong India that strove to be a better place tion in Pakistan. Rohingya Muslims and underscores the impunity that for even her most oppressed chil- and Hindus find it difficult in Burma, accompanies these cases. The free- dren, the India that was a dream… as do Hindu and Christian Tamils dom of the media is compromised We celebrate the India of Tagore in Sri Lanka. Many people feel that by state regulation, selective lar- and Gandhi, of Nehru and Maul- CAB slots Muslims as second-class gesse and coercion, covert corporate ana Azad, of Patel and Khan Abdul citizens of India by providing pref- control and a highly competitive Ghaffar Khan, the India of Ash- erential treatment to other groups, and politically polarised market faqullah, Birmil, Savitribai Phule, and that it violates the Constitution’s environment, the study found. All Fatima… the India of Bhagat Singh Article 14, the fundamental right to very worrying, indeed. and Ambedkar.” It is remarkable equality for all. Those protesting in that some of these names feature Assam are convinced that illegal Sashi Nair in the articles you will read in this Bengali Hindu migrants from Ban- [email protected] issue. gladesh, if regularised under CAB,

2 VIDURA January-March 2020 Illustration: Arun Ramkumar Illustration:

(Continued from page 1) • Take away the contributions in Uttar Pradesh. • Remove their contributions to of Muslim musicians to Indian • When Hindu dharma preaches our national heritage, and what classical music and there will Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the do we have? The Taj Mahal, one be very little left. Some of the whole world is my family), why of the Wonders of the World devout Muslim ustads even are we targeting one commu- and an internationally famous composed lyrics in praise nity and promoting divisive- tourist destination, goes. The of Hindu deities. Examples ness? As Gandhiji’s country, Red Fort from which our prime abound. Ustad Bade Ghulam should we not be world leaders ministers ritually address the Ali Khan revelled in singing and role models in promoting nation annually, goes, because Hari Om Tat Sat. Legendary communal amity? Can we cite it was built by a Muslim ruler. musician (and guru of Swami Vivekananda’s famous As do countless other heritage Shankar) even named his speech at the World Congress artifacts, from the Salarjung daughter , of Religions in Chicago, if we at Museum and Char Minar in and Bharat Ratna Ustad Bismil- the same time approve of reli- , to Jumma Masjid lah Khan swears by his Kashi gious discrimination? Viswanathji. Do we delete in Delhi and Fatehpur Sikri… • Parsis migrated to India from their names from Indian his- the list goes on. Are we going to their native Persia. Are they tory and archives? I know of demolish and obliterate chunks not ‘immigrants’ too? Most of at least one musician (Muslim) of our nation? How would Indi- our business moguls were /are who migrated to Pakistan but ans feel if the US demolished Parsis. Among all the nations, begged to be allowed to return and forbade Hindu temples on our country has extended its land? to his beloved Rampur darbar

January-March 2020 VIDURA 3 shelter and succor to people to be, repeat, have to be, heeded. Tagore had a beard, right? So have from beyond our shores all That’s central to democracy. Pro- many sadhus and sadgurus. through history. Are we going testors are, instead, rounded up, I recall how, during the riots fol- to ask them to convert to Hin- arrested, beaten up violently, incar- lowing Partition, a mob surrounded duism, if our aim is a ‘Hindu cerated and punished for express- my father and asked him to recite rashtra’? ing their views. the Gayatri mantra and show his • The government is assur- If we want only Hindus in India, poonool (sacred thread) to prove he ing the people that there is how about Christians? How about was a Hindu. He couldn’t recite the ‘nothing to worry about’ the British imperialists? Why are we mantra and didn’t wear a poonool. Citizenship Amendment law, but its credibility among the not calling for deleting all our his- Did that make him a non-Hindu? people is lost when it fields a tory under colonial rule? Rashtra- There are millions of Hindus who candidate who is an accused pati Bhavan, where the president do not wear a sacred thread and do in a major legal case of terror- of the country resides, was built by not recite the Gayatri.So who is a ism and she is nominated to a British rulers. If Muslims enriched Hindu? high-level defence committee. our architecture and arts, the Brit- Are we regressing to mob rule The party reps re-enact the ish built our railways and high- reminiscent of the communal vio- shooting of Gandhiji by target- ways. Do we eschew them too, as lence that followed Partition? Why ing a photo of the Mahatma, ‘not part of our culture’? There are do we see daily pictures of police another calls Godse a deshbhakt official moves to delete Tipu Sul- brutality, lathi charges and water (patriot) — and the perpetra- tan from history books. Is history a cannons and tear gas attacks, tors of such indecent criminal

acts go unpunished. The pubic box of sweets from which we can against people gathering for peace- wonders why. Isn’t it a crime choose what we like and throw ful protests and meetings? Who < to shoot and kill, Mahatma or away the rest? will give us answers? anyone else? Doesn’t the sim- Troublemakers can be identified ple rule of law take precedence by the clothes they wear! So, now (The writer, based in Bengaluru, is over partisan politics and reli- we need to know how to conform, a recipient of the Media Foundation’s gious leanings? by wearing what is ‘acceptable’ Chameli Devi Award for Outstanding clothing? And who decides what is Woman Journalist 1983. Her More than anything else, we are acceptable? fortnightly columns on gender issues avowedly a democracy where the As I write, I just got news of a and consumer rights ran in the people, the janata, a billion of us, Bangalorean who participated in a Deccan Herald for 27 years. She had are central to all policies and politi- protest meeting. He was arrested, earlier worked for cal decisions. If the people don’t though he was doing nothing, just Group in Mumbai.) want a particular law and oppose it watching the proceedings. The through protests, their voices have explanation is that he has a beard.

JN Fellowship awarded to Dinesh Sharma

The Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund has announced the award of Jawaharlal Nehru Fellowship for 2019 to Dinesh C. Sharma, journalist and consulting editor, India Science Wire on the occasion of 130th Birth Anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru. Sharma will work on the project, Hyderabad: The Making of a Knowledge City through Royal Firmans, Institution Building and Globalization, during the term of the fellowship. Sharma is an award-winning journalist with over 33 years experience of reporting on science and technology, health and environment for national and international media outlets. During his long career, he has covered events such as satellite launches, medical and scientific breakthroughs, scientific controversies surrounding GM food and

nuclear energy besides climate change negotiations. In June 2008, he had the privilege of becoming the first Asian journalist to go to the Arctic to report on an international scientific expedition relating to climate change. <

4 VIDURA January-March 2020 Time government looked seriously at problems causing migration With the nation debating the extension of the controversial National Register of Citizens to the whole of India, Sakuntala Narasimhan had her own encounters recently with two citizens who are migrants of a different kind, encounters that brought tears to her eyes

oth encounters were on the from a village near Tumkur (Karna- nephew tries to sell them by roam- road in north Bengaluru. taka). His family members were all ing the streets in search of buyers. BThe first was on a workday daily wage earners on a landlord’s “I sell maybe one or two a day, not morning when a young man carry- farm, living from hand-to-mouth, enough to pay for my food, but kya ing a cloth bag accosted me, with and when his mother fell ill, there karen?” he said. a pleading look. “Madam, please,” was neither money for treatment I open the day’s newspaper and he begged, “Buy some happala nor a working local health centre see large, half-page ads inserted (papad). Home made. With sab- nearby. So he decided to seek work by political parties, boasting about bakki (sabudana). Very good qual- in the metropolis which turned out their programmes and projects for ity. Only twenty rupees a packet,” to be hard to find. In the meantime, the people. “Health for all’; ‘clinics he said, holding out a plastic sachet he and his 24-year-old wife had to in every village’; ‘so many lakhs with crisp round wafers. I wasn’t survive, so she makes happala and of jobs created’; ‘subsidies and interested and tried to walk away he tries to sell them. compensation to distressed rural but he followed me with a desper- The happala were good when families (so vote for our party)’. In ate repetition of his plea, “Only Rs I fried them, and I wished I had their mad quest for power and pelf, 100 for five packets.” bought five packets so that he got political parties are all resorting At the supermarket, the same some money. They were tasty and to ‘poaching’ of MLAs from other packet costs Rs 40 each, double the a bargain. Perhaps he was able to parties, whether it is south or north, price he was quoting. God knows sell his stuff cheap because he had east or west, making deals, spend- where he makes them, how clean no overheads. ing crores on conning the public, they would be, I thought, but there Two days later again, on the road I with massive advertisements. was something in his miserable was accosted by another young man But on the ground? The reality is look that made me decide to buy with a cloth bag. He too begged me that people like the two young men one packet, instead of giving him to “buy some of his stuff”; it turned I ran into, are worse off compared to some money as charity. After all, out to be dresses, each neatly a decade ago when they at least had he wasn’t begging but trying to packed in a plastic cover. I don’t work and wages. The same papers earn some money. Besides, who wear dresses, but again there was that carry these ads from political checks the quality of packaged and something about the young man’s parties (ads mean revenue for the branded products? Not the buyer. pleading that made me chat with paper) also carry, on other pages, I recalled a horror story narrated him, asking where he was from. reports about clinics without doc- by a student doing a catering tech- “Muzaffarnagar,” he said (UP). tors, PHCs in rural areas without nology course when she interned at How did he end up so far away medicines (remember Bihar and UP a five-star hotel in Mumbai. She said from home? “Kay karen (what can where children died due to lack of she saw a cook in the kitchen using one do),” he responded patheti- medical attention and basic equip- the knife he was chopping veg- cally. His story was no different ment for treatment?). VIPs in the etables with, to scratch his armpit from that of the other youth – lack meantime, fly abroad for medical --- so much for presumed ‘cleanli- of work in his native place, shrink- checkups and treatment or go on ness’. This man I encountered had ing job opportunities and starvation jaunts to Sweden and Singapore, his stuff neatly packaged and sealed facing the family in the face. with their families, ‘to study gar- in cellophane. He looked clean. Not An uncle had come to Bengaluru bage disposal’. scruffy. to work as a tailor but was not earn- The people, especially those below I bought a packet, more out of ing enough to take the nephew on the poverty line, are nowhere on the pity and curiosity, and got him to as a helper or partner. So he (the radars of the policymakers. Except chat. It turned out he was a migrant uncle) stitches the dresses and the as vote banks. These two youths are

January-March 2020 VIDURA 5 Illustration: Arun Ramkumar Illustration: not immigrants or intruders from through their noses for well-known I do not know the religion of the outside. They are as much Indian multinational labels. We do not two youths I ran into. Does it mat- citizens as you and I, with rights know, and do not bother to find out, ter? They were human beings first, to basic needs promised under the how much of the money customers Hindus and Muslims and Sikhs Constitution. Who cares? pay for those dresses actually goes afterwards. The man hawking The man hawking dresses pleaded to the tailor who stitched them and dresses said he was illiterate, and with me to buy at least one; “maybe how much to the outlet displaying had no Aadhar card or ID. So what your daughter can wear it?” The them or to middlemen.. ‘citizenship’ can he claim even dresses were good, attractive and The new government in Maha- though he was born in India and well made, but how many can he rashtra has declared that the major- has never lived elsewhere, and has sell, roaming the streets? What is ity of jobs in the state will be reserved not migrated from outside? his future? In putting out esoteric for locals. Other states have similar From my pile of childhood memo- ‘studies’ and ‘surveys’ about the policies. What happens to citizens ries, comes recollections of two ser- reduction in the number of persons who migrate in search of jobs, and vants we had in Delhi – both from living in poverty, are we forgetting end up in the cities? What kind of Almora in the Himalayas. A beau- that behind such statistics are real, citizenship rights do they have, or tiful place -- but there was nothing flesh-and- blood human beings, can claim? for these young men, so they had struggling to find two meals a Evict them as ‘non-locals’ and send migrated to the capital in search of day? them back to their ‘native places’ – jobs. The man selling dresses can- to let them starve? Is the concept of When my youngest brother was not afford to set up a shop or stall; ‘Indianness’ being eroded by ris- born, I remember, our live-in servant that costs money. The affluent pre- ing hostilities towards those who would finish his cooking chores, fer to rummage through the racks are not ‘locals’? Don’t we have a and babysit for the infant, singing of branded, readymade dresses saying vasudhaiva kutumbakam (the songs in his native tongue. They stacked in large malls, and pay whole world is one family)? were haunting songs, full of pathos

6 VIDURA January-March 2020 (homesickness?) and I can still recall those “mulyomulyo” tunes he sang to Statement about ownership and other particulars about put my brother to sleep. “VIDURA” the English Quarterly Newspaper, , as He was illiterate, there were no tele- required to be published under Section 19-D Sub-Section (b) phones (much less mobiles) at that time, of the Press and Registration of Books Act read with the Rule so, during the year he had no contact with his wife and child left behind in 8 of the Registration of Newspapers (Central Rules) 1956 his village in the hills. One day, he went Form IV swimming and drowned; there was no VIDURA - Quarterly way to contact his family to convey the sad news. Delhi in those post-Indepen- 1. Place of publication : Chennai dence years used to be full of cooks and 2. Periodicity of Publication : Quarterly servants from Almora, all young men 3. Printer’s Name : Sashi Nair who had left their wives behind to eke Nationality : Indian out a living. Address : Flat 3C, GRN Akshara D112, Today, I see a modern version of Sangeetha Colony Ashok Pillar such migration – young men from the Road K.K.Nagar, Chennai – 78 Northeast, working as security guards or hotel staff in Bengaluru. Thousands 4. Publisher’s Name : Sashi Nair of them, trying to survive in a place Nationality : Indian where they don’t know the language and miss their native food. Address : Flat 3C, GRN Akshara D112, Vijay, one such security guard, took Sangeetha Colony Ashok Pillar a month off recently to visit his wife Road K.K.Nagar, Chennai – 78 and two children; the kids hardly rec- ognized their father. He cannot afford 5. Editor’s Name : Sashi Nair to make the long trip to Assam except Nationality : Indian once in two or three years. He cannot Address : Flat 3C, GRN Akshara D112, afford to bring his family to Bengaluru Sangeetha Colony Ashok Pillar either. The problem is migration, not Road K.K.Nagar, Chennai – 78 migrants. Along the pavements of Bengaluru 6. Names and addresses of individuals who own sit women from Rajasthan making and the newspaper/magazine and partners or selling beautiful cloth mobiles and mir- ror work. Many of them have infants shareholders holding more than one per cent on their laps. Where do they sleep, or of the total capital: shelter from the rain, do they even have The Press Institute of India - Research Institute a roof over their heads? Where do they for Newspaper Development get drinking water from? What ’citi- RIND Premises, Taramani, CPT Campus zenship rights’ do they have? Do they Chennai 600 113 even have an ‘address’ to mention in Shareholding of more than one percent of the capital their applications for documents like does not arise as the The Press Institute of India - Research Aadhar? Institute for Newspaper Development, is a non-profit society Migrating in search of livelihoods is registered under the Societies Act No. XXI of 1860. no crime. But what is life like, for root- less, homeless, indigent citizens who I, Sashi Nair, hereby declare that the particulars given above are are Indians but technically ‘migrants’? Instead of addressing basic problems true to the best of my knowledge and belief. that cause migration, are we spending Sashi Nair

crores on creating a ‘national register of 14.02.2020 Publisher citizens’? How many of us are asking < these questions?

January-March 2020 VIDURA 7 Journalists face the heat – a study makes harrowing reading

A study on the killing of/ attacks on journalists in India between 2014 and 2019, and justice in these cases presents a chilling picture. Susan Philip provides a summary of the report and highlights the researchers’ recommendations on how to secure justice and provide safeguards for the future

ince 2014, there have been Sarkar (lead researcher) titled, the popular notion of the power more than 200 serious attacks Getting Away With Murder, docu- and influence that it wields, the Son journalists in India. mented at least 40 killings of jour- freedom of the media is compro- Recently, Journalist Jobanpreet nalists, 21 of which were directly mised by state regulation, selective Singh was killed in a shooting linked to their work. It also docu- largesse and coercion, covert corpo- near Moga, Punjab. His colleague mented 198 serious instances of rate control and a highly competi- Gurchet Singh, working for a ver- attacks on journalists in 2014-19, of tive and politically polarised mar- nacular daily, was injured in the which at least 36 were in 2019. ket environment, the study found. shooting.In the spate of attacks in A press release from the Thakur Data on attacks on journalists is the wake of protests over the Citi- Foundation said the study found hard to come by. There is no offi- zenship Amendment Act, journal- that the nexus between politi- cial record on attacks on journalists ists in Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi cal power and the law-enforcing put out by either state or Central and Karnataka, have been detained, administration is often very strong governments. In 2014, the Union assaulted and their camera equip- and underscores the impunity that government announced that the ment snatched. accompanies these cases. National Crime Records Bureau Apart from senior journalists like (NCRB) would collate data sepa- Gauri Lankesh, Shujaat Bukhari Highlights of the study rately, but a satisfactory format has and J. Dey, killed in state capitals, still not been devised, the research- the majority of the journalists who • The journalists who came ers noted. were killed belonged to small towns under attack were reporting on This study has made detailed and villages, and were working illegal activities, land grab, cor- studies of 63 such cases between ruption, educational malprac- with regional media as correspon- 2014 and 2018. In most instances, tices and mafia gangs. dents or stringers. the alleged perpetrators are known, • Journalists have been fired While some cases received a lot yet, culprits haven’t been booked. upon, blinded by pellet guns, of initial attention and media cover- forced to drink liquor laced Thorough investigation, a speedy age, several others fell off the media with urine or urinated upon, trial and conviction should be the radar. Convictions in the killing of kicked, beaten and chased. norm, not the exception. But, in journalists are near-zero. Since 2010, They have had petrol bombs several cases, investigation was there have been over 30 cases of thrown at their homes. slow, uneven and inconsistent, the journalists losing their lives due to • Attacks on women journalists researchers found. their work. Convictions have been were found to have increased. Journalists often feel alone and secured in only three of them. The targeted attacks on women isolated. Repeatedly, in their tes- In this context, the Thakur Family journalists covering the Sabar- timonies, journalists who were Foundation commissioned a study imala Temple entry were sus- attacked expressed little hope that to document deaths and attacks on tained and vicious. anything would be done in their journalists from 2014-18, determine • Perpetrators of the killings and cases. Often, they gave up pursu- the status of justice in these cases attacks included government ing the case, expecting little or no and make recommendations on agencies, security forces, politi- justice. how best to tackle the increasing cal party members, religious attacks on journalists and secure sects, student groups,criminal Here are some recommendations gangs and local mafias. justice for them, and safeguard the made on the basis of the study: work they do. The study by Geeta Seshu Overall, despite the exponential • Set up helplines. (research director) and Urvashi growth of the media in India and • Provide safety training.

8 VIDURA January-March 2020 correctly and appropriate- charges applied. • Provide legal assistance to journalists/ their families as a priority. • Employers must fulfil their duties and responsibilities, including financial responsibil- ities, even if the journalists are stringers and freelancers. They must provide insurance to jour- nalists and their equipment. • Employers media houses must publish accounts of attacks and intervene with law-enforcing officials or administration to ensure that the case gets the required attention. • Build a network of journal- ists’ organisations and bodies like the Editors Guild of India and the News Broadcasters Associations. • Set up a network of lawyers, human rights activists and medical practitioners. • Campaign to raise awareness about attacks on journalists and

threats to freedom of the press and freedom of expression. <

The report’s cover page.

• Provide immediate assistance, including financial and medi- cal help, for victims/families. The Hindu Group, Vijayavani • Government must take a proactive stand, with a high- level officer monitoring inves- join forces tigations and ensuring that no pressure is brought upon law- The Hindu Group has announced a between Vijayavani and enforcing agencies. its publication, The Hindu. Through this, both brands will cover 26 per cent of the newspaper-reading population in Karnataka. Together, Vijayavani • If government agencies are

implicated, an independ- and The Hindu will offer an incremental readership of 18 lakh over and ent agency must be speedily above the leading combination in the market, ensuring advertisers and< assigned to the case. readers a wholesome and diverse journey than ever before. • Monitor police investigations, (Courtesy: exchange4media.com) ensuring that facts are recorded

January-March 2020 VIDURA 9 A refreshing change from the litany of divisions and hatred

Sarita Brara talks of the off-beat path trodden by the great saint-poet, Kabir, which is even more relevant today, as narrow domestic walls threaten to break up the fabric of the country

t a time when the pillars of Indian society, includ- Aing the media, are becom- ing polarised on religious grounds, when violence against Muslims and Dalits is on the increase, when lynching in the name of cows or some other pretext is becoming a routine affair, a visit to Kabir Math in Varanasi was indeed a refreshing experience, enhanced further by hearing young scholars talk about humanism and mankind, rather than religion, caste or creed. “Humanism was what Kabir believed in, to follow the right path was his religion,” says Ajay Das, who came to the Kabir Ashram Photos: SB when he was a child and is pursuing Samadhi of Neeru and Nima. undergraduate studies now. “My parents brought me here to imbibe has taken Kabir’s title, Das. There when he was nearly 120 years old, good values and I have never ever are at least 25 students from dif- to send a strong message that mukti regretted their decision,” he says. ferent parts of the countryat the is not attained by dying at a particu- Students have been coming to the ashram now. They follow the path lar place but through one’s karma. Kabir Ashram to follow the teach- shown by Kabir, and spend their Kabir eventually breathed his last ings of the mystic poet. Many like time in discussions and in keeping in Magher. Vyas Muni Das have stayed on to the ashram clean and neat. “Kabir placed humanitarianism work at the Math. Everyone here The great poet-saint Kabir spent above everything else and that is all his life in the ancient city of Vara- what has kept me here says”, Vyas nasi, or Kashi as it was called origi- Muni Das. For Kabir, karma (work) nally, the city where the evening was worship. If one honestly does aarti (prayers) at the lit-up ghats one’s karma, there is no need to wor- mesmerise spiritually and aestheti- ship, was what Kabir believed.” cally. A revolutionary, Kabir defied Sant Vyas Muni Das came to the all kinds of taboos, superstitions, Math with a group of sadhus 40 dogmas, blind faith and illogical years ago. When he left home, he beliefs and hypocrisy in society. was a young boy and had no idea While many old people spend the where he was heading. But once he fag end of their lives at Varanasi in reached the Math, he decided to stay the belief that they will get moksha or on and has never considered going mukti (freedom from the cycle and back to his family in Chhattisgarh. Ajay Das and other students at Kabir birth and rebirth), Kabir refused to “Worship is not lighting an agar- Ashram. breathe his last in Varanasi and went battior dhoop (incense stick) in a tem- instead to Magher near Gorakhpur ple, it is doing your work honestly

10 VIDURA January-March 2020 Inscriptions of Kabir dohas and images of his life; (right) Mahatma Gandhi’s visit to Kabir Math remembered. and listening to your inner voice – follows the inner voice, there will be “No one preaches here; people that is what Kabir propagated,” he no divisions in society in the name of who are interested buy books on his says. region, caste or creed”. life or learn from the beejak (compi- The ‘idols’ or sculptures at the The small hut where he spent lations of his thoughts) that contains Kabir Math complex are those of time giving sermons may be in a the essence of what the mystic poet people who laboured for a living. dilapidated state, but his beliefs and preached and practiced. One can There is one of Dariya sahib, a tailor, philosophy of life, which have been listen to Kabir bhajans and spend Gora Kumar, a potter and Premji, passed down from one generation time talking about him,” says Das. who was a barber, among others. to the next in the form of his poetry, There are several structures con- According to him, Kabir had never couplets or dohasas they are called, nected to Kabir’s life at the Math, the advocated a particular path to follow, are still vibrant. ashram, the temples and the Kabir- but his followers advocate following They are extensively quoted and chaura. There are myths surrounding the path the Saint-poet himself had have been woven into devotional Kabir’s birth and death. It is believed chosen. “He believed that God is music which is widely popular. that he was found on a lotus flower found within each one of us. If one

The samadhi mandir. The ‘idols’ or sculptures at the Kabir Math complex (above and on following page) are those of people who laboured for a living.

January-March 2020 VIDURA 11 The Kabir-chaura complex. in a pond by Neeru and Neema, a been used by him to hold drink- saint , some believe he’s a mystic, Muslim couple, who adopted him. ing water. It is believed to be 600 others see him as a revolutionary, There is a temple there now. years old. There is also a statue of but to his followers, he was ‘sarv- The samadhi mandir was built by Mahatma Gandhi who came to the gunn sampan’ (a man with every the Kashi KingVeerdev Singh, in Kabir Math in 1934. good quality) , a man far ahead of 1578 at the place where Kabir used Kabir had followers amongst both his times, as relevant today as he to meditate. His dohas are inscribed Hindus and Muslims. When he died, was in his lifetime. on the walls of the passage lead- the two communities fought over The dohas by the mystic poet on ing to the Kabirchaura. The Beejak his body. It is said that when the the oneness of humanity echo in Temple situated inside the Kabir- sheet covering the body was lifted, your heart as you leave the Math, chaura is considered a centre of only flowers were found there. The hoping that the path shown by the self-knowledge Hindus and Muslim divided the greatest revolutionary of his times The khadau (slippers) believed flowers among themselves and will be followed by people today,

to be worn by Kabir are kept in went their respective ways. irrespective of their religion, caste, < the smriti kaksh. There is also a Some people consider Kabir a creed or colour. wooden container believed to have great poet, some think of him as a (The writer is a senior journalist who divides her time between Delhi and Shimla.)

RIND Survey

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12 VIDURA January-March 2020 Fostering harmony and equality – they showed us the way

Communal harmony and social equality were concepts very dear to the heart of five of the most influential leaders of the Freedom Movement. Bharat Dogra gives us a quick overview

he Freedom Movement is one Chandra Bose, Shahid Bhagat greatest, most inspiring and also of the most inspiring phases Singh and Badshah Khan. the most lovable of human beings Tof India’s long history. It While we are familiar with the in 20th South Asia. produced many leaders of great first four, not everyone knows that We are passing through difficult wisdom and courage. While the list the achievements of Badshah Khan times when powerful forces are is long, if one had to select five who or Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan were trying to distort the legacy of the got the respect and admiration of second to none. Here was one dis- Freedom Movement. In this con- the largest number of people and ciple of Mahatma Gandhi who in text, it is important to remember became sources of inspiration, it terms of his non-violent resistance the commitments of these leaders. would be widely agreed that the perhaps scaled even greater heights They had some differences, but let choices would be Mahatma Gan- than his mentor. It may be said in us look at the priorities and com- dhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhash retrospect that he was one of the mitments they shared. Illustration: Arun Ramkumar Illustration:

January-March 2020 VIDURA 13 First and foremost, all five were leaders shared a vision of a social- the path of non-violence, but the firm in their commitment to commu- ist society though their visions dif- essence of these ideas was missed nal harmony. Mahatma Gandhi often fered in the details. in the post-Independence days and, said this was one cause for which he Bhagat Singh was the most in fact, is hardly appreciated today would be happily willing to sacrifice firmly committed to this. Badshah even by those who pay lip-service his life (and he actually did). Khan spent a lifetime on building to him and his ideas. Subhash Chandra Bose con- a socialist society by non-violent In the present situation, it is very sciously promoted communal har- means and when, as a very old important to keep in mind the mony even in the most difficult man, he visited India at the invita- top priorities of five of the great- conditions. Bhagat Singh and Jawa- tion of then Prime Minister Indira est leaders of the Freedom Move- harlal Nehru had very strong ideo- Gandhi, one of the main questions ment. Communal harmony and logical commitments to communal he asked Indian leaders was about reduction of inequalities constitute

harmony too. Badshah Khan and the extent to which they had lived the most important legacy of the his Khudai khidmitgars (servants of up to this ideal. Jawaharlal Nehru movement. < God) came out on the streets time and Netaji were both known during and again to protect Hindus and the Freedom Movement for their (The writer is a senior freelance Sikhs, often in very difficult and broadly socialist ideals of reducing journalist and author who has provocative conditions. inequalities. been associated with several social Another top priority and com- Gandhiji’s commitment to reduc- movements and initiatives. He lives mitment which these five leaders ing inequalities has not been ade- in Delhi. His latest book on Gandhi is shared was to reduce inequalities quately realised or appreciated. In titled Man Over Machine—A Path and foster socio-economic justice fact, some of his ideas had great Towards Peace.) to create a much more equitable potential for reducing and keeping society. Broadly speaking, the five down inequalities while following

India has highest number of traffic fatalities

A majority of the population in the urban cities of India are pedestrians and those who rely on public transport. The question arises, however, whether proper infrastructure is provided for them. At a seminar at the M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), Madhav G. Badami, McGill University, focused on the need to re-evaluate urban planning in India. India has the highest number of traffic fatalities in the world, said Badami, sharing data on national and global vehicle growth and accidents. If this trend continues, traffic accidents can become the fifth major reason for all deaths, globally by 2030 if not addressed by policies he said. Rapid motor vehicle growth in India has led to increased focus on infrastructure to accommodate more vehicles, such as larger roads, more bridges. However, public transport needs to be the focus, to motivate urban citizens to use them and which is the actual need of the economically weaker groups. A majority of transport in cities is on foot and this is not supported with proper or any infrastructure, he lamented. In fact, in the city, for upto 4-km distance, studies have proven that cycling is the fastest mode of transport, he said. Due to lack of infrastructure, over 60 per cent of those most affected by accidents according to Delhi traffic police reports, are pedestrians and cyclists. Few suggestions on urban transport policies made by Badami included: minimising need for travel by motor vehicles and improving pedestrian infrastructure by restoring accessibility; to restrict personal motor vehicles to their

most important uses by providing a wide range of choices for public transport; prioritize the most vulnerable and the public transport users, pedestrians and cyclists for policies on transport, not the vehicle owners. <

(Based on a release from MSSRF.)

14 VIDURA January-March 2020 A freedom fighter’s call for brotherhood is so relevant today

Ram Prasad Bismil was a leading freedom fighter of India during the 1920s. He headed the main groupof revolutionaries in Uttar Pradesh (then United Provinces). He was arrested in 1925 and sentenced to death in a farcical trial, and finally executed in December 1927. Bharat Dogra talks about his memoirs and how a neglected document of the Freedom Movement holds importance today

hile Ram Prasad Bis- and courage. Instead, he suggests mil was imprisoned in that the youth should work among WGorakhpur Jail, in very peasants and labourers to resist difficult conditions he wrote his injustice and achieve broad-based memoirs, and reportedly com- change in the long term. pleted it two days before his execu- Bismil gives a lot of importance tion. He wrote in pencil and the to achieving equality for Dalits and pages were smuggled out of prison ending untouchability. When so in three installments to Congress many of our own people are being leader Dharshan Prasad Dwivedi, treated as untouchables, how can who arranged to send them to we achieve freedom in the true

Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi, another sense, he asks. He also gives a lot of Photo: Wikipedia. freedom fighter and Editor of importance to improving the status Ram Prasad Bismil. Pratap. of women. He gives examples of It was believed that Vidharthi had women who played an important Referring to his legendary friend- the courage and ability to get the role in social change in other coun- ship with fellow-revolutionary memoirs published quickly, along tries and urges women of India to Ashfaqullah Khan, he asks why, with tributes to other martyrs in the play a similar role. when such a devout Muslim could Kakori case in which Ram Prasad In particular, Bismil makes a very have an abiding friendship with Bismil and three others – Ashfaqul- strong plea to youth to work in vil- and complete trust in a devout lah, Roshanlal Thakur and Rajen- lages. He writes that youth who Hindu (himself), can’t there be

Hindu-Muslim unity in the entire dra Lahri – were handed the death were active in the Non-cooperation < sentence. Movement were more seen in high country? Bismil was also a poet and his visibility urban areas while the poems and songs were very fre- greater need is for long-term com- quently sung by freedom fighters. mitted work in villages. He calls He wrote and translated several upon them to take up small-scale, DC winds up editions important books and set up small pioneering, entrepreneurial activi- publication efforts. ties in villages and work for wider Deccan Chronicle has closed Banarasi Das Chaturvedi, a con- social and political issues. down its Bengaluru and temporary writer known for his Bismil pleads very strongly for editions, according work on freedom fighters, wrote communal harmony, particularly to media reports. It has 11 that he considered Bismil’s work for Hindu-Muslim unity and har- editions coming out of Tamil to be the finest memoir in Hindi. mony. Pointing to government Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Despite the importance of these collusion in promoting communal Telangana. Deccan Chronicle memoirs, they have not received disturbances, he talks of how those also runs The Asian Age in the attention they deserve. involved in communal riots were Mumbai, Kolkata and New From his experience as an activist, given lower punishments, and even Delhi. The publication had

earlier shut its Mumbai, Delhi Bismil notes that youth are attracted those were reduced subsequently, < to firearms, and have grand notions while those freedom fighters who and Hyderabad editions. initially but once the reality of the took special care to avoid indis- (Courtesy: exchange4media.com) long bitter struggle sets in, it is a criminate or needless violence were challenge to sustain their ideals given death sentences.

January-March 2020 VIDURA 15 Remembering Independence, and recalling fond memories As each year begins, Sakuntala Narasimhan’s mind invariably goes back to another January from her childhood – that of 1947-8. That was another day and age when life was far simpler in every way. Gandhi is truly dead, not only physically but also in spirit and inspiration, she says. Despite all the statues we ritually garland every now and then

was growing up in Delhi, and I wore it with pride and my father While I was tuned in and waited to during the post-Independence took a picture. In the evening, I listen to her, suddenly the wailing Imonths, it was like having a remember, she and father went notes of the sarangi came on, with ringside seat at truly momentous to a party at Rashtrapati Bhavan announcements of the shooting. All events. I can say, of many incidents (known then as the Viceroy’s resi- music broadcasts were cancelled as – the communal riots while mil- dence) and my mother, who had a sign of mourning, and my mother lions of refugees from both sides put on a grand Benarasi silk sari returned home all agitated. In most of the newly bifurcated Subconti- with generous zari embroidery, families that night, no dinner was nent poured in or fled, the arson at came home feeling very embar- cooked or eaten. There was some- Connaught Place where electronic rassed, because other women, like thing grave in the air that even chil- goods were looted by frenzied , Aruna dren could sense. mobs, the flames rising along the Asaf Ali, Vijayalakshmi Pandit My father took us all to India horizon where colonies had been and Durgabai Deshmukh, had all Gate later to watch the funeral pro- set on fire, the birth of Independent turned up wearing simple cotton cession. The vast lawns around the India – that I was ‘right there’ and khadi. monument were a sea of humanity can still recall, vividly, those inci- I remember being taken to Gan- as far as the eye could see; villag- dents, even after seven decades. dhiji’s prayer meeting one wintry ers had walked all night, from far I had just joined school, and on evening at Birla House, and watch- and near, to be able to have a last Independence Day 1947, every ing the Mahatma walk up, lean- darshan of the mortal remains of schoolchild in the country received ing on two helpers, and sitting on the Mahatma. As the cortege went a commemorative medal as a keep- the dais, and giving his speech. I slowly past, I could not see over the sake. I still have it. My mother ran remember that songs were sung heads of the milling throng, so my up a white mini-sari on which she in different languages. Two weeks father hoisted me on to his shoulder tacked a border with ribbons in the later, he was assassinated. and I saw the noon day sun shining colours of the national flag – orange, My mother had a broadcast that on the bald head of the Mahatma, white and green. evening, on January 30, at 5.30. with Nehru sitting in front on the gun carriage, slumped in grief. That sight is etched in my memory so deeply that I can recall that image as if it were in front of me today. We walked home and turned on the radio to listen to Melville D’Mello’s running commentary from Raj Ghat (there was no TV then). I remember the massive, bold, black headlines in the newspa- pers, the speech that Nehru made, about “the light having gone out of our lives”, though I had no idea about the historic importance of the events. In the immediate aftermath

Photo: SN of the assassination, it was not yet clear who had shot Gandhiji, and A picture taken on August 15, 1947(or thereabouts) has the writer wearing the ‘Independence sari’ her mother created. why. Communal riots were feared,

16 VIDURA January-March 2020 and we children were ordered not Hirakud Dam, was a handsome come walking, swinging a stick, to go outdoors. The tension in the thousand rupees (known as a ‘four early in the morning, and drop in air was palpable. figure salary’). Once a week, my at our place to listen to some music We had a full time, live-in cook- father would give me and my sib- (my mother was a musician) and cum-helper who was a migrant lings two annas each, to go buy chat with my father. If I was still from Almora Hills, and one after- jilebis from Bengali Market which asleep when he came (around 6 noon he asked my father excitedly, was close by. On holidays my broth- am), he would prod me with his “Sahib, there are heaps of radios ers and I would set out on an early walking stick and ask me to get up and transistors being taken away morning walk down Feroze Shah and sing for him. from fancy shops in Connaught road towards India Gate, collecting There were no security person- Place, shall I also help myself to ripe, juicy, purple jamun fruit from nel, no gun toting policemen. I also some?” These were shops that the the trees that lined the avenue. remember seeing Indira Gandhi owners had abandoned and fled Many years later when I was vis- with her two sons, walking into a fearing communal violence, and iting Delhi as a middle-aged adult, book shop at Connaught Circus — rampaging mobs had broken into I took a nostalgic stroll down the again, with no armed escort. This those shops to loot. A transistor or same Feroze Shah road to relive was around 1950 or thereabouts. My radio was a coveted luxury item in childhood memories. Promptly I mother whispered to me, “That’s those days. was accosted brusquely by gun- Nehru’s daughter.” Seven decades My father forbade him, and the toting sentries standing beside sand later, last week I saw a fancy, chauf- man was much disappointed. A bags who ordered me “jaldijao” (go feur-driven white limousine parked radio would have made a big dif- away fast). VIPs’ bungalows lined in the middle of the road, blocking ference to his spartan lifestyle. I this stretch of the road, so secu- traffic, at a busy intersection in Ben- think his salary was Rs 25 a month, rity forces were stationed every galuru; the number plate said ‘Ex- of which he had to send a portion to few yards. That’s, again, ‘prog- MLA, Tumakuru. Mind you, not his wife and family back in the hills. ress’, when unarmed, middle-aged even ‘current MLA’, just ‘ex’, flaunt- Today, we have ‘progressed’, so Rs women could not even take a walk ing his importance as a politician. 25 is nowhere near fair wages even along a public road because they Gandhi is, truly dead, not only for a day’s work. could be a threat to VIPs. physically but also in spirit and My father’s monthly salary, as Along this same Feroze Shah inspiration. Despite all the statues

a ‘foreign returned engineer’ who Road, the speaker of the Lok Sabha, we ritually garland every now and was part of the team that built the Ananthasayanam Iyengar, would then. Sad. <

Captivated by science

As a part of strengthening the capacity of Gandhigram children in science, the Lakshmi College of Education and the Indian Literacy Project (ILP) conducted a science exhibition with the support of teachers. It was heartening to see 130 students of primary, middle and high school conducting experiments and explaining the scientific concepts to those who visited. It is planned to celebrate February 28 as National

Science Day in all the schools of Enthusiastic children explain the exhibits to visitors. Gandhigram and involve selected < students from villages.

January-March 2020 VIDURA 17 Chipko Movement leader’s writings cry for publication Sundarlal Bahuguna was a prolific and thought-provoking writer besides being an environmental activisit, says Bharat Dogra. Taking steps to collect and publish his work would constitute a valuable service, he adds

tireless activist, Sunder- on trains, even while sitting in most with the focus on soil and water lal Bahuguna was also a uncomfortable hill buses. conservation as well as providing Aprolific writer on issues Bahuguna began writing at the food and fuel for villagers. of great relevance. Thousands of age of 14. He smuggled out news The last phase of Bhuguna’s articles written by him in Hindi of the arrest of Sridev Suman, numerous struggles was the most and English (more in Hindi than a famous freedom fighter from difficult one – against the Tehri Dam in English) have been published in Uttarakhand, and for this bold bit Project. In this phase, he wrote exten- leading newspapers and journals, of journalism, he was arrested at sively on the issues of dams, particu- as well as small but valuable pub- that tender age. Later, when he par- larly in the context of the Himalayan lications which present an alterna- ticipated in important social reform region and the Ganga River. tive point of view. movements such as the anti-liquor Bahuguna wrote several memo- Bahuguna was a regular contrib- movement and the Dalit Temple rable articles on the problems and utor to Sarvodaya Press Service, a Entry movement in Uttarakhand, extreme difficulties of hill-villagers, weekly article and feature service he wrote extensively on these particularly women. His article on on issues of social relevance from issues. the life of his mother in a hill village a Gandhian perspective. In addi- However, Bahuguna’s most is one of his most memorable and tion, several speeches of Sunderlal important activism was saving moving pieces. He also reported Bahuguna at various conferences Himalayan ecology through the from disaster zones, including the provide a comprehensive under- Chipko Movement and his most Uttarkashi floods and the Garhwal standing on his ideas on environ- extensive writing was also on this earthquake. mental and related issues. subject. He integrated the topics of Bahuguna’s writings are scat- As a social and environmental environment and economic devel- tered and it will be a valuable effort

activist, Bahuguna travelled widely opment of the hill villages when he to bring these together so that they and undertook foot marches in wrote about Ecology as Economics can be accessed easily. < the Himalayan region. He shared of Permanence. his impressions of environmental In articles and speeches, Bahu- ruin and the people he met in the guna emphasised protection of remote villages. A lot of his writing forests as well as large-scale affor- Subhash Chandra steps was done at railway stations and estation in the Himalayan region down as chairman, ZEEL

Subhash Chandra has stepped down as the chairman of ZEE Entertainment Enterprises. ZEEL has said in the exchange filing that Chandra will continue as non-executive director. The Subhash Chandra-backed Essel Group will become a minority shareholder, however,

retaining management control, news reports have said. <

(Courtesy: exchange4media.com) Photo: BD.

The redoubtable Sunderlal Bahuguna.

18 VIDURA January-March 2020 A journalist’s campaign to save the earth is laudable Environmental issues and an arms threat are drawing life on earth to the brink, says Bharat Dogra

cientists have been drawing meeting various challenges relating people’s movements, particularly attention to threats posed by to climate change. movements of young people and Sa wide range of serious envi- Bharat Dogra said many - women, for protecting the environ- ronmental problems, which, along nent persons and organisations ment and bringing about broad- with weapons of mass destruction, had endorsed the campaign for based peace,” he said. have plunged all life-forms into a declaring 2020-30 as Save the Earth Resolving the survival crises survival crisis. Journalist-activist Decade (SED) at the global level. within a framework of justice and and author Bharat Dogra recently He clarified that the campaign was equality, democracy and peace released five books pertaining to not being funded by any particu- should be given priority, he felt. It the issue – Planet in Peril, Protect- lar organisation, and that anybody was in this context that the Save the ing Earth for Children, Earth Beyond who believes in it can contribute Earth Now Campaign with Save the Borders, Man Over Machine and in any way they choose. (Proceeds Earth Decade (SED) Demand had Dharti Ki Raksha Ke LiyeNirnayak from the sale of the books will go been initiated, he explained, and Hoga Agla Dashak (in Hindi) – towards the campaign). added that the demand, endorsed which form the basis of the Save He pointed out that scientists had by several eminent persons, organi- the Earth Nowcampaign initiated flagged the extinction of species, air zations and movements, had been

by him. pollution, water crisis, acidification sent to the United Nations Secre- To mark the occasion, a discus- of oceans, accumulation of hazard- tary General. < sion on the global crisis was held at ous chemicals as well as the dangers the Institute of Social Sciences (ISS). posed by nuclear and other modern It was attended by eminent person- types of weapons. He said South alities, including Institute Director Asia was particularly vulnerable to WAN-FRA joins Ash Narain Roy, its Chairperson both climate change and the arms Stars4Media prog Dr George Mathew, and former threat, and , perhaps the Panchayati Raj Minister Mani Shan- most important city of the region, WAN-IFRA joins Stars4Media. kar Aiyar. was affected in a big way. eu, an exchange programme Roy commended Dogra for his He regretted that world leader- for young media professionals campaign while Dr Mathew said ship had failed to resolve the most to boost media innovation Dogra’s books would spread aware- crucial aspects of the survival crisis and cross-border cooperation ness about the problem. Mani Shan- and take remedial steps. “In this in Europe. A media-driven, kar Aiyar emphasised the key role context it is important to emphasize pilot project co-funded by the of panchayats and gram sabhas in the importance of strengthening European Union, Stars4Media will support 100 promising young news media professionals working together around collaborative innovative project- based initiatives. Participants in the programme will be young media professionals with 2-10 years of media experience. The objective is to enhance media innovation and cross-border cooperation.

(Courtesy: exchange4media.com) Photo: BD.. The writer’s (extreme right) books being released.

January-March 2020 VIDURA 19 Are ‘socially-relevant’ ads all that they set out to be?

A clutch of gender-sensitive advertisement films have hit social media platforms, but do they really meet the brief? And what image of women do these ads reflect? Manjira Majumdar throws light on some such questions

dvertisement films today shrunk in traditional media, they #StandByStrongWomen, #Re-mar- are trying to be socially are the work by a bunch of young riage and # Unstereotype are some Arelevant. Veering away ad persons, filmmakers, even of recent such ad films. from exhortations to save water or agency owners, who weave prod- But are they really helping to grow more trees, these films range ucts into social messages or vice change perspectives? Are the multi- from fostering communal harmony versa for high-profile clients. national companies whose products through celebrating same sex rela- Watches, shoes, online shop- are being advertised taking pains to tionships to caring for the aged. ping portals, tea, FMCG prod- understand the nuances of our cul- Seeking to make strong statements ucts, etc are all being neatly ture and project a relevant picture? about issues for which space has intertwined with social messages. Or are they all just a part of the Illustration: Arun Ramkumar Illustration:

20 VIDURA January-March 2020 ‘brandwagon’ of trending hashtags reacting to insults? No, we’re not a similar ad, the impression that a on social media platforms? impressed by the message either. woman employee whose room was To answer this, let us examine And the product being plugged? A being cleaned out was about to be the so-called gender-sensitive com- mosquito repellent! fired was proved wrong, when it mercials on certain products. A fair- Then, there is the ad about a pre- turned out that she was only being ness cream tried to ‘whitewash’ the mier Indian garment brand, it talks moved to a more convenient room. harmful ingredient it contained by about the sharing of wedding costs. Some same-sex love ads were touting women’s empowerment. The dashing cricketer insists that the great too, but there are mixed It sought to imply that a fairer- expenses have to be split equally, opinions about the ad which tries skinned woman is a more confident because the families are of similar to bring live-in relationships out one, who gets the job of her choice status. OK, you say, at least some- in the open. The parents of a boy – in this case, the job was that of a thing is changing. The whole expense pay a surprise visit to him on his commentator, in complete is not being piled on the head of the birthday. His mother announces disregard of the fact that it is usu- father of the bride. But what if the on arrival that she would get him ally done within the comfort of an bride had been of lower status? a bahu that year, and then spots his air-conditioned space, and And of course, if the groom had live-in girlfriend. The girl quickly in the hot sun. been poor, it would have been of no drapes a dupatta over her head and Those who took a positive view consequence. It is only the happi- makes tea for everyone. The boy’s said it at least talked of women ness of his daughter that the father mother is mollified by the extra with an ambition to work, rather has to keep in mind, and the pre- touch of adding cardamom to the than just be a bride. But we are not mier product advertised has to be tea. Just imagine how much balanc- impressed. The product, which was seen in that light. Once again, we’re ing she will have to do in the future likely to have been banned in 2018, not impressed. to keep everyone satisfied! has instead been replaced by sev- Not all ads are regressive. Some- The latest in the series is a Dhan- eral clones. times there just may be a correla- teras ad nudging women to invest Sometimes, the product does not tion between the product and the in iron and not gold, as, needless have a direct bearing to the story. message. Like the detergent ad to say, women are more iron-defi- Take the ad film about the daugh- – #ShareTheLoad – urging men cient than men. But the underlying ter-in-law of a family who is identi- to share in household chores, or message is that women should be fied only as such – bahu – and not the one about widow remarriage. healthy and sexy.

by name. She goes about silently Some ads make honest attempts to Therefore, we still maintain, we suffering the insults heaped on her address issues of gender and social are not impressed. < and her ‘lowly’ family because her discrimination. son has stolen some money. She is A pregnancy-testing kit com- (The writer is an independent chided by both her mother-in-law pany kept us on tenterhooks about researcher, writer and lecturer and her husband, until her father- the possible sacking of a maid who in print journalism. She lives in in-law speaks up in her support. was found to be pregnant, until it Kolkata.) The message is, support a strong was revealed that she was actu- woman. Is strength identified as not ally being given lighter work. In

Manoramaonline.com bags WAN-IFRA South Asia Best News Website Award

Manoramaonline.com, the online news portal of Malayala , has bagged the WAN-IFRA South Asian Digital Media Award for the best news website for 2019. The digital version of Kerala based Malayala Manorama newspaper is one of the largest regional language news websites in India. In 2016, Manoramaonline.com had won the award for the best news website at the WAN-IFRA World Digital Media Awards. In the best news website category, the publisher also grabbed the second spot with its ‘Manorama Mobile’ offering. The award for the ‘Best News Startup’ went to The Wire (English) by Foundation for Independent Journalism. The Wire also bagged gold in the Best Use of Online Video category for its web series Sadak Se Sansad, which

covered stories from 55 Lok Sabha constituencies across India. BBC News, NDTV Hop, Arre, Sangbad Pratidin, Prothom Alo, and The Hindu were among the winners. <

January-March 2020 VIDURA 21 A digital initiative to reach out to sexual harassment victims So, what’s happened to the #Me Too Movement? Looks like it has fizzled out. Notwithstanding legislation, complainants against sexual harassment have to tackle hostility at their workplace, and invite civil and criminal defamation suits which leave them shaken and psychologically scarred. That’s where the Smashboard app comes in. Rina Mukherji has the details.

year after #Me Too took India under the Convention on the Elimi- looked upon by these women as and the world by storm, nation of all Forms of Discrimina- sexual harassment. Athe outrage has fizzled out, tion Against Women (CEDAW). In short, the prevalent patriarchy and complainants who took on the Notwithstanding legislation, in India colours social attitudes high and mighty have been nearly complainants not only have to towards women, as also the manner silenced. A 2010 IPSOS/ Reuters tackle hostility at their workplace, in which women perceive them- Survey had found India to have the but also invite civil and criminal selves. This causes women to toler- highest (recorded) incidence of sex- defamation suits, which involve a ate and accept rather than confront ual harassment. The findings were decade and more of courtroom bat- the violence meted out to them in corroborated by another survey by tles. The personal trauma, as also their daily lives. the Centre for Transforming India the pressures of a protracted fight This is where #smashboard steps the same year, showing that nearly against tormentors in court, often in. Set up by Noopur Tiwari, along 88 per cent of the women (surveyed) leave many shaken and psychologi- with Monica Narula, #smash- had experienced some form of work- cally scarred for life. board is a digital community of place sexual harassment during the There is also a lot of ignorance like-minded individuals operating course of their work. about what constitutes sexual through a mobile app, wherein vic- Part of the problem, one finds, harassment, as a first-time survey tims/ survivors can be assured of lies in the fact that women who in India’s Northeast revealed. The support and help from counsellors, complain against being sexually study, which covered 364 respon- psychiatrists and lawyers. harassed at their workplaces receive dents in seven urban areas – Guwa- The app allows women, as well no support. In India, in particular, hati, Barpeta, Kokrajhar, Tezpur, as those who identify as women, or a woman who musters courage to Dibrugarh, Diphu and Silchar – members of the LGBTQ community, complain against a powerful man found that most women did not to seek help from counsellors, law- becomes a social pariah. Often, know how to define SHW. yers or journalists anonymously. It those who call themselves the sav- The report, ‘Workplace safety also gives access to media reports, iours of women shy away when it and dignity for women in Assam’, laws and guidelines that deal with comes to taking up cudgels in sup- based on the study conducted SHW to those who have faced sex- port of women who demand dignity by Guwahati University and the ual harassment or want to prepare at the workplace, and do not come Guwahati-based non-governmental themselves on the subject. forward to either testify in court or organisation North East Network While victims/ survivors of SHW lend any support to the complain- (NEN), found that nearly 41 per enjoy the privilege of anonymity, ant when it comes to following up cent of the women surveyed had professionals will need to state with law-enforcement authorities. faced SHW in their lifetime. their identity on the app. The idea This is in spite of the Supreme Of these, 69 per cent had encoun- is “to prevent the isolation of those Court having formulated the tered largely physical harassment, who face and report SHW, and also Vishaka Guidelines as far back as which is far more serious than ver- help survivors heal,” according to 1997, and the government passing bal or mental harassment. Yet, the Noopur Tiwari. the Sexual Harassment at Work- women surveyed had normalised Once an individual becomes a part place (Prevention, Prohibition and their experience of sexual harass- of the #smashboard community by Redressal) Act (SHW Act) in 2013 to ment as casual, daily occurrences downloading the app from Google address the issue and bring perpe- which they could not do anything Play, he/ she gets access to all infor- trators of such harassment to justice about. It was only extreme cases mation on SHW, including laws on in keeping with India’s obligations like rape and molestation that were SHW, and, hence, is equipped to

22 VIDURA January-March 2020 Photos: RM/Smashboard Messages on the Smashboard app. fight SHW at the workplace. They • On Smashboard, there is a clear in 2020. Once introduced, SHW can use the app to connect to legal dissociation of users’ legal iden- survivors who wish to initiate and medical professionals, as also tity from their ID on the plat- legal action can access insurance

gender-sensitive journalists. form. If/ when the user needs to cover for legal services and mental Media clippings, judgements and lift their anonymity, their data healthcare support. < will still not be readable with- the like are also available through out their consent. In keeping (The writer is a senior journalist the app, to equip those seeking with the users’ choice, Smash- information on the issue. Similarly, board allows users to iden- based in .) it gives access to those who have tify themselves as seekers or been victims/survivors and fought providers of support. Various SHW , in order to provide moral verification modules are also support or advice. The Key features offered to enable individuals to Hindu Tamil Thisai of the # smashboardapp are: make an informed choice. recognised by CEC • A Question & Answer feature • As an alternative social media allows Smashboard members Hindu Tamil Thisai, the Tamil platform, Smashboard serves as to reach out to the community newspaper published by KSL a digital ally, bringing together with questions (anonymously Media, part of The Hindu people of all genders seeking or not), creating a repository of Group, was awarded the and offering support on a sin- questions around relationships, National Media Award by the gle platform, without any fear gender, sexuality and more. Central Election Commission of of being judged or trolled. • The mapping feature serves as India for carrying outstanding • One of the biggest challenges a travel companion and loca- campaign on Voter Awareness faced by victims and survivors tion service for those look- & Education during 2019. It is of sexual violence is build- ing for good feminist vibes, the first Tamil publication and ing a support structure while LGBTQ+ spaces, emergency only publication across India they are battling trauma, or services, allies or events (librar- planning to seek redress. As a ies, stores, shelters, NGOs, con- to have received the award, for digital platform, Smashboard certs, conferences etc.) the Print Media Category, from the Election Commission of connects people to people and • It views current affairs, includ- people to experts in order to ing video and print, live-stream- India, for 2019. The campaign provide much-needed ‘survi- ing, syndicated and original was to sensitise the voters of vor support’. This is also meant content through a feminist lens. Tamil Nadu on the importance to minimise the cost and risk to of ‘informed and ethical voting

survivors seeking justice. for stronger democracy’, during Besides India, #smashboard has < • Smashboard does not indulge the Lok Sabha elections. in personal data harvesting and also been launched in France and a is designed to maintain the ano- few other countries. Plans are afoot (Courtesy: exchange4media.com) nymity and privacy of survivors. to bring in insurance facilities early

January-March 2020 VIDURA 23 Social theatre has the power to change mindsets, and how

The immense power of theatre to change mindsets and create an environment for social inclusion, tolerance, solidarity and cohesion is perhaps not so well known or understood. Madhura Dutta talks of her personal experience and lets us know how powerful a tool social theatre can be

he use of theatre beyond Association) and Badal Sircar’s state added to my treasure of expe- entertainment has a long non-proscenium political theatre. riences. The entire gamut of indig- Thistory, both globally and in In fact, long before modern forms enous, rural, folk theatre forms India. It has been used to mobilise of social theatre matured, Rabin- unfolded before us: Jatra, Bonbibir social change through community dranath Tagore was already using Pala, Domni, Gambhira, Chhau, education and empowerment, to theatre for mass education, break- Alkaap, and so many others. raise consciousness and voice con- ing social barriers and creating col- We used theatre mainly in rural cerns, and to encourage personal lective identity. marginalised communities for com- development. I had the opportunity to work munity education on various social Social theatre takes performance with social theatre in India, spe- issues and rights. The objective theatre into the ‘social field’ with cifically in West Bengal, for over a was to mobilise them to take action the purpose of intervening, partici- decade (2002–2012), and the expe- against social vices and problems pating and collaborating with the rience was awe-inspiring. Bangla- in an informed way, through active people who live in these ‘fields’. It is natak dot com (www.banglanatak. participation, rational thinking, and more than the mere coming together com), the organisation with which leadership. of theatre and social work; it is the I worked, used local theatre forms Street theatre, when used for dynamic interaction between the for participatory communication social change, has the advantage two that can change both disci- as part of projects undertaken with of being able to reach out to com- plines. According to Thompson and rural communities throughout munities, localise content and break Schechner (2004 :16), “by creating a Bengal. cultural barriers, making space for theatre of, by, and with silenced, Our team interacted with theatre community engagement and dia- marginalised, and oppressed peo- experts and local actors, not only logue. Through our theatre-based ples, social theatre workers assert to learn about the diverse formats campaigns, we were able to mobi- that we all can experience perfor- of their performances, but also to lise community members to voice mance in a broader and deeper way work with them to build visual sto- their own stories, feelings and than before”. ries on various social issues. The grievances after the shows through As Indian theatre personali- richness and creativity of the varied a platform of audience interaction ties and activists started learning rural and folk forms, the addictive that helped organize the commu- about the work of international simplicity and rusticity, the beauty nity for collective action. social theatre pioneers like Richard of such a vast array of presenta- For example, to tackle issues of Schechner, Peter Schumann, Jerzy tions, the local humour and their child trafficking and child mar- Grotowski, Julian Beck, Judith cultural roots, the passion of the riage, the local community formed Malina, Peter Brook, Eugenio performers, and their commitment watch groups to identify strangers Barba, Augusto Boal, and many and honesty towards their own cul- in the village, monitor exposure of others, they began using theatre as ture were things that we had not children to vulnerable situations, a vehicle for political activism, cre- encountered in our formal urban and get in touch with the local ating social awareness, and fighting education setup. Childline as needed or report unfa- social injustice. I was overwhelmed by the unfa- miliar persons to the village to the In Bengal, specifically, social the- miliar world of such creative Panchayat. atre has been additionally inspired energy, which was forceful, honest, When community members start by the strong theatre culture in and enjoyed complete artistic free- taking ownership of their own the state, notably the ‘new’ theatre dom. Songs, music, rural festivals, development and demand effec- by IPTA (Indian People’s Theatre and the numerous dialects of the tive support services from the local

24 VIDURA January-March 2020 Photos: Banglanatak.com

Taking theatre outdoors — to the marginalised, and experiencing performance in a broader, deeper way. governance, multiple stakehold- interceding with other families to But I do not think that social ers get involved in the process. It keep their friends in school. change is the primary goal of social becomes a collaboration through These adolescent girl children, theatre. The more important out- dialogue, trust, understanding, and through their own theatre-based come is that a significant number necessary action. campaigns, were able to mobilise of people, after becoming conscious However, reaching this point is support from the panchayats, police, of their vulnerabilities, rights, and not easy, it is a slow process sup- and NGOs to stop a number of child entitlements and after acquiring ported by continuous advocacy marriages in their villages. Theatre- the skill to rationally address social with the local administration and based research helped bring into the issues affecting their lives, have stakeholders. We realised that open stories of people whose chil- been engaged in fighting for proper a constructive approach using dren went missing, whose daughters delivery mechanism of services — existing systems to support and were trafficked but who refrained social, legal, and political, as well as strengthen community action was from reporting it for fear of stigma for resisting the operation of power a fundamental component critical and harassment. Our research even- relations in their everyday lives. to success, as opposed to generat- tually led to several formal reports In that sense, social theatre acts as ing directionless activism. being filed, investigations being a resource that enables the agency

We used theatre not only for opened, and community vigilance of these people on their road to < community education, but also groups being formed. empowerment. for alternative training methods My personal experience brought for grassroots service providers home to me the fact that theatre has (The writer is senior advisor - such as health workers, teachers, immense power to change mind- Crafts, Heritage and Livelihood at JCB panchayats, police, etc. We found sets and create an environment for India’s CSR Foundation, which works it an immensely powerful tool for social inclusion, tolerance, solidar- in Ballabhgarh, Jaipur, Pune, Baroda. participatory research on sensitive ity and cohesion irrespective of She has a docorate from the School issues such as child abuse, child language, economic situations, and of Media and Cultural Studies, Tata trafficking and HIV/AIDS, where cultural differences. Institute of Social Sciences, and an conventional methods are often The impact of social theatre on MA in Sustainable Development from perceived as threatening by the the communities it touches is dif- Staffordshire University, UK. She communities. ficult to measure, and we cannot has bachelor’s and master’s degrees The outcomes of such initia- really know exactly how much in Sociology from the University of tives included community leaders social theatre alone has contributed Calcutta.) demanding for their rights to effec- in bringing about social change. At tive health services, sanitation, PDS the macro level, social change is and child care. It was heartening to inevitably brought about by larger see young adolescent girls being socio-economic changes, usually empowered to fight for their con- implemented using state machin- tinued education and successfully ery through policy actions.

January-March 2020 VIDURA 25 Is media transforming the future of education?

When Kanchan K. Malik was invited to an education summit organised by the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi, in collaboration with exchange4media.com last year, she learnt the topic was how media was transforming the future of education. Here is what she had to say

ho better could articu- Web. With technology reach- philosophers of critical pedagogy, late about how media ing levels of sophistication that questioned the prevailing practices Weducation and talk about make it capable of cognitive of education that reduce students demands of the media industry tasks, predictions are that com- to the status of passive objects to be than media owners and practitio- puters and the Internet could acted upon by the teacher. In this even replace teachers. ners themselves! Some of them out-dated form of education, it is even have the experience of run- Now, whether media will transform the responsibility of the teacher to ning media institutes. I realised that the future of education to exclude deposit in the minds of the students, the task of our panel was probably the educators or not, is a question the bits (or now, bytes) of informa- to dwell on the role that media – for experts in educational technol- tion that constitute knowledge. with its changing avatars, features, ogy to answer. I, on the other hand, Freire named this ‘banking edu- and with it becoming smarter and would, like to go a little beyond, cation’. The objective of banking faster by the day – could possibly and read this topic from my stand- education is to condition people play in transforming the way edu- point and specialisation in partici- into accepting existing frameworks cation happens, including media patory communication and com- of power and historical as well as education. munity/ alternative media, which hierarchical agency. In the banking Being an educator myself, the looks at education more as a social model, knowledge is considered to obvious and ‘needless to say’ kind process and focuses on democratis- be a gift that is bestowed upon the of responses to this would be that ing knowledge and adopting mul- student by the teacher and hence technology is already sweeping tiple interpretations of literacy. the need to overtly venerate the through classrooms and that it is Education is not just about pour- latter. shaking up the role of educators. ing knowledge into the heads of stu- Freire disapproves the approach Media technologiesare, therefore, dents or transferring of skill-sets, so where the teachers envisage them- transforming the future of educa- they become industry ready – that selves as the singular possessors tion through: is, no doubt important but, then, as of knowledge and wisdom, while • Amplification of learning expe- the famous quote says, ‘Education students are deemed to be empty rience by the use of multi-media is not the learning of facts, but the receptacles into which teachers technologies, a virtual inter- training of the mind to think’. must pour their knowledge. face, visual engagements, and Therefore, to my mind, the role In contrast, good teaching consists plenty of educational games media could or ought to play in of creating the conditions for genu- and activities. Devices like lap- transforming the future of educa- ine dialogue and, so, instead of the tops, smartphones, tablets and tion is by re-defining the current banking method, Freire proposes a now AI are powerful tools that pedagogical practices and making give-and-take (reciprocal) relation- are being made adaptive to them more engaging, contextual, ship among the teachers and the meet the diverse needs of the students in an environment that is learners, to enhance teaching holistic, participatory and demo- democratic and allows everyone practices, and improve learn- cratic. This will take us away from ing outcomes. the binaries of ‘thinkers think, and to gain knowledge and learn from each other. I feel appropriate media • Scalability, which means one doers do’. Why can we not have technologies could be used in edu- teacher to millions of students capable practitioners who are also through let us say the Massive critical thinkers? cation to do just that. Open Online Course (MOOC) In his book, Pedagogy of the While the relationship devel- aimed at unlimited participa- Oppressed, Paulo Freire, argu- oped through the banking method tion and open access via the ably one of the most influential between the teacher and the

26 VIDURA January-March 2020 Illustration: Arun Ramkumar Illustration: students is characterised by inse- on the role of being facilitators disciplinary approach must be curity, suspicion and fear of one who enable students to critically incorporated in the syllabi in all another, and the teacher’s need to question and analyse situations in departments to encourage media maintain oppressive control, in the nuanced ways. Thus, the need for practice that is more inclusive, case of critical pedagogy that Freire multi-media tools that equip teach- cooperative and broader in terms proposes, relationship is egalitarian ers to make students participate in of thinking, exercising, experiment- insofar as both the teacher and the the learning process, feel confident ing, and practicing. student are prepared and willing about thinking on their ownand Education needs to inculcate a to the option of learning from each assimilate knowledge in sphere strong personal work ethic in the other. that animate them. students while motivating them In such a type of relationship, It also means that our curricu- towards achieving a sense of self-re- no one is superior to anyone, and lums provide students with bal- liance, critical awareness, and confi- there is mutual regard. Thus, there anced inputs in both theory and dence in their accomplishments. is a need for education to become practice to develop professional Thus, in the end, I would like to acommunion of sorts between par- practitioners who are able to appro- answer the question, how is media ticipants through a dialogue char- priate their skills to diverse socio- transforming the future of edu- acterised by a reflexive, reciprocal, cultural contexts and adapt them to cation, with the help of a couple and socially relevant exchange. suit market forces and state policy – more questions that we may wish Thus, for transforming the future with a critical/ analytical aptitude. to address: of education, it is essential to envi- Not all questions have obvi- In this increasingly convergent sion media/ technologies as creat- ous answers, and persuading stu- and challenging world, how do ing a pedagogical space that is not dents to engage with many of the we bring about changes in our cur- only student-centric but student- deeper questions could transform riculum to make our students glob- produced. The teachers must take and empower them. An inter- ally aware, locally conscious, and

January-March 2020 VIDURA 27 ethically grounded practitioners, learning environment in an increas- postgraduate Journalism and Mass who will also contribute to society? ingly networked world in the hope Communication students for 23 years How do we create a commitment to mentor students into being and guides PhD students as well. to the principles of academic excel- intellectually ambitious, socially She is author of Other Voices: The lence and social justice, leading to engaged, willing to question, and to Struggle for Community Radio

work that pushes the boundaries of re-invent themselves through their in India. She worked as a journalist the discipline and is theoretically research and practice? < with The Economic Times, New informed, sensitive, and produces Delhi, before switching to a career in knowledge that can perform trans- (The writer heads the Department academics.) formative roles? of Communication, University Finally, how must teachers re- of Hyderabad. She is a faculty invent themselves in the roles of fellow with the UNESCO Chair on collaborators, enablers and facilita- Community Media, and editor of tors for providing a more holistic CR News. She has been teaching

Climate change will add to health burden in India: Recent study

The public health gains achieved in the past few decades, in the form of control or elimination of infectious diseases and improvements in children’s health, could be wiped out if uncontrolled climate change goes on, warns a new study released recently. Rising temperature, extreme weather events and changes in food production – all impacts of climate change – will result in serious impacts in the health sector. For instance, rise in temperatures will make infants more vulnerable to malnutrition as food prices go up with declines in yields of various crops. The average yield potential of maize and rice has declined almost 2 per cent in India since the 1960s. Changing climate is resulting in alterations in temperature, precipitation and humidity, which in turn, is increasing the suitability for transmission of various infectious diseases, particularly mosquito-borne infections like dengue, malaria and chikungunya. In India, the vectorial capacity of A. aegypti and A. albopictus to transmit dengue has increased by 2.3 and 4.6 per cent, respectively. Children will be among the most to suffer from the rise in infectious diseases with climatic suitability for the Vibrio bacteria that cause cholera rising 3 pe cent a year in India since the early 1980s, the study has pointed out. The study, done by 35 global institutions, has been published in medical journal, The Lancet. Other health impacts of climate change will be in the form of worsening air pollution. In India, the total energy supply from coal has increased 11 per cent from 2016 to 2018, and dangerous levels of outdoor fine particulate air pollution (PM2.5) contributed to over 5 lakh premature deaths in 2016 and almost one lakh from this due to coal. Extreme weather events too will intensify. With its large population and high level of inequality, poverty and malnutrition, health effects of climate change in India will be huge. “Diarrhoeal infections, a major cause of child mortality, will spread into new areas, whilst deadly heatwaves, similar to one in 2015 that killed thousands of people, could soon become the norm”, noted Dr Poornima Prabhakaran from the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), one of the co-authors of the study. “Our study report shows that the public health gains achieved over the past 50 years could soon be reversed by the changing climate,” she added. Researchers have suggested establishing real-time monitoring and disease surveillance systems linked to early warning systems for vector-borne disease outbreaks; promoting crop diversification, water-smart and less labour intensive agricultural operations to mitigate the impacts of climate change on food security and nutrition;

implementation of a coal phase-out strategy and accelerated transition to low carbon and renewable energy sources. <

(Dinesh C. Sharma, India Science Wire)

28 VIDURA January-March 2020 ‘I want to enter politics and do something for children’

He is a member of a children’s parliament in Sathe Nagar, in Mumbai’s suburban district. With experience gained, he is not scared of speaking up and acting when required. He can speak about child rights. Child marriage, cleanliness of the neighbourhood and addiction issues among youth are some of the areas he is associated with. Urvashi Sarkar tells us the story of Akash Namdeo Sathe

kash Namdeo Sathe is sometimes, the children themselves addiction treatment centre in Lonav- among just a handful of take action,” he says. ala, , where they spoke to Aboys who are members of “As children, we are asked our children about their rights, and tried a children’s parliament in Sathe opinions. Earlier, we did not even to get them to open up on addiction. Nagar, in Mumbai suburban dis- know what rights are, or that chil- Akash is clear that girls and boys trict.Of the 20 member children’s dren have rights,” he adds. Akash’s have equal rights. “Boys and girls, parliament, nearly 14-15 members learning has also won him praise both have the right to life, educa- are girls.Why are more boys not and appreciation in school. A youth tion, play, and participation,” he members of the parliament? organisation recently held a discus- says.The only male child in his Fourteen-year-old Akash answers: sion with Akash and his classmates family, he has six sisters. Though he “More girls are present in school, on the subject of rights. believes that he and his sisters are tuition classes and in the children’s Akash says he was the only one treated at par, he agrees he receives parliament. I feel that boys want who could talk about children’s more affection because he is the to play and roam around and are rights. “I received applause when youngest and a male. “It is true that not interested in activities which I explained that my learning is male children receive preferential require thinking and reflection.” because I participate in a children’s treatment, because daughters are However, two other boyswho parliament. Some classmates were considered a financial burden.” were already members convinced immediately interested in the par- Akash’s world is not just restricted Akash that the parliament, run by the liament and will join soon.” to the parliament. He also enjoys NGO, Jeevan Dhara, had interesting As a parliament co-, Akash dancing and playing cricket. But he activities for children and offered hopes that more boys will join. He maintains that the issue of children’s useful information. Though it has lists measures which the parliament rights is important to him.He believes been only four months since Akash has taken, which have met with that the children of the parliament are became a member, he is already both success and failure. “You will more courageous, since they are aware experiencing personal change. find garbage in every lane here. We of their rights, but is conscious of the “We interact with knowledge- tried to meet the local MLA in this limits of what children can achieve. able adults at the parliament and regard —but he was not available. “I saw how hard we had to try, in try to think like them. Now, we The parliament also kept a record order to meet our local MLA. This are not scared of speaking up. The of whether our neighbours kept is why I want to become a political parliament involves us in activi- their surroundings clean.” leader and representative for chil- ties around child marriage, clean- “On one occasion, a man in our dren when I grow up — so that I can liness of the neighbourhood and neighbourhood agreed to stop lit- represent their voices. I want to enter other local issues. I have heard that tering the area near his house. But politics and do something for the chil- another woman scolded us – alleg- dren of Sathe Nagar. Else, I want to ing that children only roam around become a teacher on rights,” he says. and do no work. We told her that if Akash also wants to take the she could not speak well about us, children’s parliament to different she should not speak ill either. She government and private schools. fell silent.” “Children need to build unity

The children’s parliament has also among themselves. We can then <

Photo: US/CF. discussed addiction issues among achieve a lot,” he says. Akash Namdeo Sathe wants to the youth, especially young boys. represent children’s voices and rights. Akash and other members visited an (Courtesy: Charkha Features)

January-March 2020 VIDURA 29 Women power speaks as IWPC turns 25 Members of the Indian Women’s Press Corps have different ideological leanings, often reflected in two very active Whats App groups. But when a woman member is in need of support, several hands reach out to her. Not just for its members but when there are calamities affecting large chunks of the nation, members contribute and collect money, clothes, etc for those affected. Many of the members have achieved great laurels and these are applauded and celebrated. It is this that makes IWPC, which recently turned 25, so unique, says Usha Rai

he Indian Women’s Press Rao, in turn spoke to Sheila Kaul, Corps (IWPC) in Delhi, then minister for Urban Develop- Tbarely three kilometres from ment and Housing. A small MP’s Parliament House, North Block and bungalow, 5 Windsor Place, which South Block, bustles with women no Parliamentarian wanted because power and activity. There is also it was too small, was identified and the heady aroma of well-cooked allotted to the women journalists. food and filter coffee that greets The founder members each contrib- visitors. In winter, people sit under uted Rs 1000 each and the founda- colourful umbrellas, guzzling food, tions were laid. BJP spokesman Nalin Kohli singing with discussing the state of the nation Today, the Club has 800 mem- the band from Nagaland and Manipur. and the latest gossip in political bers, an enviable bank account and and bureaucratic circles. the floors and interiors have been late Lakshmi Sahgal in 1994. A rev- However, 25 years ago, IWPC redone. It has given young journal- oluntionary leader, member of the was just a twinkle in the eyes of ists from the desk and from small Indian National Army and minister 18 women journalists who came regional newspapers and agencies for Women’s Affairs in the Azad together to have a place of their a place to grow as journalists and, Hindi Government, she exemplified own where they could air/ discuss in the competitive arena of news- all that we wanted for women jour- their professional and personal papering in the capital, an opportu- nalists. Since then, there has been a problems. Kalyani Shankar who nity to interact with politicians and stream of news makers and digni- had come back from Washington newsmakers. New women MPs taries to the club. Sushma Swaraj, inspired by their National Press to Parliament are felicitated and Najma Heptullah and Sheila Dixshit Club spoke to Coomi Kapoor and invited for interaction with women were greater supporters of IWPC in soon a small band of women jour- members. its early days. nalists where knocking on the doors In keeping with the spirit of So, the silver jubilee of the IWPC of Prime Minister Narasimha Rao IWPC, this second home of women in November was a major land- and seeking space in Lutyen’s Delhi journalists was inaugurated by the mark. Vice President Venkaiah for a club for women journalists. Naidu graced the occasion. A musi- cal evening with Mohit Chauhan, the celeb Bollywood singer, West- ern pop singers from Nagaland and Manipur Aphy Jajo, Kenei Zhu- nyu and Reisang Shimray and the famed Sufi and classical artistes, the Nizami Brothers, held the audience captive for two hours. The Western pop music in partic- ular had journalists as well as politi- cians like Derek O’Brien and Nalin Kohli lustily singing and dancing Releasing the IWPC @ 25 brochure. The writer is third from left. old Abba songs, while Digvijay

30 VIDURA January-March 2020 rulers and policy makers was taken for granted in the years gone by. But today, this is becoming more and more infrequent. Conversations have become one-sided and politi- cians have their say via tweets, Face- book blogs or Instagram without subjecting themselves to scrutiny. That is why many look forward to these exchanges at the IWPC.” IWPC has also taken a stand

Photos: Sarvesh. on vital issues facing the media, be it paid news or fake news and

Vice President Venkiah Naidu with Mrinal Pande (second fromright) and Kalyani unequivocally condemns the grow- Shankar. < ing attack on journalists. Singh and Selja Kumari watched Kanojia, a journalist arrested only in amusement. Political differences because he tweeted a video that (The writer is a senior journalist were set aside as they celebrated invited the ire of UP Chief Minister based in Delhi. She is one of the 18 with the journalists. Yogi Adityanath. Editor of Kash- founding members of IWPC.) To commemorate the occasion, mir Times Anuradha Bhasin was the brochure brought out had arti- invited to IWPC to talk about the cles by founding members on the ground situation in Kashmir and Newspaper revenues setting up of IWPC and their own when Press Council of India chair- journey in the profession and the man, Chandramouli Prasad, sought shrink changes they have seen. The presi- to intervene against Anuradha’s The findings of 30th edition of dent of the Club, Jyoti Malhotra, writ petition in the Supreme Court the World Press Trends report reflected: “Turning 25 is magical… seeking restoration of media free- underscores the ongoing It gives us the chance to renew our dom, IWPC members joined the conundrum of the industry: promise to our reader (or viewer or media fraternity in roundly con- Overall global revenues in listener), and say we will tell the demning the action. 2018 continued to shrink as story the best we can, with hon- Similarly, when M.J. Akbar filed did some newsrooms, yet esty and integrity. To protect the a defamation suit against journal- paying audiences and demand promise of Article 19 (1) (a) (free- ist Priya Ramani for her articles on for quality news continue to dom of speech and expression) so sexual misconduct by him, IWPC increase. The report analyses that we never have to crawl or bend members rallied around her and the data collected from WAN- or bow and scrape again, like we even attended the court hearing so IFRA’s annual survey of more were accused of doing during the that she never felt isolated. than 50 countries, in addition Emergency.” As founder member Neerja to the insights and data from The IWPC marched in protest Chowdhury points out in her arti- its global partners. Here are against the arrest of Prashant cle, “Putting probing questions to some of the findings from this year’s report: Global revenues (print & digital) declined by 3 per cent (YoY 2018) with much of that hit coming from print advertising revenue (down 7 per cent). Digital advertising revenues increased by 5 per cent and are forecast to improve in 2019. Paying news audiences increased by 0.5 per cent, to 640 million per day in 2018.

(Courtesy: exchange4media.com) IWPC founder members pose for a picture at the event.

January-March 2020 VIDURA 31 The sad demise of Newsline produces a trail of thought It was saddening to read about the closure of the Pakistani publication Newsline in December, after a run of three decades despite heavy odds, says Sakuntala Narasimhan

ehana Hakim, who was edi- Regardless of financial constraints, tor-in-chief of Newsline, was the group battled on to keep New- Rmuch admired for her fear- line alive over the years, with the less dedication to exposing wrong- emphasis throughout on reporting doing in the corridors of power in the truth for readers. That, sadly, Pakistan. I have memories of meet- has been bringing crushing hostil- ing her, in Karachi as well as out- ity against journalists, all over the side; she was the only journalist world (“fake news”, as President from Pakistan to be honoured with Trump of USA dubs it). India’s prestigious Chameli Devi Increasingly, and globally, the Jain Award of the Media Founda- Fourth Estate’s raison d’etre – serv- tion (set up by the late B.G.Verghese ing as a vigilance group, to moni- Photo: newslinemagazine.com for Outstanding Writing on Socially tor and control wrongdoing in the Rehana Hakim. Relevant Issues). corridors of power and uphold In Rehana’s editorial for the last right values – seems to be getting It is ultimately the citizens, issue of Newsline, she has described eroded, with the emphasis on gen- whether in Pakistan or India or how the publication was hounded erating profits for the media own- elsewhere, who pay a price in terms every time it exposed some corrup- ers or promoting political agendas, of the quality of their lives, if the tion among politicians or VIPs. In rather than serving as a watchdog media cannot function the way it her chapter in the book, Making and information provider. was meant to. News, Breaking News, Her Own Way I have been told by at least two Rehana was hoping that she could (Tranquebar, 2012 – collection of editors from the mainstream media visit Kashmir some time and go on articles by winners of the Chameli that they would rather not publish the Dal Lake – she refers to India Devi Award over the years), she has reports and articles that expose as the country of her birth (which described how Newsline was started malpractices (even when I could is true of all those born before by a journalists’ cooperative of provide proof to back up my asser- Independence). She sounds very women led by Rehana who served tions), for fear of reprisals (which pleased that many Indians admired as editor as well as publisher. can take many forms, from being her journalism and told her so. Every time it carried a report dragged to court for defamation, to People to people, I have found, on some VIP’s unethical decisions violence and worse). there is a lot of friendly feelings (“which did not go down well In my own contribution to Mak- between our two countries. If with those in power”, as she puts ing News, Breaking News, I had said only we could take this forward, it) it was penalised – airlines were that outlets for my kind of writing, through journalism as well as other ordered not to carry the publica- warning the public about corporate channels, both countries could tion; the group was threatened with or political corruption -- especially solve a lot of common problems tax raids, multinationals withdrew political, but the two are connected as developing countries. How do

their advertisements as punishment (with most media houses owned we make the politicians hear and < for exposes.The powerful owner of by business enterprises) -- are heed us? a chain of hotels ordered his book- “shrinking”. Those of us who came shops not to display or carry copies to journalism with idealism and of Newsline because of an article on dreams of “doing good through the “financial shenanigans” of the the use of one’s pen” and helping brother of the hotelier (as Rehana to uphold ethics in public life, are recalled). today, mostly a disillusioned (or muzzled) lot.

32 VIDURA January-March 2020 GREAT INDIAN EDITORS An editor of considerable intellect, he was an epitome of justice

Ramananda Chatterjee died on 30 September 1943 in Calcutta. He practised a different kind of journalism. “He told the nation what it needed to know – not merely what it wanted to know.” This probably is the need of the hour for the media to do today, says Mrinal Chatterjee as he dwells on the man and his times

ilip Padgaonkar, former In 1907, Chatterjee launched the editor of The Times of India English magazine Modern Review, Dcredited Ramananda Chat- which set a benchmark in Indian terjee as the person who laid the journalism. What did the journal foundations of modern Indian jour- publish? Niranjan Rajdhyaksha, nalism. “Few publications, if any, “There were clearly some obses- commanded as much respect and sions—especially political free- influence on opinion and decision- dom, economic challenges, Indian makers across undivided India as art and our national history. For Photo: MC. the two journals he founded and example, the February 1936 issue Ramananda Chatterjee. edited during the first four decades had long essays on the poetry of of the 20th Century: The Modern In 1885, Ramananda passed the Robert Burns, travelling through Review (in English) and Prabasi (in FA from the St. Xavier’s College, and West Africa, wedding songs of the Bengali)”. then got admission in City College. In Punjab, the prospects of cotton Both publications commanded 1888, he appeared for the BA Exami- mills in Bengal, the idea of politi- respect and received patronage of nation and secured a first class first cal federation, labour issues in the intellectuals across the country. from Calcutta University. He also Jamshedpur, Sufism in Sind, the It carried articles and essays that won the Ripon Scholarship. He was adventures of Indian philosophy stirred the mind and soul and also offered the post of assistant editor at in America, separate pieces on helped frame policies. Ramananda the Indian Messenger, a journal of the the philosopher Brajendra Nath Chatterjee wrote several books Brahmo Samaj, a reformative quasi- Seal, Guru Gobind Singh, Joseph in Bengali and English including religious orgnisation. This opened Stalin and Sayajirao Gaekwad of Towards Home Rule, which was pub- up for him a career in journalism. Baroda, then back to the opium lished in 1917. In 1890, Ramananda gained a evil in Assam, impressions of the Ramananda Chatterjee was born master’s degree in English from Calcutta art exhibitions of the year, on 29 May 1865 in Pathakpara Vil- Calcutta University. Three years a report on the All India Women’s lage in Bankura District in Bengal. later, he joined City College as lec- Conference in —plus He was the third child to Srinath turer. He founded the children’s the usual features such as editorial Chattopadhyay and Harasundari magazine, Mukul, along with Jaga- notes, book reviews and excerpts Devi. He had his primary educa- dish Chandra Bose, who grew into from other journals.” tion in a Bengali-medium school in a world-class scientist. Every issue of the review had a Bankura. In 1895, Ramananda moved to lot of intellectual content. Besides As a child, Ramananda was fond Allahabad with a teaching job at the new Indian elite, the Brit- of poetry. He liked the patriotic the Allahabad Kayastha Pathshala. ish colonial authorities read it poetry of Rangalal Bandyopad- In 1897, he became the chief edi- to understand Indian nationalist hyay. In 1875, he passed the stu- tor of the Bengali literary magazine opinion on contemporary issues. dent scholarship Examination from Pradip. In 1901, he left Pradip and A galaxy of great personalities of Bankura Banga Vidyalaya. In 1883, launched Prabasi, a Bengali maga- that time including Rabindranath he passed the entrance examination zine. In many ways, Prabasi brought Tagore, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaha- from Bankura Zilla School. He then about positive changes in Bengali rlal Nehru, Subhas Chandra Bose, went to Calcutta to pursue higher magazine journalism. Sister Nivedita, Verrier Elwin, education.

January-March 2020 VIDURA 33 His was no narrow nationalism. He bore not the slightest taint of caste or communal prejudice. He was wholly committed to democ- racy and to an equitable social and economic order. He cultivated an extraordinarily wide range of interests and shared them with his readers. Not the least was his heightened sense of humility and his lively sense of humour... he told the nation what it needed to

know – not merely what it wanted to know.” <

(The author heads the Eastern India campus of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication in Dhenkanal, Odisha. This is the eleventh in a series of profiles of great Indian newspaper editors who have, through the course of their work and career, made a signal contribution to India’s Freedom An issue of The Modern Review; right, an excellent collection of writings from Movement, to the development of The Modern Review. society and to the development of Journalism.) Lala Lajpat Rai, Premchand, C.F. which someone hiding his identity Andrews and several others used behind the pseudonym Chanakya to contribute articles and essays in warned readers that Nehru had the The Modern Review. makings of a potential dictator. It In fact, the list of contributors in was only revealed much later that WAN-IFRA to support the 37 years that Chatterjee edited the writer of that playful essay was Women in News the journal resembled a list of the Nehru himself. greatest Indian intellectuals of that As an editor, Ramananda Chat- A four-year grant from SIDA, time. If somebody goes through terjee was an epitome of justice and the Swedish International the old issues of Modern Review modernism. He was beyond caste Development Cooperation (an excellent collection of writings or communal prejudice. He was Agency, will enable WAN-IFRA’s from the The Modern Review has wholly committed to democratic Women in News programme to now been published — Patriots, values and an equitable social and expand to new markets, launch Poets And Prisoners: Selections From economic order. He was an unwav- global research initiatives, and Ramananda Chatterjee’s The Modern ering advocate of women’s educa- build internal capacity to operate Review, 1907-1947), he would find tion and of women’s liberation. He the programme throughout the delectable and often controversial showed what the job of an editor Arab Region and Sub-Saharan essays; and the range of subjects is is and how an editor improves the Africa. The grant is the largest the widest possible. level of intellectual discourse and received to date by WAN-IFRA There is an essay in the book by influence policies at various levels in support of its media freedom Rabindranath Tagore in which he in various fields. work. It marks the continuation of

criticises the cult of the charkha Here is what Dillip Padgaonkar a nearly decade-long partnership propagated by Gandhi. In another writes about him on his 150th with SIDA. < issue, Subhas Chandra Bose inter- birth anniversary: “… it is pre- views French writer Romain Rol- cisely Ramananda Chatterjee’s land at a time when Europe was relentless espousal of progressive hurtling mindlessly towards yet causes with a steady moral com- another conflagration. And, of pass to guide him that accounts course, there is the famous essay for the rich legacy he bequeathed in the November 1937 issue, in to later generations of journalists.

34 VIDURA January-March 2020 A nuclear scientist who shone as an investigative science journalist K.S. Jayaraman (born 1936) is a familiar name for several generations of scientists, policy makers and journalists in India. He is credited with founding the tradition of independent science reporting in Indian media. A qualified nuclear scientist as well as a trained journalist, Jayaraman first worked in the US but chose to return to India and worked in DRDO before joining premier news agency, Press Trust of India (PTI), as a science reporter in 1973 and later became its first Science Editor. He founded the PTI Science Service, which became a trail blazer in science journalism and training ground for future budding science journalists. In this interview with Dinesh C. Sharma, Jayaraman recalls some high points of his journey in science journalism .S. Jayaraman focused on like and P.K. Iyen- While working as a post-doc in investigative science reporting gar were conducting experiments – the University of Manitoba, I was Kand got many scoops – unau- were unforgettable. My interaction sent to Chicago to present a paper thorised project on genetic control of with them catalysed my desire to at the American Physical Society mosquitoes, racket in cornea trans- continue higher studies. Thanks to meeting in 1970. There, in the press plants, illegal import of hop plants for recommendation by my boss, Nat- room, I chanced meeting an Associ- beer making, Himalayan fossil fraud araja Sarma, a Cambridge-educated ated Press science reporter (Charles by Viswajit Gupta, travails of Dr Sub- nuclear scientist, I got admission Gene McDaniels) covering the con- ash Mukerjee who created the world’s and assistantship ($360 a month) ference, banging his typewriter. second and India’s first test-tube baby in three US universities to do PhD I told him that I also wanted to but committed suicide. Each of these in Physics. I chose the University become a science reporter like him stories was impactful. In two cases, of Maryland at College Park and and asked for his advice. “You there were parliamentary investiga- began my graduate studies in Sep- are in the right place,” he told me. tions while in another a new law was tember 1963 and obtained my PhD “About 10 miles from here is the introduced. As long-time correspon- in June 1968. After PhD, worked as Medill School of Journalism in the dent of Nature, Jayaraman played a a post-doc first at Potsdam Univer- Evanston campus of Northwestern critical role in placing Indian science sity in New York and then in the University. You can join that school, on a global platform. He also founded Physics Department of the Univer- which is the No. 2 journalism school in 1985 the Indian Science Writers sity of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Can- in the US.” Association. He leads a retired life now ada, where I was working with a The same day, I took a train to and lives in Bangalore. group doing experimental nuclear Evanston and met the dean of physics until 1971. Medill School and asked him if he What made you study science at would take me as his student for college level and subsequently How did the shift to journalism the one year post-graduate (MS) pursue postgraduation and a doc- happen? What was the motiva- course. “Not many have come to torate? tion? us after a PhD in Physics. Why you There was no particular reason to For this, I have to go back to my want to study journalism when you enrol for BSc (in Vivekananda Col- earlier days in the high school can report science without doing an lege, Madras). It just happened where I started a fortnightly Eng- MS,” he said. It took some effort to and was not by design. I couldn’t lish newsletter containing stories, convince him that I wanted to learn afford higher studies and after BSc, jokes, cartoons and some essays all the tricks of the trade and fun- took up all kinds of jobs assigned about what was happening in the damentals of reporting. Finally, he by an employment exchange until school and in the neighbourhood. gave in. “If you insist, you can enrol I landed a job as junior scientific It was handwritten, and since there from the coming summer semester,” assistant (salary Rs 160) at the was no photocopying machine, the he said smiling. Realising that I will Atomic Energy Establishment (now single copy was circulated among be giving up my post-doc position BARC) in 1958. students and teachers. That was in Canada, had no savings and had The five years spent at India’s my baby step in journalism but I a family to support, the dean, on first research reactor Apsara (now had never imagined it will become his own, helped me secure a part- decommissioned) – where stalwarts my profession one day. time teaching job in his university’s

January-March 2020 VIDURA 35 US, I had been occasionally writ- ing science articles for The Hindu. The interest continued even after becoming a post-doc in Canada. I remember having a long phone conversation with Professor Joseph Weber, who had developed the first gravitational wave detectors at the University of Maryland where I did my PhD, for a story on gravita- tional waves that got published in The Hindu. After my return, I had first approached the Hindustan Times for a science reporter’s job. Its then editor (N.R. Jagannathan) told me his paper did not require a fulltime science correspondent, that too a PhD, as nothing much in science was happening in India to report Photos: ISW and whatever that was happening K.S. Jayaraman. was taken care of by general report- ers. He advised me to find a job at Physics Department. The money After finishing MS in journalism, IIT, Delhi. The perception was a was just enough for my boarding, did you look for career options in PhD should take up a teaching or lodging and school fees but not journalism in the US? How did research job and leave reporting for running my family. So, I had you decide to return to India? to products of journalism schools. to send my pregnant wife back to I tried for a job of science reporter In other words, my PhD became a India, a decision for which she has in New York Times but without suc- liability, not an asset, even though I never pardoned me even today. cess. I did not try elsewhere as I had an MS in journalism. decided to return to India which It was then that I approached Did the course include internship was then a virgin and challenging PTI but the initial response was in a news organisation? territory for science journalists. But similar. I tried to convince PTI’s Our school had its own Medill there was one problem: I had not then editor-in-chief (C.Raghavan) News Service and brought out a saved much money and realised I that a national news agency with daily newspaper for which report- needed support while hunting for offices across the country should ing was done by students who were a journalist’s job after my return to have, like AP, UPI or Reuters, a assigned beats that varied every India. Luckily, a government pro- reporter dedicated to cover science week. As part of the assignments, gramme for reversing brain drain and technology. That did the trick I remember having interviewed -- called ‘pool officer’ -- came to my and he agreed to appoint me. There Richard Daley, the famous Mayor help. I came back to India in 1972 was one condition: I will work for of Chicago. I was also attached, as as a pool officer (salary Rs 700 per three months without salary, and an intern, to a reporter of Chicago month) to work at the Directorate my continuation depended on Tribune who used to take me in his of Naval Science and Technology whether the stories I wrote during car wherever he went; that gave me (under DRDO) in New Delhi. A the trial period were used by PTI’s a chance to see how reporters work few months later, I was selected by subscribers. This was no problem as in the field. On one of such rounds, UPSC for a Class-1 officer’s post in there was no scarcity for stories and he noticed that fire engines were DRDO. But my mind was set on newspapers gulped every science missing from their usual depot. journalism and was looking for an story released by PTI. That raised a red flag: had they opening in a newspaper. The 3-month trial period without been called for duty? His guess pay got over and I was appointed was right. There was a huge fire You joined PTI in 1973. Why did on ‘probation’ for six months on a in the neighbourhood and he was you choose a news agency and not consolidated salary of Rs 800 per the first to report from the site. This a newspaper? month. After passing this second was a great lesson in reporting: PTI was my first job as a journal- test, PTI appointed me as a special always be alert and inquisitive. ist. Earlier, while studying in the correspondent with two increments.

36 VIDURA January-March 2020 The ordeal was not over. The PTI and Public Accounts Committee to coverage of controversial topics Employees’ Association opposed investigated the mater in 1975. It and editor C. Raghavan, especially, the appointment on grounds that resulted in closure of the project was highly supportive. it set a wrong precedent as no one and government decision to set up had been appointed earlier in PTI a task force to scrutinize proposals You established PTI Science Ser- directly as a special correspondent. for all projects involving foreign vice in 1981. How did the idea ger- But Raghavan and then General collaboration. minate? Manager K.R.Ramachandran over- Then, there was one that exposed By 1980, PTI science coverage had ruled and I was given a table, chair a racket in cornea transplants in expanded and more reporters and a Remington typewriter set- which some eye surgeons in India had been hired in different met- ting me on a long and memorable were making money by misusing ropolitan centres to cover science. journey. the eyes donated by the interna- While newspaper subscribers got tional eye bank of Sri Lanka. I also the stories from the wire service, What were the challenges/ con- wrote on illegal import of ‘hop’ it was thought that a wider audi- straints of science news gathering plants (used for making beer) ence including schools, universities in 1970s? Were scientific agencies/ infected with dangerous pests by and scientific institutions could be labs open to communication? Mallya’s brewery in Bangalore. This reached with a printed version. Scientists and science administra- also led to a parliamentary enquiry PTI was already running a success- tors are much more open today and resulted in changes in the Plant ful subscription-based Economic than in those days I was in PTI. This Quarantine Act. Service, and Science Service was was a big downside. For example, Another expose related to in- modelled after that. The response though G.P. Talwar at AIIMS had in patients and outpatients at AIIMS was very encouraging. By flooding 1972 successfully experimented his being used as guinea pigs for subscribers with science stories, novel birth control method on rats, research. AIIMS Director Lalit newspapers were made to allot he would not give more details for a Agarwal threatened to sue PTI, but more space for science. I don’t think story without the permission of the changed his mind when shown a it helped to reduce dependence on director. Eventually permission was photocopy of the medical record of news from foreign wire services. granted and PTI’s story on a poten- one patient. After my reports expos- One of my ambitions while work- tial birth vaccine for women made ing the Himalayan fossil fraud by ing in PTI was to see the launch of global news. In the presence of an Viswajit Gupta of Punjab Univer- a separate subscription-based wire invisible wall between scientists sity, he was dismissed. Also wrote service exclusively for science news and reporters, science conferences on how a blind school in Delhi, in but this did not happen. and journals were the main source order to keep getting government for stories. Sometimes, there was grant, was preventing its students Science reporting has changed problem here, too. I remember from getting free eye operation that at the turn of the century with AIIMS scientist (Dr O.P.Ghai) who would have restored their vision. the Internet, embargoed stories had published the harmful effects from scientific journals etc. Any of the colours used during Holi What was your motivation behind thoughts on this? festival, strongly objected to PTI focus on investigation? Was it to This has made the job of science coverage of his published findings do with your training America and reporters a lot easier as one can on the ground it scared people. The exposure to US media? And did write stories from home unlike tight-mouthed science community, PTI editors support your endeav- in the 1970s and the 1980s when coupled with absence of official ours? reporters were mostly on the road news outlets and press officers in Truly, I would not have chosen to or near telephones. Internet jour- scientific institutions, proved to be become a journalist had I not gone nalism, however, limits one to major handicap to reporters cover- to the US and got exposed to the follow-up work done by others. ing science. American media. Reading day after It robs one the thrill of spotting a day in the Washington Post great potential story and turning out an What were the top science stories investigative stories like the Water- article after a lot of running around. you broke in early days? gate scandal, and My Lai massacre Many story ideas come when you Some stories that come to my mind (when the US army killed some 500 least expect them. include the one on biological war- civilians during the Vietnam War) One example: the sight of two fare implications of US-funded convinced me that journalism, dead experimental rats, used project on genetic control of mos- especially investigative journalism, syringes and cotton rolls in a dust- quitoes. Following the story, the is what I really liked. There was bin outside a hospital during a matter was raised in Parliament no hurdle from PTI management walk forced me and a photographer

January-March 2020 VIDURA 37 friend to visit and take photos of night drivers who are prone to epi- and postgraduates in sciences and trash sites outside many hospitals lepsy. The story seemed to have an engineering are embracing the pro- in Delhi and the rag pickers rum- impact as the lights vanished soon fession -- a trend that will improve maging these places to recover reus- after. the quality and domain of reporting; able articles. The resulting story (2) government science agencies, headlined ‘How hospitals spread How would you describe the pres- in their own ways, are promoting diseases’, highlighting the pitiable ent state of science journalism in science communication; (3) major state of waste disposal, prompted India? What’s your view on the newspapers are giving more space authorities to set up incinerators in future outlook? for science related stories; and (4) hospital premises. Thanks to the new generation of thanks to digital age, scientists who Bright lights, at shoulder height, over-active science reporters, the cov- used to be reticent in the past, are

erage of Indian science by the media on either side of Safdarjung Bridge racing to become vocal and visible < (that were there in the early 1980s) today has grown leaps and bounds. like never before. blinking at nights were indeed dec- It is also a pleasure to note that many orative. But some literature search of those responsible for this growth (The writer is the managing editor, and discussion with a neurologist had earlier been associated with PTI India Science Wire. He trained under at AIIMS revealed that long expo- Science Service. Future is extremely K.S. Jayaraman during1984-1990.) sure to lights blinking at such fast bright for four reasons: (1) Increas- rate can trigger epileptic seizures in ing number talented graduates

‘Consider taxing high fat, high sugar, high salt products’

To encourage people towards a healthier diet, the government should consider taxing high fat, high sugar and high salt products, said Dr Soumya Swaminathan, chief scientist, World Health Organisation (WHO). Delivering the first Dr C. Gopalan Memorial Lecture, at the M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) recently, she focused on the Double Burden of Malnutrition or The New Nutrition Reality. “The co-existence of overweight and obesity along with stunting is the new nutrition reality that we need to address urgently. We always think that undernutrition and deficiencies are problems of low-income countries and overweight and obesity are the problems of the high income countries, but the new reality is these two coexist in LMIC countries, communities and also in households globally,” Dr Soumya said. Pointing out to data on malnutrition, she said about 2.3 billion adults and children are overweight globally, with about 150 million stunted children. The burden of overweight and obesity is growing very rapidly and the rate of undernutrition is coming down. She warned that this would have long-term consequences and could affect future generations. With increasing exposure to ultra processed foods, even among poorest families, these are cheaper and more easily available than healthy food, which was a concern, she said. While this was a difficult process, taxing unhealthy food or making nutrition information labelling mandatory, could help, she said. Listing the 10 ‘double duty actions’ identified by the Lancet Commission Dr Soumya also called for systematic assessment of ICDS and PDS programmes from the perspective of nutrition. Listing a set of eight policy recommendations for India, Dr Soumya called for strengthening data systems, nutrition surveillance and surveys, decentralised planning and policies, focus on local consumption of diverse diets, cultivation of biofortified plants, besides nutrition awareness. Dr Gopalan, who passed away last year, is known as the Father of Nutrition Research in India and was former director-general, ICMR, as well as director of the National Institute of Nutrition. This lecture was instituted as a mark of tribute to him, by MSSRF. Dr Soumya said, as a medical practitioner, he started researching nutrition, when he

saw patients in Madras Medical and Stanley Medical College with severe malnutrition and was one of the first to link agriculture, nutrition and health. <

(Based on a release from MSSRF.)

38 VIDURA January-March 2020 It’s like Alice in Cyberland – running to stay abreast and safe

When Sakuntala Narasimhan began as a journalist 53 years ago, there was no Internet, no computers, or even cell phones. Options for communications were limited – you had to access hard copies of newspapers to read them and build a clippings file (no Google searches), and for calling overseas, you could book a trunk call and wait for hours for the connection to come through

had to roll in A4 sheets and car- A recent Digital Wellness Report and operate the brake. Similarly, bon paper into my typewriter. (by NortonLifeLock)* cautions with negotiating the World Wide IEditing could not be done as against the “dangers of online con- Web, too. The report also says easily as on a computer – no jug- sumer behaviour”. Five decades women (and younger users of Gen- gling around of paragraphs; one ago, words and phrases such as eration X aged 35-54) in particu- ripped out the sheet and typed ‘identity theft’, ‘phishing’, ‘hack- lar are less aware of what to steer again to make changes. All that has ing’ and ‘cyber safety’ did not exist. clear of, and how to protect oneself. changed – today, one has to submit Today, most computer users learn They are “most complacent about copy only online. Very convenient to send and access email, maybe security”. – but have we, the users of thre lat- browse the Internet and Google Even as a journalist with long est communication technologies, search, but are not sufficiently years of experience, I plead guilty, kept abreast of skills necessary to aware of hazards we may be expos- assuming that if I have firewalls I am protect ourselves while navigat- ing ourselves and our gizmos to. protected from virus attacks. Not ing the new technologies? Are we If one learns to drive a car, one really. Like the character in Alice exposing ourselves unknowingly needs to learn to deal with the haz- in Wonderland, we are required to to dangers that far outweigh the ards of the road, instead of merely “keep running in order to stay in the advantages? learning to turn the steering wheel same place”, constantly upgrading Illustration: Arun Ramkumar Illustration:

January-March 2020 VIDURA 39 our protection to stay ahead of the abreast of safety precautions, are of one’s physical, mental and emo- hackers and pranksters. we any better than that maid? So tional health. I don’t want to “keep running ask yourself, what the level of your Alice in Wonderland was not to stay in the same place” but do I ‘digital wellness’ is. merely an allegory. It is very rel- have a choice? I had to learn to com- Google search for ‘digital well- evant to what we need to do (con- pose, save and attach files, at the ness’, and you will see definitions stantly running to remain in the least, before mastering other intri- such as ‘using technology in a man- same place) to remain abreast of cacies of the Internet. Apparently ner that promotes optimal health in modern technology. However, that is not enough. Mindsets need which mind, body and spirit suf- addiction and exposing oneself to be constantly updated along fer no damage’. As one comment to the hazards of hacking are the with technological advances (‘Your puts it, “Our devices are bringing two faces of the dark side of new version of Google Chrome is no us capabilities we have never had technology that are not sufficiently longer valid. Download the latest before” – but at the same time, these stressed. version’, your computer will say). can create addictions and hazards The India Digital Wellness Report New versions, new firewalls – and that outweigh the advantages of says a majority of Internet users new ways of hacking and accessing new technologies and diminish our prefer to pay bills, shop and make private information – ensure that ‘wellbeing’. financial transactions online because we as users cannot be complacent, As a ‘digital psychiatrist’ (another it is convenient. They have no idea we need to ‘keep running’ to stay new word that did not exist a gen- how their personal data can be har- abreast and safe. eration ago) puts it, “If technology vested by companies that want to. I remember how, around 1990, creates stress,, anxiety and mood “Users should tread as carefully in when my daughter called from changes, our wellbeing is eroded.” the digital world as one would in

Harvard, my maid wanted to Children are usually cautioned the real world,” says the director of speak to her, too. Since my daugh- against addition to digital games NortonLife Lock in India. < ter was “very far away”, the maid and mobile use, but, apparently, yelled loudly into the telephone to adults, too, need to be aware of *Reported in The Hindu dated be heard, and we all had a hearty the hazards one gets exposed to 27 November 2019 laugh. But if we are using the (including addiction), through new Internet and do not bother to keep technology. It cannot be at the cost

‘India moving quickly from under-nutrition to obesity’

Diets have changed with people having more money to spend on food, but is this for the better? No, say experts. “Growing income and urbanisation drive diet changes while supply has not kept pace with rising demand for diverse foods,” says Prof Prabhu Pingali, eminent economist. Speaking at a seminar at the M S Swaminathan Research Foundation recently, Pingali was speaking about the book, Transforming Food Systems For A Rising India, written by him along with Anaka Aiyar, Mathew Abraham and Andaleeb Rahman. Pingali says there is vast disparity due to unbalanced diet patterns leading to both under-nutrition and obesity in India. The book explores challenges and opportunities to achieve a nutrition-secure future through production systems, improved health and hygiene environment and greater capability to access a balanced diet. Anaka Aiyar, health economist, says there is a need to refocus public policy to increase system and nutrition diversity and tackle the triple burden of malnutrition. “We need to have a state-specific approach in policy for nutrition sensitive food systems in India.” Pingali pinpoints that Indian states needed to tackle undernutrition as well as obesity. “We need to commercialise and diversify for income and supply. Changing demand has brought about opportunities for diversification and

new markets but smallholder farmers still do not get the benefits. Making them more productive and competitive requires moving beyond staple grain technologies.” < The book has been published by Palgrave-Macmillan and is available free to download.

40 VIDURA January-March 2020 A film sounds grim echoes of where we might be heading During the recent 25th Kolkata International Film Festival, in the Director’s Choice section, several films of well- known filmmaker Volker Schlondorff were screened. Among them was his 1990 film, The Handmaid’s Tale, based on Canadian writer Margaret Atwood’s eponymous book. Ranjita Biswas has the story

argaret Atwood recently enjoy her company though he is to her insecurity, conspires to make won the 2019 Man Booker not supposed to go beyond hav- Kate sleep with virile Nick, the faith- MPrize for her new book ing sex. He even takes her out to a ful chauffer, and perhaps escape the The Testament (a sequel to The Hand- secret rendezvous to a party where fate of other women sent to jail or maid’s Tale), jointly with Bernardine ‘forbidden’ liquor flows and prosti- killed unable to perform the ‘duty’. Evaristo for Girl, Woman, Other. tutes cater to the powerful men. The pregnant Kate ultimately kills Briefly, the plot ofThe Handmaid’s The term ‘handmaid’ is taken the commander and escapes with Tale centers on a futuristic society from the Biblical story of Rachel, help of a resistance group, which when right-wing religious funda- wife of Jacob, who uses her hand- Nick supports secretly. mentalists have overthrown the maid to have a surrogate child with Margret Atwood’s book is multi- American Government and have her husband, unable to conceive layered in its concerns. The dan- established the Republic of Gilead, herself. Even her elder sister Leah, gers of ideology and sexual politics a repressive puritanical society. In who is married to Jacob, too, uses inherent in the plot may seem set this society, women are seen as use- her handmaid for the same pur- in some improbable future but with ful for being able to bear a child. pose, though she already has four greater conservatism and right-wing In the Republic of Gilead, after children. religious fundamentalism creeping years of environmental catastro- It is significant that Atwood uses into many societies in the world phe, most of the men have become these referral figures to focus on today, which usually victimises the sterile. So are also majority of the the so-called culture of women as woman, or boxes her in the ‘ideal women who are barren. So, young chattels, their principal importance womanhood’ image, it would seem women are often used as handmaids being on whether they can conceive like a warning. Atwood described of powerful commanders who try and carry on the man, or owner’s her book as an “anti-prediction”, a to impregnate them; if successful, legacy. Even wife Serena Joy, due template for what not to do. the women are highly prized. In comes to this toxic atmosphere, Kate, who, while trying to escape to Canada loses her husband to bullets of border guards, and her young daughter who walks into the wild. Kate is captured and is imprisoned with other young women. After medical tests, like other young women like her have to go through, she is found to be fer- tile and assigned to the household of Fred, a powerful commander of the regime. She is renamed Offred – of Fred.Fred’s childless wife Ser- ena Joy actively helps her husband in the co-habitation, hoping for a child.

Fred, in fact, indulges Kate more, Photos: RB. brings her presents as he seems to A still from The Handmaid’s Tale.

January-March 2020 VIDURA 41 children? The governments in quite sophisticated technology snoop on a few countries, including in Asia, common people and in some cases, supposed to be more traditional, target so-called ‘enemies’ who are alarmed by the low fertility don’t toe the line of the rulers? rates and many women choosing Atwood’s speculative fiction not to have children. Many women written in 1985 also talked about in these countries have said in inter- environmental degradation. It views that the inherent chauvinism is no longer ‘speculative’ for the in majority of the men put them off right-thinking people, alarmed by motherhood and even marriage. escalating global warming and its As the handmaids in the film walk consequences. Great literature truly around in red gowns (symbolising holds up a mirror to the people to

fertility?) under strict supervision see what is the reality, that is, if they of older women and being readied want to see. < for yet another ‘assignment’ with a commander, all the while watched (The writer is a senor journalist by government spies called Eyes, it based in Kolkata.) creates a sense of foreboding and you wonder inwardly...What if..? The Handmaid’s Tale book cover. Is it so unthinkable? George Orwell’s 1984 and Doris Lessing’s The question of women’s rights Memoirs of a Survivor foresaw a over their own bodies constantly society under constant surveil- comes up in debates today. Are lance. Does it look unlikely today they only vessels for procreation? as document after document leak Do they have the right to decide? information about how govern- What if they don’t want to have ment agencies, and others with

Banyan Academy holds mental health festival

The Banyan Academy of Leadership in Mental Health (BALM) organised a two-day event on social justice and transformation recently, as this year’s edition of Manam: The Mindmeet,its annual fest with themes centred on mental health, social justice and the like. On the first day, the audience heard speakers talking on subjects ranging from education policies to people living on the margins. A panel discussion called Cloned Minds dealt with inclusion in social spaces and the connection of these spaces to education, as well as the role of environment in learning difficulties. A press release from the institution said many in the audience were surprised to learn that often, children with learning difficulties pick up concepts in their native language much faster than when these concepts are presented in English. Mrinalini Ravi, part of the BALM faculty, delivered a talk titled On the Margins, dealing with the importance of political history in an individual’s life. Gayatri Nair of Chennai Photo Biennale fame, in a discourse titled Brave Visuals, discussed the use ofart and photography as a medium of critiquing society and as agents for social transformation. On the second day, Shashaank Awasthi, co-founder of v-shesh, an enterprise that helps people with disabilities in matters of education, training and accessing jobs, in a talk titled Reimagining Spaces, discussed making spaces disabled-friendly and stressed that the concept of ‘inclusion’ needs to be made as common as following traffic rules. A panel titled MEdia highlighted the role of the media in voicing the narratives of the marginalised communities

and facilitating their inclusion in social spaces. Panellists stressed the importance of responsible journalism, where care is taken to ensure that the information provided is authentic. <

42 VIDURA January-March 2020 Chasing a dream while battling severe odds

A documentary film chronicles the journey of a person who has to battle destitution, desire and destiny while chasing his dream. Shoma Chatterji says watching the film is a worthwhile experience

elen Keller once said, “Life is either a great adven- Hture or nothing.” Kanai Chakraborty’s story reflects this spirit and offers a unique opportu- nity to explore the world of a hope- lessly hopeful person. Committed documentary filmmaker Supriyo Sen set out on a hardship-filled journey with a young man called Kanai Chakraborty who wanted to cross the English Channel though he did not have the funding to fulfil his long-cherished dream. What makes the dream more challenging is that Kanai is visu- ally challenged. The four-year- Filmmaker Supriyo Sen (left) with Kanai Chakraborty on the sets. long journey resulted in not only the national-award-winning film President’s Gold Medal for the Best soldiers across the Pakistan border. Swimming Through the Darkness Documentary of the Year for Hope Swimming Through the Darkness buta lifelong friendship between Dies Last in War. He has won 36 is no exception. an artiste and his subject. international awards too. All his Kanai was born in extreme pov- Supriyo Sen, one of the best- subjects are special – ranging from erty in a small suburban town in known documentary filmmak- an old man who has dedicated his West Bengal. He turned blind at ers in the country, has won three life to saving migratory birds to four but managed to complete his National Awards including the a woman’s search for lost Indian school education followed by tech- nical education. However, he could not get a job. He sold spices door- to-door to eke out a living even while dreaming of conquering the English Channel. He began pursu- ing his dream through strenuous practice. “I picked the story of Kanai Lal Bhattacharya from a small news- paper report. It took me four long years to cover this courageous man who is a model for all able-bodied people. Over the years, we devel- oped a bond and he opened up about his private life. That gave me scope for exploring not only his Photos provided SC. achievements as a swimmer who is A shot from the film.

January-March 2020 VIDURA 43 “Like many blind persons Kanai falls in love with a married woman. is not a cynic, reclusive or sad; Though his family considers him a he never considers himself a vic- ‘burden’, Kanai risks being a fallen tim. He is positive, articulate and hero in the community. charming. And these virtues lead The film chronicles the roller him to many interactions which we coaster journey of Kanai who have recorded from close proxim- constantly battles destitution, ity,” Supriyo adds. desire and destiny while chasing The camera faithfully follows his dream, Supriyo sums up. The Kanai as he swims along with running time of 76 minutes may sighted swimmers and tames the appear a bit too long for a docu- mighty River Ganga, covering a mentary following the story of a

distance of 81 km and even win- single person, but it is well worth ning a medal. But his meagre earn- the experience. < ings are in no way enough for him to save the couple of lakhs required (The writer is a senior journalist at the very least to fulfil his dream and film historian based in Kolkata. Positive, articulate and charming — Kanai Chakraborty. of swimming across the English She writes widely on cinema, gender Channel. He does not have a spon- issues, media and human rights for visually disabled, but his attempts sor, a passport or a visa. print and online media. She was to keep his personal life emotionally “His uncanny knack of chasing presented the South Asia Laadli rich and full of love,” says Sen. uncertainty remains constant and he Media and Advertising Award for Gender Sensitivity 2017.)

Nominations open for ACJ Awards 2019

The Asian College of Journalism (ACJ) Awards will be given in the Investigative Journalism and Social Impact categories this year. The Media Development Foundation (MDF), the trust that administers the Asian College of Journalism, India’s premier journalism school, announced the opening of nominations for the two awards on its website. MDF invites journalists and news organisations to submit entries for consideration by the awards committee and jury. Investigative journalism, for the purpose of the award, will be that which exposes wrongdoing in the public interest. Work in this domain covers a wide variety of journalistic investigation including abuse of public office, environmental degradation, human rights violation, financial fraud, corporate mismanagement, gender violence, political apathy, war crimes, civic neglect and much more. This is only an indicative, not an exhaustive, list of what could come within the ambit of investigative journalism. The judging criteria will include the nature of the investigation, its impact and the extent of the public interest involved. The award will comprise a trophy, citation and a cash prize of INR 200000 (two lakh rupees). K.P. Narayana Kumar, an alumnus of the Asian College of Journalism from the class of 2000, died in 2019 at the age of 39. To mark his life and work, alumni from his class have instituted this new award. The K P Narayana Kumar Memorial Award for Social Impact Journalism will honour exceptional, original reporting on important subjects with the potential to have social impact, spur reform and find solutions. For the purposes of the award, social impact journalism involves identifying a latent social problem and reporting in a way that points to possible solutions. The reportage should ideally give voice to the voiceless and shine a light on under reported subjects lost in the drumbeat of breaking news. These stories should take aim at important social, cultural, political or economic problems and create impact. The award will comprise a trophy, citation and a cash prize of INR 100000 (rupees one lakh). Both awards will be presented at the ACJ Awards and Convocation Ceremony on May 3, 2020, World Press Freedom Day. Nominations can be sent in till 5 pm (IST) on February 24, 2020. Any journalistic work that was published during the calendar year 2019 (1 January to 31 December) is eligible for nomination by a news organisation, working or freelance journalist(s). There can be up to 5 members comprising a team that can be

nominated for an award. For enquiries/ press relations please contact: Nikhil Kanekal, convener, ACJ Awards Committee, [email protected] <

44 VIDURA January-March 2020 Thirupavai – a celebration of dawn and Krishna

The ancient verses bring alive the piety as well as the wealth of a pastoral community of yore. Such is the beauty of the poetry that it has stood the test of time, and will continue to gladden hearts on Margazhi mornings, says Meenakshi Devaraj

part from the musical sea- things are beautifully brought out ghee – and the kasu and pirappu son and kolams (rangoli), in this 30-line poetic garland. chains worn by them. The former Achanting of verses from Right at the outset, Andal spells would have been similar to the Thirupavai and Thiruvempavai is an out when the devotional activity kasu mala or chain of coins which is integral part of the celebrations in begins – full moon day in Marga- popular even now, while the latter the Tamil month of Margazhi (mid- zhi. The first five verses describe refers to a chain made with small December to mid-January). The the ritual. The following verses seed-like beads. hymns are sung everywhere, from tell us how she tries to wake her The plenty that the cowherds temples to TV channels early on friends up for the ritual and talks enjoyed, with the cattle producing Margazhi mornings. of the various signs that dawn is copious amounts of milk, and the Thirupavai is a poetic work by approaching. These include bird- closeness of the cowherds with their Andal, the only woman among the calls, the sound of the conch, the animals are beautifully brought divine Tamil poets called Azhwars, chanting of the sages and yogis and out. She describes how the cow- who sang in praise of Lord Vishnu. the clinking of the pendants worn herds wait to eat their food till the She was born in Srivilliputhur by the women who churn curd. cattle find grazing, making a point around the 9th Century. She com- Then she attempts to wake up Lord that the men neither dominate nor posed the Thirupavai verses during Krishna himself, asking him to ful- exploit their animals. the time when she observed Paavai- fill her desires. Andal talks of a special dish of nombu, a ritual observed by women Through her beautiful, descrip- rice cooked in milk made at the of the time to petition God to fulfil tive verse, Andal captures and pres- end of the ritual. She writes that their desires. Apart from the great- ents the ambience of the wee hours the amount of ghee poured on top ness of Lord Krishna and informa- of the day. Describing the visual of the dish, called akaraadisil, is so tion about the ritual, many other signs of dawn she talks of how, as generous that itflow downs to her the lower part of the eastern sky elbow as she eats it. In fact, akaraa- brightens, cattle spread out and disil is considered one of Lord Vish- start to graze; as Venus rises, Jupiter nu’s favourite offerings. She asks sets in the heavens at this particular Lord Krishna to accept the small time, and the red water lilies open services performed by the women while the night-blooming flowers in the small hours of the morning, shut their petals. remembering his own childhood in As morning advances, cocks crow a pastoral community. and birds gather on the madhavi Andal also makes a plea for rain creepers to sing. Texturally, she in Thirupavai, but it isn’t the con- talks of the dew that drenches the ventional prayer for showers, she heads of the young women as they describes the whole rainfall cycle, stand at the entrance to the home including evaporation, condensa- of one of their friends, calling her tion, cloud formation, and thun- to take part in the ritual. der and lightning. “Then, like the Thirupavai is replete with pastoral stream of arrows from your victori- images. Andal talks of the scented ous Saranga bow, pour down rain

Photo: MD. hair of the women of the cowherd so that the world can live”, she The writer’s pencil sketch of Andal. community – they probably used says.

January-March 2020 VIDURA 45 Andal’s description of her friends early mornings during Margazhi, (The writer, a software engineer, as rich girls, wearing fine jewels, when Nature is at its most beauti- is interested in history and Tamil and of the ornamental latches on ful. The Thirupavai hymns are sure culture and has researched on Tamil the gem-studded door of her uncle’s to be sung for generations to come. Sangam Literature, Chennai history house are clues to the wealth of Their beauty defies translation, and and temples. She runs a YouTube

Srivilliputhur. their lyricism is best enjoyed in the channel in her name, focused on Tamil Most of us are too busy today to original Tamil. < Literature.) enjoy the exquisite charms of the

IRS Q3: Dainik Jagran takes No. 1 position

On 20th January 2020, the MRUC (Media Research Users Council) has announced the release of full and complete data for IRS 2019 Q3, which included data for Andhra Pradesh. The 2019 Q3 data is a rolling average of the last quarter of IRS 2017 (Q4) and three quarters of IRS 2019 (Q1+Q2+Q3). IRS 2019 Q3 fieldwork covers August 2019 through November 2019. The survey found that dailies have managed to hold on to their loyal readers. Dainik Jagran has remained the No. 1 daily despite a significant drop in its average issue readership while TheTimes Of India has topped English dailies. Malayala Manorama remained the largest read regional daily in the country. As per Q3 IRS 2019, Dainik Jagran continues to lead among the other dailies. Jagran has garnered Total Readership (TR) of 72559000 in Q2 IRS 2019 compared to TR 70430000 in Q3. Dainik Jagran Average Issue Readership (AIR) stood at 17496000, a marginal drop from 18146000 in Q2. Dainik Bhaskar is the second-largest read daily. Its TR has grown to 52622000 in Q3 2019 IRS against 52111000 in Q2 2019 IRS. Hindustan’s TR in IRS Q3 2019 saw a marginal drop from 52866000 to 51308000. In English Dailies, The Times Of India was amongst the most read daily. Its TR saw a hike from IRS Q2 2019 16126000 to 16986000. The survey also released the data for the top magazine where India Today Hindi, as well as English, took the No. 1 spot. India Today English total readership (TR) saw growth in number. In IRS Q2

2019, it was reported to be 9156000 and in IRS Q3 2019, it was reported to be 9243000. The Hindi edition saw a decline in readership from quarter 2 of IRS data. <

(Courtesy: exchange4media.com)

TOI, Dainik Bhaskar join hands against fake news

The Times of India Group along with the Dainik Bhaskar Group has launched an initiative titled, Kaun Banega, Kaun Banayega, which is a series of films to highlight the fake news malaise and educate readers on the importance of reading the newspaper. Commenting on the initiative, Sivakumar Sundaram, president – Revenue, BCCL, says, “Fake news is a modern- day malaise brought on by social media. It ranges from the silly to grave ‘forwards’ having repercussions that affect the social, economic and cultural fabric of nations. As gatekeepers of the truth and as a leading newspaper company, The Times of India takes on the responsibility of educating people on the need to follow real news and not forwards. This is being done in an engaging and humorous manner through a series of films titled,Kaun Banega, Kaun Banayega. We are happy to partner with the Dainik Bhaskar Group to jointly drive this initiative.”

Says Girish Agarwal, promoter-director, Dainik Bhaskar Group, “ Sharing a common responsibility, two of the largest media houses in the country have decided to come together to spread awareness on the menace of fake< news. We will continue to work together on this issue and others of citizen and national importance.”

(Courtesy: exchange4media.com)

46 VIDURA January-March 2020 SPORT A prediction fulfilled in style

Tipped by Viswanathan Anand more than a decade ago to be a world champion, Koneru Humpy finally fulfilled that prediction. Partab Ramchand on what makes her feat highly significant

t the fag end of a year that games are played over a much lon- certainly not in the rapid format,” brought Indian sport a lot ger duration than the rapid format a happy Humpy said after the tri- Aof cheer, came the icing on and thus is more prestigious. umph. “To be a world champion in the cake. Tipped by Viswanathan Reflecting on the historic triumph, any format is definitely a dream for Anand more than a decade ago the first Indian women to win the any chess player and I am no differ- to be a world champion, Koneru world rapid title said she was hop- ent. The tag means a lot.” Humpy fulfilled that prediction by ing only for a top-three finish as she Not wanting to rest on her laurels winning the women’s world rapid was still keen to improve her game Humpy made it clear that she is still chess championship in Moscow on in the format. Humpy has always chasing the classical format world December 28. made it clear that it is classical chess championship title and in terms of The 32-year-old from Vijayawada, that is her forte and rapid and blitz building one’s confidence the latest arguably the best ever women’s tournaments are not her cup of tea. victory took her to a higher level chess player from India, emerged But she admitted that she did play even though that format is totally triumphant in an intensely con- some quality chess in the crunch different. “I will continue to give off tested championship which went games to take the title. my best in a bid to realize that one down to the wire. Humpy clinched Since Humpy was seeded as low big goal,” she said. For the moment, the title and was richer by 40000 as 13, there was no pressure on her she is letting it all soak in even as dollars. and that worked to her advantage. she dedicates the win to her parents Humpy’s triumph makes India All the same, she did not underplay and husband Anvesh for their won- one of the few countries to have her achievement knowing fully derful support. produced the world rapid chess what it meant by terming the vic- Humpy had come close to becom- champions both among men and tory as the biggest moment of her ing the classical world champion in women. Anand has won it multiple career. “The win means a lot to me. the past but could not quite finish times. Of course, Anand has also It is a huge feeling to be a world the job. Her best chance came in the won the more important classical champion. I have been waiting for a 2011 World Championship match world championship in which the long time for this to happen though but she was beaten 2.5 – 5.5 by Hou Yifan despite being seeded above the Chinese. She also made it to the semifinals of the World Champi- onship three times. Since then, she saw her rivals becoming stronger while she had to take a break for a couple of years from competitive chess following childbirth. In fact, Humpy had been marked for great things as she showed her prodigious talent from a very early age. She won just about every age group championship beginning with the world Under-10 way back in 1997. Four years later, she won the World Junior Championship at 14 Photo: Internet. when the age limit was 20. In 1999, Koneru Humpy deep in thought during a game. at the Asian Youth Championship in

January-March 2020 VIDURA 47 Ahmedabad, she won the Under-12 Somewhere along the line, hopes Padma Shri in 2007, Humpy is an< section, competing with boys. Two began to fade. Finally, at Moscow, officer with the ONGC. years later she won the world junior the hopes crystallised. girls championship. But one is sure that the ambi- (The writer is a veteran sports Humpy also became only the tious Humpy, always willing to writer who spent his career working second woman in history behind work hard and keep improving, for The Indian Express and The Hungary’s Judit Polgar to cross will strive every bit to cross the Telegraph and Sportsworld.) 2600 Elo points. It seemed it would final frontier too in the form of the only be a question of when and not world classical title. A recipient of if she would win the world title. the Arjuna Award in 2003 and the

IRS 2019 Q3: Traditional media consumer base intact

Traditional media hasn’t lost its loyal clientele to the Internet. So, while Internet consumption in India is on the rise it hasn’t been a deterrent in growth of other media in Q3 of 2019. According to numbers released by MRUC for IRS 2019 Q3, the total reach across all media continues to grow. Internet accessed in last one month of Q3 touched a 35 per cent reach. Q1 and Q2 in 2019 saw 24 pc and 29 pc reach of the medium. The urban reach touched 50 pc and rural 28 pc in Q3. While Internet numbers are promising, data on the rest of the media is reflective of stability in consumption pattern. Percentage reach of television in the last one month within 12+ aged individuals stood at a total of 76 pc in Q3 of 2019 against 77 pc and 76 pc of first two quarters. The urban reach touched 88 pc while rural clocked 69 pc reach in Q3 of 2019. Newspapers read in the last one month stood at 38 pc total reach as against 39 pc in the previous two quarters. For urban, the reach stood at 52 pc while rural reach touched 31 pc in Q3. Magazines too just like TV and newspapers saw stability in reach with magazines read in the last one touching 5 pc in Q3 against 6 pc in Q1 and 5 pc in Q2. Urban reach stood at 9 pc and rural at 3 pc in Q3 of 2019. Percentage reach of radio in the same time clocked 21 pc reach overall in Q3 while urban reach was 30 pc and rural reach was 16 pc. Cinema watched stood at a consistent 3 pc reach in Q3 of 2019 with urban reach at 6 pc and rural at 2 pc.

The report is based on a rolling average of data from last quarter of IRS 2017, two quarters IRS 2019 (Q1) and (Q2), and one fresh quarter – Q3 of IRS 2019, and excludes numbers from Andhra Pradesh and Jammu &< Kashmir.

(Courtesy: exchange4media.com)

Ingi Olafsson is director, World Printers Forum

Ingi Rafn Ólafsson has been appointed new director of the WAN-IFRA’s World Printers Forum. He will succeed Manfred Werfel, who retired earlier this year. Ólafsson, an Icelandic national, was previously in charge of managing continuing education for the graphical and publishing industry in Iceland for the past several years. Before that, he was the ad-production manager of Morgunbladid, the country’s largest daily newspaper. In his new role, Ólafsson will coordinate WAN-IFRA’s programmes and advise and serve the Association’s member companies in all matters

related to print and production, and develop strategic and operational research, insights, and networking agenda of the World Printers Forum. He is based at the WAN-IFRA’s headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany. <

48 VIDURA January-March 2020 SPORT The absent spectator – where are the charms of the days of old?

Whatever the reasons, watching a first division league match at Chennai is no longer as interesting as it used to be even though a lot more runs are scored than ever before. And the Sundarramans of Chennai cricket have just vanished from the scene, says V. Ramnarayan

“ OB 74 for 3, Jolly Rovers 65 Sundarraman was a mild look- are likewise kept abreast of the day’s for no loss; at Union, State ing, bespectacled, balding man, happenings at regular intervals. IBank are 102 for 2,” he would who found excitement in this There were others like Sundar- inform you, even before you said strange pursuit. In the early years, raman who performed this free hullo to him. He would then pull he used to cycle from one ground to service for cricket teams, but on his scooter stand back, park the another, but eventually graduated a smaller scale as they were less two-wheeler, and walk purpose- to riding a scooter. He was a mobile mobile. There were the Rita ice fully towards the scorer, to find out scorer that enabled teams to keep cream vendor who took his business the details of your match. In ten tabs on the competition. We players to two or three grounds per league minutes, he would be off again, to often wondered what made a man day and the equally well-informed stop at the Marina to find out the like that tick, and how he found peanut-wallah, who continues on latest there between India Pistons the time, money and inclination to his peripatetic mission even today. and Grand Prix. indulge his fancy. There were other regular spectators This was Sundarraman, who Today, the Sundarramans of who went to one ground and stayed spent his weekends in such unusual Chennai league cricket have become there the whole day. manner, hopping from ground to an anachronism, as the team man- One bearded, dhoti-clad Alwar- ground, keeping the many teams agements of most first division pet CC supporter was present at up to date on the scores in other teams possess mobile telephones every match involving the team matches as much as boning up on and are in constant communication for at least a decade, through good those details himself. I don’t believe with their counterparts on other times and bad. He would sit at a he ever watched one single match grounds. The bosses back in the quiet corner far from the pavilion from beginning to end. offices of the sponsoring companies and never attempt to befriend the players. He was a special invitee at an event to celebrate Alwarpet’s golden jubilee, and he was a quietly dignified guest that evening. It took a great deal of persuasion to make him talk. When he finally opened up, he said, “I don’t watch league cricket anymore. The matches are so bor- ing. No longer are there well fought contests. Teams with their own grounds prepare dead pitches for matches against strong opponents, and rank turners or green tops against the minnows. The result is

Photo: The New Indian Express/ D. Sampathkumar one-sided or lifeless matches. Both A match in progress at St Bede’s Anglo-Indian Higher Secondary School in batsmen and bowlers manage to Santhome, one of the breeding grounds for cricket in Chennai. acquire impressive stats, until they

January-March 2020 VIDURA 49 are found out at a higher level of — now a successful character actor past. Some of them have told me cricket.” — doing the rounds in the eighties that the matches are no longer as There were spectators who at matches that Srikkanth played. competitive as they used to be. enjoyed chatting with the players My own father sat at a quiet corner One explanation was what our or listening to the banter that usu- and watched every ball nervously at Alwarpet CC veteran told us: that ally went on among the players most of my brother Sivaramakrish- with all the first division matches waiting for their turn to bat, seated nan’s games. being played on turf, the home in and around the pavilion, some- S. Vasudevan’s father was another teams prepare helpful times under a tree. Some of the regular and the two would some- while playing weak opposition eavesdroppers were careful listen- times sit together and dissect the and flat surfaces wickets when up ers, who recorded every word they day’s proceedings. They set pretty against strong teams. With heard in their memory, to go back stiff standards, expectations the and fielding standards constantly and tell their friends. player couldn’t always live up to. improving and bowling tending to “Did you know, so and so had a These veteran watchers of cricket be relatively pedestrian, there is not late night last night, was dancing at derived great pleasure from their much entertainment value in these the Gatsby till 3 am. Naturally, he pastime. It was a wonderful way matches. Or, maybe, television got out first ball,” they would relate of spending their post-retirement coverage of international cricket their story with glee. Some others days. They often had long con- has made local cricket seem much

would offer gratuitous advice to versations with other spectators, less attractive to spectators than a the players, especially the younger some of whom would walk up to couple of decades ago. < ones, not yet bold enough to tell my brother and me for years after- them to mind their own business. wards, to enquire after father. (The writer is a columnist and Parents, siblings, and cousins of Today, the crowds at these author on cricket and music, a former players were regular spectators matches have dwindled to next first-class cricketer and editor of a as well. Some friends of the play- to nothing. Many former specta- performing arts monthly. He lives in ers, too, would land up faithfully tors have stopped watching league Chennai.) at their matches — I remember cricket, because they find it less Gopi of India Pistons and Krishnan interesting than they used to in the

Proposal to regularise digital news

The Information and Broadcasting Ministry has put forward a draft Registration of Press and Periodicals Bill, 2019, to replace the existing Press and Registration of Books (PRB) Act, 1867. In a bid to regularise, e-papers and digital news, the platform will now come under the gambit of the Information and Broadcasting ministry’s governance. MIB has put forward a draft Registration of Press and Periodicals Bill 2019 to replace the existing Press and Registration of Books (PRB) Act, 1867, and one of the key highlights of the proposal is bringing digital news under its umbrella. The draft bill also proposes to have a simple system of registration of e-papers. The Bill proposes to remove the existing provisions relating to registration of books and matters connected thereto. It also talks about doing away with the existing procedure of furnishing of declaration by publishers/ printers before the district magistrate and its subsequent authentication. According to the draft bill, the “process of title and registration of periodicals”, including newspapers, is proposed to be effected centrally by the Press Registrar General as a simultaneous mechanism. It further says that the change will also enable the Central and State Governments to frame appropriate rules

or regulations to regulate the criteria and conditions for issuing government advertisements in newspapers, accreditation of newspapers and such other facilities for newspapers. <

(Courtesy: exchange4media.com)

50 VIDURA January-March 2020 SPORT When India notched up her first Test victory Sixty eight years ago, on February 10, India notched up her first Test victory.Partab Ramchand examines how the historic event came about, one of the greatest days in Indian cricket

y February 1952, India had Bailey, and did The batsmen then built on the been playing for not make the trip and it was a sort great work done by Mankad. Balmost 20 years and had still of second-string England side that Opener scored 111 – to notch up her first victory. The landed in India. his second hundred of the series country had played just 24 Tests in And yet at the end of the fourth – while veterans Mushtaq Ali, India, England and Australia with Test of the five-match series, India Amarnath, skipper Hazare and no international cricket being played were 0-1 down. After the first three Mankad all came up with valuable during World War II and, of those, Tests were drawn, England won a contributions. Still, on the morning India had lost 12 and drawn 12. low-scoring game in a battle of spin of the third day, India were 216 for The arrival of the England team bowlers in Kanpur by eight wick- five and a vital stage in the match in India for the 1951-52 season ets, wrapping up the game in three had been reached. Now, however, appeared to give India their best days. India started taking control and the chance to break their cricketing In a desperate measure to win main architect was the man who duck, for the tourists were not at the final Test in Madras, the selec- made the final XI at the last minute. full strength. Many leading players tors made as many as five changes. Umrigar, making the most of the like , , God- Out went Vijay Manjrekar, C.S. opportunity, went on to get a com- frey Evans, , Trevor Nayudu, Nana Joshi, Polly Umri- manding unbeaten 130, the first of gar and Sadhu Shinde, and in came his 12 hundreds for India. He had Mushtaq Ali, R.V. Divecha, P. Sen, successive partnerships of 104 runs and C.D. Gopinath. for the sixth and 93 runs However, as luck would have it, for the seventh wicket with Dattu Hemu Adhikari broke his wrist in Phadkar (61) and Gopinath (35), a fall on the eve of the match and respectively, and so quickly had the Umrigar was reinstated. runs been scored that Hazare was This forced change was to have able to declare the innings closed at a major impact on the game but in 457 for seven shortly before stumps the meantime England, winning the on the third day. With two days left, toss on the opening day of the Test India were 191 runs ahead. (February 6), scored 224 for five at India wrapped up the game by an stumps on the first day. Shortly after innings and eight runs with a day play ended, came the news that King to spare. England were bowled out George VI had passed away in Lon- for 183 with Robertson again top- don. Consequently the rest day was scoring with 56. Mankad again was advanced to the following day and among the wickets, his four for 53 play resumed on February 8. giving him match figures of 12 for took little time in 108. This time, however, he had to wrapping up the England innings. share the honours with off-spinner The left-arm spinner took all the who finished with remaining five wickets to finish four for 77 and, finally, India had with the mesmeric figures of eight registered their maiden Test victory

Photo: Internet. for 55 as England were restricted to in their 25th attempt. It was a his-

Vinoo Mankad contributed to India’s a total of 266, Jack Robertson top- toric day, February 10, 1952. < first Test win. scoring with 77.

January-March 2020 VIDURA 51 Book Review Book Review

Engrossing story about how an English company took over a country

European colonisers and systematically plundered a country which was immensely rich. The East India Company (EIC) stripped the land clean, unlike some of the Muslim invaders who made India their home. This is not history seen through the eyes of the con- querors or an enumeration of all the good things India got in consequence – a railway system, an education system which established the superiority of the Eng- lish language, and democracy. It is about the ruthless chicanery of a single mercantile company operating out of a small office in London. Dalrymple, in his racy prose, captures the saga from the time of Sir Thomas Roe, the first British Ambassa- dor to Emperor Jahangir’s court in the early 17th Cen- tury, to the time when the diwani was taken away from the Mughal ruler, Shah Alam, and handed over to the British Crown. Perhaps because he has established for- midable research and literary credentials through his earlier tomes on the Mughals and the Raj, he can get away with calling Clive, the first governor-general of the Bengal Presidency, a “punk running an extortion- ist business back home”. As is well-known, it was Mir Jafar, the army com- mander of Siraj-ud-Daulah, Nawab of what is described as the richest province in the region, who joined hands THE ANARCHY: THE EAST INDIA COMPANY, with the British in the Battle of Plassey and gave them a CORPORATE VIOLENCE, AND THE PILLAGE OF AN toe-hold. But without insider help, no foreigners could EMPIRE have made the kind of inroads the British did. So, the Author: William Dalrymple role played by local businessman Jagat Seth, who col- Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing luded with the British, or rather, the EIC, to control the Price: Rs 699 spoils of the land, is equally deplorable. In his book, An Era of Darkness, Shashi Tharoor makes Seen through the prism of the weakened Shah Alam, an attempt to re-examine British colonisation of India who emerges as a superior figure compared to the and burst some myths about it being a positive period crooked men of English and Scottish lineage, the story for the country. “The fact is that, over 200 years ago, unfolds, travelling back and forth in time. The Com- the British came to one of the richest countries in the pany ultimately eliminated all opposition in every part world... a country which had 23 per cent of global of the country; it systematically subjugated all regional GDP... a country where poverty was unknown,” says rulers. Tharoor, adding, the country “that was the world The East India Company grew even bigger than the leader in at least three industries, such as textiles, steel Victorian State, which finally reined it in. The Com- and ship building, was reduced to dire poverty (no pany which had turned into an independent imperial GDP worth mentioning) due to exploitation, expro- power was forced to relinquish its control over India to priation and clean outright looting.” the Crown, in 1874. Forty-three years later, the British This is also the theme of Dalrymple’s latest book The Crown (government) was compelled to quit India. Anarchy – The East India Company, Corporate Violence, Most of us familiar with names such as Clive, Hast- and the Pillage of an Empire. It is a treatise on Indian ings, Canning, Wellesley and Cornwallis, and various colonial history, wherein the British edged out other nuggets of colonial history, assume that it was the

52 VIDURA January-March 2020 Book Review

British monarchy that ruled India. In fact, it was the world. The100-page glossary testifies to the deep tiny EIC that called the shots. Dalrymple focuses on research that has gone into the book. Ancient Per- the greed that turned men into predators. He estab- sian texts, records at the British Library, India Office lishes that there are more riches from India stashed records and National Archives were all sources that away in castles and manors in Wales than in the muse- were tapped to provide a significant understanding ums in India. Individuals flourished but the Company of the period. went bankrupt. With wonderful colourful illustrations, here is a book A re-interpretation of history is always welcome; written by not just a scholar, but a storyteller, too. It is with characters being infused with fresh life. Having as much a cautionary tale about a global conglomerate

already written about some of the overlapping parts taking over a country with profit as the sole motive, as of Indian history, such as the Mughal period, Dalrym- it is an engrossing story about real people. < ple simply connects the dots. He takes a moral posi- tion rather than merely documenting facts because (Reviewed by Manjira Majumdar.) he believes history can repeat itself anywhere in the

Providing a better understanding of good governance and development

‘Minimum government and maximum governance’ and ‘government that governs least is the best’ are the oft-quoted aphorisms to ensure that the ruling dispen- sation does not become a leviathan, turning a deaf ear to popular aspirations. Naturally, ‘good governance’ has become the pet phrase of not only the administra- tive circles but even the corporate sector. The litmus test for good governance is how the pow- ers-that-be are responsive to those governed, apart from undertaking the responsibility of overall security and common weal. Good governance also entails the proper implementation of schemes like ‘Education for all’, ‘Health for all’ and ‘Social justice for all’, and a corruption-free set-up. Prof N. Bhaskara Rao, with his total dedication to research and analysing everything connected with good governance, has been associated with many national and international organisations in the field. In this book of well-documented research findings, he has added two more dimensions to the four pillars of democracy – legislature, executive, judiciary and media – which are expected to safeguard such good governance. They are: civil society and the political system or parties. The positive role of the civil society is increasingly felt in all countries wedded to the concept of democ- SUSTAINABLE GOOD GOVERNANCE, racy, he says and emphasises that “as the best bet for DEVELOPMENT AND DEMOCRACY governance and even a pre-requisite for public ser- Author: N. Bhaskara Rao vice delivery and developmental process”. He thus Publisher: SAGE Publications (India), New Delhi favours civil society as the ‘fifth estate of the realm’ Pages: 285 and considers political parties as the ‘sixth estate’, Price: Rs 1050

January-March 2020 VIDURA 53 Book Review Book Review

which needs to be all-embracing and never sectarian country is in today, the author favours a sincere pur- or denominational. suit of these ideals. While civil society in our country functions like a Rao also sets the agenda for the four pillars of democ- think tank and, by and large, reflects and promotes racy as also for the fifth and the sixth estates of his people’s aspirations, it cannot be said of our politi- conception, to foster good governance: these should cal system comprising a plethora of parties. Barring a “work in a checks-and-balances way to maintain an couple of national parties, they mostly concentrate on equilibrium to ensure that everything is going accord- regional and sectional interests. The proliferation of ing to the Constitution”. These six pillars need to func- regional parties is, perhaps, due to the national parties tion in tandem to achieve the desired result of good evincing not much interest in regional expectations. governance. The author’s disenchantment with the As the author avers, “Compulsions of a democratic way the important pieces of legislation like the Right system, in a country of India’s plurality, complexity to Education Act and the Right to Information Act are and push-and-pull factors, matter as much as the out- dealt with by officialdom is perceptible all through this comes and impacts.” Further, “civil society, in its vari- magnificent effort. ous manifestations, is the core of the state, next only Stating that there can be no readymade formula for to the apparatus of empowered agencies”. At the same good governance, Rao likens it to playing with Rubik’s time, our civil society, “because of its unorganised Cube, wherein “one has to go through a series of steps character and diffused nature, has not acquired the in the process to have a single colour in each face of significance it deserves, including the priorities of the cube”. The efforts of leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru news media”. (Congress Seva Dal) and schemes floated by Andhra Prof Rao castigates our political parties for shedding Pradesh Chief Minister N.T. Rama Rao (administration their creed and ideology and getting more and more at the people’s doorstep) and Rajasthan Chief Minister power-hungry and in the process reducing the citizen Bhairon Singh Shekhawat (Antyodaya) were laudable, to a voter. In this connection, he aptly recalls Mahatma but regrettably they remained as mere adventures of Gandhi’s suggestion that the Congress Party be con- initial enthusiasm with no follow-up. verted into a social service outfit which, however, the What is the way out? The author rightly lays stress then Congress leaders chose to ignore. on education. There is an urgent need to sensitise the “The very idea of public service was the first casu- people on the need to ensure good governance. For alty,” he laments and cites the visualisation of M.N. achieving this, the education route is the sure bet. He Roy, the radical humanist leader: “… how there was favours the inclusion in the syllabi of the secondary and going to be mad scramble for power by politicians senior secondary schools the following four aspects: winning elections using money and muscle power, “Our republic, our constitution, government, gover- and how they were going to neglect the people who nance, pillars of the state and checks and balances; would vote for them, and how party leaders were Fundamental rights of citizens, their entitlements, going to be dictatorial in their approach and how transparency and responsibilities; Instruments avail- elected representatives of the people were going to be able for citizens and communities to understand the more responsible and accountable to their respective procedures of electing a representative; and the Process political parties and not to their electors.” of formulation of laws, their passage and implementa- Another eminent statesmen of yesteryears, Chakra- tion”. School teachers have a special responsibility to varthi Rajagopalachari aka Rajaji, wanted the nomen- inculcate these in tomorrow’s citizens. clature ‘ruling party’ to be changed to ‘serving party’ On the whole, the book is a welcome addition to the

to underline the service motto that should guide those existing literature on good governance that can sustain in power. As if in line with such a thinking, soon after democracy and all-round development. < taking over as the prime minister, Narendra Modi pre- ferred to describe himself as ‘pradhan sevak’ instead of (Reviewed by Ramaswami Sampath, former bureau ‘pradhan mantri’. chief, The Hindu, Visakhapatnam.) Rao welcomes such a pronouncement and wants Modi’s “five publicly espoused utterances – Swaraj to Su-raj (good governance); power, not by wooing vot- ers (cheap populism); politics should never override policy; less government, more governance; and Sab ka Saath, Sab ka Vikas (inclusive development)” – not end- ing as mere rhetoric. Calling this ‘panch sheel’, a key to fundamental shifts to get rid of the fallacy that the

54 VIDURA January-March 2020 Book Review

A look at the women who shaped science and medicine in India

India to initiate medical relief, the first Indian to study medicine, and the first women to receive government scholarship for study in England. Another important compendium on women scientists, Lilavati’s Daughter: Women Scientists of India, was published by the Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore in 2008. Now, a new book by Anjana Chattopadhyay details life sketches of 175 women scientists – Indians or for- eigners who were either born or had worked in India. Chattopadhyay is known to the historians of science for her monumental books, Encyclopaedia of Indian Sci- entists (1995) and Dictionary of Indian Scientists (2002). Her new book, Women Scientists in India: Lives, Strug- gles & Achievements, includes 14 entries from the first book and 40 from the second book. In the new book, short biographies are better illustrated than in the pre- vious books. The women featured in the book were included based on certain criteria such as reception of national and international awards; contribution to special- ised or super-specialised subjects; establishment of departments and institutions in the field of science; “scientists, who made new theories, discoveries and innovations, implementation of which made visible impact upon the society”. The majority of the listed scientists belong to medi- cine and related fields, while some are from the fields of astronomy, botany, chemistry, mathematics and physics. The book also provides important data such WOMEN SCIENTISTS IN INDIA: LIVES, STRUGGLES as a list of women Padma awardees in Medicine from & ACHIEVEMENTS 1954 to 1999 and full list of Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Author: Anjana Chattopadhyay awardees from 1958 till date. Publisher: National Book Trust It is interesting to see why women took to work in Pages: 492 medicine and health in earlier times. It emerges that Price: Rs 485 it was due to cultural and religious reasons (such as wearing burka) and other personal reasons that some Much has been written on the life and work of of the women decided to study medicine. For instance, renowned scientist like C.V. Raman, Meghnad Saha, 14-year-old Anandibai Joshi of Bombay lost her child S.N. Bose and Homi Jehangir Bhabha, but the contri- at the time of delivery, as medical facilities were not bution of women scientists is almost ignored. In recent available. In order to help other women, she decided decades, a few books have been published to address to study medicine. this void. Even in the 21st Century, people in the West believe In the beginning of 1990s, Dr Sharayu Bhatia, herself that women are supressed in other parts of the world, a pioneering medical professional, wrote a monograph whereas in their own countries they have freedom in titled ‘The first – life sketches of medical women in all spheres of life. About two to three centuries ago, India’ with a foreword by another pioneer, Dr Sushila Christian missionaries and the colonial powers tried Nayar. The book had featured 27 Indian and Western to introduce their education system to ‘civilise’ other women in the field of medicine who had lived in the nations. 19th and 20th Centuries such as the first missionary in

January-March 2020 VIDURA 55 Book Review Book Review

The book gives different examples, which demon- neither a doctor nor an administrator nor founder of strate that not only within India, but also in Western an institution can be called a ‘scientist’ unless he or countries, highly educated women did not get proper she has done research work. From this point of view, recognition. For instance, the Royal Society of Lon- some of the women included in the book cannot be don (founded in 1663) elected women fellows for the called scientists. In many instances, the author has not first time only in 1944. The Paris Academy of Sciences disussed the ‘struggle’ part of women scientists. Still, (founded 1666) did so in 1979 by electing Y. Choquet- the book has sucessfully highlighted contribution of Bruhat as full member. women to social, political and scientific life in India.

In India, the National Academy of Sciences, Indian It is recommended for general readers, students, Academy of Science and National Institute of Science of historians of science and technology, and feminism< India (renamed as Indian National Science Academy) studies. were established in 1930, 1934 and 1935, respectively. The last two academies elected E.K.J. Ammal in 1935 (Reviewed by Rajinder Singh, physicist and science and 1957, respectively, as the first woman fellow. historian at University of Oldenburg, Germany. Courtesy: The book is a treasure of knowledge from historical India Science Wire.) point of view. However, its title is misleading because

Reaching out to the media to build an image

Renowned Indian Scientist Sir C.V. Raman main- tained special relations with media. It was this rela- tionship with the media that helped Raman bring out his pathbreaking discoveries to the attention of the global scientific community, ultimately winning him the Nobel Prize. A new book on Raman’s interactions with media has revealed this. The book, C.V. Raman and the Press: Science Report- ing and Image Building: Part I - Kolkata Period, has been written by Rajinder Singh, a well-known historian of science. The book succinctly captures Raman’s interac- tion with media in India and abroad. The volume deals with Raman’s lifetime in Kolkata between 1907 and 1933. The second part will be devoted to his lifetime in Bangalore. Raman was a genius in science, a gifted speaker, a reputed teacher and a prolific writer. The book sensi- tively portrays how he used the power of media for the acceptance and recognition of his discovery. At a very young age, Raman observed the diffrac- tion of light through an oblique rectangular appara- tus. His curiosity led him to develop a mathematical equation to explain his observations. When he was 18 years old, he published his classroom experiment in a British journal, Philosophical Magazine. From 1907 to 1922, he worked extensively on acoustics; he made C.V. RAMAN AND THE PRESS: SCIENCE REPORTING valuable contributions to the science behind musi- AND IMAGE BUILDING: PART 1 KOLKATA PERIOD cal instruments such as violin family (comprising Author: Rajinder Singh stringed instruments) and mridangam (percussion Publisher: Shaker Verlag, Germany instrument). Pages: 175 Raman studied the whispering effects under the Price: Digital: 5.47 Euro, Paperback: 21.90 Euro domes of the Victoria Memorial, Calcutta, Gol Gum- baj in Bijapur, The Granary in Patna, and St Paul’s

56 VIDURA January-March 2020 Book Review

Cathedral in London. All his observations were pub- On November 13, 1930, the Associated Press pub- lished in The Modern Review, The Hindu, Proceedings of lished news that C. V. Raman and H. Fischer were Royal Society of London, etc. Thanks to his rich family declared Nobel Prize winners in Physics and Chemistry, background in academics, he learnt quite early in life respectively. On 14 November, 1930, The Indian Review the fact that for one’s research to be widely circulated reported the same. On hearing the news, the world and accepted, it should be published in reputed for- scientific community unanimously acknowledged, eign journals. He did not sit in his office and wait for endorsed and welcomed Raman’s achievements. journalists to approach him, instead he reached out to Raman’s traditional dress with turban and Lady them with press reports for publication. Raman’s Indian saree created an everlasting impres- Raman worked at the Indian Association for the sion and identity of Indian Nobel Laureate in the West- Cultivation of Science (IACS), where he conducted ern press. He also visited Sweden, Denmark, Norway, several studies and published many research papers Germany and Switzerland after receiving the prize. in renowned European journals. On the basis of his The book chronicles a detailed account of his return work, he was offered the prestigious ‘Palit Professor of to India, and how grandly he was welcomed at Howrah Physics Chair’ in the University College of Science and by professors, students, public and the deputy mayor Technology in 1914. He was given complete freedom of Calcutta. Lady Raman gave interviews to local press to do research work at the IACS and the University of detailing their interaction with important personalities Calcutta. and institutions abroad. In Calcutta, many lectures and When he made the discovery of Raman scattering’ or ceremonies were organised and The Calcutta Municipal the ‘Raman effect’, the University of Calcutta came for- Gazette - Raman Number, was published on July 4, 1931 ward and provided full support to him in 1929. He was to mark his achievement. also given a grant to visit Europe to explain his dis- Raman spent 25 years in Calcutta, the most forma- covery to the world. His findings were received with tive years of his life. Later, he took up an offer from great enthusiasm and about 70 papers were published the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, for direc- in reputed Western journals on ‘Raman effect’, ‘Raman torship and served the institute for 15 years. The lines’ and ‘Raman spectra’ within a few months. book features a classic collection of over 77 rare press Raman received various awards including the clippings related to Raman and his achievements. Knighthood by the British Empire in 1929. He met Rajinder Singh, who has authored over 27 books, has

eminent scientists Sir Ernest Rutherford and Paul A.M. conducted painstaking research and the present vol- Dirac. Sir Ernest Rutherford, along with C.T.R. Wil- ume is his fourth book on the life and work of Sir C.< son, later nominated Raman for the Nobel Prize. From V. Raman. France, E. Bloch, J. Perrin and the de Broglie Brothers nominated Raman for the Nobel Prize for 1930. He (Reviewed by Anjana Chattopadhyay, former director, made contact in person with almost all prominent sci- National Medical Library, and former director general, entists to mobilise their mindset to nominate him for Delhi Public Library. Courtesy: India Science Wire.) the Nobel Prize.

Arnab Goswami elected president of NBF

Arnab Goswami, managing director and editor-in-chief of Republic TV, has been elected the new President of News Broadcasters Federation (NBF). NBF, India’s largest industry association of more than 78 news channels representing broadcasters from 14 languages and 25 states, met recently to firm up the governance and management structure, as well to finalise on the modalities of a self-regulatory organisation – News Broadcasters Federation Authority – with an aim to bring in transparent self-regulation on content. The members unanimously elected Goswami as the new president of NBF’s governing board. The members also elected four vice-presidents – Jagi Mangat Panda, co-founder of Ortel Communications; Shankar Bala of Fourth

Dimension Media; Sanjive Narain, chairman and managing director of Prag News, and Kartikeya Sharma of ITV Network. They will be part of the governing board. <

(Courtesy: exchange4media.com)

January-March 2020 VIDURA 57 REMEMBERING MANOBINA ROY Her pictures spoke far louder than words Manobina Roy kept a low profile, both as the wife of talented cinematographer and legendary filmmaker Bimal Roy and as a gifted photographer in her own right. On her 100th birth anniversary, Shoma A. Chatterji pays a tribute to an extraordinarily talented woman

hotography, amateur or pro- and Hyderabad. The initiative was fessional, is almost always taken by her children to mark her Passociated with the male of 100th birth anniversary. The entire the species. However, India has show was conceived by her son, about a dozen well-known women Joy Roy, and friends of the family professional photographers. Mano- helped by designing the brochure, bina Roy is one. She hardly ever allowing exhibition halls to be used talked about her massive volume free of charge, and organising and of work, letting her high-quality curating the exhibits. This is the first black-and-white portraits, land- time her work is being exhibited on scapes and cityscapes speak for such a scale. themselves. Manobina’s father Binode Behari An exhibition of 67 black-and- Sen Roy gifted Brownie cameras to white photographs taken by Mano- his twin daughters Manobina and bina Roy, who passed away 18 years Debalina, on their 12th birthday, ago, was recently held in Mumbai and the two sisters fell in love with

Manobina Roy seated before a picture of Bimal Roy.

photography – a life-long affair. To further their understanding of the craft, he set up a makeshift dark- room in their home, so they learnt to develop their own photos, too. Sen Roy was interested in photog- raphy himself and was a member of The Royal Photographic Society of Britain. He wanted to pass on this legacy to his beloved daugh- ters. They did not disappoint him because they became the first two women amateur photographers in India. Sen Roy believed the importance of education, as he was not only the tutor to the Crown Prince but also headmaster of Meston High School belonging to the Maharaja. But the (Courtesy: Joy Roy) school did not permit girls, so Sen Pictures taken by Manobina, here and on following page. Above, Aparajita with her cousin in Switzerland in 1959. Roy engaged Monindra Nath from

58 VIDURA January-March 2020 Bimal Roy and Aparajita in Bombay in 1951.

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in Ooty in 1959, without his Gandhi cap. Stunning shots (above and below) showing the beauty of nature.

Calcutta as a resident tutor to pre- pare the girls for the Matriculation examinations. The sisters passed with flying colours. Brought up in such a progressive background, the two girls grew up to be inde- pendent young women with minds of their own. Their father made the two young women members of the United Provinces Postal Portfolio Circle. This was a group created by the Photographic Society of India where members would exchange photographs by post, and these would then be exhibited in salons in other cities. In 1937, photographs taken by both sisters were published for the first time in a journal calledShachitra Bharat. In 1940, they showed their

January-March 2020 VIDURA 59 Manobina documented the growth of her children from infancy to adulthood, specially of the two younger children, Aparajita Sinha and Joy Roy. There are many can- did photographs of relatives and friends. Her portraits of girls of marriageable age were so good that it is said that they all found husbands very quickly. The Roys travelled widely in India and also in the West, including Rus- sia and England. Manobina’s arti- cles on her travels were published in The Illustrated Weekly of India and were always accompanied by pho- tographs she had taken. About Manobina’s preferred camera, Joy writes, “Initially, Ma used a Rollieflex camera, and then went on to use an Asahi Pentax. She had always wanted a Nikon, and I managed to gift her one quite late in her life, making sure to get a man- ual camera because she disliked the concept of automatic photography. Ma had a very steady hand, so she got some remarkable results with very long exposure in low light in perfect focus, a notable example being the ones she clicked inside the Folies Bergere in Paris. No cameras were allowed in the auditorium but she managed to smuggle her cam- era inside!” A poster for the exhibition has a wonderful picture of Manobina wielding the camera. Manobina’stransition from black- and-white to colour was smooth, work at the Allahabad Salon, which for a very busy director who had his but she always preferred black- created quite an impact. Thereafter, own studio and office in Bombay. and-white and continued to use they continued to send photos to In spite of all this, Manobina pro- her camera much after she had lost different competitions and invari- duced a massive volume of work, vision in one eye in her later days. ably won awards and prizes. mainly portraits, in the course of Manobina never sought publicity, In 1936, at the age of 17, Mano- her life. A fascinating portrait of either as the wife of one of the most bina was married off to a cinema- Rabindranath Tagore and another gifted film directors of his time, or tographer who worked with New of her husband Bimal Roy smok- for her own talent as a photogra- Theatres in Calcutta. The cinema- ing a trademark cigarette adorned pher. Now, her children are bring- tographer’s name was Bimal Roy. their beautiful home. Her portrait ing her creativity to the notice of the And, in course of time, he became

of Rabindranath Tagore, which she larger public, as a fitting tribute to one of the greatest filmmakers of < took in Jagannath Puri, was one of her life. Indian cinema history. the 25 best photos of Tagore pub- Though marriage did not quite lished by Illustrated Weekly of India put an end to her passion for pho- in 1951. She also took a rare por- tography, she could indulge it much trait of Jawaharlal Nehru without less because she was busy bringing his Gandhi cap and photographed up her children – three daughters V.K. Krishna Menon and Vijaylak- and one son – and making a home shmi Pandit, too.

60 VIDURA January-March 2020 REMEMBERING MANSUR ALI KHAN PATAUDI Hyderabad’s Tiger – vintage memories that still cast a spell In this tribute to the late M.A.K. Pataudi, V. Ramnarayan who played cricket with Pataudi for a brief period, strikes a personal note like never before – “because I am 72 years old today, and it’s about time I wrote freely on the subject, unafraid of being misunderstood as self-promoting”

e would have been 78 last His 103 against Ted Dexter’s MCC month (January). He never at Madras in 1961 was to establish Hcelebrated his birthday, I him as a future star, though most of have read, because his father died us did not know then that the loss while playing polo on January of vision in one eye after a car acci- 5, when Mansoor Ali Khan was dent had already robbed him of any still a boy. ‘Tiger’ himself died chance of joining the galaxy of the eight years ago, without watch- world’s truly great batsmen. ing India’s emergence as a cricket Unfortunately, Tiger chose to powerhouse, a prospect that would take a sabbatical from international have pleased him more than any cricket when chairman of selectors personal achievement. stripped him of I first watched him bat against captaincy before the West Indies England at Madras’s Corporation tour of 1970-71. He, however, more Stadium when Mike Smith’s Eng- than made up for his two-year lishmen toured India in 1962-63. long absence with a delightful 73 The Test, one of five drawn games on his return in the Chepauk Test in that series, was the most bor- in 1972-73, following a hundred Pataudi in full flow. ing I have ever seen, except for for South Zone against the touring the swashbuckling 192 by opener English side. astute cricketing brain, though I Budhi Kunderan. In a sidelight, I remember read- used to doubt his strategic skills in Tiger barely troubled the scorer ing a newspaper report that Tiger his early years as captain. During with 0 and 18 in that match. I was took the England Captain Tony my playing days in Hyderabad, I more fortunate next time around, Lewis (an occasional violinist) to a was lucky enough to play with or when he made a sparkling 128 in violin concert against him for a couple of seasons. a losing cause against Australia at of Carnatic music. Taking over the For some inexplicable reason, he the same venue a year later, equally captaincy from Wadekar, he mar- took a liking to me as a cricketer severe on a rampaging ‘Garth’ shalled his resources quite expertly and a person, but though I trea- McKenzie and spinners Martin and to give ’s West Indies sured that association with argu- Veivers. McKenzie bowled him for a close fight in a series India lost ably the most charismatic of India’s nought in the second innings to 2-3. Sadly, his own personal form cricket captains, I never really got start an Indian rout despite a defi- deserted him, and he announced his close to him, being the reserved ant 94 by . retirement from Test cricket at the middle-class young man I was, When I first read columnist Raju end of the season. He was no longer with a tendency to stay away from Bharatan wax lyrical over the young able to see the ball well, especially the famous. nawab’s shipboard batting exploits against the express pace of the likes I maintained a distance from my on a voyage to India after India’s of . “I don’t want to wonderful skipper Jaisimha, too, tour of England (the boy must be killed on the cricket field,” he especially after he became a national have been just eleven if it was the said explaining his decision. selector. So, contrary to my unde- 1952 tour), I took it to be no more Like many cricketers of my gen- served reputation in some quarters than hyperbole about the Senior eration, I admired Pataudi for his as a name-dropper, it was only in Nawab of Pataudi’s son. How exceptional batting, exemplary my 30s and 40s that I learnt to be wrong I was about Pataudi Junior! courage, quiet determination, and truly comfortable in the presence

January-March 2020 VIDURA 61 with Hanumant, to be my cap- It took all of Jaisimha’s skills of tain and mentor for the next few persuasion to convince Pataudi seasons. that the regular opening pair could My next encounter with Tiger was not be disturbed. Tiger reluctantly a match between a depleted Hydera- agreed to bat at one-drop, three bad team — I was a debutant — and places higher than his usual slot JK XI, which read Pataudi (captain), that season. We watched a vintage Laxman Singh, Rajeshwar Vats, S. Pataudi knock as he raced to his Amarnath, S.A. Durrani, M. Amar- hundred in rapid time. Remember- nath, K.D. Ghavri, Abdul Hai, Ved ing his promise to Jai the previous Raj, R.R.Baindoor and R.S. Hans. I evening, he took fresh guard, and took eight wickets, but missed out switched to an altogether unchar- on the prize wicket, when Pataudi acteristic defensive gear, until he was dropped off my bowling. got out for 198. Pataudi did not The performance won me a place pay much to that small detail, in the Hyderabad Ranji team. I have though. He always maintained that written elsewhere of the trouble, Jai, he scored a double century in that Tiger and Abid Ali took to help me match. relax my nerves on the night before As it turned out, that was Tiger’s my debut against Kerala, and how last match at Chepauk. At the end of Tiger came running to me from the season, he announced his retire- mid-off after my first wicket, and ment from first class cricket — after Photos: Internet said, “Wish you many more wick- we lost a quarterfinal tie to Bombay The Nawab — as dashing as ever. ets, but for God’s sake, stop bowl- despite gaining a 59-run first innings ing rubbish.” As my good form lead. We were all completely gut- of people regardless of their social continued through the season, he, ted, and my personal disappoint- status or accomplishments. along with the others, would let me ment was particularly shattering. I was still struggling to find a lead the team off the field, but say I had first innings figures of 7 for regular place in the State Bank of in a mock-complaining tone, “I am 68, my best in cricket, India team in Hyderabad, when, not clapping for you any more, my and believed we were favourites to thanks to the efforts of my team- hands are aching.” win the match and go on to better mate and Test wicket keeper P. Tiger’s 198 at Chepauk, versus deeds that season. Krishnamurti, I was included in my home state Tamil Nadu, in my The double whammy came when the Hindustan Breweries XI fielded first — and his last — season for Tiger informed me he would not be by P.R. Man Singh in the 1974-75 Hyderabad was memorable for playing for Hyderabad any more. Moin-ud-Dowla Gold Cup Tour- more reasons than his superb bat- He took great pleasure in my suc- nament. The star-studded team was ting. On the eve of the match, Tiger cess against the premier side in led by Pataudi. Its other members seemed to have a score to settle India, and my overall good show- were , Budhi Kun- with the host team. After a couple ing in my debut season. “All the deran, David Heyn, Russell Hamer, of pre-dinner drinks, he informed best, Ram,” he said. “Seven wickets Kailash Gattani, Krishnamurti, Ran- skipper Jaisimha that he was keen against Bombay is a dream perfor- jan Baindoor, W.A. Bourne, Tony on opening the innings next morn- mance, but you will find wickets Opatha, and unknown me. ing if we batted first. To humour harder to come by in the future, My SBI captain Habib Ahmed his most famous player, Jaisimha because batsmen will take you introduced me to Tiger, who, replied, “Sure thing, Tiger.” more seriously and play you with according to Habib, said I was a Next day, Hyderabad won the toss greater concentration.” match-winner after facing me in and batted first. The large crowd that Tiger also informed me that the nets on a terrible wicket. I was had bought tickets to watch the game and Jaisimha were naturally hugely flattered and — in sharp contrast to today’s Ranji also calling it a day. Though Jai- excited by the prospect of playing scenario — had no inkling of the dra- simha actually played for one more under India’s captain, but in an matic happenings in the Hyderabad season, this was a defining moment

anticlimax, I ended up playing for dressing room, with four batsmen in my cricket, and Hyderabad’s. A the opponents SBI, my employers, padded up — regular openers Baig sad moment. < led by Hanumant Singh. The silver and Jayantilal, as well as the desig- lining in the cloud was that it was nated No. 3 batsman, and surprise, the beginning of a warm friendship surprise, Tiger Pataudi.

62 VIDURA January-March 2020 REMEMBERING S. MUTHIAH AND CHARUKESI Two of a kind – they will always dwell in people’s hearts During 2019, R.V. Rajan lost two well-wishers who were responsible for his new avatar as a writer, post retirement. One was S. Viswanathan, bilingual writer and music/ dance critic who passed away on 30th January. The other one was S. Muthiah, the chronicler of Madras, a journalist/ author/ heritage activist who passed away on 20 April. Both were single. Charukesi was a bachelor, and Muthiah a widower who lost his wife of 40 years in 2013. Rajan describes two people who influenced his life

. Viswanathan and Muthiah became full-time writers after Sretiring from other jobs. Viswa- nathan, born in a large middle- class family, was a diploma holder in Commerce from the Indian Mer- chants Chamber. A self-made man, he evolved as a multi-dimensional writer who wrote essays on a vari- ety of subjects including medicine, literature, painting, politics, the- atre, administration, industry, etc. He also wrote short stories, novels and travelogues, and was a colum- nist in a couple of Tamil journals.

Viswanathan was also a transla- Photos: SN tor of books – from English to Tamil A lovely picture of Muthiah typing away, next to the things be loved – his books, and Tamil to English. Encouraged Madras Musings, his Olivetti typewriter and a teddy bear (he loved teddys). by a friend, he adopted the pen unit of the TTK Group. It was then column for The Hindu. His passion name Charukesi, without even that he began researching Madras for Madras, its history, heritage and knowing that it was the name of a city and thus was born his abiding led people to call him Mr Madras. popular raga and that one day he interest in the history of Madras. Charukesi’s looks were deceptive. would become a sought-after music While working with TT Maps, He packed a lot of energy in his lean and dance critic. He was a regular Muthiah forayed into freelance frame. A humble and serious-look- contributor to the Metro Plus sec- writing and published a book in ing man, his sense of humour was tion of The Hindu, writing many 1981, Madras Discovered. Prepared palpable in most of his writings. His feature articles apart from reviews. essentially for tourists, it became a essays were informative and enter- He wrote over 8000 articles and a bestseller. Over several decades, it taining. With help from his neph- couple of novels and hundreds of became his mission to bring to light ews, he mastered the art of using his short stories during his writing the history of Madras and docu- PC for churning out articles in Eng- career spanning 62 years. ment the achievements of men and lish and Tamil, though he never felt Muthiah, born with the prover- women of the city. Muthiah also comfortable using the smartphone. bial silver spoon in his mouth, documented the histories of numer- Charukesi could be seen pound- hailed from a prosperous Nagara- ous corporate houses and person- ing away on his computer for sev- thar family. He studied engineer- alities of the city. He had 42 books, eral hours every day. He allotted ing in USA and started his career 17 on Madras. specific times for his varied assign- as a journalist with The Times of Cey- Apart from launching Madras ments. He was a one-man army lon where he worked for 17 years. Musings, a fortnightly dedicated as he had no one to help him with Forced by circumstances, he came to the history, culture and heri- any of his work. He would move to India in 1968 to take up a job as tage of the city in 1991, he began in around the city using public trans- the chief of TT Maps & Atlases, a 1999 Madras Miscellany, a weekly port or walk long distances to reach

January-March 2020 VIDURA 63 journalism; many of today’s senior journalists were at some time or the other taught by him. When Charukesi was diagnosed with blood cancer, he was devas- tated – a man who generally enjoyed good health all his life because of his good habits. He went into depres- sion, losing his will to fight the disease. Because of the unbearable pain he could not work. The last three months before he died, he was unable to read or write or go out. His end came within six months of the

Photo: RVR diagnosis. Since the family decided Charukesi (left) receiving a citation from industrialist R.T. Chari at a function held to perform his last rites on the day he to celebrate his 60 years of writing. died, and the news of his death was announced in the media only the his destination. Walking helped bencher. Soft-spoken, he took care following day, just a handful of rela- him keep fit, he would claim. not to hurt anyone through words tives attended the funeral. His exit Charukesi never bothered about or deeds. He shunned big parties from the world was a quiet affair, as the compensation he got for his but could be seen nursing a glass of he would have liked it to be. writing, be it a column or a book wine at private gatherings of close Muthiah started having bladder- project. He accepted whatever the friends. He was a man of principles. related issues about five years ago. publications or clients paid him, He would go out of his way to help Apart from getting the best medi- very often doing jobs pro bono. He people in need. He encouraged cal attention, he fought the disease never capitalised on his goodwill, innumerable young musicians and mentally. Though he was in and though the monthly remuneration dancers through his writing. To his out of hospital, he never stopped from publications post-retirement family, he was a favourite brother working. In the couple of months was important for maintaining his and uncle. prior to his passing, I saw him liter- family consisting of four siblings, Muthiah believed in celebrating ally drag himself to his table to do all senior citizens and single, who life and enjoying the good things in some work, take a bit of rest, and were staying with him. life without reservation. He enjoyed return to work. He never missed Muthiah resisted technology until the company of people, parties and the deadline for his column in The the end. He did not use a mobile his daily quota of two pegs of his Hindu nor was there a break in the phone and for many years did not favourite whiskey, after an evening publication of Madras Musings. learn how to use a computer either. walk at the Madras Club. However, He even participated in the Madras He continued to churn out articles, he had rigid ideas and was brutally Week celebrations, something very pounding on his faithful Olivetti type- frank with people, sometimes hurt- dear to his heart. writer. He was assisted by a secretary ing them. He was a fighter for causes Four weeks before he died, Muth- and moved around the city in his and made no bones about confront- iah attended a function to release own car with a loyal driver who was ing people on controversial issues. He the third and final volume of the also his Man Friday. He had a battery was friendly and helpful, too. A men- Madras Gazetteer,A 400-year Record of people to help him with research tor to many, students and others. of the First City of Modern India, which work for the many book projects Charukesi never enjoyed public he had edited. He spoke at the func-

that he undertook, for a fee. Muthiah speaking, often restricting it to a few tion. His ‘never say die’ spirit was always ensured that his clients paid minutes of prepared talk laced with there for everyone to see. < him a decent fee for his writing proj- his customary humour, delivered ects. Disciplined writers, both men deadpan. Muthiah scored with his (The writer, former chairman, were time-conscious and believed in public speaking ability. He readily Anugrah Madison Advertising, has meeting deadlines without fail. accepted invitations to give talks on authored a few books post-retirement. Charukesi was humility personi- Madras. He was an outstanding sto- This is the second and concluding part fied. Non-political, non-judgmental, ryteller who revelled in recounting of a two-part series. The article had he endeared himself to all he came interesting anecdotes about famous earlier appreared in in contact with. Never fond of pub- people and places of Madras. Madras Musings.) licity, he preferred to remain a back- He was also a popular teacher of

64 VIDURA January-March 2020 TRIBUTE TO DR SHRIRAM LAGOO (1927-1992) An actor who essayed some brilliant performances Dr Shriram Lagoo, noted actor and director of the Marathi stage and screen and of Hindi cinema, passed away in Mumbai last December, aged 92. He is known for his character roles in films. He was the first protagonist of the famous Marathi play Natasamrat written by and is best remembered for the role, a masterful performance that fetched him multiple awards. Shoma A. Chatterji traces his career graph

hriram Lagoo was born on Chatterjee’s Gharonda, he plays November 16, 1927 in Satara a rich businessman who marries SDistrict of Maharashtra, the a young woman who works in eldest of the four children of Saty- his office because she resembles abhama and Balakrishna Chinta- his dead wife. His performance man Lagoo. After his schooling in fetched him the Best Support- Satara, he joined Pune’s Fergusson ing Actor from Filmfare. In Raj College and immersed himself in N. Sippy’s Inkaar, he portrays an fine arts. Yielding to pressure from affluent industrialist whose son is his father, he joined the BS Medical kidnapped and the anxiety he suf- College and completed both MBBS fers. It was a well-made suspense and post-graduation. He practiced thriller with an excellent cast and as an ENT surgeon but his heart Lagoo’s sterling performance is was in theatre. remembered. Photo: SC. Even during his medical studies, Lagoo’s performance as a profes- Dr Shriram Lagoo. Lagoo continued to present plays sor in Ek Din Achanak, haunted by under the aegis of the Progressive the pain of being accused of pla- made film, which turned out to Dramatic Association (PDA) he giarism in a paper published in a be a commercial failure. He also had formed. He worked as a doctor noted academic journal, is unfor- played the role of Gopal Krishna in Tabora and Tanzania for three gettable. It is one of the few Hindi Gokhale in Richard Attenborough’s years in the 1960s, but ultimately films directed by Mrinal Sen. He Gandhi. gave up medical practice in 1969 goes out one rainy evening telling Lagoo taught himself to recite the to focus on theatre through PDA, his wife he is going for a walk, but bols of Kathak dance for his role in and in Mumbai under the auspices never comes back. The film uses Gulzar’s film Kinara. In Arunavi- of Ragayan. His debut play, Ithe his character mainly in flashback kas’ film Gehrayee, one of the few Oshalala Mrityu (Where Death and the uncertainty within him movies on occult practices and Shied Away) by Vasant Kanitkar, was brought across with incredible the supernatural, he plays a suc- was a big hit. realism. cessful tea planter whose life col- Lagoo was considered one of the Another landmark film in Lagoo’s lapses when his daughter begins most outstanding actors of Marathi career was the Amol Palekar-di- to behave strangely. His role as theatre during the second half of rected film Ankahee, in which he the villainous, alcoholic, wastrel the 20th Century. He directed over portrays a famous astrologer who foster father of 20 Marathi plays. In Himalayachi can predict the future precisely. in Muquaddar Ka Sikandar went Sawali (In the Shadows of the Hima- The predictions come true even in completely against his grain but his layas), he enacted a scene in which the face of contrary medical opin- performance was so real, it made his character has a heart attack. He ion. This plays havoc with his only the audience hate him. Among his made it appear so genuine that the son’s love life but he is determined Marathi films, which, interestingly, audience was shocked. to get the boy married to his child- are fewer than the Hindi ones, men- Lagoo’s acting in Hindi films hood friend’s only daughter who is tion must be made of , a was also characterised by some slightly mentally challenged. It was wonderful political drama, Saamna, brilliant performances. In Basu a fine performance in a sensitively- and Pinjra.

January-March 2020 VIDURA 65 Lagoo was married to Deepa, Samman to encouraging promising was an atheist and a strong sup- a Marathi stage actress, and the youth who contributed to Marathi porter of the late Narayan Dhabol- couple had two sons and a daugh- theatre in a big way. kar. In 1999, he undertook a fast ter. Lagoo reportedly retired from Over his long career, Lagoo acted along with G.P. Pradhan in sup- films after his 18-year-old son Tan- in more than 250 Hindi and Mara- port of anti-corruption crusader veer died in a freak train accident thi films apart from Hindi, Marathi . He was also a close while travelling between Mumbai and Gujarati plays. He took on sig- friend of playwright and poet Vijay

and Pune. In memory of the young nificant roles in television serials, Tendulkar and was inclined to the man, he instituted the Tanveer too. He claimed publicly that he latter’s Leftist way of thinking. <

TRIBUTE TO BHASKAR MENON (1932-2019) The ‘gold standard’ for editing copy, and a wonderful human being Bhaskar Menon, the name, evokes respect every time it is heard, mentioned, read about. Such is his stature in journalistic circles. Much has been written about his prowess with words, his adroit editing skills, his perfectionism, the stickler he was for punctuality. Above all these, he was humane beyond words. It was he who instilled in several journalists values that remain with them forever: that even if you don’t attend a wedding you may not be missed, but to always be with a colleague or friend in times of need; a nod, a smile, a kind word or an act of kindness is never wasted. Those who worked closely with him recall fond memories

K.S. Shankar, former news editor, language. When a reporter struggled hotels and commercial establish- PTI to translate a Tamil press release, ments across the country. A stick- A thorough professional, he had the Menon would invariably come up ler for punctuality, Menon would remarkable ability to elevate ‘copy’ with the most appropriate words. be in office by 7 am sharp to start by making just a few changes. He He cared deeply about the right the Scan operations for the day. was every reporter’s dream editor turns of phrase and proper punc- He had the gift of being able to – he could polish copy, no matter tuation. He would read eight news- encourage juniors. Even while how rough, so that when it went papers each day, and was blessed pointing out their professional out on the PTI wires, it the with an encyclopaedic knowledge shortcomings, he was liberal with eye of the newspaper sub-editor. of a wide range of subjects. his praise when praise was due. A voracious reader, he had a The death of Tamil Nadu’s iconic ‘Speed’ and ‘accuracy’ were his superior command over the English Chief Minister M.G Ramachan- watchwords, and these he transmit- dran and the assassination of for- ted to those he mentored. mer Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi Even in the high-strung atmo- are two of the big newsbreaks sphere of a newsroom, he was which Bhaskar Menon over- always civil and cordial. Despite saw, bringing great credit to the his experience and seniority, he organisation. was always ready to join junior His eye for detail was legend- colleagues for a cup of tea. He had ary. That was what led to his being a humane touch. Many of his col- called to New Delhi from Chennai leagues have tales to recount of to start the PTI Scan Service in 1982. Menon’s helpful nature, be it in ‘Scan’ was a unique service during professional or financial matters.

Photo: SP pre-TV channel days – news in Elegantly turned out as he was, This photograph, kept at Bhaskar capsule form would be constantly he always looked distinguished. Menon’s home in Chennai during the flashed on small monitors installed His twinkling eyes missed noth- mourning period, captures him in a at airports, railway stations, offices, ing. One of the last ‘gentleman relaxed mood.

66 VIDURA January-March 2020 journalists’, the void left by him worlds apart. While he never let a resignation… across the table we will be hard to fill. single flaw go unremarked at work, waited with bated breath. Our fate he was the sweetest, kindest per- was in his hands, literally, at that Susan Philip, freelance journalist son outside of work. My family has moment. Today, as each one of us To me, he will always be ‘Mr BM’, been privileged to know and love plays with words, in our profession the initials he placed with a flour- him and his wonderful wife. or outside, the one common factor ish at the end of copies edited The standards Mr BM set were in our minds is you, Sir! almost magically. I’d thought, in so high that often we despaired of You must have upped the humour my innocence when I joined PTI reaching them. But now, looking quotient in Heaven by now… as a rookie sub, that I was ‘quite back decades later, I know that it’s good’ at English. That misappre- because he made us aim for the stars Radha Sampath, freelance editor hension was quickly dispelled as that we have at least hit the tops of I knew Mr Bhaskar Menon when I watched him make a tiny inser- the trees. Sir, even today, as I edit he was the news editor and later tion here, a minor deletion there, copy, you are the Gold Standard I the regional manager of PTI, Chen- and transform the roughest copy keep before me. Thank you, Sir! nai, and I was on the ‘desk’. I can into something elegant, without only say it was a privilege to have changing the reporter’s voice. He Babu Jayakumar, political editor, seen him at work and to have learnt taught us, as sub-editors, how to Deccan Chronicle from him. He transformed a report- change a copy to correct and polish Mr Bhaskar Menon, former regional er’s copy by making such subtle it, and, more importantly, how not manager of PTI, was a legend- changes that you were left wonder- to change a copy unnecessarily. ary editor known for his excellent ing what exactly he had done to “Every minute is a deadline” was command over English and extraor- make the copy read so much better. a maxim that was dinned into us dinary writing skills. He played a He was a thorough gentleman and and, as a result, speed has become perfect mentor to greenhorns step- rarely raised his voice, but we were second nature to all of us who were ping into a newsroom for the first left in no doubt of his displeasure lucky enough to have worked under time. Personally, I learned more of if we had made some error in the him. Much of our time at the desk English grammar and usage from copy or had been careless in some was spent in trying to edit copy in him during the first six years of my way in our work. It’s been more a way that would please Mr BM, career when he was my boss, first than two decades since I left PTI or at least, stay off his radar by not as news editor and then as regional but I still try and look at anything making any glaring mistakes. The manager, than from my teachers I edit (now as a freelancer) through signature ‘ping’ of the Intercom in school and college. RIP Sir, you his eyes. I wish I had kept more in would send our collective hearts will be missed by many journalists touch with him. My greatest regret plummeting, wondering who had who were fortunate enough to have is that when I did get to see him, it transgressed! And when he praised worked with you. was at his funeral. us, as he never failed to do, for work well done, we floated on air for a Sethulakshmy Nayar, freelance Usha Manohar, chief of bureau, good long while. editor PTI, Kerala It wasn’t only editing skills that There were other facets of him, Mr BM – a boss who would push Mr BM taught us. He taught us about which we often reminisce. us to any lengths to extract the best about professionalism and work He was a foodie. His eyes would from us. He hid his concern for ethics. He would come by the office light up as he described the taste his subordinates behind the tough even on a Sunday evening, just to of the chutney he had had at a rail- exterior he always projected. His check if all was well. way station in Vishakhapatnam in expressive face going red, eyeballs In the mid-1980s, women journal- the 1950s. Sanctioned leave had an almost popping out seeing our ists were not all that common. He unwritten clause; goodies from my bloopers and the suzhies (circles) saw to it that the work environment hometown. His sense of humour, on our copies were almost a daily was safe for us, without letting gen- or rather the absurd, is well known affair, leaving us petrified. We der have a bearing on the quality of and the guffaw his trademark. He’d would always wonder why only work required. be red in the face laughing. Well, a few of us were singled out. But He taught us humility. “Two that colour had another depth to years later, I realised that it was heads are better than one,” he it, too. Anger, quick to the fore! only due to his tough training that would say, handing us a copy he A line in a copy, a number mis- we all have done so well. had edited for us to ‘check’ if every- match… and the forehead would When Tamil Nadu Chief Minister thing was in order. He taught us to turn a mass of wrinkles. A sudden M G Ramachandran passed away keep the professional and personal explosion, a frown, or a look of in December 1987, I walked from

January-March 2020 VIDURA 67 my home in Anna Nagar to our all-male office, he had taken the content, absolute clarity in expres- office on Haddows Road and back, trouble to find out from the then sion, selection of words and fac- a distance of around 20 km (up bureau manager about the people tual perfection were his hallmarks. and down) ending up with blisters I would have to work with, and Besides being an outstanding edi-

on my feet. BM did not forget to insisted that I should be well taken tor, he was a wonderful human appreciate my effort, and surprised care of. Goodbye, Sir. We will being. < me with a letter of appreciation. always miss you. There were many such instances. It was when I was transferred to K. Ravi, The Hindu Kochi in 1989 that I realised how Menon was an editor par excel- gentle and kind he was. Being an lence. Strict adherence to veracity of

TRIBUTE TO TARA SINHA (1932-2019) Mother of Indian advertising and an inspiring leader R.V.Rajan had the privilege of working with two legends of Indian advertising when he started his career with Clarion McCann in 1964. One was Subroto Senguta, the other Tara Sinha. Rajan here recalls Tara Sinha’s brilliance and how she did not suffer fools gladly

hile Subroto Sengupta As an innovator she had contrib- Coke. While I was working in Grant was a hardcore adver- uted two big ideas to the industry. K & E in Bombay, she persuaded Wtising professional who When she was in Clarion, Bom- me to join ACIL in Delhi as her first believed in systems and proce- bay, she introduced the concept of GM (Planning). GM (Planning) dures, Tara Sinha had a brilliant media planning for the first time was the forerunner to the concept creative mind that was constantly in Indian advertising, when media of account director, which became innovating. If she thought she had departments were handled by man- popular in later years. a good idea, she would go all out to agers who were good at producing A brilliant person who was also sell it to the clients. media estimates with rates negoti- a very demanding professional, Very often, some of the ideas ated with publications. I remember Tara Sinha did not tolerate fools would occur to her a few hours or she persuaded Praveen Desai, who and had no patience for laggards. a few days before a major presenta- had introduced some innovative A tall and impressive Sardarni, she tion and the entire staff would have media ideas as a media manger in would breeze into the office, always to gear themselves to junk whatever LIC, to join Clarion and head the attired in a graceful sari creating they had done until then and start Media Planning Division. vibrations as she walked up to her working all over again on her new When Tara Sinha moved to Delhi office room. As long as she was in idea. When somebody would take to head ACIL (Advertising Consul- the office, there would be tension the courage and point out the pau- tants of India), the in the air. She could be extremely city of time, she would say, “don’t new sister unit of Clarion, she was charming when she wanted some- worry, I have got one day exten- looking for people. She also wanted thing tough to be done or ruthless sion from the client. We have extra to experiment with her new idea of when somebody made mistakes or 24 hours to work on our new idea”. separating planning and operations did not keep up promises. I know Those were days when everything functions in the ad agency. Though of many executives those days who had to be done manually; there ACIL was formed primarily to han- quit their jobs unable to take the was no modern technology to pro- dle public sector accounts, thanks pressure from her. vide instant solutions. But the team, to Tara Sinha’s reputation and con- I was one of the survivors. inspired by her leadership, would nections, ACIL had on its roster of Impressed by my man-manage- always deliver the goods. clients big MNCs like Nestlé and ment skills, she had promoted

68 VIDURA January-March 2020 should marry. Because I was a suc- cessful adman and had a bright future, she felt that my life partner should be a smart and capable girl. She said, “Marry a girl who will be comfortable entertaining clients at home. She must be sophisticated enough to be able to socialise with the wives of the clients.” In other words, she wanted me to marry a girl who could support my career. Ultimately, I decided to marry a girl of my parent’s choice, who turned out to be a wonderful homemaker but did not pass muster with my boss on the social front. I distinctly remember the day in 1966 when Tara Sinha handed over Photos: RVR. a letter informing me of my first The writer (left) and Alan Fernandes, the creative director of ACIL, flank promotion as an account executive Tara Sinha at an office function. in Clarion, Bombay and told me, “Rajan, so far you have been a back- me as her deputy chief executive mandate to ensure that no client or room boy. From today, you will be within a year of my joining ACIL. senior staff left the company. Step- the frontline man taking on bigger While I was delighted at getting an ping into the larger than life shoes responsibilities – All the best!” unexpected promotion when I was of Tara Sinha and occupying the cor- After I shifted to Chennai in 1974, I just 30, I was totally unprepared ner room at 18, Hanuman Road in lost touch with Tara Sinha. Over the for her exit from ACIL within a few Delhi was initially very daunting. I years I would meet her at some con- months. After a confrontation with managed to survive those turbulent ference or seminar but never stayed the Clarion management, she quit but very challenging two years until in touch. She went on to leave her ACIL to join Coca Cola, an impor- the management decided to bring footprints on the sands of time in tant client of ACIL. Overnight my another senior manager within the Coca Cola, Clarion, McCann Erick- boss became my client. Clarion group to take over from me son and many other industry bod- Instead of filling up her vacancy and I decided to move to Madras on ies. The only woman who probably with an outsider, the Clarion man- transfer. wore a sari to work at Coca-Cola’s agement requested me to hold Once, during our travel to meet headquarters. My autobiography, the fort, promoting me as general an outstation client, Tara Sinha Courage My Companion, has a whole manager/ CEO of ACIL with the advised me on the type of girl I chapter dedicated to my association with Tara Sinha. In spite of many controversies surrounding her as a professional, she remained a towering person- ality in the world of advertising highly respected by the industry and revered by hundreds of people like me whose lives she touched – she was indeed the Mother of Indian advertising. I had learnt the important life lesson of having the

courage of conviction in whatever I did from her. May her soul rest in< peace.

Tara Sinha smiles at a farewell meeting oraganised for her in Bombay when she was leaving for Calcutta on transfer. The writer is speaking.

January-March 2020 VIDURA 69 TRIBUTE TO R.G. NADKARNI (1933-2020) Gutsy with the bat, parsimonious with the ball R.G. Nadkarni, former Indian all-rounder, passed away in January. Partab Ramchand writes about India’s most economical bowler ever – taking runs off him was like squeezing the proverbial water out of the stone, he says

he objective of any cricketer is most economical bowlers in Test to win the match but if a situ- history (economy rate 1.67) among Tation arises when the team is those with 75 wickets or more, just facing defeat and a draw is the best behind South Africa’s Trevor God- possible option, that’s when you dard (1.64). need someone like Rameshchandra But then, Nadkarni also notched Gangaram Nadkarni. It was Indian up four five-wicket hauls and a cricket’s good fortune that during ten-wicket haul during his 41-Test their formative years in the 1950s career that stretched from 1955 and ’60s when they faced one set- to 1968, and which brought him back after another, they could rely 1414 runs at an average of 25.70 on Nadkarni, gutsy with the bat and 88 wickets at fractionally over and parsimonious with the ball to 29 apiece. The feat for which he is bail them out. most famous, of course, is his world With all his courageous deeds record 21 successive maidens he with the bat, Nadkarni who passed sent down during the Test against away on January 17 this year, aged England in Madras in January 1964. 86, will be remembered for his nig- He ended the innings with mind gardly left-arm spin bowling. Tak- boggling and eye-rubbing figures ing runs off him was like squeezing of 32-27-5-0. the proverbial water out of the And yet just nine months later, stone. Hour after hour, over after at the same venue, Nadkarni had over, he kept wheeling them down his best match as a bowler, picking Photo: Internet on the same good length spot and up five for 31 and six for 91 against Nadkarni had a way with the the batsman just had no option but Australia. The quick-footed Auss- cricket ball.. to play the ball dead at the feet. ies found a match in the niggardly the first innings was promoted to When the batsman tried to take Nadkarni, who, against them in No. 3 the second time around, and liberties, he found the ball hitting Bombay in January 1960, had the responded with an unbeaten 122 in the middle of the middle stump. So, splendid innings figures of 51-11- seven hours which enabled India to the batsman had to be the epitome 105-6. Five of his victims were save the match. of patience in negotiating Nadkarni bowled and a sixth leg before – the Most of Nadkarni’s knocks were who was accuracy personified. He ultimate tribute to his accuracy. His rearguard actions in trying to avert did not turn the ball much and the best figures were, however, six for defeat. But he did figure in two rol- joke among his Indian teammates 43 against New Zealand at Welling- licking record partnerships for the was that he fooled the batsman by ton in 1968, in his penultimate Test eighth wicket with Farokh Engi- forcing him to think that he was match. neer. Against England in Madras turning the ball. A more than useful left-handed in January 1962, the two added The fact remains that Nadkarni batsman down the order, Nadkarni 101 runs, the first century stand for is not remembered for being a big scored 107 half-centuries. His lone India for this wicket, Nadkarni’s turner of the ball; he is remembered hundred came in a match saving act share being 63. Three years later at chiefly for his ability to bottle up one against England at Kanpur in Feb- the same venue against New Zea- end like few bowlers have done in ruary 1964. India were following on land, the duo raised the record to the . Little wonder 293 runs behind and Nadkarni who 143, Nadkarni’s share being 75. then that he is second among the had remained unbeaten with 52 in

70 VIDURA January-March 2020 At the first class level, Nadkarni out coupled with 500 wickets at 21 both sides. Later he was a popu- was among the giants, running up apiece. He represented Maharashtra lar manager of Indian teams and

a record of 8880 runs at an average and Mumbai in a first-class career served as national selection com- of 40 with a highest score of 283 not that stretched 16 years, captaining mittee chairman in 1987-88. <

TRIBUTE TO VIDYA BAL (1936-2020) Warm-hearted and open to ideas, she was a role model for women

Vidya Bal passed away on January 30. Her respect for plural perspectives in the women’s movement endeared her to all across the ideological spectrum from Gandhian-liberal-socialists to feminists. Vibhuti Patel pays a tribute

idyatai, as we used to Vidyatai was a pioneer of the open to now ideas. When I submit- call her, was respected women’s rights movement in Pune ted a report on the ‘socioeconomic Vfor her warm, affectiate during the early 1970s. At the time, status of Muslims in Mahashtra’, and welcoming nature. She had she was the extremely popular edi- she asked me to write an exhaustive a fan-following spread over four tor of the widely circulated weekly report on Muslim women’s status generations as she was ready to in Marathi, Stree. When her increas- in the state. listen with genuine interest and ing involvement in the women’s When a movement for entry into enter into a dialogue. She was a movement made it difficult for her the sanctum sanctorum of Shani noted feminist, a versatile journal- to continue with Stree, she quit. Shingnur was initiated by young ist and a committed activist of the The Maharashtra Women’s Writ- women in Maharashtra, Vidyatai women’s liberation movement in ers Forum made a public appeal for along with Pushpatai Bhave went Maharashtra. contributions to start an indepen- on a hunger strike not because they dent feminist journal in Marathi wanted to enter the temple, but to that would provide a democratic express their solidarity with the platform for all progressive ideas young women spearheading the for women’s rights. Thus was born campaign for temple entry. Milun Saarya Jani (All of Us Com- Vidyatai has passed on her legacy ing Together). Vidyatai’s respect of feminism not only to her scien- for plural perspectives in the wom- tist daughter Vinita Bal who is a en’s movement endeared her to all member of Saheli, Delhi, but to

across the ideological spectrum thousands of girls and women all from Gandhian-liberal-socialists to over Maharashtra who found in her < feminists. their role model. In 1985, we travelled together to attend the End of the Decade (The writer is a professor at the (1975-1985) Nairobi Conference. It Advanced Centre for Women’s was a long journey with a halt in Studies,School of Development Adis Ababa both ways. I never felt Studies, Tata Institute of Social a generation gap in those ten days Sciences, Mumbai.) of interactions with her. At the Nai- robi Conference, there were femi- nists from 185 countries. Vidyatai Photo: VP interacted with all of them with the Calm and dignified — Vidya Bal. spirit of a learner. She was always

January-March 2020 VIDURA 71 TRIBUTE TO NABANEETA DEV SEN (1938-2019) A feminist and intellectual who treasured her independence Nabaneeta Dev Sen passed away at her Kolkata residence on 7th November after battling cancer. She was very much at the centre of the Kolkata intelligentsia, says Shoma A. Chatterji, yet, distanced from it in terms of her no- nonsense, open-house, lifestyle. Her talent with the pen was multi-layered – poetry, essay, drama, humour, satire, travelogue, short story, novel, play. She was the wife of none other than Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen. Chatterji describes her persona

o readers outside West Ben- Cambridge to return to India for She spoke her mind fearlessly in gal, Nabaneeta Dev Sen needs her marriage with Amartya Sen public speeches, and encouraged Ta little introduction. Born (who went on to win a Nobel prize) her students and young writers to in 1938, she was the only child of but completed her degree before express themselves without expect- illustrious parents. Her father, Nar- settling down to family life. ing their work to yield any returns. endra Deb, and his wife, Radharani Nabaneeta taught Comparative Twenty-one years ago, she founded Debi, were a famous poet-couple. Literature at Jadavpur University a women writers’ group named She was given her name by none for more than three decades. She Shoi (friend). other than Rabindranath Tagore. travelled extensively, both in India In a wide-ranging interview with Her spacious home in the south- and abroad, and this gave her an this writer, Nabaneeta once said, ern part of Calcutta, bang opposite insight into human nature. Fluid- “Feminist critics accuse me of not former Chief Minister Jyoti Basu’s ity as well as humour and satire underscoring the woman’s cause. original home, is named Bhalo- are standout features of her style. Why should I? For me, writing is Basha, which means ‘love’ when Her talent with the pen was multi- as much an emotional compulsion; the two words are joined and ‘good layered – poetry, essay, drama, it is a spontaneous exercise which home’ as separate words. humour, satire, travelogue, short I do not allow to run free. I never Nabaneeta was brought up in story, novel, play -– you name it, put my pen down till I have done a rich cultural and intellectual and she had written it. at least three drafts of each piece. ambience, reflected as academic Some of Nabaneeta’s writing is What I write is mostly what I have brilliance, which in turn found so Bengal-specific that they are experienced over my life, spent in expression in literary achieve- impossible to translate. And yet, in exile for 14 years abroad as wife, ments in English and Bengali. She terms of the spirit and the content, mother and scholar, pursuing my interrupted her doctoral studies at her work transcends barriers of doctoral and post-doctoral studies. caste, culture, religion and race, to After my first collection of poems, embrace universality. The poem she Pratham Pratyay in 1959, my second wrote as a tribute to her mother on book, also a collection of poems, the latter’s birthday is an example – Swagato Debdoot, came after a hia- a very personal poem at one level, tus of 12 years, in 1971. That is why yet any daughter anywhere in the I define those 14 years as my self- world will be able to identify with imposed vanavaas.” the spirit and emotions expressed. “I did enjoy motherhood and Nabaneeta’s younger daughter my two daughters, Antara and Nandana translated and published Nandana, were good kids, which a collection of her Bengali poems helped when I embarked on single- in English. Ill health prevented motherhood following the divorce her from attending the launch but, from Amartya. It’s silly for a certain generally, she cocked a snook at ail- section of critics, mainly women, to Photo: SC. ments. She wrote her last newspa- accuse me of not writing for women. Nabaneeta Dev Sen. per column a few days before she I don’t need to raise slogans or hoist passed away. flags. I have lived, and still am,

72 VIDURA January-March 2020 living the life of a true feminist. that I missed the presence of a man, Padma Shri in 2000, she felt they Since my divorce, after 16 years the strength of a pair of strong were long overdue. Her home is of marriage to Amartya, I headed shoulders to rest my head on. But like a miniature art gallery – paint- an all-woman household across then, I felt I would be stepping into ings, photographs, calendars with three generations since 1975. My another trap all over again. I do not art work, a carpet that has seen bet- mother, poet Radharani Devi, who think any man would have stood ter days and carved furniture are passed away in 1989, was a widow; my independence, my writing and all marks of her aesthetic sensibil-

I, a divorcee, and my two daugh- my scholarship for long,” she said ity. Her dynamic presence gave the ters were single women. We have with her customary forthrightness. home warmth. < survived, and we have triumphed, When Nabaneeta won the Sahitya despite all odds. But I must admit Academy Award and then the

TRIBUTE TO GITA SIDDHARTH KAK (DIED 2019) An actor who made an impression, and chose to stay low-profile There are actors who go away as gently and as silently as they lived. Gita Siddharth Kak falls in this category. She was extremely low profile, though she belonged to the world of cinema, both mainstream and off-beat.Shoma A. Chatterji met her once at her husband’s (Siddharth Kak) lovely studio designed like a hut in the Western suburbs

er screen appearances were 1973. It continues to be numbered interesting cameo she played was few and far between, but among the most outstanding films as a politician in ’s Hwhenever she appeared, on Partition. The movie won the film, Mandi. She stood out as an mostly in brief cameos, she made an National Award for Best Feature unconventional character. impression. Her most unforgetta- Film on National Integration and One must also mention Disco ble performance is as Amina Mirza, Gita Siddharth Kak received a sou- Dancer, Nishaan, Ram Teri Ganga the ill-fated daughter of Salim venir at the ceremony for her role Maili, Noorie, Desh Premee, Dance Mirza in the immortal film, Garm of Amina. Dance, Kasam Paida Karne Wale Ki, Hava, directed by M.S. Sathyu in Gita Kak played a brief role in Shaukeen, Arth, Ek Chadar Maili Si, Sholay. She essayed the part of the Gaman and Doosra Aadmi. Most Thakur’s elder daughter-in-law of the films were box office hits but with restraint. In Yash Chopra’s Tri- did nothing to boost her career. shul, a multi-starrer and box-office Gita Kak was art director for hus- hit, she played the gentle and digni- band Siddharth Kak’s extremely fied wife of , the man popular television magazine show who betrayed his love to marry the Surabhi, which remains one of the woman at the command of his dia- longest-lasting cultural shows on bolical mother. She tends to Vijay Doordarshan. (Amitabh Bachchan)’s injury and It is sad that Gita Kak did not when he resists, she says, “Imagine get the recognition she deserved I am your mother” and endears her- throughout her career in films. self to the vengeful Vijay at once. But considering that she was also Gulzar’s Parichay, reportedly her involved in social work, that may debut film, loosely adapted from be because she was not as eager as

The Sound of Music, shows her in many others to have a thriving film Photo: SC. < cameo role as the young wife of San- career. Gita Sddharth Kak. jeev Kumar’s young son, whom the old man refuses to accept. Another

January-March 2020 VIDURA 73 TRIBUTE TO RAM RAY (1942-2019) An awe-inspiring ad man who had varied interests The Gods up there are probably planning a giant advertising campaign. Nothing else can explain the demise of the advertising giants of India one after another – Subroto Sengupta, , Tara Sinha and and Ram Ray. Not many people beyond the advertising world are familiar with Ram Ray’s name. He was too publicity shy, which may seem strange in the advertising world. Shoma A. Chatterji sketches Ray’s life and times

met this strangely silent man titles such as ‘ad guru’ and ‘doyen many years ago when I was of Indian advertising’ in recogni- Iinvited to appear for an inter- tion of his passion, dedication, tal- view for a top post with the Ray ent and creativity. Society, responsible for preserv- Of his 56 years in advertising, 20 ing and protecting all documents, were committed to JWT/ HTA India films, photographs and graphics of and JWT USA and six to Bates. He . The post did not mate- was the head of JWT/ HTA in Chen- rialise, but I was introduced to Ram nai, Bangalore and Calcutta. He Ray. assessed 13 Western state markets Over the few meetings we had, to help plan JWT/ USA’s growth Ray perhaps uttered 10 or 20 words and was responsible for blueprint- in response to my own questions. ing JWT USA’s start-up operations “He talks in précis,” his youngest in Dallas. brother, who I know quite well, Ray started JWT in Colombo and

once joked. He drove me to the Ray JWT affiliates’ network in West Photo: SC. home once and we hardly spoke. Asia. While working as the CEO of Ram Ray - a man of varied interests. He had such a strong personality Clarion, now Bates, from 1992-98, that I felt awe-struck by his silence Ram Ray also ran his own agency, furniture, pens, photography, tech- and respected it. Ram Ray passed Response India, in Calcutta from nology, typography, wines and any away at his Kolkata residence after 1985. business his clients were involved a prolonged illness on November Ray schooled at Mitra Institution in. 12, at the age of 77. and graduated from Presidency, Ray was instrumental in creat- So, who was Ram Ray? He now a University, in English and ing the entire menu when the heri- was the founder-chairperson of Sanskrit. He then joined Esso and tage park, Swabhumi, was being Response India, one of the oldest, spent time in Assam. At the time, designed because he was a self-con- most widely-known and most suc- Satyajit Ray was commissioned to fessed foodie and took keen inter- cessful advertising firms, first in make a short film for Esso and Ram est in all kinds of food, street food West Bengal and, later, in India. Ray was in charge of overseeing of different places in particular. He Ray worked as the chief of many everything. Instead of making the was responsible for bringing differ- Indian and international advertis- film in English as per the commis- ent kinds of street food into MNC ing and marketing firms, including sion, Satyajit Ray chose to make it boardrooms. In fact, his office was J Walter Thompson [JWT] USA, as without any dialogue or voice-over; famous for jhal moori and cha. the only non-American. just the music he composed him- Ray could identify the fine differ- Ray’s advertising career spans self. Ram Ray promoted the film ences between Serif and Sans-Serif more than five decades. The long extensively. types. He also gave prominence list of his clients covered 200 firms. Ram Ray’s command over sub- to the founders of Bengali types He interacted professionally with jects not related to his profession that extended beyond the name of more than 1600 design and market- was impressive. He was interested Panchanan Karmakar (Mallick) of ing communication professionals in in art in all its forms, in Bengali Serampore. India and the US. He was conferred culture, calligraphy, design, food,

74 VIDURA January-March 2020 Though to the lay person, Ray This writer interacted with I did not have access to good may have appeared quite forbid- Ray when Rituparno Ghosh’s stills and matter and contacted ding, he was modest to a fault and film Chokher Bali was released. Ray. Overnight, he sent the mate- if one got to know him closely, one Response was in charge of the rial, including photographs and the forgot to be in awe of him. He was publicity for the film and what a write-up, directly to my residence interested in Bengali personalities brochure it brought out under the through his own staff. I was truly and compiled biographies of more direct supervision of Ray! Ghosh, flattered that he remembered me

than 100 eminent Bengalis. This having worked with Response as from those brief meetings many work awaits publication. He was its primary Bengali copy head, was years ago. < a founder member and past presi- a favourite of Ram Ray, who was dent of Concern for Calcutta. his mentor.

Broadcasting Complaints Council has new members

The Board of Directors of Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) has appointed Meenakshi Gopinath, Pallavi Joshi and Dipa Dixit as new members of Broadcasting Content Complaints Council (BCCC), the independent and autonomous self-regulatory body for non-news general entertainment channels in the country. They replace Sharmila Tagore, Arundhati Nag and Ira Bhaskar, whose terms at the Council have ended. Sharmila Tagore has, however, been elevated as a Special Invitee to BCCC, which was set up in 2011 and has, by now, addressed thousands of television content complaints in all Indian languages and English over the 89 meetings it has conducted. Tara Murali, an expert on Tamil content, is the other special invitee to the 13-member Council, chaired by former Supreme Court judge, Justice Vikramajit Sen, former secretary to the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Uday Kumar Varma, is another member of BCCC, which also has on board representatives from the National Commission for Women (NCW), National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) and National Commission for Minorities (NCM), among others. Meenakshi Gopinath is a renowned academician and former principal of the Lady Shriram College for Women. Pallavi Joshi, a well-known multilingual actor, has appeared in a large number of Hindi and Marathi films, and

numerous television serials, over a career spanning four decades. Dipa Dixit was a member of BCCC from 2011 to 2013 in her ex-officio capacity as a Member of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights <

(Courtesy: exchange4media.com)

Bob Cohn is president, The Economist

The Economist Group announced the appointment of Bob Cohn as president/ managing director for The Economist. Cohn will lead the core newspaper business, focusing on expanding subscriptions and readership around the world, as well as developing new digital offerings. He will also support the Group leadership team in identifying and leveraging commercial opportunities in North America. Cohn will split his time between New York and Washington, DC. Cohn comes to The Economist Group after having spent more than 10 years at The Atlantic, where he served as president and, before that, digital editor. Under his leadership, The Atlantic achieved record highs in revenue, profit, audience, and staffing, built successful events and consulting businesses, and launched a digital subscription

programme earlier this year. Cohn will report directly to Lara Boro, who joined The Economist Group as chief executive in September 2019. <

(Courtesy: The Economist)

January-March 2020 VIDURA 75 Seminar sets context for ramping up ODF and sustainable WASH campaign Sanitation First, a non-profit working on sustainable water, sanitation and hygiene projects across India over the past twelve years, and the Press Institute of India conducted a seminar on December 19 at the PII Office in Taramani, focused on how the media can proactively promote evidence-based positive information about sustainable WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) and ODF (open defecation free). Setting the context, Padmapriya T.S, chief executive, Sanitation First India, said we were at a juncture where nature and sanitation would become all-important topics of discussion. “There’s a cultural and behavioural aspect to WASH that wasn’t addressed adequately in the first phase of the Swachh Bharat Campaign, which the Government is looking to focus on in the subsequent levels. That’s where journalists as well as the general public can play a role,” she said. Shanmuga Paramasivan, senior WASH expert and founder, Wherever the Need India Services, pointed out that different government agencies were providing contradictory figures about the impact of the Swachh Bharat Mission, and within agencies themselves, figures did not tally. He stressed the importance of field work in journalism. “Figures are unreliable. Facts on the ground are very different from what statistics may portray. Journalists need to bring out reality and take a wholistic approach,” he said. S.N. Srikanth, ambassador, Water & Sanitation Rotarian Action Group, quoted reports to show that over half the water and sanitation projects around the world had failed, pointing to the conclusion that much of what we do was not sustainable. “Data from around the world shows that none of the commonly blamed factors – illiteracy, poverty, inaccessibility to toilets, and lack of water – are solely responsible for this state of affairs. A change in attitude has to be brought about, where hygiene becomes desirable to the target group.” He appealed to journalists to help change happen and make India a better place. Seetha Gopalakrishnan, freelance writer and programme associate, Care Earth Trust, gave the journalists tips for WASH reportage. Drawing on her own experience, she talked about how best to influence public attitude and behaviour, break down information into understandable terms, and cross-check facts and figures.

Earlier, welcoming the gathering, Sashi Nair, director, Press Institute of India, said the biggest challenge was to bring about a mindset change and that was the focus of WASH – to take the message out to the public. < The seminar was attended by journalists and journalism students.

Padmapriya addressing the participants.

76 VIDURA January-March 2020 How can think tanks be relevant in changing times? A seminar looks at the possibilities The Chennai Centre for China Studies (C3S) in collaboration with the Think Tanks Civil Societies Programme (TTCSP), University of Pennsylvania, the Press Institute of India (PII) and the National Maritime Foundation (NMF), organised a one-day conference on the theme, The Future of Think Tanks and Policy Advice, on January 30. Panel discussions were held on various facets of the future of think tanks, on how policy matters, new security and economic architecture, and the role of the media. Commodore R S Vasan, Indian Navy (Retd), director, C3S, regional director, NMF, Tamil Nadu, welcomed the gathering and gave an overview of C3S and its achievements. Sashi Nair, director, PII, delivering the keynote address, talked about the commonalities of approach between journalism and think tanks. Research has to be made relevant to policy if think tanks are to be taken seriously, he said, and urged think tanks to make use of not only conventional sources of information such as reports and papers, but also newer avenues such as social media and the YouTube. Drawing from the experience of the media, he said people are looking for accurate reports and analyses, adding, a good team and leaders with unimpeachable credentials are a must for trust. The patron of C3S, B.S. Raghavan, IAS (Retd), delivering a special address, said 85 per cent of the leaders of think tanks in India are over 65, as compared to the USA, where 70 per cent of the CEOs of major companies are in their forties and fifties. The older generation has conditioned reflexes while youngsters think big, think the unthinkable, he said, and called for reducing the percentage of older people in think tank leadership, giving more importance to youngsters to make think tanks more effective. He also pressed for the use of simple, intelligible language in think tank reports in order to build bridges with policy makers, and wanted think tanks to lobby or pursue advocacy seriously. Participating in a panel discussion with R.K. Radhakrishnan, assistant editor, Frontline, V. S. Sambandan, former senior assistant editor, The Hindu, felt think tanks are not making an impact because the functional intellect of India has taken a beating. Political leadership is not keen to have non-political inputs fed into the system, further limiting the importance of think tanks, he added. In another panel discussion moderated by C3S member Col R Hariharan VSM (Retd), journalist and media entrepreneur Peer Mohamed discussed “the nationalisation of fear” which in turn has led to “the democratisation of dissent”. Noting that “there are people who want to deepen the dissent and others who want to deepen the divisions”, he said the “tipping point for the media is in the process of happening.” Radhakrishnan noted that targeting individuals for the views they hold has become the new norm in India. “All views need to be given a space provided there’s an opportunity for others to counter them,” he stressed. Political and foreign policy analyst N. Sathiya Moorthy, who heads the Chennai Initiative of the Observer Research Foundation, spoke of the kind of power a credible media wields and stressed its importance as a generator of ideas and its role in advocacy. Post-lunch saw a panel discussion on think tanks and the new security and economic architecture with K. Subramanian, former joint secretary, Ministry of Finance, chairing. Panelists included Col Hariharan, Ashik J. Bonofer, assistant professor, Department of Political Science, Madras Christian College, and Sandeeep, research officer, C3S. Commodore Vasan summed up the proceedings after Rakhee Suryaprakash, associate member, C3S, and C. Balasubramanian, research officer, C3S spoke. Panelists and participants at the well- attended meet discussed ongoing trends and challenges and debated ways to enlighten Indian and International stakeholders about the way forward in

order to achieve credible and factual narratives. <

The packed hall had senior journalists, journalism students and others.

January-March 2020 VIDURA 77 OTHER NEWS

Veteran journalist Senior journalist Bhaskar Menon is no more Abheek Barman dies

Veteran journalist Bhaskar Menon Senior journalist and consulting edi- died recently following cardiac arrest. tor of The Economic Times, Abheek The 87-year-old Menon, who retired Barman, has passed away after suf- as the regional manager (South) of the fering a cardiac arrest on November Press Trust of India, is survived by 10. Barman began his distinguished wife and son. career as a journalist in 1993 at the Menon had joined the news agency Business Standard as a feature writer; Bhaskar Menon. as a sub-editor and rose through the Abheek Barman. he then moved to The Economic Times, ranks before retiring as the head of its covering economic subjects as an edit regional bureau. He was known for his command over writer and columnist. He was later editor of Special the English language and sharp editing skills and always Projects at The Times of India. Barman was also a pro- insisted on speed and accuracy. He had handled several lific writer. An economist by training, Barman had a important developments, including the assassination of master’s degree from the Delhi School of Economics former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in May, 1991. and was a graduate of Presidency College, Kolkata.

(Courtesy: The Hindu) (Courtesy: exchange4media.com) T.S. Sridhar passes away Guardian Media Group appoints new chief executive Cartoonist, playwright and travel- ler T.S. Sridhar alias Bharanitharan The former head of one of the world’s largest special- alias Marina passed away in Chennai ist publishers has been appointed as the new chief recently. He was 94 and a bachelor. executive of Guardian Media Group with a mission to Multifaceted personality T.S. Sridhar ensure the business can continue to support “world- was born to scholar T.N. Seshachalam class journalism” in the face of “big headwinds” in the and Rukmini on Christmas day in 1925. media sector. Annette Thomas, who will take up her T.S. Sridhar. After his graduation in commerce, he role at the parent company of the Guardian and the found a calling in cartooning. Observer at the start of March, has a background in V.S. Srinivasan, alias VSV, his nephew and a writer, academic publishing and holds a PhD from Yale Uni- recalls how he initially started with cartoons under versity in cell biology and neuroscience. the name Cheeli and then started drawing as Srid- Thomas began her career as an editor on the science har in Swadesamithran. In 1956, Sridhar joined Ananda journal, Nature, before working her way up to run Vikatan and retired in 1986 as the journal’s joint edi- Macmillan Science and Education, one of the world’s tor. “He was a very joyful person, but became serious largest specialist publishers. The appointment comes when drawing cartoons. He was a very ardent devotee after Guardian News & Media, the company’s main of Mahaperiyava of the Kanchi Mutt. He also had a subsidiary, recorded a small operating profit for the troupe called Rasika Ranga. His plays were staged by first time in many years, aided by increased contribu- the Kalanilayam troupe,” Srinivasan says. tions from readers. Cartoonist Keshav recalled how Sridhar brought him into the cartooning field. “I joinedAnanda Vikatan (Courtesy: The Guardian) in 1983 and he used to send me to the Music Academy to do music sketches. He was my source of encourage- ment for political cartoons,” says Keshav who recalls Aditya Sinha appointed editor- Sridhar as a good teacher. in-chief of Deccan Chronicle After visiting many pilgrimage spots, Sridhar shared his experience through his articles in Ananda Vikatan, Aditya Sinha has been appointed editor-in-chief of serialised as Aalaya Darisanam. As many as 246 holy Deccan Chronicle and Asian Age. He was editor-in-chief spots of Tamil Nadu were discussed elaborately. of The New Indian Express from 2007 to 2011 and the editor-in-chief of DNA during 2011-2012. (Courtesy: exchange4media.com)

78 VIDURA January-March 2020 OTHER NEWS

Sinha started his career with Benett Coleman and Co “Twenty years since the Internet began playing a part and has been part of several media organisations like in lives of consumers, the reading of newspapers in Business and Political Observer, The Pioneer and HT hard copy continues to fall in most parts of the world. Media. He has authored three books. Sinha is an alum- One major exception is India,” said Brown. nus of The John Hopkins University, holds a Masters The audience for news brands in their traditional in Arts from South Asian Studies from School of Ori- printed format has been on the decline in many mar- ental and African University and MA in Philosophy kets around the world for so many years. But in India, from Delhi University. the scenario is the exact opposite. Here, in India, the increasing population and socio-economic growth is (Courtesy: exchange4media.com) resulting in a boom in readership of Hindi and other regional newspapers, said Brown. ABP makes top-level changes With the rising demand for Alexa and Amazon Echo, audio-based devices could surely be the future of mar- to editorial team keting and advertising but for news consumption, even Gen Z heavily relies on print, say experts. ABP News is undertaking major resource restructuring in its editorial department. ABP News is implement- (Courtesy: exchange4media.com) ing the step to better utilise its talent, empower their editorial to drive more accountability, and to ensure greater clarity in roles. The existing hierarchy within Reduction in custom duty on the newsroom is undergoing a makeover. This move newsprint will ensure the channel is more audience-centric and responsive towards its consumers. Thanks to Budget 2020, newspaper businesses are The roles in the organisation will be more defined looking forward to sizeable reduction in costs. The wherein Rajnish Ahuja will be the senior VP, News industry is finally set to partially recover from the and Programming; Sanjay Bragta the VP, News Gath- 10 per cent customs duty slapped on newsprint in ering; Arun Nautiyal the VP, News Production; Sumit the July Budget last year. The 5 per cent reduction in Awasthi the VP, Planning and Special Coverage; Vibha custom duty on newsprint comes across as a respite Kaul Bhatt the associate VP, Programme Production; for the industry that is already under pressure with and Anju Juneja the associate VP, Special Projects. unprecedented growth of digital media. Those in A new role of associate VP, Production and Opera- newspaper businesses welcome the move as it saves tions, will be introduced to work in partnership with them anywhere between Rs 1500 and Rs 1700 per newsroom and technology teams. Nitin Sukhija will tonne of newsprint. be heading the same. Newsprint prices have been going through an unsta- ble phase in the last couple of years. In August 2017, (Courtesy: exchange4media.com) the price of newsprint was around Rs 36000 per tone; a year later, the price touched Rs 55000 per tonne. The Newspaper reading on the latest price of newsprint ranges anywhere between Rs 48000 and Rsv50000. decline, except in India Budget 2020 comes as a huge relief for the indus- try that has an annual demand of 2.5 million tones of The South Asia Media Festival 2019 by International newsprint. Even with high costs newspaper owners News Media Association (INMA) saw industry are forced to use imported newsprint as the local pro- experts trying to debunk myths about the print indus- duction in India is only about 1 million tonne annu- try in India. While experts spoke about various myths ally. Most in business also complain about the poor and issues with the print industry, Andy Brown, CEO quality of local produce that leads to wheel breakage, and chairman, Kantar Media, spoke about the growth wastage and hence increases production costs. of the print medium. He backed his presentation with data released by TGI Global quick View Report. (Courtesy : exchange4media.com) Out of 22 countries in TGI Global Quick View, India is the fourth largest market for newspaper publish- ers. Even in the age of digital, print remains the sec- ond most consumed media after TV. With its loyal and exclusive reader base, print is the most credible medium among Gen Z too, says the report.

January-March 2020 VIDURA 79 Registered with The Registrar of Newspapers for India under TNENG/2009/27484 80

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