Media-corporate links are structural. But journalists, certainly entrenched ones, can choose whether they wish to be stenographers or not. It was gratifying to have the head of India's most reputed business house confirm the existence of crony capitalism in the country. True, others have believed this for 20 years but it carries more weight when Ratan Tata says so. As he put it in a television interview with admirable candour: “Yes,...
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Commonwealth Games: a citizen's memoir by Krishna Kumar
The opening and closing ceremonies received wide acclaim but left many citizens like me a bit terrified and confused. Now that the terms of inquiry into the conduct of the Commonwealth Games have been extended, let us hope that the process of probe will be more open than was decision-making for the CWG. Let us also hope that the review will cover the opening and closing ceremonies as well, both in...
More »Pesticide-laced grass kills pregnant jumbos
The Kaziranga National Park in Assam lost two pregnant cow elephants after they strayed into a nearby tea estate and consumed grass sprinkled with pesticides. According to the officials from the reserve, one of the elephants died at Panbari, the elephant corridor across NH-37, and the other died 13 km away at Lengerapahar, under Dolamari range of the park, on Monday, they said. The two elephants had ventured out of the park....
More »India's Games of Shame by Mitu Sengupta
Delhi is an anxious city this monsoon season, struggling to meet an onerous deadline. Preparations continue at a feverish pace for the 19th Commonwealth Games (CWG), which will bear down on the Indian metropolis October 3-14, along with some 8,500 athletes from the 71 states and territories that were once part of the British Empire. Around-the-clock construction and spells of heavy monsoon rain have turned Delhi into a swirl of mud...
More »Seven elephants killed by goods train
Seven elephants were killed after being hit by a speeding goods train in India as they attempted to rescue two young ones on the track. Officials in West Bengal said five died instantly and two others later succumbed to their injuries. Another elephant was wounded but survived. The baby elephants became trapped on the track at Moraghat tea garden, near Binnaguri in Jalpaiguri district. The others wandered onto the line in an attempt...
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