RAJDEEP SARDESAI, one of the most visible faces of Indian news television today, is the Editor-in-Chief of IBN18 Network which includes CNN-IBN, IBN7 and Lokmat. He has made a name for himself in his 22 years of television journalism with his incisive political reporting of events such as the Gujarat carnage of 2002. As a television anchor, he is known for his signature conversational style. Sardesai has also served as...

The proposal made by a Supreme Court Bench to have guidelines for legal reporting is seen as a serious threat to the freedom of the media. Paradoxes are not new to India. But the current challenges to the freedom of expression and the freedom of the media are sure to confound a future historian looking for explanations. The country is fortunate to have the best of historical circumstances that are conducive...

A government panel has recommended the enactment of a “comprehensive, standalone law” on the so-called “honour killings”, handing equal punishment to the killers, plotters and the instigators at kangaroo courts. “The current provisions in the Indian Penal Code are inadequate in dealing with these acts of crime,” says the Planning Commission’s steering committee on women’s agency and child rights for the 12th Five-Year Plan. Its report, posted on the plan panel’s website...

Alarmed by its proactive role, the three ‘pillars’ of our democracy set out to weaken the fourth estate Fundamentalisms do not necessarily announce their arrival by banging a hammer on our heads. Freedoms are often lost in little steps. The process creeps in quietly but insidiously. The path is often complex and defies a simple narrative. But here’s a straightforward fact: a concerted attempt is being made to censor, control...

Police investigation of Sanal Edamaraku for debunking a “miracle” at a church is a crime against the Constitution. Early in March, little drops of water began to drip from the feet of the statue of Jesus nailed to the cross on the church of Our Lady of Velankanni, down on to Mumbai's unlovely Irla Road. Hundreds began to flock to the church to collect the holy water in little plastic bottles,...