The public face of the journalist is of a brave, feisty adversary to the rapacious establishment, not the party animal who will wilt before the charms of the corporate lobbyist.To succeed, a politician has to keep his ear to the ground. Yet success can be cruelly destructive; it is so deceptively flattering that it eventually insulates him from the very thing that has made him a success: public opinion. For...
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When journalists abandon their conscience by Seema Mustafa
Media "stars" named in the Niira Radia tapes were all on television in Spanish inquisition programmes to defend themselves. Unfortunately, the ruse did not work, as all covered themselves with more dirt, and were unable to explain why they were allowing a corporate lobbyist to instruct and direct them as to not only who they should call, but what they should write.One struck a belligerent note, almost shouting at the...
More »Food grain scam: Mayawati under pressure to act
In what is being called the mother of all scams, food grain meant for the poorest of the poor has been smuggled out of Uttar Pradesh into the open market and even to a neighbouring country. Starting from 2002, under the reign of different chief ministers, the scam is estimated at over Rs 2 lakh crore, Times Now reported. The scam leaves all political parties that have ruled Uttar Pradesh...
More »Anatomy of Indian capitalism by Himanshu
Ratan Tata has initiated an interesting debate on the nature of India’s capitalist class. His characterization of this class as crony capitalists may not be out of place given recent evidence on a Politics, media, judiciary and corporate nexus.Crony capitalism is a system in which businesses multiply their wealth not by fair rules of the market, but through their nexus with governments. Classic examples are the distribution of legal permits,...
More »Perils of becoming a republic of scandals by Brahma Chellaney
Corruption, No. 1 national security threat, is eating into the vitals of the state, enfeebling internal security and crimping foreign policy. India confronts several pressing national security threats. But only one of them — political corruption — poses an existential threat to the state, which in reality has degenerated into a republic of mega-scandals. The pervasive misuse of public office for private gain is an evil, eating into the vitals...
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