So, Shashi Tharoor has gone. Lalit Modi may follow. Or not. Cricket’s great jamboree may be cleaned up. Or not. Does it matter so much? The Indian Premier League (IPL) brouhaha could not have come at a worse time. India was, finally, if reluctantly, starting to focus on long-festering-but-urgent issues that prevent this country from being a just, equitable democracy. As Tharoor and Modi self-destructed, the circus around them diverted all...
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Paid news undermining democracy: Press Council report by P Sainath
It explicitly names newspapers and channels — including some of the biggest groups in the country — seen as having indulged in the “paid news” practice. The report traces the emergence of the paid news phenomenon over years and phases Seeks a pro-active role from the Election Commission in initiating action against offenders “The phenomenon of ‘paid news' goes beyond the corruption of individual journalists and media companies. It has become pervasive,...
More »UN forum on indigenous issues opens with Ban calling for respect for values
The annual United Nations forum on indigenous issues opened today with a call from Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for Member States to promote development while respecting the values and traditions of indigenous peoples. “The loss of irreplaceable cultural practices and means of artistic expression makes us all poorer, wherever our roots may lie,” Mr. Ban told the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York. This year’s theme at the forum is...
More »PC trains guns at 33-page brigade
P. Chidambaram today took on civil society organisations for showing sympathy towards Maoists by training guns at social activist and writer Arundhati Roy. “If the CPI (Maoist) overthrows the established authority and seizes power, will they allow any human rights organisation to function in this country? Will all those, who write 33-page articles, be allowed to write 33-page articles? Will there be a magazine to publish a 33-page article?” the Union...
More »GEAC may renew battle over Bt brinjal by Jacob P Koshy
The battle over genetically modified brinjal may resume shortly as an environment ministry agency readies its ammunition against arguments that the vegetable, the introduction of which has been halted by a government moratorium, threatens biodiversity and is unsafe for human consumption. The Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) will be going up against environment minister Jairam Ramesh, who was responsible for the decision to suspend cultivation of Bt brinjal after the panel...
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