Anyone who knew about #Adani 's August acquisition of a minority stake in #NDTV and its open offer to take over the company, knew this day was coming. But, just like death, we were in denial until it came. 1/n
Dr Roy and Mrs Roy’s resignation from the holding company teaches us 2 things 1) It is tough as hell to run a media company in contemporary times, esp in India. 2/n
Mar 17, 2022 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
Fantastic editorial by @the_hindu on the #HijabBan today. The court had to merely assess if "wearing of the hijab, in addition to the prescribed uniform, without variation in colour, was a ground to refuse entry into a school or college" not if hijab was an ‘essential practice’.
@the_hindu "If something is egregiously religious, it is more likely to be kept out of the campus, if uniformity and eliminating any ‘sense of separateness’ are the hallowed goals." thehindu.com/opinion/editor…
Aug 16, 2021 • 7 tweets • 3 min read
It is of course sad that #KabulHasFallen but here are some important aspects to consider.
The population of #Afghanistan is very very young. The median age in the country is 18.4 years. Approx 42% of the country is younger than 14! Meaning, they were born after 2001.
Close to 27% of the population of #Afghanistan lived in cities. They were exposed to media of various kinds (radio was the predominant medium in rural Afghanistan).
As we end 2020, it is a good time to look back at an explicitly unconstitutional law, which is brandished with utmost impunity. #TooMuchDemocracy?
Here are some fun facts about the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance 2020. A compilation.
1/n
Usually, police takes years to update themselves about laws. For instance, sex workers complain that police still use the Immoral Traffic (Suppression) Act of 1956 to harass them, even though the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act was passed in its place in 1986.
2/n
Jun 18, 2020 • 10 tweets • 4 min read
Just like the case against the awe-worthy @sharmasupriya for her reporting in #Varanasi, here's a list of FIRs filed against #journalists in #UttarPradesh in the last year. Fasten your seatbelts, it will not be a short #Thread #PressFreedom#lockdown2020 1/n
In March, at the height of the #lcokdown, @thewire_in's @svaradarajan was delivered a legal notice by police from Ayodhya. A quote in an article was wrongly attributed UP the Chief Minister, which was retracted and a corrigendum issued.
May 7, 2020 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
The #Modi government has set up the committee to improve India's #PressFreedom index. No, I am not joking. Irony max? Sure.
I did a quick survey of my work in the past two years, looking to quantify the plunging press freedom. Here's what I found 1/n theprint.in/india/new-pane…2/n One of the finest indicators of decreasing press freedom is sources requesting anonymity.
From January 2019 to April 2020, I published 24 reported pieces. In these, 27 government sources requested anonymity. Even when their quotes were mundane. Two were on record.
Mar 20, 2020 • 8 tweets • 7 min read
#mentalwellbeing in the time of #coronavirus #thread Here are few things I am doing while in #selfquarantine. You might be doing some or all of this already. Bear with me. 1) Exercise. Do find a corner in your house and ensure you sweat it out for at least an hour.
2) You might be at home for a while, so try and form a routine. Eating at the same time, sleeping at the same time etc. Routine lends a sense of purpose to slower days. #Mentalhealth #coronavirus #covidindia
Aug 23, 2019 • 20 tweets • 8 min read
To all those who say #Kashmir is joyous about "becoming Indian": after #burhanwani was killed, I spent some months in the valley. #Kashmiris were frustrated by India's militarisation, angry at oppression. #Thread - everything I saw illustrates Kashmiris wanted distance from India
Villagers of Chadoora, Budgam claimed security forces shot at and killed three teenage boys in their village. About 150 armed personnel had assembled to cordon off a house where a militant was lodged.
Such "encounters" are common in the valley. scroll.in/article/833888…
Mar 31, 2019 • 10 tweets • 7 min read
A thread of all my pieces in 2019. Will add to this throughout the year. My focus on land rights and media freedoms continue. Watch out for a series on women's land rights later in the year. Also, a series of stories on Hindu fundamentalism.
A look at journalists' safety in 2018. Most murders of #journalists are underreported. Simple fact is that we dont know how many journalists are being killed in the line of duty every day in India.
CC: @pressfreedom@IFJGlobal@pen_int truthdig.com/articles/the-l…
After getting a good rap on the knuckles by editors for being a lazy lurker on social media, here's course correction. I am now doing a thread of all my reportage in 2018. (@sree and @prempanicker had encouraged me to do this many years ago 🙈) Please read and share.
While urbanisation is a global trend, villagers around #Ahmedabad don't want to live in cities. Since 2012, #Gujarat government has encouraged 12 cities to swallow up some 800 villages. And now, most of them are resisting. A take on the 'Gujarat Model'. theguardian.com/cities/2018/fe…
