This week on NL Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, Raman Kirpal, Mehraj D Lone, and Anand Vardhan are joined by author Hilal Ahmed. 
They discuss rising religious intolerance and visible polarisation in India. “India is a highly diverse country to lead to such a situation,” says Hilal, responding to Abhinandan's question about whether the country was hurtling towards genocide. 

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Chhota Hafta 388: Religious intolerance in India, SC on Nupur Sharma

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This week, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, Jayashree Arunachalam and Anand Vardhan are joined by advertising guru and columnist Santosh Desai and multimedia artist Anurag Minus Verma. 
On the impact of political advertisements, Santosh says it has “never” been a significant player, as ads “simply fail” to reach an audience “beyond a certain comfort zone”. Anurag says influencer and meme marketing agencies instead have become “very important” in communication strategies.
The conversation moves to the elections in Uttar Pradesh’s Amethi and Rae Bareli. Manisha, who reported from the two constituencies, says that unemployment is a “really big concern”. She says that while people are talking about it from village to village, it is not a sign of anti-incumbency. “A lot of them say Modi should focus on this [employment] in his third term.”
On the temporary bail of AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal and his speech about Prime Minister Narendra Modi retiring before turning 75, Anand says, “It is a ploy to confuse voters.”
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Timecodes
00: 05:25 - Headlines 00: 14:21 - Political advertising  00:59:32 - Santosh recommendation 01:10:33 - Amethi-Rae Bareli elections, Kejriwal’s interim bail 01:33:24 - Anurag recommendation 01:34:23 - Letters  02:05:10 - Panel recommendations 
Hafta letters, recommendations, songs and references Check out our previous Hafta recommendations.
Produced and recorded by Aryan Mahtta, edited by Hassan Bilal and Umrav Singh. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hafta 485: Political ads, Amethi-Rae Bareli fight, Kejriwal’s return

This week, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri and Raman Kirpal are joined by journalists Girish Kuber, Sunita Aron, and Sudipto Mondal. 
On Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech accusing the Congress of receiving money from industrialists Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani, Sudipto says this news is not headline material but rather “gossip material”. He adds that the talk on the ground is “nahi mila kya is baar”, suggesting that the corporate houses put their weight behind the Congress in this election.
On the elections in Maharashtra, Girish says, “There is no state-wide agenda in these polls. There are 48 constituencies and 48 election agendas.” Sunita points out the BJP’s big challenge in UP. “The BJP has set a target of 75 seats, but after Rahul and Akhilesh came together, there is better chemistry and coordination [in INDIA bloc].”
The panel then discusses the BSP’s prospects and the sacking of its leader and Mayawati’s nephew, Akash Anand, from the post of national coordinator. Sudipto counters Abhinandan’s argument of the BSP being the BJP’s B-team, saying it “doesn’t come with a sensitivity” that the party represents a politics “different from all other parties” and represents “the most oppressed sections”. He adds, “The pragmatism that other parties show is appreciated a lot more than the pragmatism these parties [including the AIMIM and VBA] show.”
This and a whole lot more. Tune in!
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Timecodes
00:06:27 - Modi’s Adani-Ambani speech 00: 16:20 - Headlines 00: 24:04 - Maharashtra elections  00:29:49 - UP elections 00: 35:54 - Akash Anand’s sacking 01:11:06 - Letters  01:30:12 - Recommendations
Hafta letters, recommendations, songs and references Check out our previous Hafta recommendations.
Produced and recorded by Aryan Mahtta & Priyali Dhingra, edited by Hassan Bilal and Umrav Singh. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hafta 484: Modi’s Adani-Ambani dig, UP and Maharashtra polls, BSP scion’s sacking

This week, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Raman Kirpal, Manisha Pande, and Anand Vardhan are joined by in-house reporter Tanishka Sodhi and The News Minute’s Anisha Sheth.
On the alleged sexual abuse tapes involving JDS’s Prajwal Revanna, Anisha says the scale of violence is unheard of in Karnataka, “even though the state has had its share of sexual scandals”. Anand notes that several victims were party workers, and there is a need to examine political parties as workplaces.
The conversation then shifts to the politics in Bihar and Baramati, both set to poll on May 7. Tanishka says the two Pawar factions are in fray in Baramati but, “sympathy for Sharad Pawar cannot be denied”.
Abhinandan then brings up Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent speeches. He says Modi’s “Congress will take your buffalo” and “steal your mangalsutra” are the BJP’s “Hail Mary”.
This and a whole lot more. Tune in!
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Timecodes 00:00:31 - Press Freedom Week offer 00: 03:20 - Headlines 00: 10:10 - Prajwal Revanna controversy 00:30:04 - Anisha’s recommendation 00: 43:12 - The contest for Baramati 00:54:20 - Tanishka’s recommendation 00:54:47 - Bihar elections 01:04:30 - Gems of PM Modi 01: 20:30 - Letters 02:00:27 - Recommendations
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Hafta letters, recommendations, songs and references
Produced and recorded by Priyali Dhingra & Aryan Mahtta, edited by Hassan Bilal and Umra v Singh. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hafta 483: Prajwal Revanna controversy, gems of Modi, Baramati, Bihar politics

This week, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Jayashree Arunachalam and Shardool Katyayan are joined by The News Minute’s Pooja Prasanna and lawyer Vakasha Sachdev.
On the Karnataka polls, Pooja says the JDS and BJP are “better allies” than the Congress and JDS since “their target base does not overlap. Both parties bring something new and fresh to the table”. She adds that the “myth of the Vokkaligas being secular is nonsense”.
The panel discusses the inheritance tax debate, with Vakasha saying the tax has a solid rationale behind it “from a social justice perspective”. Jayashree says the matter escalated into a controversy because people are “conflating a lot of things, like what Modi said about the Congress taking away people’s money”. Shardool adds, “Most of the people arguing about this tax won’t have to pay it because it applies to the creamy layer of society.”
Vakasha then explains why the PMLA is problematic. On the state of the Indian judiciary, he says over the years, “we’ve had our justice system constantly become a voice for the establishment”, adding that there is a lack of critique of the courts. Abhinandan says people are possibly “afraid of critiquing the court because of contempt of court...so courts have completely gone out of scrutiny”.
This and a whole lot more. Tune in!
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Check out the Newslaundry store and flaunt your love for independent media. 
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Timecodes
00: 04:31 - Headlines 00: 12:49 - Lok Sabha elections: Karnataka  00: 26:30 - Inheritance tax 01: 00:00 - Prevention of Money Laundering Act 01: 28:55 - Letters  01: 57:30 - Recommendations 
 Hafta letters, recommendations, songs and references Check out our previous Hafta recommendations.
Produced and recorded by Aryan Mahtta, edited by Hassan Bilal and Umrav Singh. 

 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hafta 482: JDS-BJP in Karnataka, inheritance tax debate, issues with PMLA

This week, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, and Anand Vardhan are joined by political analyst Suhas Palshikar, tech expert Madhav Deshpande, and professor Shruti Kapila.
On the robustness of the election voting machines, Suhas Palshikar says EVMs have “definitely lost the credibility that they initially had”. He cites Lokniti-CSDS data. Madhav says “major technological change” in 2013, with the introduction of VVPAT has made EVMs a “different beast”.  
The panel then discusses the manifestos and poll promises. Shruti says the BJP manifesto is “very weird” and that “it wants to lower the temperature on Hindutva”. Anand calls it the manifesto of a party that is “very sure of a renewed mandate”, unlike the Congress manifesto, which is trying to “tick too many boxes”. 
This and a whole lot more. Tune in!
We have a page for subscribers to send letters to our shows. If you want to write to Hafta, click here.  Check out the Newslaundry store and flaunt your love for independent media. 
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General elections are around the corner, and Newslaundry and The News Minute have ambitious plans. Click here to support us.
Timecodes
00:00:00 - 00:05:02 - Headlines 00:05:03 - 00:13:16 - Trust deficit in EVMs  00:13:17 - 00:53:24 - BJP’s manifesto 00:53:25 - 01:28:36 - Letters  01:28:37 - 01:34:00 - Recommendations
Hafta letters, recommendations, songs and references Check out our previous Hafta recommendations.
Produced and recorded by Aryan Mahtta, edited by Hassan Bilal. 

 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Chhota Hafta 388: Religious intolerance in India, SC on Nupur Sharma

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