This week on NL Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, Raman Kirpal and Shardool Katyayan are joined by senior journalist Monideepa Banerjie. On the violence brewing in West Bengal in the run up to the panchayat elections – and during polling, the panel deconstructs the ‘culture of violence’ that has existed in the state. They dwell into what makes West Bengal and its history more porous to such political strife. Manisha questions “whether this violence is a ‘left legacy’ or just Bengal in essence”. The panel also discusses the instrumental role of rural politics in the big picture. The discussion then stirs to the signs we missed in the build-up to the current floods across Delhi, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. “Why is urban planning so inept at accommodating the population?” asks Shardool. The conversation then moves on to the irony presented to us, courtesy of the volatile climate, and how none of us are ready to meet the ‘El Nino Motherload’. This and a lot more, tune in! Timecodes 00:03:35 - Headlines  00:21:12 - Bengal Panchayat Polls 01:01:08 - North India Floods 01:12:53 - Subscriber letters 01:37:12 - Recommendations  Hafta Song, Letters & Recommendations
Check out our previous Hafta recommendations. Produced and recorded by Tehreem Roshan & Prashant Kumar, edited by Hassan Bilal. 

 
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Hafta 441: West Bengal’s political violence, missed signs of flood, climate volatility

Weekly wrap of events of the week peppered with context, commentary and opinion by a superstar panel. Click here to support Newslaundry: http://bit.ly/paytokeepnewsfree Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

News

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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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. 

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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!
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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. 

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Hafta 481: Trust deficit in EVMs, BJP manifesto


 This week, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, and Jayashree Arunachalam are joined by policy researcher Yamini Aiyar and senior journalist Rasheed Kidwai. 
On the challenges facing think tanks in India, Yamini says working in policy has “moved from jholawala inputs to suit-boot inputs” over the years, referring to the increased corporatisation.  
The panel then discusses the Congress manifesto, and the party’s relevance in the upcoming elections. Abhinandan asks, “Is the Congress inevitable?” Rasheed says the grand old party is “not a dead body. It is very much alive and kicking.” 
The conversation then moves on to the controversy around Ramayana fame actor Arun Govil campaigning in Meerut with a photograph of the deity Ram. On the use of religion for votes, Rasheed says it’s “not an issue” for voters in India. 
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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 Timecodes
00:07:09 - Policy research in India  00: 17:41 - Headlines 00:27:09 - Think tanks in India  00:38:13 - Is the Congress inevitable? 00:59:50 - Use of religion in election campaign  01:22:31 - Letters 01:55:19 - Recommendations 
 Hafta letters, recommendations, songs and references
Check out our previous Hafta recommendations.
Produced and recorded by Priyali Dhingra, edited by Samarendra K Dash and Umrav Singh.  —------------

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Hafta 480: Indian think tanks, Congress’s inevitability, ‘Ram’ in election campaigns

This week, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Raman Kirpal, and Manisha Pande are joined by ex-Chief Election Commissioner Dr SY Quraishi, and academic Professor R Manivannan.
Dr Quraishi says that ensuring a level-playing field is the Election Commission’s “dharma”. He says it is necessary for conducting free and fair elections which are “a basic structure of the Constitution”. He adds that the EC follows the principle of “what can wait must wait”, and asks whether the arrest of opposition leaders could have waited.
On the Katchatheevu island issue, Prof. Manivannan says the island was historically “within the revenue region of the king of Ramanathapuram”, adding that by 1976, the fishing rights of  Tamil fishermen had been taken away in the region. “What happens to the population that relies on fishing in the region?” he asks. 
This and a 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: 02:41 - Headlines 00:10:53 - Role of Election Commission 41:01:30- Katchatheevu  01:22:01 - Letters 01:46:48 - Recommendations
 Hafta letters, recommendations, songs and references Check out our previous Hafta recommendations.
Produced and recorded by Aryan Mahtta and Priyali Dhingra, edited by Hassan Bilal and Umrav Singh.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hafta 479: Katchatheevu controversy, the role of India’s Election Commission

This week, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Raman Kirpal, and Anand Vardan are joined by music producer and public health consultant Dr Aiswarya Rao.
On the controversy around TM Krishna being conferred the Sangita Kalanidhi award by the Madras Music Academy and the Carnatic music fraternity’s response, Rao says it is an “intra-Brahmin musician dispute”. One faction wants to “take Carnatic music to the masses”, while the other wants to maintain its “hegemony”.  
On Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest, Manisha says the PMLA Act is “scary”. “You cannot get bail in PMLA till the court is satisfied that there is prima facie no case.” 
This and a 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. 
Download the Newslaundry app.
General elections are around the corner, and Newslaundry and The News Minute have ambitious plans. Click here to support us. 
Timecodes
00:05:40 - Headlines 00:12:20 - TM Krishna’s Sangita Kalanidhi award controversy 00:31:32 - Arvind Kejriwal arrest 00:59:57 - Letters 01:16:13  - 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.

Hafta 441: West Bengal’s political violence, missed signs of flood, climate volatility

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