Donald Trump's Card: Why he remains the GOP frontrunner

VIEWSONNEWSFEBRUARY 22, 2016 `50
THE CRITICAL EYE
www.viewsonnewsonline.com
OneNo
TRUMP!
12
Mantosh Sharma reports
exclusively from the US on the
significance of Donald Trump’s
performance in the Iowa primary
Murali Krishnan’s special interview
with Subhash Chandra 16
No antennae for terror
By Bikram Vohra 50
Governance Exclusive
RAMESH
MENON
Organic
magic
38
SUCHETA
DASGUPTA
Art goes
modern
24
SANDEEP
BHUSHAN
Media
making
up Muslim
identity 28
TATA
PTA
es
n
OPRAH
WINFREY
New
belief on
the Tube
34
AmericanElections

DEBATES ON PRIME time television news shows
have now become the mainstay of political news
coverage. They have replaced what used to be the
gold standard for memorable newscasting: live re-
porting and investigations at the ground level. The
reason is money. It is cheaper to send broadcast
vans to guests or to bundle them into a studio, put
them in framed camera shots before an anchor and
do a live edit from the production control room
(PCR) than to send a team of news-hungry re-
porters to dig for the truth.
The result is that truth has become the biggest
casualty. In the name of “fairness” and “objectivity”,
anchors and producers give equal time for their
guests to scream at mega decibel levels at one an-
other. The upshot is that nobody is the wiser or bet-
ter informed than before a
particular program was
aired. With every passing
day, TV news becomes an
ever-expanding wasteland
of hyperbole, bafflegab and
sheer nonsense.
Every program is hum-
drum. Before you switch
on the idiot box, you know
precisely who is going to
say what on which chan-
nel. The guests are the
same. The anchors toe a
predictable line. Viewers
tune in to cheer whoever
reflects their political line or
bias. The guests—mostly
trained political ideologues
—who are briefed by their propaganda cells on what
lies to tell, what to hide, whom to attack, how to jus-
tify the unjustifiable, are mostly full of cant. The air-
waves, a precious public resource, have been satu-
rated with Goebbelsian disinformation.
N
ews reports, commentaries, analyses, dis-
cussions, investigative journalism were once
considered to be a hallowed element of pub-
lic education and the tools of knowledge which em-
powered citizens to hold Big Government and Big
Business accountable. Earlier, TV was seen as hav-
ing stolen a march over the print media in playing
the role of leading instrument in this orchestra
of information.
That it has regressed into a cacophonous tool of
disinformation which ill-serves the interest of a dem-
ocratic republic is a fall-out not only of ownership
patterns—control by government, business and oli-
garchs—but also because of lazy, compromised or
illiterate journalists who have never read a history
book in their lives.
Just as guests on “debate” shows are tutored to
duck the truth and deflect a serious argument with
the use of boorishly loud voices or outright lies, an-
chors, too, are guided through their ear pieces by
producers to prevent some fresh point of view from
emerging. Everybody, it seems, is running for the
next election, spouting nonsensical rhetoric, the
truth be damned.
Not that there are no independent anchors. There
are. Not that there are not sane, analytical, apolitical
voices. There are. The trouble is that even the un-
compromised, non-showman anchors don’t bother
to study the subjects they are discussing. The re-
WHY TV NEWS
IS A BIG FAT BORE
EDITOR’SNOTE
4 VIEWS ON NEWS February 22, 2016

search teams who feed them “pointers” or “cheat
sheets” are often rookies and greenhorns. The TV
debate certainly has its place in the world of good
journalism. What has made a farce of it is that an-
chors are unable to beat the propagandists at their
own game through factual analysis and the use of
precise language, and the saner voices of wisdom,
of erudition and learning are unable to edge out the
vicious propagandists who monopolize the stage.
T
he result: News TV is becoming a big fat bore.
Name me one show on which the garbage cri-
sis in Delhi—a tragedy of national proportions
—or the rising crime graph in Uttar Pradesh have
been discussed to uncover where the real account-
ability and solutions lie. Garrulous Kejriwal-bashing
or Modi-bashing gets you nowhere near the funda-
mentals such as center-state relations and the po-
litical-criminal-communal nexus that are the
breeding grounds for these crises.
The alternative is live news TV, action reporting,
spot interviews and solid wall-to-wall breaking news
followed by analyses by respected thoughters. Or,
change the very nature of TV debates by nurturing
the growth of highly skilled and deeply informed an-
chors and developing a guest list of Plato’s elite. A
para from Stanford’s Encylopedia of Philosophy ex-
plains Plato’s bias for an elite: “The reason for this
is that most people do not have the kinds of talents
that enable them to think well about the difficult is-
sues that politics involves. But in order to win office
or get a piece of legislation passed, politicians must
appeal to these people's sense of what is right or not
right. Hence, the state will be guided by very poorly
worked out ideas that experts in manipulation and
mass appeal use to help themselves win office.”
In the meantime, what’s the TV viewer to do in
the face of continuing assaults on his intelligence
from the screen? Well, at the click of your remote
there’s always a good Dev Anand or Raj Kapoor
movie to watch.
That TV debate has
regressed into a
cacophonous tool
of disinformation
which ill-serves
the interest of a
democratic
republic is a
fall-out not only of
ownership patterns
but also because of
lazy, compromised or
illiterate journalists.
5VIEWS ON NEWS February 22, 2016
NOTHING
SUBSTANTIAL
(Top) TV
channels hardly
make efforts to
find out who is
responsible for
the garbage
crisis in Delhi
(Above) Truth is
the biggest
casualty in
most debates

C O NLEDE
Donald’sTrump Card
This Republican candidate’s views are distinct from mainstream Republicanism
and have found support among conservatives who have lost faith in the GOP.
MANTOSH SHARMA explains why, despite the defeat in Iowa, DonaldTrump
still remains the party’s frontrunner for president
Editor
Rajshri Rai
Managing Editor
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Executive Editor
Ajith Pillai
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Prabir Biswas
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Anthony Lawrence
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Amitava Sen
Graphic Designers
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Anil Shakya
Photo Researcher/News Coordinator
Kh Manglembi Devi
Production
Pawan Kumar
Head Convergence Initiatives
Prasoon Parijat
Convergence Manager
Mohul Ghosh
Technical Executive (Social Media)
Sonu Kumar Sharma
Technical Executive
Anubhav Tyagi
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16
18
As Zee prepares to launch its channel in
Deutschland, its chairman Subhash Chandra tells
MURALIKRISHNAN that he is confident the network
will find a footing in this difficult market
12
INTERVIEW
BOOK EXTRACT
ZeeGoestoGermany
Excerpts from Subhash Chandra’s autobiography,
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Subhash’sJourney

Governance
T E N T S
R E G U L A R S
Edit..................................................04
Grapevine.......................................08
Quotes...........................10
Media-Go-Round...........................11
As the World Turns.........................23
Web-Crawler....................................43
Breaking News...............................46
Design Review................................48
Vonderful English............................54
Stereotyping
Islam
28
News channels often take a communal
view of events even when facts prove
otherwise. SANDEEP BHUSHAN
ComedyNights has lost its sheen.The new
host, Krushna Abhishek, has a limited
repertoire of jokes and his brand of
humor has failed to evoke an
enthusiastic response. SONALGERA
TV REVIEW
33
24
The popularity of India Art Fair showed
that there is a discerning audience for
art. It’s time newspapers caught on.
SUCHETA DASGUPTA
ArtoftheMatter
SPOTLIGHT
EDITORS’ PICK
36
38
Cover design: Anthony Lawrence
50
Unlike theWest, projected acts of terror
in India are rarely followed up by the
media which gets distracted by more
riveting news. BIKRAMVOHRA
34Divine Oprah
In her new seven-part series, this talk
show queen explores the experiences
of people who underwent loss before
attaining solace in spirituality.
SHAILAJA PARAMATHMA
Missing Kapil
FILM REVIEW
Based on the massive
evacuation of Indians
during the 1990 Iraqi
invasion of Kuwait,
Airlift is about the
heroics of a man who
rose to the occasion
and saved many lives.
SHOBHAJOHN
AGRICULTURE
Terror,Media’s
BlindSpot
Chak De India!
Organic farming
is catching on as
more people are
saying no to
chemical
fertilizers which
often lead to
cancer and other
dangers.
RAMESHMENON
Healthy andWise

Grapevine
Around the end of January,
rumors floated thick and
fast that NCP leader Sharad
Pawar had expired. It was said
that the news had been deliber-
ately kept under wraps in view
of the upcoming Republic Day
function. Newsrooms were
flooded with calls from anxious
people who wanted to know the
exact status of the senior
leader’s health. Finally, the wily
politician, who had gone for a
check-up, was out of hospital,
and offered reassuring sound
bytes, along with smiling pic-
tures. It tok many by surprise
that even sitting on fringe, there
was so much interest in Pawar’s
well-being. Rumors of death,
they say, add years to life. So
here’s to Mr Pawar’s long life!
HaleandHearty
After zealously photo-shopping
the Prime Minister’s Chennai
flood tour, the Press Information
Bureau, on January 25, released an
“embargoed” list of the Padma
awardees. The release mentioned
that the embargo was for social
media. However, the PIB has an
automated tweeting system, and
itself ended up tweeting the news,
which amused journos no end. One
hears the PMO is not too happy
with this hyper-efficiency and
has sought an explanation from
the PIB.
PIB’sFauxPas
Even though firebrand Minister of
Water Resources Uma Bharati is
reportedly one of the better performing
members of Prime Minister Modi’s
cabinet, with her Namani Gange Proj-
ect fully on track, the National Green
Tribunal recently reprimanded both
the center and the UP government over
pollution levels in the Ganga at
Varanasi. The NGT said the slogans
were contrary to the ground reality.
This seems to be the drift to what most
people are saying these days, who want
to see real action.
Veteran actor and Padma
Bhushan awardee Anupam
Kher had famously commented in
2010: “Awards in our country
have become a mockery of our sys-
tem. There is no authenticity left
in any of them, be it films, na-
tional or Padma.” Though Kher,
on getting the award this year, was
trolled on social media for having
benefited due to his closeness to
the ruling party and for trashing
the awards earlier, many have
been cautioned that they may
annoy the powers-that-be. You
never know when you become eli-
gible for an award!
GangaRemainsMaili
Kher’sGain

All India Radio is being closely
monitored after the Bihar de-
bacle. The DG AIR News paid the
price for giving too much public-
ity to Nitish Kumar. Now the
Minister of State, I&B, Col Ra-
jyavardhan Rathore, has taken
upon himself to personally super-
vise all bulletins. He ensures that
no uncomplimentary detail gets
highlighted; the name of “muffler
man” Kejriwal is a taboo. With
the recent decision to allow news
soon on other radio channels as
well, the buzz is that the monitor-
ing will become a tad difficult,
and a way out has to be thrashed
out soon.
—Illustrations: UdayShankar
—Compiled by Roshni Seth
The social media platform has
provided a new arena for po-
litical sparring as was recently
seen in the spat between BJP
supporter Anupam Kher and
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor.
Kher stated in an interview that
he was “scared to say openly that
he was a Hindu”, to which Tha-
roor retorted: “I say all the time
I’m a proud Hindu. Not just the
Sangh’s kind of Hindu.” Kher re-
sponded by calling Tharoor a
“Congi chamcha” to which Tha-
roor protested, saying Kher was
being abusive. The slugfest on
Twitter in full public view was
simply in bad taste
ReshuffleWoes
While we in media keep whispering
about the great cabinet re-shuffle
that is just round the corner, it keeps slip-
ping away and all that happens is a
bureaucratic shuffling of packs. The
biggest dump yard is turning out to be
the Ministry of Minority Affairs. Arvind
Mayaram, an ex-finance secretary, was
sent packing to the ministry. On Febru-
ary 29, the telecom secretary found him-
self dumped onto the same seat. Great
things are expected from the new
telecom incumbent as he needs to steer
the auctioning of telecom airwaves in a
spectacular manner.
ProbingMinistry
HRD Ministry’s fracas with the Hyder-
abad University is not its only recent
misadventure. Last September it had, on
the basis of some complaints, asked the
Pondicherry University to probe the “Is-
lamization” of the University. A three-
member committee set up by the
university found the allegations baseless as
only 5.9 percent of the faculty and 6 per-
cent of students were Muslim. The plaint
asking for “shudhikaran” of the varsity had
been endorsed by none other than Union
Minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti.
MonitoringtheAirWaves
Twitter Duel
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind
Kejriwal has been spotted in
movie theaters across the NCR,
with his faithful deputy Manish
Sisodia in tow. However, this time
he seemed all red-faced. He had
gone to see the Akshay Kumar
starrer Airlift in a Ghaziabad hall,
near his former residence. On
spotting him, the crowd started
screaming “Modi-Modi”. This did
not put the CM in a happy frame
of mind. It was like adding insult
to the injury already heaped by
Subramanian Swamy’s recent
composition: “AAP is paap (sin)
and the people of India will soon
give them shraap (curse). Then
they will go to their baap (father).”
Red-FacedMovieGoer

I believe we are in a democracy, we
should allow people to decide what they
want to say, we should allow people to
decide what they want to eat…. I come
from the Kerala cadre. My neighbour was
a Nair, the neighbour to my right was a
Brahmin, they all ate beef.
—Amitabh Kant, Niti Aayog CEO, on NDTV
U O T E S
Chitra Subramaniam,
journalist
#MallikaSarabhai is angry
#NarendraModi has not
condoled her mother’s death. If he
had, she probably would called
him a hypocrite.
Kailash Satyarthi,
Nobel Laureate
Human history is a mix of despair
& hope, violence & peace, farce &
truth. Eventually hope, peace and
truth wins. So why not embrace
them?
Rajdeep Sardesai,
consulting editor,
India Today Group
Whenever a qs is raised on any
aspect of BJP rule, the counter is
what about Cong regime? But
isn't BJP a party with a
difference?
Barkha Dutt,
consulting editor,
NDTV
Stephens- my college- was called
IvoryTower for allowing no politi-
cal student unions on campus.
Now so clear- fine decision by
college.
Kiran Bedi, retired
IPS officer
When bureaucrat wants, he
becomes d solution.When he
doesnt' he becomes an obstruc-
tion. Exactly what @PMOIndia
exposes .
Shekhar Gupta,
senior journalist
Grow up Pakistan: 10-yr jail for a
Virat @imVkohli fan for merely
waving Ind flag, but none pun-
ished in 8 yrs for 26/11 Mumbai
mass-murder.
The demolition of Babri Masjid was
an act of absolute perfidy ... It was
the senseless, wanton
destruction of a religious structure,
purely to serve political ends. It
deeply wounded the sentiments of
the Muslim community in India and
abroad. It destroyed India's image as
a tolerant, pluralistic nation.
—— President Pranab Mukherjee in the
second volume of his memoir, The Turbulent
Years: 1980-96
I don’t think anybody becomes an actor
to serve theatre or to serve art anywhere.
We all become actors because we
are insecure people who want to be
looked at. That was the reason I
became an actor.
— Naseeruddin Shah, in Scroll
I use trophies as doorstops in
my home. What they have done
to film awards is truly tragic. I
couldn’t believe it when they
gave an award to Parineeti
Chopra for losing weight.
—Rishi Kapoor, in DNA

EDIA-GO-ROUND
Akshay Kumar’s film Airlift— based on
the record evacuation of Indians after
the 1990 invasion of Kuwait by Iraq—
has left diplomats seething over their
portrayal.
A section of officials posted at the
Indian embassies in Kuwait and Baghdad
at the time believe they have been
projected as villains.
The film, written and directed by Raja
Menon, shows diplomats posted in
Kuwait leaving at the first sign of trouble.
As the embassy shut down, it fell upon a
band of local businessmen, including Ak-
shay Kumar, to organize a refugee camp,
negotiate with the Iraqis and ensure the
biggest civilian evacuation in aviation
history involving 1.7 lakh Indians.
—Compiled by Shailaja Paramathma
Diplomats upset
with Airlift
The 14th edition of Mumbai Interna-
tional Film Festival for Documentary,
Short and Animation Films (MIFF 2016)
was recently inaugurated. Veteran film-
maker Shyam Benegal was among the
distinguished guests present at the cere-
mony. Speaking on the occasion, Union
Minister of State for Information & Broad-
casting Rajyavardhan Rathore said that
the government may consider making DD
Bharati a platform to promote documen-
tary films. Maharashtra Chief Minister
Devendra Fadnavis asserted that the gov-
ernment had no interest in curbing the
creativity of filmmakers. He also said that
the government
was ready to allot
land in Film City,
Mumbai, for a
national
institute of
animation and
short films.
Sixty six readers of the Economic &
Political Weekly have written to the
Trustees of the Sameeksha Trust
(comprising, among others, Romila
Thapar, a distinguished Indian historian
and Andre Beteille, one of India's
leading sociologists and writers)
welcoming the appointment of
Paranjoy Guha Thakurta as the next editor
of EPW. Guha Thakurta is a journalist,
political commentator, author and a docu-
mentary filmmaker. The letter has been
signed by eminent professors and econo-
mists like Barbara Harriss-White and
Montek Singh Ahluwalia, among others.
MIFF‘16
inaugurated
I&B to probe
online casteism
Odds and
evens of the
experiment
Continuing their efforts for
improving the air quality of the
national capital, the Delhi govern-
ment launched a website on Feb-
ruary 1 and issued a telephone
number through which people can
give their suggestions on the odd-
even car rationing scheme.
The people of Delhi can visit
oddevenidea.delhi.gov.in and also
give a missed call on
09595561561 and thereafter,
send their opinions on the
road-rationing experiment.
Based on the feedback
received by February 8, the
government will analyze and come
up with a concrete plan.
The ministry of information and
broadcasting has ordered a
probe into allegations of derogatory
remarks against dalits and adivasis
posted on social media by a stu-
dent at the prestigious Indian Insti-
tute of Mass Communication.
In his complaint to the National
Commission of Scheduled Castes
and Scheduled Tribes, Prashant
Kanojia, a student of English Jour-
nalism at the institute, has accused
a fellow student of making deroga-
tory remarks which he says caused
“severe distress” among dalits and
adivasis. The students had jointly
complained to IIMC authorities
who, in turn, approached the
commission.
Paranjoy
heads EPW

HEN Republican candi-
date Donald Trump made
it public that he would not
participate in his party’s
presidential debate organ-
ized by Fox Network in Iowa, it created a new buzz
about Trumpism. This was unprecedented and a
new rule of engagement to win the Republican
primary. Although Trump made his decision not
to participate because of Fox News Network and
commentator Megyn Kelly who weren’t “nice to
him”, skipping the debate was a masterstroke in
politics and a well-planned strategy. He told re-
porters in Iowa: "They can't toy with me like they
toy with everybody else. So let them have their
debate, and let's see how they do with the ratings."
This was not an abrupt decision but a well-calcu-
lated move.
To understand this, we must first under-
stand what Trumpism is all about. Matt Lewis,
a conservative commentator and author of the
book Too Dumb to Fail, said: "Trumpism has
nothing to do with conservatism. He is not a
conservative. Most of the most prominent pub-
lic positions he has advocated go against con-
servative orthodoxy."
TED CRUISES
Incidentally, the Iowa caucus was
won by Trump’s rival, Ted Cruz.
Trump came second as he gar-
nered 24 percent of the votes
and this was in line with his
campaign expectation. What
set Cruz ahead was a record
turnout of Evangelical
supporters. However,
that didn’t dent
Trump’s mood as he
said in his post-elec-
tion speech: "They
said don't go to
Lede US Elections
Primaries
W
The defeat of Donald Trump by Ted Cruz in
Evangelical-dominated Iowa shows that this
billionaire still has a chance of winning in the
states to follow.Trumpism is here to stay
BY MANTOSH SHARMA IN CALIFORNIA
OneNoTrump
STILL IN CONTROL
He may have
finished second in
Iowa but Donald
Trump remains the
GOP frontrunner

Iowa. I said I have to do it, and we
finished second. And I want to tell
you something: I’m just honored."
A few issues came out from the
Iowa election. First, religion still
plays a big role in the early stages of
the Republican primaries. Candi-
dates pander to this segment to get
endorsement. This is the reason why
candidates like Jeb Bush or Chris
Christie don’t do well in this state.
Secondly, the Conservative estab-
lishment has got a candidate, Marco
Rubio to whom they can show their
support. Thirdly, we are going to see
a long and vicious primary fight in
both parties. However, Trump being
at second position in the Evangeli-
cal-dominated Iowa caucus, shows
that Trumpism is here to stay.
In my opinion, Trumpism is a rebellious
movement of conservative America which has
lost faith in the Republican Party to get things
done. The social base of the Republican Party
is exhausted of listening about fiscal discipline
and limited government and social conser-
vatism from the establishment. In fact, 30-40
percent of the Republican base doesn't support
its style of functioning in Washington DC, as
it is all about bargaining and negotiations with
the Democrats under the name of legality
and principles.
AKIN TO DEMOCRATS
It’s also one of the reasons why Jeb Bush, the po-
litical heir of the Bush dynasty is struggling in
the eyes of America. Trump’s views and policies
differ from that of conservatism and are akin to
the Democratic policy espoused by President
Harry S Truman, whose speeches were folksy
and intense. Just as Truman was anti-Russian,
Trump is anti-China.
Philip Bump in a Washington Post blog
mentioned that “Trump supporters were
younger, poorer, less educated, less conserva-
tive, more likely to call themselves Republican,
less likely to call independent, more likely to be
white and less likely to be evangelical than were
Tea Party supporters on all points”.
As part of a well-orchestrated strategy,
Trump started hitting on Fox News Network a
few months ago and particularly, Megyn Kelly.
She is portrayed as a representative of the es-
tablished Republican Party. Insulting her after
the earlier debate was a modus operandi to dis-
tance Trumpism from establishment. Kelly
RUNAWAY
WINNER
Ted Cruz drew
first blood at
the Iowa
caucus held
on February 1
“Trumpism has nothing to do with
conservatism. He is not a conservative. Most
of the most prominent public positions he
has advocated go against conservative
orthodoxy.”
— Matt Lewis, a commentator

the last four questions have been, 'Rand, please at-
tack Ted. Marco, please attack Ted. Chris, please
attack Ted. Jeb, please attack Ted’.”
In the debate, most of Trump’s rivals were ex-
posed for their changing positions. Rubio and
Cruz struggled to explain their flip-flop position
on immigration. While Cruz changed positions
to get an advantageous position, Rubio appeared
more liberal on this issue, but at the same time,
seemed more animated by saying “God” many
times. Both seemed intent on hurting each
other’s prospects and tried too hard to appease
the same evangelical base.
On the other hand, candidates like Jeb Bush,
Chris Christie and Rand Paul performed well but
it was too little, too late to stall the popular mo-
mentum Trump had attained.
Meanwhile, a Veteran Charity event was or-
ganized to counter the debate boycott and to po-
sition Trump to a more worthy cause. Now
remember, Trump is not known for his love of
Veteran Charities. Out of 300 charities which the
Trump Foundation is engaged with,
only seven are related to Veterans.
Paul Rieckhoff, founder and chief
executive of Iraq and Afghanistan
Veterans of America, tweeted: “If of-
fered, @IAVA will decline donations
from Trump's event. We need strong
policies from candidates, not to be
used for political stunts.”
WORTHY CAUSE
Trump said there: "You know, my
whole theme is make America great
again and that's what we're going to
do — and we wouldn't have even been
here if it weren't for our vets." The
presence of Mike Huckabee (former
Arkansas governor) and Rick Santo-
rum (former Pennsylvania senator) at
the event gave credibility to it and his
is very popular across conservative America.
Attacking her was risky, but it became a notice-
able event for the Trump brand.
HITTING AT RIVALS
Trump’s absence from the debate was also meant
to neutralize his rivals, particularly Ted Cruz who
was closing in on Trump in Iowa rankings. Also,
as a Republican leader, he has positioned himself
as an anti-establishment Conservative. By absent-
ing himself from the debate, Trump has inadver-
tently put Cruz at the center of attention. Cruz’s
frustration was palpable and it came out when he
accused Chris Wallace — “Chris, I would note that
Insulting Megyn Kelly of Fox TV was a modus
operandi to distance Trumpism from the
establishment. Kelly is popular across
conservative America. Attacking her was risky,
but a noticeable event for the Trump brand.
THE SCAPEGOAT
Journalist Megyn
Kelly is supposedly
the reason why
Trump skipped the
Iowa debate
Lede US Elections
Primaries

boycott. Both have won the Iowa primary and have
a popular Evangelical base. Both would not like to
see Cruz getting all the Evangelical support. This
also proves the growing clout of Trump inside the
Republican leadership where he can maneuver
support from political heavyweights.
The Iowa boycott and its timing were the cul-
mination of the final narrative of the rebellious
Trumpism movement against Established Conser-
vatism. By doing so, he separated his brand of pol-
itics and support base from the Conservative Party.
Another aspect of the Iowa boycott is to make
Trumpism more appealing to a section of Democ-
rats who are threatened and get affected by glob-
alization and outsourcing. Trump’s support for
preserving entitlements, imposing duty on goods
made in China and his narrative that he is on the
side of his supporters and against their enemies
and hostile friends has started resonating in states
from which President Obama has won twice. States
like Michigan, Wisconsin and Ohio where Obama
won twice are affected by globalization and out-
sourcing of jobs. Blue collar workers like it when
Trump says he will be on their side, curbing out-
sourcing and preserving entitlements (social secu-
rity). Democrats are vulnerable in Ohio,
Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin with
Trumpism. Recent polls from Mercury Analytics
suggest that Trump could win 20 percent support
from Democrat nominee Hillary Clinton and lose
14 percent of Conservatives to her.
NEW CONSTITUENCY
Having enjoyed number one position in the Repub-
lican primaries, Trump needed a section of support
outside his party to fend off argument that he
would not be acceptable outside his influence of in-
fluence. Boycotting this debate and organizing a
parallel Veteran Charity event makes him a politi-
cian who can hold the bull by its horns. This is cre-
ating likability in a new constituency which has not
voted Republican traditionally.
When a polling was done among Republicans
by Register/Bloomberg on how they felt about
Trump skipping the debate, 46 percent said they
didn’t care, 24 percent approved it, while 24 percent
disapproved. Most were indifferent about Trump
skipping the debate. This played well with Trump’s
scheme of things and he will be trying hard to dis-
tance Trumpism from established Conservatism
in later Republican primaries. In doing so, he will
be more vicious on conservative principles.
In fact, a day before the Iowa caucus, Trump
had reportedly said: “If people have no money, we
have to help people. But that doesn't mean single
payer. It means we have to help people. If somebody
has no money and they're lying in the middle of the
street and they're dying, I'm going to take care of
that person." Now, doesn’t that sound like a state-
ment from Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders?
But this is Trumpism.
Republicans and Democrats who are predicting
that Trump will eventually self-destruct are in-
dulging in wishful thinking.
Jeb Bush performed
disappointingly,
coming sixth with
only 2.8% of the
total votes polled.
With 1.8% of the
votes, Chris Christie
finished at 10th
place, near the
back of the pack.

InterviewSubhash Chandra
SUBHASH CHANDRA, chairman of
Zee Entertainment Enterprises and
promoter of Essel Group, is among
the leading lights of the Indian
industry. Often referred to as a media
mogul, Chandra revolutionized the
television industry by launching
India’s first Hindi channel Zee TV in
1992 and later, its first private news
channel, Zee News. The Zee network
today has over 500 million viewers in
167 countries. He also has imprints in
film entertainment, cable systems,
satellite communications, theme
parks, flexible packaging, family
entertainment centers and gaming.
With the launch of a TV channel in
Germany by mid-2016, Chandra tells
MURALI KRISHNAN that it’ll bring
high-quality Bollywood films as well
as popular Indian TV series to
German screens. It is believed that the
channel’s target group will be women
between 19 and 59 years. Excerpts:
“One should
enter a market
when it’s on a
downward trend”

How important is the German
market for your company?
It is very important because it is a difficult
market for foreign content. We feel if we
can succeed in this market, then we can
succeed in any other market.
Will Zee broadcast the same pro-
grams as in other countries or
will you offer tailor-made ones for
the German audience?
Though it will have Bollywood content, it
will be specifically tailor-made for the
German market and repurposed for
that country.
Germany already boasts of many
TV channels.Why would viewers
there want to watch Zee TV?
The positioning of our content is happy
and celebratory and caters to all ages. So
we are confident that German audiences
will like it.
Your company broadcasts in al-
most 170 countries.Why did you
decide to enter the German mar-
ket at a time when people's
enthusiasm for Indian cinema
is sagging?
I personally believe it is important to
enter a market or a business when it is on
a downward trend. This is what we have
learnt after years in the business.
A few years ago, Germany wit-
nessed a gentle Bollywood boom
when a private German TV
station began airing Indian
movies. How do you then explain
the fact that people's interest
has subsided?
We have studied the likes and dislikes of
the German viewer and we will select the
content for them. Hence we believe we
will succeed. We are confident.
How will you establish Indian TV
productions as strong brands in
the German media market?
Let us talk in the middle of May 2016
when we will have four to five
weeks of data. We will then have
valuable feedback.
“We have studied
the likes and dislikes
of the German
viewer and we will
select the content
for them. Hence
we believe we will
succeed. We are
confident.” ENTER DEUTSCHLAND
Zee is planning an
entry into Germany,
known for its
Oktoberfest and the
Cologne Cathedral
(left). Women form
its target audience

The story of Subhash Chandra is
indeed a fascinating one. From a
small town in Haryana, where his
family owned a rice mill, he rose up
the ladder to establish Zee Network,
India’s first private TV channel, in
the heady 1990s when liberalization
ushered in changes in the broadcast
industry. Chandra’s success formula
in his formative years was simple:
A little bit of luck, a penchant for
taking risks and political patronage.
Today, thanks to the Essel/Zee group
of companies he promoted, his net
worth is $6.3 billion and annual
group revenue is about $3 billion.
Here are select vignettes from
Chandra’s autobiography
The Z Factor that he co-authored
with journalist Pranjal Sharma:
Book Excerpt
was looking for a way to meet the
entertainment needs of people.
Then I heard of one Dr J.K. Jain of
Delhi. A BJP member, he called his
company Jain TV, though he had no
TV channel then. But he had started something
very smart. He had built about eight to ten vans
that had a video projector and screen. He would
rent these out to political parties for their election
campaign. The parties would take them to differ-
ent constituencies and play their campaign films.
I read about this in the papers. This was 1990.
I asked my team how many districts there were
in the country. They came back in a few hours and
AIMING HIGH
Subhash Chandra
explaining his
success mantra at
the Dr Subhash
Chandra Show
The Z Factor
Memoirs
of a Media
Monarch
I

viable for us. Secondly, the local cinema owners
would see us a threat. They would prevent us from
hosting these shows in the vans. There was a fear
of being attacked by them, too.
Then I thought of another audacious idea, that
of setting up a high power transmitter on a Hi-
malayan peak in Nepal and beam shows to India,
and cover the rest of the country from the waters,
as India is surrounded by sea on three sides. I
imagined the coastal area and the hinterland could
be covered by putting up large barges in the sea
mounted with high-power transmitters...
I went back to the drawing board to think of
new ways of reaching people’s homes. Then, a cou-
ple of months later, the Gulf War broke out. It was
the beginning of 1991. My friends would invite me
to hotels to watch CNN’s coverage of the war. Some
hotels had acquired satellite dishes to receive sig-
nals of CNN in their rooms.
This struck a chord with me. I began to wonder
why entertainment could not be shown to the In-
dian public using such satellite dishes. I started ask-
ing around about it. I learnt that the
government-run Doordarshan (DD) network was
already using a satellite to connect all its centres to
beam its shows. I asked friends in Mumbai what a
satellite was and how it helped beam shows. But
nobody seemed to know anything more than the
terms. They only knew it was some great new tech-
nology being used by CNN and DD...
A Chance Meeting
On a flight from Bombay to Delhi in 1993, a gen-
tleman walked over to me and introduced himself
as Rajat Sharma. He said he was a journalist and
editor with Afternoon Despatch & Courier news-
paper in Mumbai*.
‘I have a programme suggestion for you that
you may consider for Zee TV,’ Rajat said. I was get-
ting accustomed to people walking up to me with
their ideas. In India everyone considers himself an
expert. Still, I asked him what his idea was. He said,
‘Zee should launch a show where political and
said about 600. I thought I would place one video
van in each district across the country. And that at
one point during the day, at 6 or 7 p.m., we would
show the same entertainment show on all 600
screens for the local viewers...
But before acting on this idea, I appointed a
couple of executives to do a detailed study of the
rules, regulations and taxes related to entertain-
ment in each state...
When I got the report I realized it was going to
be close to impossible. Each state had a maze of
regulations on entertainment. Even if we were not
to charge money for a ticket, the government
would levy some tax on us. That would make it un-
“I asked
friends in
Mumbai what a
satellite was
and how it
helped beam
shows...They
only knew it
was some
great new
technology
being used by
CNN and DD.”

other important personalities are grilled publicly
with tough questions. These people should answer
the questions on camera.’ For a minute I was sur-
prised but then I realized that the idea had great
potential. ‘Sure, we will do it,’ I told Rajat. I liked
the idea but needed time to think about it. A pro-
gramme like this would work for Indians, who
liked to question everyone. I told Rajat that I would
contact him soon. I thanked him and we
exchanged our phone numbers.
The idea for this show remained with me. I
thought the concept needed value addition. In-
stead of a one-on-one-question-answer session, it
should be done in courtroom-style. A people’s
court where we would invite public figures and
celebrities to answer questions about themselves.
There will be political personalities, film stars, sen-
ior officials, socialities, and so on. We will put them
on the mat and grill them on camera, I thought.
In a few days, I called Rajat, and asked him, ‘So
why don’t you do it for us?’...
In the meantime, Kamal Morarka, the owner of
Afternoon Despatch & Courier*, called me, ‘What
are you doing? This man Rajat, I do not pay him
even `3,000 per month salary and you are paying
him do much more to leave the paper,’ he said. But
IDEATHATWORKED
(Above) Rajat Sharma
quizzing former prime
minister Atal Bihari
Vajpayee at
Aap Ki Adalat;
(right) Kamal Morarka,
Rajat Sharma’s
former boss
I had already asked Rajat to join on a full-time basis
and offered him `30,000 per month. I was commit-
ted and hence ignored Kamal’s comment.
We named the show Aap Ki Adalat and
launched it at the start of 1994. Soon it became
popular. We had some very big personalities on the
show. Many were keen to be on TV but did not
know how to manage themselves on TV. Some
personalities wondered why anyone would want to
be grilled publicly. Those who were articulate and
smooth talkers could shine on the show. Rajat
worked hard and did his homework very well to
ask relevant and smart questions....
The popularity of some of our programmes, in-
cluding the news bulletins, Hamarey PMji and Aap
Ki Adalat, rose five to six months before the 1999
general elections. Rajat Sharma had invited Atal
Bihari Vajpayee on Aap Ki Adalat, but he was re-
fusing. I asked Vajpayee the reason for this. ‘Rajat,
humse kuchh ultey seedhey sawal karega.’ Vajpayee
was anxious about questions on his links with the
Hinduja brothers and with his friend Mrs Kaul.
I told him that I would make sure he didn’t ask
these questions as these were about personal rela-
tions. The interview would focus on government
and politics.
Book Excerpt
The Z Factor
* Subhash Chandra
possibly means The
Daily, a morning
tabloid, owned by
Kamal Morarka
and edited by Rajat
Sharma at that
point-editors.

role in the rice trade with the USSR. Apart from
me barely two or three people knew the real rea-
son for Brahmachari’s fall from grace with
the Gandhis.
It happened thus: The contract for 1983 was to
be decided in December 1982. Now Brahmachari
sent instructions that all the future export of rice
would be done by his own newly formed company.
He also told Dhar about this. (Vijay Dhar was Rajiv
Gandhi’s confidante).
I was told that I would not get the contract any
longer. This was despite the fact that he had taken
an advance of `2 crore from me towards profits for
next year’s contract. I said it was fine if I did not
get the contract, but that the advance be returned
to me. He refused to give it back. He thought I had
earned more money than I deserved and hence did
not feel the need to return my money.
I had no choice but to keep quiet. But one day
Vijay Dhar called me for a meeting, and asked,
‘What has happened between you and Brah-
machariji?’ I could figure out that he had heard
about Swamiji’s decision to start rice export
Vajpayee agreed and the interview turned out
to be quite interesting. Rajat asked most questions,
including Vajpayee’s fondness for drinking. Vaj-
payee replied to all questions with an open heart.
We made two episodes instead of one. When this
was aired, I got a call from my friend Sharad Pawar,
‘Aapne BJP ke 3 se 4 per cent vote badha diya hai.’
(You have increased BJP votes by 3-4 per cent)...
A late night meeting with Mrs G
Dhirendra Brahmachari seemed to be focused on
money and was always open to new opportunities.
One Bhaskar Bhattacharya used to visit him from
the US. He used to hold long discussions with
Swamiji to convince him of the need to convert the
public service broadcaster Doordarshan (DD) into
a commercial service.
I had met Bhattacharya, too, but whatever he
said about commercial TV went above my head. I
had no understanding or interest in TV or the
broadcasting sector at that time. Of course, I had
no idea then that destiny would one day take me
to that very world.
Dhirendra Bhrahmachari did
his bit for the commercialization of
Doordarshan in 1983. He hosted a
yoga show on DD. He could be
convinced to experiment with new
ideas if there was something in it
for him.
I used to meet him twice or
thrice a week to keep the relation-
ship going. He was usually sur-
rounded by five to six young
women. I was not surprised be-
cause he had a magnetic personal-
ity. Women found him attractive.
He would wear a dhoti all through
the year, even in winters.
While he helped me with the
rice deal, it would also lead to his
downfall. He fell in the esteem of
the Gandhi family because of his
POWER CENTER
The once-powerful
Dhirendra Brahmachari
with former prime
minister Indira Gandhi
“Dhirendra
Brahmachari
seemed to be
focused on
money and
was always
open to new
opportunities.”

himself, or perhaps through Mittal or other traders.
Those days there were two groups close to the
Gandhi family. As normally happens with any
power centre, satellite power centres emerge
around the main players. There was a group
known as ‘the Kashmiri group’, which included
M.L. Fotedar, Arun Nehru and Vijay Dhar. The
other group included R.K. Dhawan, Dhirendra
Brahmachari and some others. Both groups were
rivals and wanted to corner power. I told Dhar
about Swamiji’s decision to export rice through his
own company. And also that he had decided not
to return my advance for the year’s export order.
‘How much money have you paid him so far?’
Dhar asked. I sincerely revealed the number to
Dhar as he was key link between Rajiv and me.
Dhar asked me wait in his office and went to
Rajiv’s room next door. Rajivji came back with him
and began to ask me a lot of questions. I had to
reply to all of them. Somewhere at the back of my
mind I knew that I was getting into a bigger mess.
And that too for the loss of a few crores’ advance.
Rajivji was very surprised to hear what I had to say.
It appeared to me that Swamiji had given them a
wrong picture about our profit-sharing deal.
But now I was worried, ‘I don’t want to get into
a fight, sir,’ I told Rajivji. ‘You are powerful people
and in such a conflict between big personalities, a
person of my stature will get crushed as if I never
existed. If you can help me get my money back I
would be grateful. But if you can’t, that too is fine.
I will assume that this was not in my destiny.’
Rajivji took my plea seriously. He assured me
about my future. ‘But you have to come and say
everything to someone I have in mind,’ he said...
On the appointed day I reached the prime min-
ister’s residence at 9 p.m. and was asked to wait. In-
dira Gandhi was supposed to fly to Europe later
that evening... Finally, I was summoned inside the
room around 11.15 p.m.
Sitting in the room were Indira Gandhi, Rajiv
and Dhirendra Brahmachari. This was 1982. Rajiv
was not in the government but was general secre-
tary of the ruling Congress party.
There was silence for a few seconds. They
looked at me closely. I almost peed in my pants.
Mrs Gandhi looked at me and spoke first. `I
thought you were an older person. But you are very
young,’ she broke the ice.
‘How much money have you paid Swamiji?’
‘About ` 2 crore advance for this year,’ I said.
‘No, no. I want to know how much have you
paid in total,’ she persisted.
I told her the figure.
Swamiji’s eyes were blazing. He was looking at
me with deep hatred and anger. I could see him
from the corner of my eye. I felt like a mouse sur-
rounded by hungry cats.
I was asked two or three questions and then I
was allowed to leave the room. As I was leaving,
Rajivji asked me to wait in the other room.
He came out after an hour and said, ‘Congrat-
ulations, now go and relax.’ That’s all.
I left right away, relieved but confused. It was 1
a.m. or so. I had spent about four hours in absolute
terror. I reached my Punjabi Bagh home by 1.30
a.m. and hit the bottle. I was too nervous to sleep.
From that day onwards, Swamiji’s downfall
began. I think the Gandhi family did not trust him
completely after that.
Book Excerpt
The Z Factor
THE Z FACTOR
MY JOURNEY AS THE
WRONG MAN AT THE
RIGHT TIME
BySubhashChandrawith
PranjalSharma
Publisher:HarperCollins
`699
“As I was
leaving (after
mentioning
the advance
paid to
Dhirendra
Brahmachari),
Rajivji asked
me to wait in
the other
room.
He came out
after an hour
and said,
‘Congratula-
tions, now go
and relax.’
That’s all.”

S THE WORLD TURNS
—Compiled by Shailaja Paramathma
Cleo’s Australian
edition over
Cleo magazine, required reading for many
young Australian women interested in
celeb gossip, fashion, beauty, sex and relation-
ship advice, is to close down after 44 years in
print. Launched by Kerry Packer and Ita Buttrose
in 1972, Cleo was considered an edgy, and at
times controversial, women’s magazine, pushing
the boundaries with nude male centerfolds and
sex and dating tips.
Publisher Bauer Media said the closure of the
Australian edition would not impact Cleo Singa-
pore, Malaysia, Thailand or Indonesia. Bauer
Media Group interim CEO Andreas Schoo out-
lined plans to relaunch the teen magazine Dolly
with a focus on digital rather than print.
Ateam of women students at the Uni-
versity of Manchester are organizing a
“groundbreaking” conference on “women
in media” as part of the International
Women’s Day celebrations from March 4
to 6. The conference aims to celebrate
the many influential women within the in-
dustry by hearing their stories. According
to the International Women’s Media Foun-
dation, only 33 percent of full-time jour-
nalists internationally are women, and
48 percent of female media workers have
experienced sexual harassment at work.
TV crew
freed after 10 days
Al-Jazeera reported that a three-man
news crew for the Qatar-based
channel has been freed more than 10
days after being kidnapped by “un-
known gunmen” in the flashpoint
Yemeni city of Taez.
Reporter Hamdi al-Bokari, camera-
man Abdulaziz al-Sabri and driver Munir
al-Subaie went missing on January 18
while covering the conflict between the
rebels and the Gulf-backed forces loyal
to President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi.
In a message on Facebook, Bokari said
he had been held by the Iran-backed
Shiite Houthi rebels.
Journalist
writes testament
Manchester
students to
hold women’s meet
Muhammad
Al-Qeeq,
Palestinian jour-
nalist who has
been on a hunger
strike for over 66
days in protest
against adminis-
trative detention,
has written in his
testament that he hopes to see his wife
and children, and has asked to be laid to
rest in his mother’s tomb. Muhammad,
33, was taken by Israeli forces from his
Ramallah home, in the wee hours of No-
vember 21, 2015. According to the Ra-
mallah-based Addameer Prisoner
Support and Human Rights Association,
Al-Qeeq was tortured.
Like 660 other administrative de-
tainees held by Israel at the end of De-
cember, Al-Qeeq has no access to the
charges against him.
Al Jazeera America (AJAM) will close its
cable TV and digital operations by April 30
this year. The decision, according to AJAM
CEO Al Anstey, was “driven by the fact that our
business model is simply not sustainable in
light of the economic challenges in the US
media marketplace.”
Despite its initial struggle for TV ratings, the
network was quickly and repeatedly recog-
nized by its industry peers for excellence in
journalism. Within months of launching, AJAM
began collecting prestigious prizes—from
Peabody, Emmy, Gracie, Eppy and DuPont
awards to a Shorty Award, for best Twitter
newsfeed, and so on.
Al Jazeera
America to close down

A Moveable FeastThe success of India Art Fair shows that there is a discerning and ready
audience for art, be it paintings or other creative exhibits. Is it time the
media too gave space for art articles?
BY SUCHETA DASGUPTA
T was a feast for the eyes and
an opportunity to expand
one’s imaginative horizons as
the colorful creations spoke
directly to one’s emotions and
senses. Singer Freddie Mer-
cury once said that modern paintings are like
women, you’ll never enjoy them if you try to un-
derstand them. He was right about the paintings
though. For a viewer, trying to explain them
literally is at best, redundant and at worst, an
I
Spotlight
India Art Fair
impediment to their impact. The only way to
enjoy them is to simply experience them. Artists
too feel that when your work speaks for itself,
don’t interrupt.
And the recent eighth India Art Fair in Delhi
was a potpourri of styles and influences, ranging
from the playful to the powerful, the historic to
the contemporary. The crowd which came here
was just as colorful and diverse as the creations
here. Blond, bearded and bold, they sauntered in
wearing micro-minis, caps, scarves, rudrashakas
ART FOR A
CAUSE
Sakshi Gupta’s
“Save the
Jumbos”
installation
Photos: Anil Shakya

The historical could be seen in the originals of
Raja Ravi Varma, Amrita Sher-Gil and MF Hus-
sain. There were also archival photos of “Mahara-
nis: Women of Royal India”, displayed by Tasveer
Art Gallery from Bangalore, which gave an insight
into these royal women. A photo of a chit of a girl
in khakis with a gun and a dead leopard at her feet
was intriguing. Another of a young princess with
bobbed hair and striking an exaggerated pose
evoked smiles.
and what have you. Women could be seen in dif-
ferent streaks of hair color, while men could be
seen in various headgear to ward off the cold.
There was even a spectator who looked like Jesus
Christ, complete with long hair and beard. While
some were intently focused on the exhibits, others
were clearly bored. There were arty types who ar-
gued points over their Peronis, not to forget
pushy selfie-seekers who shed all inhibition in
order to be able to announce “I was there”.
VARIED FARE
The exhibits ranged from the
playful to the serious. Came-
roonian Pascale Marthine Tayou
is no Fabergé but his brightly
colored eggs drew in many
crowds. They must have re-
minded them of Easter eggs,
Cadbury Gems or grapes. Then,
there was Manjunath Kamath’s
acrylic and oils “In Between” and
“Fire on Tail”, both of which were
large and dramatic. “In Between”
took the viewer on a mental
journey through the center of
the earth and then to an alternate
hemisphere. “Fire on Tail” re-
minded one of Lanka Dahan (a
1917 Indian silent film); only the protagonists
were multiple Nandis, one Hanuman and a pair
of Brer Rabbits.
There was also Sakshi Gupta’s powerful and
in-your-face installation of a metal-scrap ele-
phant carcass. This animal sculpture reminded
one of the flying cow fracas at the Jaipur art
summit three months back. It also brought to
mind news reports of jumbos being run over by
trains and human incursions into their habitat. In
her handouts, Gupta talks of plant-animal trans-
formation and the nitrogen cycle as inspiration
for her work which was a powerful statement for
wildlife conservation.
MYRIADTHEMES
(Below) Artist Vinita
Karim with her work
“Rainbow Lives”
(Bottom) Untitled art
by Subodh Gupta

School) with mindboggling drawings by un-
known artists of imaginary creatures, durbar
scenes and “natives” going about their daily life.
These were commissioned by British rulers to
be taken home in the UK as exotic souvenirs of
their stay in India. A team of three—director Sm-
riti Rajgharia Bhatt, Priyanka and Prarthana
(daughters of well-known art enthusiasts and gal-
lerists Siddarth Tagore and Meena Verma)—is re-
searching this lost art.
Sub-continental artists too made their pres-
ence felt at this fair. Titled “Never Forgotten”,
Birendra Pratap Singh’s pen-and-ink sketches of
the Kumari (living goddess in Nepal) residence
and Kasthamandap Temple collapsing in the
Kathmandu quake were heartbreaking. By con-
trast, Sri Lankan artist Senaka Senanayake’s vivid
and colorful rainforest-inspired works sent out
the message of conservation loud and clear.
The series, “Glocal”, by photographer Amber
Hammad offered an interesting sociological
narrative of today’s Pakistan. “The globalized
female attire in contemporary Pakistan reflects
Then there was the bold and intimate art of
Bhupen Khakhar. If you respect your passion, you
will respect the process, said this self-taught char-
tered accountant from Baroda who took up the
brush late in his life. He reportedly told an inter-
viewer some years back: “Every morning at 9,
Krishna comes to my studio and tells me what to
draw. I once asked him to come at 10, but he re-
fused.” Frank about his homosexuality, Khakhar,
who passed away in 2003, chose gender and the
body as themes for his work.
OLD IS GOLD
Meanwhile, Swaraj Art Archive from Noida show-
cased the Company School of Paintings (East India
While the audience at this fair gives the
impression that art is alive and thriving,
the fact is that few newspapers have art
critics. However, a decade back all of
them had dedicated art columns.
AGE NO BAR
(L-R) The audience was
arty and hep
A curious child has
questions about an exhibit
Spotlight
India Art Fair

LACK OF INTEREST
While the audience at this fair gives the impres-
sion that art is alive and thriving, the fact is that
few newspapers have art critics. This was not the
case a decade back when all major newspapers
had dedicated art columns where critics evaluated
and commented on new works. How do artists
feel about the decline of the art critic?
Delhi-based Manjunath Kamath, who once
worked as an illustrator for The Economic Times,
told VoN: “Sadanand Menon was then my art
editor. He started a special page on art and design,
but it was closed down later. It got no revenue,
no ads. Even among TV channels, only DD1, DD2
and DD Bharati air serious programs on
art. There are many knowledgeable people who
want to write about art, but they simply don’t get
the space.”
He asks if there is any interest in the media
about art. “Even art fairs are all about economics,
about money. They are not about art. Of course,
we are unhappy seeing the art critic vanishing. We
need opinion and it has to be an informed one.
And there has to be an education agenda for art.
But who will create that awareness? It is the job of
the media, but that responsibility is lacking,”
Kamath scathingly said.
the changing gender ideologies of upper middle
class urban Pakistan,” writes Hammad, who used
her own images to explore and understand the
identity of the Muslim woman in Pakistan.
Artist Vijay Pichumani’s woodcut print of a
scene inside a shared auto was gripping and shows
how the traveler uses his eyes rather than speech
to process and participate in life around him. It
highlights an experience at once familiar and cher-
ished but rarely acknowledged.
HISTORYVERSUS MODERNITY
(Clockwise from above, left)
Mahatma Gandhi pervades the
photography landscape, in an
exhibit from the Delhi-based
Wonderwall gallery
A figurine demonstrating the
perils of pollution
A portrait of Maharajkumari
Sudhira Sundari Devi of Cooch
Behar dated 1910

How news channels in India are
manufacturing the Muslim identity
the outbreak was probably linked to the local dynam-
ics of the area, where workers of the Trinamool Con-
gress (TMC) are suspected of being involved in opium
and cattle smuggling. According to the web publica-
tion The Wire, it was largely a pitched battle between
the BJP and the TMC to carve out the old Congress
party bastion of Malda in the run-up to the assembly
elections, to be held later this year.
India’s news channels, however, had their own ex-
clusive take.
On The Newshour, Times Now’s nightly debate
meeting convened on 3 January 2016,
by the Anjuman Ahle Sunnatul Ja-
maat (ASJ), a Sunni Islamist organi-
sation, at Kaliachak in south Malda,
West Bengal, to protest a derogatory
statement allegedly made by Uttar
Pradesh Hindu Mahasabha leader Kamlesh Tiwari
against Prophet Muhammad turned violent with
people torching vehicles and attacking the local
BSF police post.
As The Hindu reported (http://bit.ly/1QFIzyz)
A
Editors’ Pick
Sandeep Bhushan
TheReluctant
Fundamentalists
VON brings in each issue,
the best written commentary
on any subject.The following
write-up from Caravan has
been picked by our team of
editors and reproduced for
our readers as the best in
the fortnight.
DISTORTED
PROJECTION?
VHP activists raising
slogans during a
demonstration near
West Bengal
Bhavan in New
Delhi to protest
against the Malda
violence

show, which was most recently referred to as “Fox
News on steroids,” the editor-in-chief of the channel,
Arnab Goswami, summoned all the lung power he
could muster to ask, “Where is the secular ‘Award
wapsi’ brigade?” Goswami also declared, “There is a
communal angle to the killing of [Mohammed] Akh-
laq [who was killed by a mob in Dadri on the suspi-
cion that he had beef in his house] and there is a
communal angle to what happened in Kaliachak!”
A
little before the show, a dramatically pack-
aged news story played out on the channel
with the hashtag #MaldaCoverup. This news
report, accompanied by a voiceover that promised to
tell the viewers “the story the Mamata government
does not want you to know,” questioned the Bengal
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s claims that the vi-
olence in Malda was a localised clash involving the
Border Security Force. Last year, in September, the
same channel had played host to Goswami as he dis-
missed the communal nature of the killing in Dadri
by branding it a failure of law and order on the part
of the state government.
It wasn’t just Times Now. News X, that inevitably
imitates the “most widely watched network”, also
panned Mamata for not going to Kaliachak while hav-
ing the time to attend Pakistani singer Ghulam Ali’s
concert. Rahul Shivshankar, the editor-in-chief of
News X, berated the chief minister for hobnobbing
with the “cultural ambassador of a country that has
made it its national mission to bleed India by a thou-
sand cuts.” In stark contrast, the channel did not seem
to mind that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in
Karnataka, tweeting away homilies from the Interna-
tional Yoga Conference even as the attack on the air
base in Pathankot was underway.
Needless to say, News X wasn’t alone in this re-
gard. No news channel deemed Modi’s faux pas wor-
thy of coverage.
The overall context can hardly be missed. With
The news content generated is no longer
dependant on field reports by reporters
or morning newsroom editorial meetings
but on what Twitter says. It is a
self-contained media ecosystem.
POLARIZED
DEBATE
A meeting of
villagers at
Bisada village
near Dadri after
the lynching of
Mohammad
Akhlaq

making this sentiment trend, in some cases, even
posting photoshopped pictures to inflame passions.
This train of thought is soon picked up by an articu-
late right-wing commentator such as Swapan Das-
gupta and from here, the specious binary finds its way
into prime time discussion. Those anchors, editors or
journalists not falling in line are harassed and abused.
The twitterati serve as the new measure for Television
Rating Points (TRP) in town.
W
hen it comes to thriving on stereotypes,
the spectacle of prime time news televi-
sion is no different from the make-be-
lieve world of Bollywood. Central to this caricature of
communities, is the search for “Muslim-looking” and
“speaking” guests to aggressively counter the Hin-
dutva trolls-turned-studio guests word for word, rhet-
oric for rhetoric. An amalgam of sorts of what the
Swiss linguist Ferdinand De Saussure calls the “signi-
fier”—the language—and the “signified”—the image
the language evokes.
As is evident by now, prime time television is based
on manufacturing endless binaries—Congress versus
the BJP and its infinite
variations; the left versus
the right; Nehru versus
Patel; Nehru versus Bose;
Pakistan versus India;
the 1984 anti-Sikh riots
versus the 2002 Gujarat
riots. The Twitter-driven
binary of Malda versus
Dadri therefore comes as
no surprise. But while
manufactured ‘Hindu’
aggression in studios
have been easy, visually
“Muslim-looking” pan-
ellists—such as Maulana
Maqsood-ul-Hasan
Qasmi, a member of the
Imam Council—with a
flowing beard, a Turkish
the Modi government under greater scrutiny than
ever before, his devotees in the media have become
more strident.
However, the problem runs deeper and is related
to the manner in which news content is generated. It
is no longer dependant on field reports by reporters
or morning newsroom editorial meetings but on what
Twitter says. It is a self-contained media ecosystem
that relies, at most, on generic visuals—buses burning,
women crying or shots of arson—to tell a story. News
that is driven by Twitter works in this manner—the
lack of a proportionate “sickular” response to the
Malda incident as opposed to the national outrage
over Dadri is pronounced anti-Hindu online, follow-
ing which Hindutva trolls work overtime towards
Editors’ Pick
Sandeep Bhushan
The Twitter-driven TV content is based
on anger, hate, unreal binaries and banal
stereotypes. It is re-enforcing cultural
prejudices that now enjoy the
ideological backing of the State.
BIASED SHOW
Times Now
attributed a
communal angle to
the Malda episode

fez or a skull cap, and conversant in Hindustani that is
laced with Urdu, have been loath to speak as radicals
despite provocative anchors.
This has thrown a spanner in the works. How
should “Hindu” excesses such as Dadri be framed
without a shouting talking head from the Muslim
camp? Similarly, how does a prime time debate relat-
ing to the Islamist militant attack in Paris last year play
out in a country in which stories about the
Islamic State are largely, if not entirely, Intelligence
Bureau fantasies that have been planted on obliging
beat reporters?
Barkha Dutt, the consulting editor of NDTV, re-
cently showed how this was possible on her show, The
Buck Stops Here. Since no Muslim “looking” guest
would defend the mass killings in Paris, a stray com-
ment made by senior Uttar Pradesh minister Azam
Khan at a rally was used as an entry point for the dis-
cussion moderated by Dutt. Khan, while condemning
the terror attack, had said that it could have been a
“reaction to the killing of innocents in Arab countries
by the superpowers.” Dutt, of course, chose to read it
as ‘rationalizing’ ‘the act of the Islamic State.” In one
stroke of careless loaded rhetoric, Dutt put Khan in
the same league as the perpetrators of the attacks in
Paris. It is not clear how Dutt establishes the link be-
tween Azam Khan—a sub-regional Muslim leader
from Uttar Pradesh who largely represents the Mus-
lims of Rohillkhand, Rampur and Bareilly—and the
Paris killings. Even more dubious were the grounds
on which he was projected as a leader representing
India’s 172 million Muslims.
But charitably speaking, for Dutt this could be the
effect of aping the market leader, Times Now. The
channel and Goswami have transformed Khan into
India’s definitive archetype of a Muslim, and the
Samajwadi Party into a party of mullahs. When
Akhlaq was lynched by a mob in September last year,
Goswami began Newshour by putting the SP in the
dock and asking, “Why is the state government sub-
jecting the meat recovered from Akhlaq’s refrigerator
to a forensic test?” It was a curious question to ask
How does a prime time debate relating to
the Paris attack (above) last year play out
in a country in which stories about the
Islamic State are largely, if not entirely,
Intelligence Bureau fantasies?

successfully trying to force-fit the President of the All
India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, (AIMIM) Asa-
duddin Owaisi, into a militant, even jihadi, frame ever
since Modi came to power. In an open editorial that
she wrote for the Hindustan Times in October last
year, Dutt identified Owaisi’s Hyderabad-based or-
ganisation AIMIM as “the precursor of Muslim
League” that attempts to “ghettoise Muslims”. Dutt ap-
peared to have overlooked the fact that the AIMIM
won 25 seats in the Aurangabad Municipal Corpora-
tion election held earlier that year based on a declared
Dalit-Muslim combination. Her slanted piece tellingly
appeared on the same day on which she proudly
clicked a selfie with the prime minister.
The selfie is a powerful indictment—albeit sym-
bolic—of how those representing television media
and Modi are increasingly framed together. Several
minorities in India—not just Muslims—appear dis-
tant and even marginalised. Those who dare to speak,
are silenced, as even Bollywood actors Shah Rukh
Khan and Amir Khan were, last year.
This frozen image of Muslims as essentially ji-
hadists, is at best a caricature and at worst, a denial of
citizenship rights to India’s largest minority. The edi-
torial push to manufacture a jihadi in the absence of
one conveys a reckless desire to privilege debating for-
mat over content.
Muslims are far more likely to be radicalised be-
cause of the injustices meted out in Malegaon, the Ak-
shardham terror case and in Telengana where five
Muslim youths were shot dead in cold blood last year.
It is difficult to remember when, if at all, electronic or
the print media—barring The Indian Express—inter-
rogated the excesses of the state on the minorities as
a campaign, as was done with reportage on the rape
case in December 2012. The new-age Twitter-driven
television content is based on anger, hate, unreal bi-
naries and banal stereotypes. It is merely re-enforcing
cultural prejudices that now enjoy the ideological
backing of a state that appears to be shaping itself as a
Hindu Rashtra.
—The writer is a senior
television journalist
on the day the lynching had been reported for the first
time in the national media—especially in the back-
drop of the heightened Muslim bashing by rampant
elements of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
E
ven if one were to take a leap of faith and as-
sume that this was a “newsier” peg, Goswami
was not clueless about the nature of the meat.
A window that opens up the television screen has a
quote by Akhlaq’s sister pasted on a graphic plate say-
ing, “It wasn’t beef. It was goat’s meat.”
(http://bit.ly/1SXlv1z) By pitching the story as a “fail-
ure of law and order” Goswami ensured that the dis-
course was focused sharply on the alleged culpability
of the state government—cue enough for the BJP
spokesperson Siddharth Nath Singh to latch on to it
in the course of the show. This, incidentally, became
the party line of the BJP.
Not just Azam Khan, Dutt has been guilty of un-
It is unclear how
NDTV ’s Barkha
Dutt establishes the
link between Azam
Khan, a Muslim
leader from UP, and
Paris killings in
her show.
Dutt has also
been guilty of
unsuccessfully
trying to force-fit
AIMIM chief
Asaduddin Owaisi
into a militant,
even Jihadi, frame.
Editors’ Pick
Sandeep Bhushan

TV Review
Comedy Night Live
apil Sharma and his bi-
weekly show, Comedy Nig-
hts with Kapil, held sway over
TV for three years. Together
with his team of comedians
such as Ali Asgar, Sunil Grover, Chandan Prasad,
Upasana Singh and Kiku Sharda, he led to some
rollicking times on GEC Colors channel, which
was more than elated to have such a show on its
new channel.
However,equationssouredin2015andKapilre-
duced his show to a weekly enterprise. Colors was
forced to bring in a new show called Comedy Nights
Bachao(CNB) to fill the Saturday slot, Sunday being
reserved for Kapil’s show. CNB had comedians such
as Krushna Abhishek, Bharti Singh, Sudesh Lehri,
Mubin,ShakeelSiddiquiandothers.Remotelybased
on the “Roast” genre, the show was a contrast to
Kapil’s show.
Kapil decided to leave the channel in January,
which replaced him with Krushna. But there was
much mud-slinging and washing of dirty linen in
public. While Raj Nayak, CEO of Colors, and
Krushna blamed Kapil for his own misfortune, he
maintained silence even while his manager, Preeti
Simoes, defended him.
H
owever, Krushna has not been able to
avail of the golden opportunity given to
create a brand for himself in the new
show called Comedy Night Live (CNL), which
replaced Comedy Nights with Kapil. Kapil’s humor
was often seen as sexist and misogynist, where he
would poke fun of his on-screen wife’s (Sumona
Chakravarti) lips, and Gutthi and Palak’s ugliness.
Thatwasunderstandableconsideringthattheywere
Sunil Grover and Kiku Sharda in drag. But at least it
madetheaudiencelaughasthejokesweresmartand
had punch. His equation with the star-guests was
also an add-on.
Krushna, in comparison, falls flat as his jokes are
stale and seem to be stolen from Comedy Nights
Bachao. They too mock Bharti’s weight and Sudesh
Lehri’s age. The jokes also have sexual connotations,
afirstforBittuSharma’s“sanskaari”house.Krushna
is unimpressive as Pappu Singh, Bittu’s neighbor.
The only silver lining is Bharti Singh, who is Bittu’s
son and manages to tickle our funny bone.
The moot question is: Do Indians lack humor?
Why do we have jokes about someone’s persona
or body shape? Do we lack the ability to laugh at
ourselves? Krushna, with his limited repertoire
of jokes, has a long way to go if he has to match up
to Kapil, who too was simply putting old wine in
new bottles.
K
While Kapil
Sharma and his
team have
given way to
Krushna
Abhishek and
his brand of
humor,it leaves
a lot to be
desired
BY SONAL GERA
Not a Patch on Kapil
PALE COPY
(Above) Kapil
Sharma’s show
attracted A-list
film stars;
Krushna’s team
fails to infuse
new energy

Divine Tales
show. Believing that there is someone greater and
more powerful than you, who is blameless, makes
one patient, forgiving and grateful.
Belief traces the journey of people when they
find the power within themselves while they
searched for God. Even Osho, when he exclaimed
“Oh, my God! God is dead!” said the following:
“Emptiness always drives people insane. You need
some grounding, you need some centering, and
you need some relationship with existence. God
being dead, all your relationship with existence
was finished. God being dead, you were left alone
without roots. A tree cannot live without roots,
nor can you.”
LL of us go through tough and
traumatic times when we have
either lost a loved one, had crip-
pling accidents or undergone
catharsis. Through all these
twists and turns, we have held on to our beliefs or
found inner strength in God. And it is about these
heart-wrenching times that talk show queen
Oprah Winfrey presents in her new seven-part
series called Belief on Discovery channel.
“My confidence comes from knowing that
there is a force, a power greater than myself that
I am a part of, and is also a part of me. I call that
the presence of God,” said Winfrey during the
A
Oprah Winfrey’s new show, Belief, is about people finding God in
themselves and surmounting life’s problems
BY SHAILAJA PARAMATHMA
TV Review
Belief

Show that it is our stories that connect us.”
The program is cinematically slick, the sound
track is haunting, each shot is studied and the
voice-overs are polished and nuanced. There are
many pauses in the program, which is when the
visuals slow down and the voice-over and sounds
are suspended. This gives a surrealistic feeling to
the viewer who experiences a sensation of float-
ing. The personal experiences of those filmed
touch the heart, though some stories leave one
cold, leaving one wondering why they were fea-
tured in the first place. These stories may be bet-
ter received in India than in the US as we are an
innate spiritual nation and these stories can find
an echo in us.
(Watch Belief on Discovery channel,
every Monday, 9 p.m.)
It is this pining for grounding that is at the
heart of each of the stories in this series. There is
Howard Fallon and his daughter, Shane, who
arrive in Nevada desert for Burning Man, an an-
nual festival on community art and self-expres-
sion, and culminates in the ritual burning of a
large wooden effigy. Howard and Shane are seek-
ing to reconnect and heal after unimaginable per-
sonal loss.
Then, there is Karen Cavanagh, a Catholic
from Slingerlands, New York, who is called to the
Sufi path after a traumatic brain injury. Karen
travels to Konya, Turkey, to combine her
Catholic faith with the practice of becoming a
Whirling Dervish.
There is also Reshma Thakkar, a young In-
dian-American Hindu woman from Chicago,
who travels to the banks of the Ganges for the
Kumbh Mela, and joins millions at the world’s
largest spiritual gathering.
As for Terry Gandadila, he is an aboriginal in
Australia who is nearing death and passes on the
knowledge of his tribe to his grandson.
T
he series has been filmed patiently over
three years and aims to shed light on the
best of religion and cultures around the
world. Winfrey’s team visited six continents and
33 sacred sites, logged more than 1,50,000 miles
of air travel and worked with 26 local crews. They
filmed more than 800 hours of footage to convey
28 deeply illuminating stories. The final product
is a serial of one hour each, where each story gets
15 to 20 minutes of air time.
Winfrey said about the series: “This truly has
been my heart’s work; to be able to share stories
like these that reflect our world and explore hu-
mankind’s ongoing search to connect with some-
thing greater than ourselves.” She further added:
“We made a very conscious decision to use peo-
ple's stories as a divining rod for all of us to see
the divine within the experience and within each
other. I learned from all those years on The Oprah
LEAP OF FAITH
(Above, top and facing
page) Stills from the
show Belief

Film Review
Airlift
T’S a movie that uplifted the au-
diences. Each time a hurdle was
crossed by the protagonist, Ranjit
Katyal(AkshayKumar),inAirlift,
theaudiencecheeredandclapped
triumphantly, showing it had grabbed people’s
imaginations and hearts. In that sense, Airlift was
an apt name to give to a movie about Kuwait inva-
sion’s by Iraq way back in 1990.
Now, why would an evacuation that took place
26yearsback,beripematerialforamovie?Simply
because the audience needed to be told that hero-
ism is not dead. Simply because wars and the scale
theycan bedepicted oncelluloid are cinematically
challenging. Simply because it had action hero
AkshayKumarinanewavatar,completewithgrey
beardandempatheticsoul.Also,despitethedown-
turns, people still need tobelieve there isgoodness
and selflessness in helping others despite the risk
to one’s life. Based on the true life story of Math-
unny Mathews, a Malayali entrepreneur, who co-
ordinated the 1990 evacuation of Indians from
Kuwait, it has an emotional core which has found
resonance among audiences everywhere.
Asexpected,Airlift issetinKuwaitandsetsthe
tone by a seductive belly dance where a lithe Ak-
shay sways to the rhythms of the Arabian night.
Now, Akshay is not my favorite star, so I was skep-
tical of this movie. But I was pleasantly surprised
toseethesensitivityandheroismhebroughttohis
role as a successful businessman, who takes on the
role of ferrying 1.7 lakh trapped Indians out the
I
The evacuation of 1.7 lakh
Indians from Kuwait
during the Gulf War is ripe
stuff for a film and Airlift
does ample justice to it
BY SHOBHA JOHN
As the hungry
and tired people
see the Tricolor
unfurling in
Amman, there is
relief and joy on
their weary faces,
bringing a lump
to one’s throat.
One begins to
understand the
uniqueness of
being Indian.
This is lost in
today’s times.
Uplifting
and Heroic!

AIRLIFT
Director:RajaKrishnaMenon
Cast: AkshayKumar,NimratKaur,
FerynaWazheir,PurabKohli
Rating:
warzone,despiteinitialresistancefromhisspirited
wife,ablyplayedbyNimratKaurasAmritaKatyal.
T
he movie moves swiftly to Iraq’s takeover
of Kuwait as teenaged boys are seen loot-
ing and plundering with impunity. The
fearandhorrorisseenasRanjitiswaylaidbyIraq’s
Republican Army soldiers as he travels in his
Phantom. Before his stunned eyes, his driver is
shot dead. The realization slowly dawns on him
that he and other hapless Indians have been left in
thelurchbyeveryoneinauthority.Ashetakescon-
trol of the situation and shepherds numerous In-
dianswhoseekthesanctuaryofhisoffice,whatwe
see is a heroism rarely seen these days. After all,
who would fight to save the sole Kuwaiti woman
in this crowd at the risk of losing one’s life?
Nimrat Kaur plays the role of a wife who
doesn’twanttobepartofthe riff-raff who are flee-
ingandisskepticalofherhusband’sgenerosityand
concern for others in the face of approaching dan-
ger.Butshedoesavolte-face whenheisharangued
by tired Indians and puts up a sturdy defense of
him. A fine actress with a likeable squint.
However, the scale of this war doesn’t come
through. Scenes of the burning of numerous oil
fields, the plunder, murder and decimation of a
thriving economy are too short-lived to make an
impact. This writer had numerous relatives who
fled Kuwait in 1990 and the horror of their flight
is missing on celluloid. The looting was so severe
thateventamarind(usedforfishcurryandastaple
in any Malayalee home) kept in ceramic jars was
lootedbysoldierswholittleknewwhatitwasused
for. The crumbling of their successful lives, the
Mercs and Bentleys they had to leave behind and
the quick dissolution of the Kuwaiti dinar doesn’t
come through completely.
But these deficiencies are more than made up
byacastthatfitstheirroleslikeaglove.Prominent
among them is sulky George (played by Prakash
Belawadi), one of the fleeing Indians, who con-
stantlyhecklesRanjitaboutdeficienciesinthetem-
porary camps where they are housed, till in the
end, he too grudgingly admires the businessman’s
verve and courage in getting the Indians to safety
in Amman, Jordan. From there, the largest evacu-
ation in the world takes place as the Indian gov-
ernment, Indian Airlines and Air India move 488
flights to bring home our nationals.
One moving moment is when a huge Indian
flag comes up at Amman airport where the
papers of Indians will be processed. As the hungry
andtiredpeoplewhohavegonethroughhelltoget
there see the Tricolor unfurling, there is relief and
joy on their weary faces, bringing a lump to
one’sthroat.Onebeginstounderstandtheunique-
ness of being Indian, be it Hindu, Muslim, Chris-
tian, Parsi or Sikh. This is lost in today’s times.
Throughout the film, Iraq and Saddam’s soft-
ness for Indians is brought out and one begins to
appreciate the friendly ties India has with varied
countries, which has often come in good stead
during troubled times. The Ministry of External
Affairshashadreservationsaboutpartsofthefilm,
but then, cinematic license is allowed, isn’t it?
There were moments of laughter for Malay-
alees in the audience as their language was spoken
by characters with its typical wry humor. When
George’sdaughtertellshimtoshutup,theaudience
cheers her silently.
In the end, what stays with the audience is that
innategoodnessandpositivitywillalwaystriumph
in the cesspool of selfishness, corruption and vio-
lence. And that’s why one should watch Airlift. It
leaves one feeling good about oneself and one’s
country. Chak De India!
WANTON DESTRUCTION
Kuwaiti oil fields burning
during the Gulf War in 1990

OW many farmers
eat the food they
grow? You will be
surprised that many
do not. They know
that it is loaded with
pesticides and other formulations that go into
chemical fertilizers. When I set out to make a film
called The Slow Poisoning of India on how pesti-
cides got into our breakfast, lunch and dinner, I
met a far-mer in Patiala who said he had become
an organic farmer at a meeting organized to per-
suade farmers to switch to this type of farming.
When I asked him how much land his huge joint
family owned, he said: “100 acres.” I asked him
how many acres were now demarcated for organic
H
Organic food is
catching on and
should be
propagated for
our own
well-being and
health as
chemical
fertilizers often
lead to cancer
and other
dangerous
ailments
BY RAMESH MENON
A Pot
Full of
Health
SAY NOTOTOXIC FOOD
The organic market
organised by CSE in
New Delhi recently
received an
overwhelming
response
Agriculture
Organic Food

farming. His answer: “Two acres.” I was incredu-
lous. He later explained that two acres were more
than enough to meet the needs of his family. The
remaining 98 acres where chemicals were used
was for the market! This is the reality of India. It
is not only the largest producer of pesticides in the
world, it is also the largest consumer.
It was, therefore, heartening to see the enthu-
siastic response to an initiative of the Centre for
Science and Environment (CSE) which organ-
ized an Organic Farmers’ Market in the capital
recently. Not surprising as our food markets are
full of toxic food. People came in hordes to the
Organic Farmers’ Market not just to buy vegeta-
bles, fruits and pulses, but also to taste various
organic food recipes. Millets, which are a rich
People can
easily use
all the
biodegradable
waste from
the kitchen to
rustle up
organic
fertilizer. It
produces
better results
than chemical
variants. It is
amazing how
nature’s
microbes have
answers to
getting rid
of waste.
Photos: Anil Shakya

source of nutrients, much more than rice and
wheat, have almost gone out of our food chain.
Many were seen savoring millet salad at one of
the food stalls.
Nutritionist Ishi Khosla said a simple method
could be used to ensure that one eats the right in-
gredients. “If one divides the plate in two halves,
one half should consist of only fruits and vegeta-
bles,” she said.
GOOD CLEAN FOOD
Sunita Narain, the director-general of CSE, said
that she was overwhelmed with the response as it
showed that Delhiites had realized the impor-
tance of good clean food and they were ready to
support the movement to grow chemical-free
food. Chandra Bhushan, CSE’s deputy director,
said that more such meets would be held now to
increase the interface between organic farmers
and consumers.
Visitors also learnt how to easily grow organic
vegetables in small earthen pots and baskets.
Eager enthusiasts and school children crowded
around a stall called Edible Routes, a unique en-
terprise run by Kapil Mandawewala and his team
on how to grow organic vegetables on rooftops
and limited spaces that Delhiites have. They can
“I forayed into
bio-dynamic
farming in my 10
acres at Tijara,
near Alwar in
Rajasthan. I grow
vegetables,
cereals, pulses,
oilseeds and
other foods.”
— Sneh Yadav
“I switched to
chemical-free
farming after a bad
experience. I am not
making great money,
but feel happy for not
growing poison.”
— Renuka Mann
Agriculture
Organic Food

tor, we should have a trusted family farmer who
will deliver us healthy and tasty food.
Karnal-based Renuka Mann has been farming
for over 20 years. Once she got her chickpea cul-
tivation sprayed with chemicals, harvested it and
made a meal of it. “It tasted so awful. That is when
I decided to switch to chemical-free farming. I
may not be making great money, but I feel happy
that I am not cultivating poison,” she said.
In her seven-acre farm, she grows pulses, rice
and wheat and says that more and more people
will switch to chemical-free food in the years
to come.
easily use all the biodegradable waste from the
kitchen to rustle up organic fertilizer that pro-
duces better results than the chemical variants.
There was a stall selling canisters called
kitchen waste composters where buyers were
taught to dump kitchen waste into it and cover it
with a thin layer of soil every day. However, gin-
ger, garlic and onion peels are a no-no in this. It
is quite amazing how nature’s microbes have an-
swers to getting rid of waste without letting it pu-
trefy and raise a health hazard.
One of the stalls is of Daily Dump, a company
started by Poonam Bir Kasturi over nine years
ago. It claims it has got customers who change
their waste into compost, keeping out nearly
15,000 kilos of waste out of overcrowded landfills.
TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE
Umendra Dutt who runs Kheti Virasat Mission,
an NGO that has worked for over a decade
spreading the message of organic farming in Pun-
jab, said that we need to rewrite our current agri-
cultural practices that are solely dictated by
scientists and economists. We need to revive tra-
ditional knowledge that is safe and healthy. He
said that just as all of us have a trusted family doc-
“We need to rewrite our current
agricultural practices solely
dictated by scientists and
economists.”
— Umendra Dutt, executive director,
Kheti Virasat Mission
“Delhiites have
realized the
importance of
good clean food
and they are
supporting
organic food.”
— Sunita Narain,
Director General, CSE

When Sneh Yadav completed her post-grad-
uation in plant genetics in 1986, she dived into
her passion for farming. But it was only six years
ago that she started bio-dynamic
farming in her 10 acres at Tijara,
near Alwar in Rajasthan, where she
grew spinach, carrot, turmeric, mint,
vegetables, cereals, pulses and
oilseeds.
UNIQUE METHOD
Bio-dynamic farming,
incidentally, considers
the entire farm and
its livestock as one
unit. So, if one unit
is disturbed or sick,
the entire farm will
be affected. Even
cows and chickens in
the farm have to be kept
healthy, she says. “Our farm
attracts a lot of birds who are
naturally attracted to our
pesticide-free farms,” she
said proudly. It is clear that her farm is her life.
Gaurav Yadav, a farmer from Rewari in
Haryana, who was selling fresh organic milk
which people eagerly lapped up, ended up giving
the last few bottles to us as free samples for tast-
ing. He has a farm with 140 cows which give
around 800 liters a day. “There is a growing de-
mand for organic milk as there is so much adul-
teration and chemical content that comes from
the food cycle,” he said.
Experts at the National Cancer Institute in the
US say that the rising incidence of Non-Hodgkin’s
Lymphoma, a form of cancer, is due to the in-
creased use of organophosphate pesticides, phe-
noxy herbicides and the cumulative effects of
these pollutants on the human system. Phenoxy
herbicides are sprayed on weeds to make them
grow so rapidly that the growth kills them.
The West has now seen the links and effects
of pesticides leading to cancer. This has led to
stringent regulations. This is yet to happen in
India as the political class does not even see this
as a priority. Organic food can become a daily
habit only when people realize why it is important
for them and their children.
FOOD FORTHOUGHT
(Clockwise from above)
Various organic food
recipes, vegetables and
fruits were displayed at the
market; Gaurav Yadav who
sells organic milk finds the
demand rising
Agriculture
Organic Food

Kher fumes,Twitter laughs
Social media users had a field
day when controversy
erupted over veteran actor Anu-
pam Kher being denied a visa to
travel across the border for the
Karachi literary festival. While
Kher insisted the organizers ap-
plied for a visa on his behalf and
complained he had been red-
flagged, the Pakistan High Com-
mission said the actor had not
submitted any visa application.
While one Twitter user quipped:
“Anupam Kher got the Padma
without applying for it, he
thought procedure for a Pak-
istani visa is similarly done !!!”
Another wondered: “Who knew
Anupam Kher would be the
bone of contention between
India and Pakistan one day.” The
matter became a joke
Facebook now more meaningful
According to a blog post, Facebook has now
started relying on user feedback to help it deliver
a more meaningful news feed experience to its 1.6
billion users. The changes come from a survey
feedback Facebook has received from a focus
group of over 1,000 users who were asked to rate
their experience on the site.
The updated algorithm will weigh the level of en-
gagement on a post as well as the likelihood a user
may want to see it at the top of their feed.
Web Crawler What Went Viral
Thanks to the initiative of an unknown pho-
tographer and a Norwegian web developer,
an online crowd funding campaign has helped
secure the future of a Syrian refugee family.
The photographs of Syrian refugee Abdul
Halim Al-Attar, in which he, along with his
daughter, is seen selling pens to earn money,
went viral, with many wishing to help them in
their struggle.
Shedding light on the plight of the Syrian
refugees, the heartbreaking pictures were
taken in Beirut and have since caused an
outpouring of donations via a crowd funding
campaign, launched by activist Gissur Si-
monarso. Nearly two hundred thousand dollars
have been raised.
Crowd funding
helps Syrian
refugee
No nudes for
Iranian prez
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani
was on an official visit to Rome.
During the trip, he visited the Capi-
toline Museum, and nude statues
were covered as a sign of respect
to the head of the Islamic Republic
of Iran.
While some Iranians responded
with humor and sarcasm on social
media, several other Iranians re-
portedly expressed anger at Italy's
“strange move” and blamed the
Iranian authorities for it.
During the visit, contracts worth
around €17bn ($18.4bn; £12bn)
were signed between Iranian and
Italian companies. The covering up
did prove to be beneficial for some-
one at least!
—Compiled by
Sucheta Dasgupta & Sonal Gera
Feverish support for US presidential candidate
Bernie Sanders has propelled him into
a neck-and-neck race with fellow Democrat
Hillary Clinton, but some say that it has turned
aggressive and abusive.
After the January 25 Democratic town hall
forum, Emily Nussbaum, TV critic for the New
Yorker, tweeted some positive feedback for
Clinton. But half an hour later, she followed
up with: “Man, the Feel The Bern crew is such a
drag. Say anything pro-Hil & they yell ‘b****’ &
‘psycho’. V idealistic!”
Even supporters
“feel the Bern”

Media Monitoring Ministries
TMM Survey
Whether it was the Pathankot attack, suicide of research scholar Rohith
Vemula or the constitutional crisis in Arunachal… the Indian media
accorded prime importance to these happenings. And in the process, the
concerned ministries got into the frame. Not left out were
ministers who head the ministries.There was a clamor to get their
reactions. A TMM report on the issues, the ministries as well as ministers
that hit the headlines from January 15-30, 2016.
Ministries in Limelight

Ministriescoveredbyelectronicmedia
15%
Home (Pathankot terror attack
and Arunachal Pradesh crisis)
Railway (Mahanama Express)
External Affairs (France president
Francois Hollande’s India visit,
Rafale deal)
Human Resource
Development (Rohith
Vemula’s suicide, Minority
status of AMU and Jamia
Millia Islamia)
Urban Development (Smart City)
13%
Other news
3%
11.20%
3%
54.80%
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Numberoftimes
Ministriescoveredbyprintmedia
HRD Ministry (Rohith Vemula suicide)
Home Ministry (Pathankot attack)
Railway Ministry (Mahanama Express)
Urban Development Ministry (smart city)
External Affairs (Hollande visit, Rafale deal)
Unionministersgivenmaximumcoverageacrossmediaplatforms
Sushma Swaraj
External Affairs
Smriti Irani
HRD
Suresh Prabhu
Railways
Kiren Rijiju and
Rajnath Singh
MoS, Home and
Home Minister
Facebook (47 posts;
1,753 shares), Twitter
(by the ministry: 40; by
the minister: 20)
Facebook (16 posts;
240 shares), Twitter
(by the ministry: 15; by
the minister: 20)
Facebook (2 posts;
0 share), Twitter (by the
ministry: 124; by the
minister: 44)
Facebook (2 posts;
6 shares), Twitter (by
the ministry: 25; by the
minister: 30)
Ministries/ministersliveonsocialmedia
Facebook (3 posts;
11 shares), Twitter (by
the ministry: 25; by the
minister: 22)
M Venkaiah Naidu
Urban Development

NEWSDATE NEWS CHANNEL TIME
21/1/16
21/1/16
22/1/16
22/1/16
22/1/16
25/1/16
BSFkillsthreesuspectsinPathankot
tryingtoinfiltrate.
HyderabadUniversityissuesstate-
ment;endsstudents’suspension
withimmediateeffect.
Freedom of expression is a joke.We are in
a tough country and to speak about one's
personal life in today's time can land you
in jail: Karan Johar at Jaipur lit fest.
NIAandATSraidmanylocationsin
India,arrestISISsuspects;twoarrested
inKarnataka.
25/1/16
3.37 PM3.36 PM3.35 PM
10:16 AM10:15 AM
10:15 AM 10:20 AM
11:06 AM 11:06 AM
10:31 AM 10:33 AM
10:18AM
3.37 PM
10:18 AM 10:18 AM 10:20 AM 10:22 AM
21/1/16
TenprofessorsofHyderabadUniversity
resignfromtheiradministrativeposts
protestingRohithVemula’ssuicide.
8.45 AM 9.20 AM8.50 AM 8.51 AM
NarendraModiarrivesatLucknow
University’sConvocationamid“Modi
WaapasJao”slogans.
3:15 PM 3:16 PM 3:16 PM 3:16 PM
DhirubhaiAmbanitogetPadma
Vibhushan;AnupamKherconferred
PadmaBhushan.Padmaawardsfor
RamojiRao,Rajnikant. 2:41 PM2:40 PM 2:42 PM 2:42 PM
FrenchPresidentHollandeonIndiavisit;
doesametroridewithModitoGurgaon.
3:49 PM3:40 PM 3:42 PM

Here are some of the major news items aired on television
channels, recorded by our unique 24x7 dedicated media
monitoring unit that scrutinizes more than 130 TV channels in
different Indian languages and looks at who breaks the news first.
DATE NEWS CHANNEL TIME
NEWS
28/1/16
28/1/16
28/1/16
2/2/16
MCDworkersstagedemonstration
outsidedeputyCMManishSisodia’s
residence;throwgarbage.Agitated
oversalaryissue. 10:30 AM 10:31 AM 10:32 AM 10:34 AM
10:39 AM 10:39 AM
SanjayMisraappointedUP’snew
Lokayukta.SupremeCourt’srulinginthe
matter,recallsitsorderofappointing
VirendraSingh. 10:39 AM 10:40 AM
AirliftgiventaxfreestatusinUP.
11:41 AM 11:42 AM 11:43 AM11:40 AM
4:00 PM 4:01 PM 4:02 PM 4:02 PM
11:05 AM
Delhipolice,studentsofLeftparties,spar.
StudentsagitatingoverVemulasuicide.
30/1/16
KolkataHighCourtgivesitsjudgmentin
Kamdunigangrape.Threegetdeathsen-
tence,threelifesentence.Thehorrifying
incidenttookplaceonJune7,2013.
30/1/16
MCDincreasestolltaxwitheffectfrom
February1.Taxistoshellout`100;big
truckstogive1,200.
11:05 AM11:00 AM 11:05 AM
30/1/16 RahulGandhireachesHyderabad;joins
protestersintheirhungerstrike.
10:30 AM9:42 AM
29/1/16
IndiabeatsAustraliaby27runs;leadsby
2-0inthree-matchseries.ViratKohliman
ofthematch. 5.35 PM 5.36 PM5.34 PM
9:42 AM
5.35 PM
9:41 AM
9:24 AM9:23 AM 9:23 AM9:23 AM

DESIGNSTHATMADEIMAGINATIVE
USEOFPHOTOGRAPHS,FONTS,
COLORANDWHITESPACESTO
LEAVEANIMPRESSION
By ANTHONY LAWRENCE
Design
The mindless regional strife between Saudi Arabia
and Iran is brilliantly depicted in this illustration.
Notice the Statue of Liberty looking perplexed as
part of an audience even as Trump and other
presidential wannabes take belligerent poses in
the election arena.
Is Kim Jong-un, the supreme leader of North Korea, as
naive as depicted on the cover of The New Yorker?
Surely he would know the implications of playing with
these deadly missiles!

In artist Thierry Mutin’s imagination, this is the future of
mankind, overpowered by machines. The artworks are
on display in Besharat galleries in Atlanta, the US, and
Barbizon, France.
Music is soul-
inspiring, and
artist Jaume
Plensa in his
installation in
Paris has
depicted it quite
literally.
Why let any space go waste? An artist
uses tree stems to paint animal figures,
in Chongqing, China.

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