Views On News 22 march 2016

BRAND AMBASSADORS
VIEWSONNEWSMARCH 22, 2016 `50
THE CRITICAL EYE
www.viewsonnewsonline.com
AAP Ka
Punjab?50
Is the Rail Budget
on track?46
Why the economy needs
stimulation 42
Do TheyMatter?EDITORIAL:
What media missed in the
Jat revolt coverage 04
Governance Section
Sanjay Dutt’s
appointment as
the face of
New Delhi
Municipal Council
will change the
capital’s
image
How do celebrity
endorsements
alter public
perceptions? 12
Amitabh
Priyanka
Aamir

THE INDIAN ARMY, at a time when other institutions
of the state are coming into disrepute, remains a
credible and trusted symbol of nationhood. The uni-
form inspires confidence, a sense of security, a feel-
ing of pride. And one of this country’s proudest
boasts has been that notwithstanding internal tur-
moil and periods of political instability which have
bubbled over every now and then, the Army has re-
mained steadfastly apolitical, neutral and respectful
to the constitution and civil authority.
That is how it should be. That is why India is no
banana republic. That is why India is not Pakistan.
But in times of internal crises such as Kashmir, or
the North East, or Punjab in the 1980s, the Army
has been asked to help restore law and order within
the boundaries of the union. This is a distasteful task
for the Army whose soldiers, after all, are drawn
from towns and villages of their own country.
Field Marshal Sam
Manekshaw repeatedly told
the Indian prime minister
that the Army’s job was to
protect borders and fron-
tiers and fight for the na-
tion’s interests abroad, if
the need arose, and not to
train guns on its own civil-
ians. General Krish-
naswamy Sundarji—even
though Operation Bluestar
happened under him—also
felt equally strongly about
the use of the Indian Army
to pull the civilian admin-
stration’s chestnuts out of
the fire whenever the police
was unable to deal with an
internal law-and-order situation.
But whenever the Army is used in these circum-
stances, the civil authorities must be extra vigilant
in ensuring that all necessary steps and logistical
preparations are taken to ensure that the Army’s in-
tegrity, reputation and safety are not jeopardized. As
a highly decorated lieutenant general recently com-
mented in a blogpost to friends: “The Army is a na-
tion’s instrument of last resort. It’s the ‘final
argument of kings’. If it fails the nation has nothing
to fall back on. Consequently, the nation has to en-
sure that it is maintained and employed to deliver
when all else fails.”
The law requires certain processes to be fol-
lowed when requisitioning the Army “for aid to civil
authority” to tackle lawlessness or natural disasters.
Very broadly, the district administration sends a re-
quest to the state chief secretary who conveys it to
Delhi and the Ministry of Defense passes on the in-
structions to the Army chief for implementation at
the appropriate command level, authorizing deploy-
ment of troops to the affected area.
All this has to be in writing and even after the
Army units reach ground zero, they must receive
proper permission from the local civilian adminis-
trator—the district magistrate or sub-divisional mag-
istrate—for further movement and action.
W
hat happened during the recent Jat agita-
tion is nothing short of a horror story in
which the Army was seriously hampered
in its duties by disgraceful babugiri. The incident has
been ignored by the media. It has been brought to
my notice through sources privy to a letter written
by a general. It was obvious that the utterly politi-
cized and compromised state administrations of
Haryana and Punjab were incapable of handling the
Horror Story the Media
Missed during Haryana
Jat Agitation
EDITOR’SNOTE
4 VIEWS ON NEWS March 22, 2016

spreading, violent Jat agitation. Having abdicated
their responsibility, the states called out the Army—
which was bad enough. But what follows was
worse. The general reports:
“Having called out the Army it failed to hand over
restoring the situation to the Army by the requisite
expedient of not executing the legal provisions for
doing so. Here was a situation, when leave aside
clearing the road blocks, the Army was unable to
move its own vehicle columns to the affected areas
and employed helicopters to so.”
The law also provides that a designated magis-
trate has to sign and hand over the situation to be
restored and the Army having done that hands back
the reins to the civil administration. The magistrate
has to be present on the spot to assess normalcy
and restore civilian administration. In short, the
Army does not come out on its own and nor does it
act on its own to restore law and order.
But in this case, strange as it may sound, even
though the Army was sent to the main trouble spot
the local administration refused to or was ordered
not to execute a “formal handing over” to the Army.
This was a horrifying Catch-22 situation for the
Army. As the general puts it: “Seeing the lumpen
mobs vandalizing public and private property and
the State unwilling to ‘ hand over’ to the Army, a sol-
dier on the spot would well ask why was he there if
he was not to be employed for the purpose for
which he was deployed? The military legal system
binds a soldier to obey a ‘lawful command’. Seeing
mobs on the rampage and the civil administration
unwilling to hand over the situation to the Army may
be interpreted as an ‘unlawful command’ by the des-
ignated civil authority prompting the military com-
mander on the spot to act to execute a ‘lawful
command’ without the formal handing over by the
magistrate.”
In this conundrum would the soldier have “taken
the law into his own hands” or would he have abided
by the law? Perhaps the courts of the land will ad-
judicate on this aspect one day.
“Resultantly, the Army columns carried placards
to so as to distinguish them from the paramilitary.
Implying therefore that the columns were not from
the paramilitary with its known inability and ineffec-
tiveness. Having done that the Army too was made
ineffective by political and legal jugglery,” says the
General.
What a mess our politicians make.
The Army’s job is to protect
borders and frontiers and fight for
the nation’s interests abroad, if the
need arises, and not to train guns
on its own civilians.
NO CLEAR
COMMAND
(Above) Army
conducting a
flag march to
control
rampaging
mobs in Jind,
Haryana, in
the wake of
violence during
the Jat
reservation stir
5VIEWS ON NEWS March 22, 2016

C O NLEDE
Sanjay’s Cleanliness Campaign
Following in the footsteps of other Bollywood stars, Sanjay Dutt is all
set to become the brand ambassador of New Delhi’s Swachh Bharat
Abhiyan. SONAL GERA
Editor
Rajshri Rai
Managing Editor
Ramesh Menon
Deputy Managing Editor
Shobha John
Executive Editor
Ajith Pillai
Associate Editors
Meha Mathur, Sucheta Dasgupta
Deputy Editor
Prabir Biswas
Art Director
Anthony Lawrence
Deputy Art Editor
Amitava Sen
Graphic Designers
Ram Lagan, Lalit Khitoliya
Photographer
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
OWNEDBYE.N.COMMUNICATIONSPVT.LTD.
NOIDAHEADOFFICE: A-9,Sector-68,GautamBuddhNagar,NOIDA(U.P.) -201309
Phone:+91-0120-2471400-6127900;FFax:+91-0120-2471411
e-mail:editor@viewsonnewsonline.com,wwebsite:www.viewsonnewsonline.com
MUMBAI:ArshieComplex,B-3&B4,YariRoad,Versova,Andheri,Mumbai-400058
RANCHI:HouseNo.130/C,VidyalayaMarg,Ashoknagar,Ranchi-834002.
LUCKNOW:Firstfloor,21/32,A,WestView,TilakMarg,Hazratganj,Lucknow-226001.
ALLAHABAD:LeaderPress,9-A, EdmonstonRoad,CivilLines,Allahabad-211001.
For advertising & subscription queries
r.stiwari@yahoo.com
VOLUME. IX ISSUE. 12
PublishedbyProfBaldevRajGuptaonbehalfofENCommunicationsPvtLtd
andprintedatAmarUjalaPublicationsLtd.,C-21&22,Sector-59,Noida.All
rightsreserved.Reproductionortranslationinanylanguageinwholeorin
partwithoutpermissionisprohibited.Requestsfor
permissionshouldbedirectedtoENCommunicationsPvtLtd.Opinionsof
writersinthemagazinearenotnecessarilyendorsedbyENCommunica-
tionsPvtLtd.ThePublisherassumesnoresponsibilityforthereturnof
unsolicitedmaterialorformateriallostordamagedintransit.All
correspondenceshouldbeaddressedtoENCommunicationsPvtLtd.
Chief Editorial Advisor
Inderjit Badhwar
CFO
Anand Raj Singh
VP (HR & General Administration)
Lokesh C Sharma
Circulation Manager
RS Tiwari
12
ADVERTISING
Deconstructing Brand India
Our ads reflect who we are, but they are also powerful tools to
shape our thinking and priorities. KRISH WARRIER
16

The diva of Indian classical music,
Shubha Mudgal, and her husband, tabla
virtuoso Aneesh Pradhan, share their
musical journeys. KRISH WARRIER
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.........................19
Web Crawler....................................32
TMM Research..............................36
Breaking News...............................38
Design Review................................40
Vonderful English............................54
Maestro and
Her Muse
26
The media has made JNU student leader
Kanhaiya Kumar into a hero, forgetting
that it often creates hype and
counter-hype and ignores balance and
fairness. INDERJIT BADHWAR
SPOTLIGHT
23
24
Whoever wins the polls in the US,
economic ties with major world powers
are bound to change significantly. Does
India stand to lose or gain from the
change of guard? ELENA ULANSKY
AllEyesonAmerica
GLOBAL TRENDS
INTERVIEW
My Best Friend’s
Wedding
A unique show on NDTV Good Times
showcases the drama and delight of
Indian shaadis. SHAILAJA
PARAMATHMA
TV REVIEW
34
30
Cover design: Anthony Lawrence
42
46
50
Budget 2016 was not predictable,
but it wasn’t bold either.You couldn’t
tell if it had the stamp of the NDA or
the UPA on it. RAJENDRA BAJPAI
Aligarh is a sensitive
portrayal of gay
professor SR Siras’
life and leaves
behind a powerful
message for Indian
society.
TITHI MUKHERJEE
Media’sFlip-Flop
ASafeBudget
Suresh Prabhu’s rail budget comprises
only cosmetic changes which don’t
address the basic problem—transport.
SATYA PRAKASH
NothingSolid
Poor governance and corruption
have led to the emergence of a
three-cornered contest in the 2017
assembly elections. VIPIN PUBBY
TriangularFight
FILM REVIEW
20
After rebuffing nominees by a“particular
politician”, the news agency has decided
to form a panel to select its new editor.
SIDDHARTH VARADARAJAN
AutonomousPTI
EDITORS’ PICK
Forbidden
Longings

Grapevine
The Mehbooba Mufti-
Ram Madhav meet-
ing in Srinagar was to be
kept a secret, but for for-
mer chief minister Omar
Abdullah whose smart
phone has a flight tracker
app. He tweeted, on Feb-
ruary 17: “Unscheduled
flight VT JSG just landed
in Srinagar after normal
operating hours. Some-
thing is cooking with the
PDP-BJP government
formation.” This alert
sent the media hotfoot-
ing to Mehbooba’s resi-
dence, and the cat was
out of the bag. Omar
tweeted again: “Now we
know what was in the
charted flight.” It’s amaz-
ing what the occasional
alert on a flight tracker
app can reveal. Next
time fly under the radar.
FlightTracker
If there is a best count-
ing award, it would
surely go to Rajasthan
BJP MLA Gyandev
Ahuja. In a bizarre
statement, he has alleged
that hundreds of bottles
of liquor and 3,000
condoms are used on the
Jawaharlal Nehru Uni-
versity (JNU) campus
every day. The “mathe-
matical genius” has also
accounted for 50,000
pieces of bones, 500
used “abortion injec-
tions” and 10,000
cigarettes used on the
JNU campus where
“girls and boys dance
naked at cultural
programs”.
Interestingly, Ahuja
was earlier in the dock
for making derogatory
remarks against RaGa.
If the buzz is to be be-
lieved, there is concern in
certain circles over the like-
lihood of the Supreme
Court upholding an order
making Times Now liable to
pay damages worth ` 100
crore, after being sued by
Justice (retired) PB Sawant.
The channel had erro-
neously shown Justice
Sawant’s picture in connec-
tion with the PF scam. The
Supreme Court had earlier
declined to relax the Bom-
bay High Court order ask-
ing the channel to deposit
`20 crore in cash and bank
guarantee of `80 crore to it
as damages sought by the
judge. The nation wants to
know “what now”?
DefamationCosts
MasterOfBizarre

V-Cs@school
Around 42 vice-chan-
cellors of central
universities assembled
in Surajkund for a meet-
ing with HRD Minister
Smriti Irani last month.
Irani started off with a
30-minute monologue,
telling them plainly to
get out of their “com-
fortable cocoons” and do
what they are supposed
to, and not waste the tax
payers’ money. “Do not
enjoy this as a fully tax-
free paid holiday,” she
stated. She wanted to
know how many times
they visited their respec-
tive universities. “Don’t
become V-Cs just to get
a lal batti (red light) on
top of your car,” she
thundered. After the
tirade, during the UGC
Chairman’s relatively
calmer speech, a few
V-Cs were seen enjoying
a few winks of respite, at
which the minister
reprimanded: “How can
you doze off in the midst
of an important
meeting?” Another
official, who attempted
to click pictures on his
phone, was ordered to
leave the room. That
day, the V-Cs realized
what it meant to be in a
classroom and why
students looked so
happy when the class
bell rang!
—Illustrations: UdayShankar
—Compiled by Roshni Seth
SingAPraiseContest
Even as the heat on
JNU was in full
swing, P Nagarajan of
the AIADMK invoked
the beloved “Puratchi
Thalaivi Amma” 25
times during a short
speech. It was Amma’s
68th birthday that
day. The gossip was
that the aim was to
take Amma’s name 68
times in the short
duration. That cer-
tainly did not
happen, or the Guin-
ness Book people
would have been
knocking on the doors
of parliament...
EmptyHouses
Self-eulogizing is being
taken to newer
heights in Goa. The
state’s information &
publicity department is
organizing a competition
of “songs based on the
achievements of the pres-
ent government and em-
phasizing the schemes
implemented by this gov-
ernment for the welfare
of the state.” The compe-
tition is on March 8 in
Panaji, and the best
singer stand to gain
`25,000. Crowd sourcing
is not a bad idea after all!
Ammatime
The afternoon
of 26 Febru-
ary (Friday) saw a
sorry sight in
both houses of
parliament. The
Rajya Sabha was
so empty that it
had to be ad-
journed till Mon-
day for lack of
quorum.
Journos
trooped to
Lok Sabha to
see MP Jaya
Panda de-
fending the
rights of
transgenders
in an empty
house that
barely met the
quorum. Are we
taxpayers fund-
ing early week-
ends for our
honourable MPs
along with the
numerous breaks
when they man-
age to shout
down the house?
After rosogolla,
the West
Bengal
government is
planning to get
Geographical
Identification
(GI) for four tra-
ditional Bengali
sweets to save
their identity
and avoid any fu-
ture troubles with
Orissa over them.
These include
Jainagar-er moa,
the sarpuria of
Krishnanagar, the
sitabhog and the
mihidana. Next in
line might be
langcha, cham-
cham-
cham, jalbhara,
channabara and
therasakadamba.
These are all
indeed drool
worthy as
anybody who
visited the Mishti
Mela held in
Malda would
vouch for: Sweet
nothings from
Didi’s yard!
SweetNothings

“Students the world over are pretty alike. They
buck the system, challenge the status quo, ask
uncomfortable questions, detest authority, love
protests... so? Perhaps the aggressive lawyers, netas
and cops who spearheaded this ugly confrontation
had convenient amnesia about their own youth,
and those rebellious college years.”
— Writer and columnist Shobhaa De on the
JNU row, in The Times Of India
U O T E S
Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi
chief minister
My car attacked with sticks, stones
in Ludhiana. Front glass pane
broken. Badals n congress nervous?
They can't break my spirits.
Shekhar Gupta,
senior journalist
This the most political budget
speech in yrs yet.Tone echoes a
hard Agro-povertarian swing.The
govt seems losing nerve early
#Budget2016.
Rajdeep Sardesai,
Consulting Editor,
India Today
Sensex posts biggest rise in single
day in seven years! No one likes to
be called anti national: not the
sensex for sure!!
Subramanian Swamy,
BJP leader
IftheAGdoesnotfileContempt
PetitionagainstPConIshratissue
thenIwill.PChadtriedtoframe
NamoandAmitji.Henceintolerable.
Shekhar Kapur,
film director
LessonsofLife:Whentheheartis
restlessandinconflictwiththemind.
Listentoyourheart.Itknowsufar
farbetterthanthemind.
Suhasini Haidar,
diplomatic editor,
The Hindu
Hindi Chini Bhai Bhai says Li
Zhaoxing #Raisina. *Awkward
silence and feeble applause*
Sachin Kalbag,
RE-Mumbai, The Hindu
My Twitter timeline tells me it is
Shahid Afridi's birthday. Looks like
he's finally turned 19.
“Sixty nine per cent of the country do
not believe in your ideology. Even the
31 per cent who voted for you were
fooled by your jumla. We Indians
forget easily but we still remember
all the ‘jumla’ used during election
campaign.”
— JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar, hitting
out at PM Modi during his comeback speech at
JNU after his bail
“The Prime Minister just has to listen to
the message, listen to those around you,
listen to Rajnath Singhji, listen to
Advaniji, listen to Sushma Swarajji, listen
to your MPs, listen to us across the aisle
here… we are not your enemies,
we do not hate you.”
— Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi lashing
out at the PM’s style of functioning in parliament
“The ban on Aligarh shows the closed mindset
of a certain section of people, especially since
they have not even watched the movie before
making such a move.”
— Actor Manoj Bajpai on the ban imposed on his
film Aligarh in Aligarh, in The Indian Express

EDIA-GO-ROUND
—Compiled by VON Team
Legendary Indian film archivist P K Nair,
founder and former director of the National
Film Archive of India (NFAI), has passed away. He
succumbed to a prolonged illness on March 4.
Nair was instrumental in archiving notable
films like Dadasaheb Phalke's Raja Harishchandra
and Kaliya Mardan, Bombay Talkies films such as
Jeevan Naiya, Bandhan, Kangan, Achhut Kanya
and Kismet, SS Vasan's Chandralekha and Uday
Shankar's Kalpana. "It's a huge loss for Indian cin-
ema. We bid adieu to a film scholar and the
founding father of NFAI. Farewell Nairsaab," a
post by NFAI said on Twitter. Nair was 82 and is
survived by two sons and a daughter.
Rajasthan Patrika made an unprece-
dented move on February 27 when it
asked its Catch News editor-in-chief,
Shoma Chaudhury, to step down from her
position. In a phone conversation with
Scroll, Chaudhury expressed her chagrin
at having been laid off in such an unex-
pected manner. She said that the director
of finance wrote to her from Jaipur and in-
formed her that Catch News had reached
a stable position and they no longer re-
quired her to be its editor-in-chief. Ra-
jasthan Patrika was not available for
comment on this bizarre turn of events.
Shoma Chaudhury eased
out from Catch News unexpectedly
Astudent of the Indian Institute of
Mass Communication (IIMC) was
suspended on March 2 from its hostel
for three weeks for allegedly posting of-
fensive and casteist remarks on Face-
book. Another student, who had
complained regarding the matter, was
barred from the residential premises for
a week for using indecent language
against a faculty member of the institute.
The action was taken after 17 stu-
dents, including those from SC and ST
community, complained to the Informa-
tion and Broadcasting Ministry about the
posts. In another recent development,
senior faculty member Amit Sengupta
resigned in protest of a move to transfer
him to the Dhenkanal campus of the in-
stitute in the wake of the controversy.
Archivist PK Nair
passes away
National award
for science journalist
On February 28, India’s annual Na-
tional Science Day, the ministry
of science and technology awarded
Science correspondent Pallava Bagla
the 2015 National Award for Out-
standing Efforts in Science and Tech-
nology Communication in the
Electronic Medium for his body of
work in new media.
On March 1, minister for science
and technology Dr Harsh Vardhan
presented the award to the botanist.
National Council for Science & Tech-
nology Communication (NCSTC), a
division of the department of science
and technology, had started the
awards in 1987.
IIMC suspends
student for casteist posts
TOI acquires
Willow TV
The Times of India Group has announced its
first US acquisition of Willow TV Interna-
tional, the leading cricket broadcaster in the
US. This agreement is Times Internet’s first in-
ternational acquisition.
The new Twenty20 format, a quicker and
concise version, has added to cricket’s growing
popularity in the US after soccer. The channel is
named after the English willow tree, whose
wood is used to make cricket bats. The chan-
nel’s service is widely distributed by various
satellite and cable platforms and features the
most popular matches and events.

Lede Social Ad Campaigns
Brand Ambassadors
CTOR Sanjay Dutt will be the
face of Clean India. New Delhi
Municipal Council (NDMC) has
invited him to be the brand am-
bassador for its Swachh Bharat
Abhiyan and Smart City initiatives. Sanjay has
accepted this offer.
A letter from the NDMC to Sanjay said: “The
NDMC is intensifying its efforts to provide better
civic services to citizens as well as visiting pa-
trons. Being a youth icon and a leading person-
ality of our country, your association is sought in
its ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’ and ‘Smart City’ ini-
tiatives. This collaboration will intensify the
NDMC’s efforts to reach out to the public for
greater engagement in keeping the city clean, im-
proving civic behavior in public places and trans-
forming the NDMC into a smart city.”
CELEB ENDORSEMENTS
Endorsing government campaigns is not new to
celebs and Sanjay joins a long list of them. These
include Amitabh Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra
and Salman Khan, to name a few. This is consid-
ered a well-calculated and well-timed marketing
move as Sanjay is a star who has acted in many
The much-loved actor who
will endorse the Swachh
Bharat Abhiyan follows
in the footsteps of other
celebs who have taken
up social issues
BY SONAL GERA
A
Sanjay Dutt is NDMC’s
Brand Ambassador

films such as Rocky, Saajan, Vaastav, Munnabhai
series, PK, Haseena Maan Jaayegi and Agneepath.
After all, who can forget him as the loveable
Munnabhai in director Rajkumar Hirani’s
Munnabhai films?
Sanjay belongs to a family which has always
associated itself with charitable causes. His father,
Sunil Dutt and mother Nargis, yesteryear super-
stars and parliamentarians, were associated with
causes like cancer awareness and anti-drug abuse.
His sister, Congress leader Priya Dutt, is also
known for her social work.
What is it that makes a film star, Bollywood
or Hollywood, take up a cause? Can he attract and
inspire a target group and make them change
their minds? Experts opine that people often
want to be led and advised. So while commercial
advertising often has film stars selling products
which they have little idea about, social advertis-
ing has them endorsing a campaign which be-
comes an extension to their personalities and vice
versa. So when a towering personality like
Amitabh asks mothers to give their children polio
drops, they listen.
Companies too want to be seen fulfilling their
corporate social responsibility so that they are seen
favorably in the eyes of the public. Brands like
NDTV are associated with campaigns like “Support
My School”, “Save Our Tigers” and “Greenathon”.
AMITABH’S STAR STATUS
Big B, for example, has endorsed various social
campaigns—UNICEF’s pulse polio, eye donation
and “Save Our Tigers”. He is also the face of Uttar
Pradesh and Gujarat state tourism departments.
And in 2015, he was also roped in as the brand
ambassador for the medical and health depart-
BEYONDTHE ARCLIGHTS
(Left) Amitabh Bachchan
promoting UNICEF’s pulse
polio drive
(Below) Aishwarya Rai
Bachchan at an event of
LifeCell, India’s first stem
cell bank
Social
advertising
has celebs
endorsing
campaigns
which
become an
extension
to their
personality
and vice
versa.

ment of Andhra Pradesh. In December 2015, he
was declared the new face of the Hepatitis B
drive as he himself had acquired the infection
during blood transfusions after a grievous injury
during the shooting of Coolie in 1983.
Even Aamir Khan has endorsed various
causes. With his involvement in the Narmada
Bachao Andolan in 2006, he emerged as the new
voice of social change. Since then, campaigns
like “Incredible India” and “Atithi Devo Bhava”
have exploited his acting skills to perfection. But
it was with his TV show, Satyamev Jayate, that
he emerged as the champion of social causes in
India. However, his remarks on “intolerant India”
were enough to get him removed as brand am-
bassador of “Incredible India”. His loss was
Amitabh’s and Priyanka Chopra’s gain as they
took his place.
Five-time National Award winner Shabana
Azmi has also been commended for her charita-
ble work. Her AIDS awareness campaign in the
1980s was immediately noticed for its heart-felt
compassion and for debunking myths about it. In
one of the campaigns, she educates the masses by
saying: “AIDS chhoone se nahin failta. Chhoone se
agar kuchh failta hai, toh sirf pyaar!”
Meanwhile, Sanjay Dutt’s nomination as the
ambassador of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan goes with
the affection people have for him. Movies like
Munnabhai MBBS and Lage Raho Munnabhai, of
course, helped in building the image of a lovable
man. After his recent release from jail, Sanjay was
thronged outside his house by fans, even as
Bollywood came out in full support for him. Call-
ing him a “very good man”, a restaurateur in
Mumbai even served a special dish free-of-charge
that day.
With new releases and a biopic in the offing,
the future looks bright for Sanjay.
Celebs and their causes
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan: Has pled-
ged her eyes to the Eye Bank Association
of India, promoting stem cell program
Farhan Akhtar: Co-founder of MARD
(Men Against Rape and Discrimination).
MARD actively participates in the emanci-
pation of women and propagates equal
rights for men and women
Salman Khan: Spearheads Being
Human, a non-profit organization,
working in the areas of education and
health care
Akshay Kumar: Donated to drought-
affected Maharashtra farmers and Salman
Khan’s Being Human
Angeline Jolie: Associated with
UNHCR, UNICEF, Cinema for Peace and
Cancer Schmancer Movement, among
others
Will Smith: Co-founded theWill and
Jada Smith Foundation, working in the
areas of education, empowerment,
health, community development, among
others. Also associated with Dream Foun-
dation, Feeding America, Stand Up to
Cancer and various other organizations
SCRIPTING CHANGE
(Left) Leonardo DiCaprio used
his Oscar moment to raise
environment concerns
(Right) Aamir Khan created
awareness about the need to
improve the country’s image
in the “Incredible India”
campaign
Lede Social Ad Campaigns
Brand Ambassadors

Do commercial messages
that pounce at us from
newspapers reflect what
we are all about or are
they an attempt to shape
our priorities?
BY KRISH WARRIER
Lede
Brand Ambassadors
O paraphrase British writer
Norman Douglas—You can
tell the idea of a nation by its
advertisements. Let’s take a
look at what the advertise-
ments say about our nation.
A cursory glance at the print ads appearing in the
Old Lady of Bori Bunder aka The Times of India
is revealing. There’s something to be said about
the “flap” ads—not very flattering at that. Most of
them confuse the hell out of the reader. For star-
ters, you cannot figure out where to open the
newspaper, how to open it and where the first
page begins. But, for sure, the formula seems to
be working. Because, as everyone can see, “what
The Times of India thinks today, the other news-
papers think tomorrow.”
Who are the ones who advertise on the flap
and multiple masthead pages while shelling out
huge amounts of money? The issue of The Times
of India, dated February 20, 2016, had four mast-
head pages. Besides tender advertisements, the
advertisers were a builder, e-commerce portals
and, of course, a cell phone brand.
ENDORSING BRANDS
Gone are the days of the builders’ ads from Jaya
or Makhija (two advertising agencies that used to
specialize in ads for builders) in the solus posi-
tion. Those ads were targeted at the middle class
looking for a roof over the head and talked about
affordability and proximity to the railway station.
Today, you have “lifestyle” advertising. And the
Hardsell in
Apna India
T
CELEBRITY APPEAL
King Khan has
been endorsing
TAG Heuer
watches in India
Advertising

Steve Jobs, or Mark Zuckerberg, or whoever it is.
Most are working out of a hole in the wall with
dreams in their eyes. For every Ola or Flipkart or
Snapdeal, there are a thousand others working on
projects which have no barriers to entry. Of co-
urse, it’s a wonderful thing—this attempt to be
your own boss. Today’s young are not afraid to
challenge the status quo. They are not afraid of
losing. Young boys and girls hear a different dru-
mmer—be it in their choice of clothes, lifestyle
STAMP OF CREDIBILITY?
(Left) Big B promotes the
Palava City project, a
real-estate township in
Mumbai’s suburbs
(Below) The Stay-on ad in
media is one of the many
promoting male libido
philosophy is: if you have it, flaunt it. So you have
an Amitabh Bachchan endorsing Palava City so-
mewhere near Dombivli (Bachchan wouldn’t ha-
ve heard about this distant suburb of Mumbai
before he was paid mega-bucks to endorse it) and
his daughter-in-law “ambassadoring” some other
pencil-in-the-sky. And what about the price of a
two-bedroom apartment in one of these adver-
tized projects in a far-flung suburb like Thane?
Nothing less than a crore and a quarter mini-
mum. Looks like India’s wallowing in the moolah
and the banks drowning in NPAs.
So, what does all this mean for us as a nation?
First off, the use of celebrities to promote
everything from soaps to residential complexes.
Aravind Adiga captures the essence of it. In his
Booker Prize winning book, The White Tiger, the
protagonist asks, “Do you know about Hanuman,
sir? He was the faithful servant of the god Rama,
and we worship him in our temples because he is
a shining example of how to serve your masters
with absolute fidelity, love, and devotion. These
are the kinds of gods they have foisted on us Mr.
Jiabao. Understand, now, how hard it is for a man
to win his freedom in India.” So, yes, as a people
we don’t want to think for ourselves, we prefer
just to follow someone or something. We want to
be led.
Then there’s the e-commerce brigade. It dre-
ams of mega-bucks. The young are chucking lu-
crative jobs to see if they can become the next
Indians like to ape the West. So it’s not
surprising that what holds good for the
West holds good for us too. We want to be
super thin, next to invisible. We want to
be sexual in a Rasputin way.

do the men want to be tumescent all the time? Of
course, you’ll find an undercurrent of sex in all
our day-to-day exposure—it begins with a sprin-
kling of gaalis to gyrating Bollywood heroes, he-
roines and extras thrusting their pelvis in our
face. Talking about sex is taboo, but it’s playing on
our minds at all times.
Indians like to ape the West. So it’s not surpris-
ing that what holds good for the West holds good
for us too. We want to be super-thin, next to in-
visible. We want to be sexual in a Rasputin way.
For women, professionalism is ideal, yet they mu-
st still be able to cook a full-course meal. Men ne-
ed to make more and more money to purchase
everything.
Which brings me to the obsession with fair-
ness—and I am not talking about justice. Look at
the plethora of ads promoting men and women’s
fairness creams and lotions. Are we racist? Sad to
say, but to quite an extent, yes.
Which is why it’s all the more important why
ad campaigns such as Real Beauty by Dove are so
important for us to embrace into our advertising
culture. (According to Wikipedia, the Dove Real
Beauty was conceived in 2004 during a three-year
strategic research. The creative was by Ogilvy &
Mather Düsseldorf and London. The research led
to a new advertising strategy, created by Joah San-
tos, which led to the top three campaigns of the
century, according to AdAge. The strategy es-
chewed the brand essence ladder used by Uni-
lever and called for a mission strategy “To make
women feel comfortable in the skin they are in,
to create a world where beauty is a source of con-
fidence and not anxiety.”)
The same potential to increase a person’s so-
phistication or personality that exists in music or
theatre also exists in advertising. The only differ-
ence is that one particular ad has more of an in-
fluence on a greater audience than does one song
or one play. Advertising can not only reinforce a
perception, it can also change perceptions. Will
India’s ad-wallahs rise to the occasion?
or sexual preferences. Are they getting self-cen-
tred? Take a look at the lyrics of one of the hit
songs: “Matlabi ho ja zara matlabi/Duniya ki sunta
hai kyun,Khud ki bhi sun le kabhi”.
SEX AND FAIRNESS
You also have women’s undergarments jostling for
ad space. There are ads for bras and panties jump-
ing out of the pages of newspapers and magazines.
Does this mean that today’s woman is more con-
scious of what she wears under—as she’s of what
she flaunts? Maybe. But one thing is for sure—
women are celebrating their bodies. How are the
men looking at this? The answer is, lecherously.
Of late there has been a spate of ads promoting
male libido. These talk about everything from
“staying power” to “getting charged”. Just goes to
show how obsessed we, as a nation, are with sex
(the question to be asked is: is there a huge popu-
lation of India that is sexually dysfunctional?). Or
We have an obsession with fairness—and I
am not talking about justice. Look at the
array of ads promoting men and women’s
fairness creams and lotions. Are we racist?
Sad to say, but to quite an extent, yes.
PLAYING ON PERCEPTION
Actress Priyanka Chopra
in an ad for Garnier
beauty products
Lede
Brand Ambassadors
Advertising

S THE WORLD TURNS
Turkish President opposes
release of scribes
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that he will
not accept the release from jail of two Turkish journalists
accused of spying. Following a recently-concluded constitu-
tional court ruling, Erdogan defended his decision by saying
that the journalists had breached their rights, thus making his
decision irrevocable. Editor-in-chief of Cumhuriyet, Can Dundar,
and his Ankara bureau chief, Erdem Gul, had been charged with
violation of state security and for internationally aiding a terrorist
organization. They were arrested last November and were
released pending trial on February 26, following the
constitutional court ruling.
FT stands by
its columnist
Lucy Kellaway (right) of Financial Times
has been criticized by Henry Gomez,
head of marketing and communications at
Hewlett Packard Enterprise, for what
seemed to him a “snide dig” at his boss,
Meg Whitman. Interestingly, Whitman in a
talk at Davos had said: “You can always go
faster than you think you can.”
Kellaway, in her article, had said: “Some-
times, when you go faster, you fall flat on
your face.” Gomez objected to her remarks,
and said: “The FT management should con-
sider the impact of unacceptable biases on
its relationships with advertisers.” He also
alleged a jibe in her remarks at Whitman’s
purchase of Autonomy, a European maker
of unstructured data analytics software.
Kellaway resorted to a journalistic reply to
his allegations by writing another article.
The paper has supported her.
Dubai hosts first digital media event
Middle East’s first digital media
awards night, organized by WAN-
IFRA, was held in Dubai. Numerous digital
awards were given away, out of which
Gulf News (Al Nisr Publishing) bagged six
awards (1 gold, 2 silver and 3 bronze) for
its online platforms.
Talk about the “imminent death of
print” was refuted by the media execu-
tives present, who singled out the fact that
newspapers had unmatched credibility
that social media platforms lacked. They
considered the online mediums to be ex-
tensions of the printed content. Newspa-
pers didn’t just sell content, they also
helped in generating awareness that
online news sites further extended.
Razak gags
news portal
In the latest addition to a series of clamp-
downs on media organizations that have
published reports critical of the govern-
ment and Prime Minister Najib Razak,
Malaysia has blocked access to a widely
read news portal. The Malaysian Commu-
nications and Multimedia Commission
(MCMC) said in a statement that The
Malaysian Insider had breached laws
under the Communications and Multime-
dia Act 1998. The Malaysian Insider had
published several reports on investiga-
tions into the $681 million that have been
deposited into Razak’s personal accounts.
It has also probed into the 1Malaysia De-
velopment Berhad (1MDB). The 1998 act
prohibits using a website to
publish "any comment,
request, suggestion or
other communication
which is obscene, in-
decent, false, menac-
ing or offensive in
character with intent to
annoy, abuse,
threaten or
harass
another
person”.
—Compiled by Tithi Mukherjee

Its board of directors determinedly protects
the independence of the news agency
VON brings in each issue, the best
written commentary on any subject.
The following write-up from The
Wire has been picked by our team
of editors and reproduced for our
readers as the best in the fortnight.
SSERTING its independence in the
face of a “particular” politician’s at-
tempt to nominate the next editor of
the Press Trust of India, the news
agency’s board of directors on Friday
(February 26) decided to constitute a search committee
of its own to select the successor to its veteran editor-
in-chief and chief executive officer, M.K. Razdan.
Speaking to The Wire by telephone, Hormusji N.
Cama, chairman of PTI’s board of directors, said he and
his fellow directors valued the independence of the news
agency and were determined to protect it. “Some MPs
spoke to a couple of board members. Some of them were
approached and they mentioned this. I must emphasise
that no MP has approached me. But there is no question
of looking at candidates that have been recommended
by politicians,” he said.
The candidates in question—Ashok Malik, a colum-
nist and TV commentator who was awarded the Padma
Shri in January this year, K.A. Badrinath, formerly of the
Financial Chronicle, and Shishir Gupta, executive editor
of the Hindustan Times—are all well-disposed towards
the Narendra Modi government and the ruling BJP.
“Malik and Badrinath came and met me,” Cama,
who is based in Mumbai, confirmed, while Gupta was
“a late entrant into the fray.”
The decision to rebuff these suggestions is an
indication of the weakening hold of the Modi govern-
ment over media owners—who make up the bulk of the
PTI board.
Explaining the background to Friday’s board meet-
ing where the issue was discussed, Cama said the fact
A
Editors’ Pick
Siddharth Varadarajan
PTI Rebuffs
PoliticalNominees
forEditor’sJob
DID HE DOTHAT?
Some board
members have
claimed that Finance
Minister Arun Jaitley
had suggested three
candidates

that Razdan is due to retire has been known for
some time.
“As you can imagine, there are lots of people inter-
ested in the job. We had decided to separate the two
functions of editor and CEO. Our view on the board
was that there is likely to be talent in-house on the edi-
torial side so we should look for someone from outside
who can look after the administrative and HR sides of
PTI,” he said.
“Somewhere down the line, a couple of claimants
came and presented themselves. But they were looking
for the editor’s job. When we said how come you are ap-
plying when we are looking only for someone on the
administrative side, they said they had been told there
was a vacancy and that they should apply.”
“Reading between the lines,” said Cama, “it was clear
that certain politicians had put them up to this.” And
that for the board was a non-starter. “In PTI, we value
our independence,” Cama told The Wire, “and this
means we have to be independent of all political parties
—be it Congress or BJP.”
He added that Razdan “has been a strong and unbi-
ased editor and has set the bar very high for his succes-
sor. We will always be independent of political parties.
I’ll be damned if I am going to compromise on this.”
On his part, Ashok Malik disputes the suggestion
that he had applied for the editor’s job. “I did not apply
and was not asked to apply,” he told The Wire. “A PTI
board member contacted me and asked me if I would
be interested. He clarified he was not offering me the
job but making a tentative inquiry for a shortlist. He
then asked for my CV. That’s it.”
All talk of his having taken a stand was “misinfor-
mation”, he said. “I took no stand”.
PTI started operating in 1949 and is India’s largest
and most influential news agency. Its stories help drive
the news agenda of websites, TV channels and newspa-
pers across the country in all languages, and govern-
ments and politicians are extremely sensitive to the tone
and tenor of its reporting as well as the nature of
its coverage.
It is governed by a 16-member board, 12 of whom
are nominated by leading private newspaper groups and
four of whom are “independent members”.
“Jaitley spoke to board members”
Though Cama refused to name the “particular
politicians” who had sought to drive the selection of the
editor, other PTI board members speaking to The Wire
on condition of anonymity said one of those who had
pushed the case of the three candidates in question was
Arun Jaitley, minister for finance and information and
broadcasting. One board member revealed that both
Malik and Badrinath told Cama that Jaitley had asked
them to apply and that in the meeting their names,
along with Shishir Gupta, was pushed by Mahendra
Mohan Gupta of the Jagran group. “In addition, two
members told the board—one without naming
“I must emphasise that no MP has
approached me. But there is no ques-
tion of looking at candidates that have
been recommended by politicians.”
—Hormusji N Cama, chairman,
PTI’s board of directors

him —that Jaitley had spoken to them about Ashok
Malik,” he said, adding: “The three names were a non-
starter in the board.”
The Wire has learned that when the board on Friday
objected to both Malik and Badrinath, Shishir Gupta’s
name was suddenly proposed. All the board members,
barring two, strongly hit back, saying the government
cannot have a say in the selection of the editor.
A message to Jaitley went unanswered at the time of
publishing this story.
The current composition of the board is as follows:
Mr Hormusji N. Cama-Chairman (The Bombay
Samachar); Mr Riyad Mathew-Vice-Chairman (Malay-
ala Manorama); Mr Vineet Jain-Bennett, Coleman &
Co. Ltd.; Mr Mahendra Mohan Gupta-Jagran
Prakashan Ltd.; MrAveekKumarSarkar-ABP Pvt. Ltd.;
Mr Viveck Goenka-The Express Group; Mr Vijay
Kumar Chopra-The Hind Samachar Ltd.; Mr M P
Veerendra Kumar-The Mathrubhumi Printing & Pub-
lishing Co. Ltd.; Mr N. Ravi-The Hindu; Mr Sanjoy
Narayan-HT Media Ltd.; Mr K.N. Shanth Kumar-The
Editors’ Pick
Siddharth Varadarajan
Printers (Mysore) Pvt. Ltd.; Mr R Lakshmipathy-Dina-
malar; Mr Jimmy F.Pochkhanawalla-Independent Di-
rector; Mr Shyam Saran-Independent Director; Prof.
Deepak Nayyar-Independent Director; Justice R.C.La-
hoti-Independent Director.
At the February 26 meeting, Sanjoy Narayan from
the Hindustan Times and Viveck Goenka of the Express
group were not present. Narayan said he could not at-
tend the meeting because he was busy overseeing his
newspaper’s coverage of the Economic Survey. Aveek
Sarkar of the ABP group, which publishes The Tele-
graph, was in London, but is known to be a staunch ad-
vocate of PTI’s independence from the government.
Vineet Jain, managing director of Bennet Coleman
and Company Ltd (BCCL), the company which pub-
lishes The Times of India and owns the Times Now TV
channel, was part of the decision to reject the candidates
whose names were raised but he took to Twitter on Sat-
urday to deny he had taken a stand.
All talk of his having taken a stand was “misinfor-
mation”, he said. “I took no stand”.
KA Badrinath,
formerly of the Financial
Chronicle, who
reportedly met Hormusji
N Cama, chairman,PTI’s
board of directors.
Shishir Gupta, executive
editor, Hindustan Times,
whose name was pushed
by Mahendra Mohan
Gupta of the
Jagran group.
Ashok Malik, columnist
and TV commentator,
who got the Padma Shri
this year, disputes the
suggestion that he had
applied for the job.

AATHI ghoda palkhi, jai Kanhaiya lal ki!
This was one of the slogans with which
Kanhaiya Kumar was welcomed back to
JNU after his brief stint in jail. This 28-
year-old president of the JNU Students’ Union seemed to
have galvanized the entire nation and created a rift between
the haves and the have-nots, the Left and the Right.
While the media is now eating out of his hands, (“A
New Leader Is Born,” screamed some headlines) as wit-
ness the simultaneous gushing interviews with Rajdeep
Sardesai, Barkha Dutt, and Sanjay Pugalia (who tweeted:
“this video had700 pageviews, Yesterday 20K views, today
2.88 lakhs. #KanhaiyaKumar is made hero instantly”), fol-
lowing his fire-and-brimstone classical Marxist class
struggle peroration on March 3 which made him a global
social media icon, it was dancing to a different tune in re-
porting the story of his arrest on sedition charges starting
on February 9.
The CPI (the parent party of the All India Student Fed-
eration to which Kumar belongs) and the CPI(M) are al-
ready projecting Kanhaiya as a campaigner for the
forthcoming assembly elections.
On February 9, JNU held a “cultural” meeting to com-
memorate the third death anniversary of Afzal Guru, the
2002 parliament attack convict, where it is alleged that some
anti-India slogans were raised. On February 12, Kanhaiya
was arrested on sedition charges. Subsequently, Arnab
Spotlight
Goswami of Times Now invited JNU student leaders Lenin
Kumar and Umar Khalid on Newshour and severely up-
braided them for being “anti-national”. Other TV channels,
such as Zee News, followed suit.
However, charges later flew that the video where these
anti-national slogans were shouted had, in fact, been doc-
tored. This led to Zee News producer Vishwa Deepak re-
signing and asserting that the caption “Pakistan
Zindabad” was deliberately added to the audio clip of the
JNU event. And when Kanhaiya was brought to Patiala
House court for a hearing, lawyers pounced on him, jour-
nalists and JNU teachers there. This led to the media
doing a complete U-turn.
The media needs to curb its hysteria and self-defeating
hype lest it also be blamed for creating controversies sim-
ilar to what politicians are blamed for. Its role in this sorry
state of affairs has come up for scrutiny and it has been
found to be lacking in its moral judgment. The job of the
media is to report, analyze and expose injustice. But, in
recent years, the social atmosphere has been surcharged
with vitriolic statements from fringe elements grabbing
headlines.
The media demonizes and deifies politicians and public
figures at will as witness the see-saw rides of Rajiv Gandhi,
VP Singh, Anna Hazare, Kejriwal and also Narendra Modi.
The creation of personality cults through mass hysteria fu-
eled by the media is not healthy for a democracy.The obvi-
ous casualty is balance and credibility.
Here is my tweet on this subject: “ Yes 2 freedom, de-
bate, vs misuse of sedition law/gagging, but cannot sup-
port Kanhaiya holding tyrants Lenin/Stalin as icons of
liberation.”
The media’s handling of the
student leader’s arrest and its
sensationalizing of the events
following his release point to
a malaise that needs to be
corrected
BY INDERJIT BADHWAR
H
Kanhaiya Coverage:
Where is the
Balance?
News Flip-Flop
BIRTHOFAHERO
Kanhaiya’s
address to JNU
students
following his
release was
lapped up by
social media

NE thing is clear from the Re-
publican and Democratic cam-
paigns — the next president of
the US will impact its trading
partners and their respective
economies. The implications for India as com-
pared to China and Russia are radically different.
Trade with Russia and China could be drastically
impacted by a new US president, while India ap-
pears to be less affected, though technology ex-
ports to the US will come under scrutiny.
There is no candidate who has endorsed past
trade deals and they all blame negatives in the
US’s present economic situation and declining
middle class for disadvantageous pacts. The one
Republican candidate who has made interna-
tional trade a major recurring theme is Donald
Trump. He claimed that America has negotiated
"horrible" trade deals. He asserted that his suc-
Global Trends
US Elections
cess as a real estate dealmaker would mean he can
negotiate better trade terms. He often repeated
how terrible the trade deals with China were. Fur-
thermore, his position is the most aggressive, pro-
posing to break existing trade agreements. He
declared that he would either renegotiate or break
NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement):
“We will either renegotiate it or we will break it be-
cause you know every agreement has an end.” Sur-
prisingly, so far he hasn’t mentioned India.
Democratic candidates had rejected the Trans-
Pacific Partnership trade deal that President Barack
Obama promoted. Bernie Sanders said: “The Presi-
dent at Nike headquarters told us that every trade
union in America is wrong, that progressives work-
ing for years for working families are wrong and that
corporate America, the pharmaceutical industry and
Wall Street are right. I respectfully disagree. This
trade agreement would continue the process by
which we have been shipping good-paying Ameri-
can jobs to low-wage countries overseas and con-
tinue the race to the bottom for American workers.”
STRONG ECONOMY
However, the implications of a change in American
trade terms are different for India due to its strong
Whoever becomes the next president
will impact economic relations with
major powers, though India with its
growth is unlikely to be affected
BY ELENA ULANSKY IN NEW YORK
O
Will
Trade
Ties be
Hit?

SOBER OUTLOOK
Post polls, India would be cushioned from the impact of a
change in trade terms with the US thanks to its thriving economy
economy. World Bank predicts that India will be the
fastest growing economy in the world for the next
three years, and remarkably, that it has the potential
to surpass China.
India's remarkable growth was due to a variety
of factors. It was an importer of oil even as prices
declined; jobs have been created at a rapid pace and
it is anticipated that over 85 percent of Indian com-
panies have hiring plans; there have been govern-
ment salary increases and the technology industry
continues to attract investors into new products.
However, more needs to be done to attract global
manufacturers. While Modi’s “Make in India” is a
great push to encourage more manufacturing,
many of these manufacturers have been dissatisfied
with India’s red tape.
Russia is another matter. Its economy is faltering
and with oil prices falling, its fuel imports have suf-
fered and the economy hit. American and western
European sanctions are only making matters worse.
Russian military involvements have been another
drain on its economy. What Russia needs is an
American president with whom a deal can be made
and sanctions lifted. Despite Trump’s claims of
being able to negotiate with Putin, it is unclear what
changes in foreign policy the Russian president
would make that will end sanctions.
As for China, it could do without the antago-
nism US presidential candidates have shown to-
wards its trade policy as it comes at a bad time for
the Chinese economy. All the candidates mention
the 2015 American trade deficit of $365 billion with
China. Given its slowdown, what China doesn't
need is for rules of trade with the US to change. De-
spite it being a major importer of resources, its
economy may turn out to be a house of cards.
Numbers released this week indicate that China's
downslide may be worse than expected. In January,
exports from China dropped by 11.2 percent, the
worst since March last year. Its imports fell by a
massive 18.8 percent, the 15th month in a row that
this has happened.
It is hard to imagine either Democratic or Re-
publican candidates promoting trade deals with
India, Russia or China. While Vladimir Putin of
Russia has shown no interest in changing his poli-
cies in order to have sanctions lifted, China’s down-
ward trend will only accelerate if trade relations
with the US are changed for the worse.
—This article has been co-authored with
William Witenberg, a contemporary artist focused
on abstract painting
India must
do more to
attract global
manufactur-
ers. While
Modi’s “Make
in India” is a
great push,
many manu-
facturers
have been
dissatisfied
with India’s
red tape.

Where and how did this musical journey commence?
Shubha Mudgal (SM): I am not from a family of musicians;
my parents were teachers of English literature at Allahabad Univer-
sity. This wasn’t a leisure activity I was indulging in. If it was, after
some time, people would have said, forget about it.
Aneesh Pradhan (AP): My mother had learnt singing, tabla
and other such creative stuff and she was keen that her children
learn too. At that time, nobody knew that we would take this up as
a profession. Music and the arts were considered by our family
mainly as an enriching experience. When other kids were out play-
ing, I would be practicing on the tabla.
When did you make a conscious decision to be
a musician?
SM:I started learning kathak and continued it for many years. My
mother felt it would be better for me to also learn music. So I
started learning vocal music under the eminent Pandit Ramashray
Jha, the head of the Department of Music at Allahabad University
A couple of years ago, a friend
mentioned that she regularly watched
the Hindi serial, Diya Aur Baati Hum,
thanks to its title song. The song,
she said, lifted her soul to its
plaintive strains and drew her to
devote 30 minutes to the serial. Who
was the singer? SHUBHA MUDGAL.
Today, she and her husband,
ANEESH PRADHAN, a well-known
tabla player, bring the same passion for
music that ignites their performances.
Speaking to KRISH WARRIER, they
say that while earlier Bollywood lyrics
were written by accomplished poets,
making them subtle, today’s
songs lack literary and poetic
elements. Excerpts:
Interview
Shubha Mudgal & Aneesh Pradhan
“Poetic
elements
missing
in today’s
songs” Raghav Pasricha

and one of the major scholar composers of
Hindustani classical music. But although
my training with him had started, I was also
doing my graduation. Once that was over,
my mother said: ‘Now decide whether you
want to do music full-time. But make the
decision and stick by it.’ She gave me a year
to decide. Within a month, I knew this is
what I wanted to do. I was very lucky to be
surrounded by eminent literary figures. My
neighbor for over 8-10 years was Firaq
Gorakhpuri; across the street was Mahadevi
Verma and very close to the family was
Sumitranandan Pant. I remember that as a
child, I was always fond of pets. I was once
crying when I lost a pet when Pantji said:
‘Don’t worry, Mahadeviji has very good
Pomeranians and I will get you one.’ And
he did!
AP:I am not from a hereditary musician
family. In such cases, you know your choice
of career right from the cradle. Then again,
in such a situation, you could sometimes be
closed to other influences. As for me, I al-
ways knew I wanted to be a musician.
There is a similarity in your envi-
ronments.Literature seems to be
one of the common factors.
AP: True. I remember one instance in
school in the 7th standard. We were asked
to write an essay in Hindi—Main bada
hokar kya banunga. I remember I wrote,
‘Main sangeetkaar banunga’ and another
boy wrote he would become a chef. Only
both of us became what we wrote. But my
inclination towards literature is because
of Shubha.
SM:And I wrote that I wanted to become a
vet! (laughs)
When did you meet?
AP:We met at one of her concerts; she
wouldn’t remember that, of course. I was
in the audience. I remember Shubha
called me up from Delhi, and asked me to
accompany her on the tabla. And I said
fine; so that’s when we met musically
speaking and then, we continued per-
forming together, travelling together.
Later, we collaborated for a website.
SM:At the NCPA. He was getting well-
known as an accompanist. I heard in
Delhi that he played very well. I think we
actually met first for that recording we did
for Music Today. Well, the website we col-
laborated for doesn’t exist.
When did you collaborate on
the website?
SM:In 1996 or so…the time I discovered
the internet. That’s when I wanted to
start this online magazine for Indian
classical music.
AP: It was quite path-breaking then.
What was the portal called?
SM: RaagSangeet.com. It was quite inter-
esting to work on that.
AP: Then we were invited as consulting
editors by a California-based company
and they had a website, IndusLive.com,
where one segment was on Hindustani
classical music. Again, we continued to
work together for two years and then
suddenly the dotcom bubble burst. It was
then that Shubha said, ‘You know, if we
don’t do anything ourselves as musicians,
nobody is going to come and help us.’
So we started Underscorerecords.com
in 2003.
It was a pioneer.
AP: The best thing is that Shubha is really
good with technology. We also tried to do
Baajaa Gaajaa—an international music
festival that celebrates the diversity of
music from India. The thrust of the festi-
val was to project the diversity of Indian
classical music and provide a platform
where people could network.
SM: I keep learning. With Underscore,
we wanted to create a fair and demo-
cratic platform for artists to sell their
work or share it on their own terms and
conditions. When we were commis-
sioned by a record label, very often, none
of us was aware of the issues of IPR (In-
tellectual Property Rights). As a result,
people were taking away all rights of our
work without our even knowing that it
was happening.
“My parents were
teachers of English
literature... Once
my graduation was
over, my mother
said: ‘Now decide
whether you
want to do music
full-time. But make
the decision and
stick by it.’”
Kartik Rathod

That’s like stealing?
SM: Not stealing. It was just our ignorance
and their taking advantage of it. So we de-
cided that Underscore would encourage
artists to self-publish.
AP: We don’t take copyrights, we take non-
exclusive distribution rights. We encourage
musicians to distribute on various plat-
forms, not just exclusively for Underscore.
They choose the MRP, they choose the
album cover, they choose everything be-
cause it’s their music.
How many artists do you have at
Underscore Records?
AP:We must be having 300 artists of all
kinds—folk, classical, rock…
What do you think of Bollywood
music now?
AP:Some of it is really good. But the na-
ture of the industry primarily is about ho-
mogenizing everything. So whether it’s the
kind of voice that is used, the kind of in-
strumentation... formula ho jata hai.
SM:Earlier, there were 8-10 singers who
were doing playback and they became play-
back specialists. I think there’s no such spe-
cialization now, what with playback
specialists doing live shows as well.
What about Bollywood lyrics?
SM: Earlier, they were subtle. I think, pre-
viously, very accomplished poets were writ-
ing for Hindi cinema. Now the idea is to
make it accessible to a point where the liter-
ary and poetic elements are missing. Maybe
it is a generational thing. Tell me, what liter-
ary value can you assign to a Chittiyaan
kalaaiyaan ve or a Mainu shopping kara de
ve. Now, hear Yeh moh moh ke dhaage.
There is poetry in that, which stands out in
the sea of inanity
AP: I don’t think it’s generational; you and
I, we listen to all types of music.
How difficult would it be for a new-
comer to get into this area?
SM and AP (together): Very difficult
What do you think of award wapsi?
AP: The awards were received by people
for whatever work they had done and it’s up
to them to take a stand on issues and how
they want to express that stand.
SM: It’s an individual’s decision and to run
down that decision is pointless.
What’s your advice to an upcoming
artist?
SM: Both of us have shared this compan-
ionship of music and that’s really been a
major factor in our lives. If they can look
for that companionship and find it and not
lose it because it’s so difficult to be a full-
time musician…
AP:Be passionate and motivated and sen-
sitive not just about music but about every-
thing that is going on in society because
that impacts your music too.
How would you describe your
relationship?
AP: It has been a marriage of minds and
hearts. As for the professional part, that
would have happened whether we were
married or not as we were already perform-
ing together. Living in the same space and
enjoying a relationship aside from the pro-
fessional one allows us to explore ideas in
an unguarded and unrestricted manner.
SM:Aneesh has described our marriage
perfectly.
Interview
Shubha Mudgal & Aneesh Pradhan
“I am not from a
musician family. In
such cases, you
know your career
choice right from
the cradle. Then
again, you could
sometimes be closed
to other influences.”
Kartik Rathod

TV Review
Yarri Dostii Shaadi
JAZZY trumpet plays a peppy
number, artistic sketches of the
bride and groom dance on the
screen and words like “masti
majaa aur madness” and “You are
invited to celebrate the wedding” pop up on
screen. A new show by NDTV’s Good Times, Yarri
Dostii Shaadi with Anita Dongre, begins on an up-
beat mood.
It follows the hugely popular show, Band Baa-
jaa Bride, which was also aired on the same chan-
nel.NDTV Good Timesis a frontrunner where fun
and adventurous programs aimed at the young
and socially upbeat are concerned. And withYarri
Dostii Shaadi, it has managed to hit the bull’s eye.
The series comprises of 13 episodes showcas-
ing the drama and magic of ever bigger and fatter
Indian weddings. However, it is different from
Band Baajaa Bride because it is not a makeover
A
A new program has captured the magic and
madness of Indian marriages with some
innovations thrown in
BY SHAILAJA PARAMATHMA
Weddings
Get Bigger,
Fatter

show. The format is new and focuses on the mar-
riage rather than just how the bride looks. As there
can be no wedding without friends, on this show
best pals of the bride and groom take viewers be-
hind the scenes of marriage preparations.
Making the bride and groom feel like royalty
is certainly high on the agenda of the friends, but
these “storytellers”, as the show calls them, also
take this opportunity to reveal embarrassing an-
ecdotes about the couple.
EXACTINGWISHES
The wishes of the bride and the groom range from
regular to unique, quirky to exacting. While or-
ganizing the mehendi or shopping for them are
easy tasks, organizing a secret bachelor’s party
needs special skills. When one groom refused to
arrive at the wedding on a horse, the friend had to
think of an alternate mode of transportation. One
tough bride demanded her friend organize a
baraat for her, which is traditionally organized by
the groom’s side. There are instances when cricket
matches and musical chairs are played at pre-
wedding functions between the two families. In
one episode, there is a pool party where the groom
and his brother are thrown into the water by the
girl’s brother.
The show travels to Delhi, Mumbai, Goa,
Jaipur, Patiala and Hyderabad among other cities.
It is anchored by Aalekh Kapoor, a contestant in
Mr India World 2007 and Harleen Sethi, a TV
model who was part of the Band Baajaa Bride
crew. They call themselves “wedding crashers” but
are sometimes requested by the couple to host
one of their functions or judge a dance competi-
tion between the two wedding parties. While
Kapoor possesses natural wit and looks poised,
Sethi still seems to be learning the ropes in her
debut role as a TV anchor.
The chief attraction of the program are the
clothes designed by bridal couturier Anita Don-
gre, who has created some of the most successful
fashion houses in India, including AND, Global
Desi, Anita Dongre, Grassroot and Pinkcity. Her
designs showcase Indian aesthetics in a contem-
porary way. Her bridal Gota Patti lehengas and
heritage Banarasi creations are coveted by brides
and Bollywood celebrities alike.
Dongre’s immersion in her craft can be seen
from the fact that she is involved in the costume
creation from beginning to end. She meets the
bride to understand her as a person and this is
crucial for making the costume for her. On this
show, she dresses up not only the bride and the
groom but also their best friends.
Weddings in India are only getting bigger and
louder and with Bollywood being the biggest mo-
tivator, many couples and their friends want to
make an indelible impression with their clothes
and make-up. With 3-4 day functions, dressing up
is high on the agenda. And such programs will
create a further boom in the wedding industry
and for wedding planners.
Weddings in India are only getting bigger
and louder and every couple wants to make
an indelible impression with their clothes.
Such programs will create a further boom
in the wedding industry.
COSTUME DRAMA
(Above) Designer Namita
Dongre (center) with hosts
Harleen Sethi and Aalekh
Kapoor

Web Crawler What Went Viral
Accepting his first Academy award for Alejandro
Inarritu’s The Revenant (2015), Leonardo Di-
Caprio made quite an impression with his accept-
ance speech, so much so that its video has been
trending on social media for a while now.
Visibly delighted, the actor thanked the entire
team of The Revenant for their efforts. He thanked
Martin Scorsese for being an incredible mentor and
proceeded to speak about the film’s theme, man’s
relation with the natural world. He stated that 2015
was the hottest year in recorded history and that
awareness related to environmental degradation
was essential.
DiCaprio is known for his environmental activism.
The Leonardo DiCaprio Fund at California Community
Foundation is a nonprofit organization that supports
numerous environmental causes. Meanwhile, Kate
Winslet, his Titanic co-star, was spotted reacting
emotionally to his powerful speech.
The Union Ministry of Information
and Broadcasting and the Central
Board for Film Certification (CBFC)
have told the Punjab and Haryana
High Court that filmmakers will now
be barred from uploading their uncen-
sored work online. The ministry has
asked CBFC to get an undertaking
from filmmakers before granting certi-
fication.This is following a petition
filed by a Ludhiana-based NGO, Rak-
sha Jyoti Foundation, against promos
of movies Kyaa Kool Hain Hum 3 and
Mastizaade. The trailers and promos
of these movies online contained “vul-
gar scenes” even though these had
been cut by the Board.
Bengaluru-based Raina
Nanaiah has become the
face of Apple’s global ad for
iPhone 6, thanks to a photo
taken by her husband Ashish
Parmar who posted it on In-
stagram with the hashtag #ShotOni-
Phone6. Shot on Diwali, the photograph
shows Raina in a red saree, wearing a
maangteeka and carrying a purple diya
in her cupped hands.
Soon, Parmar received a call from
Apple that the picture
had been selected for its
“Shot on iPhone” cam-
paign. It was one of the
53 images from 41 indi-
viduals who had taken
part in the Apple cam-
paign. Parmar had been
the only Indian resident
participant. Today, the
couple gets daily emails
from friends abroad with attached self-
ies of huge billboards carrying Raina’s
picture as the backdrop. Raina is a local
celebrity now.
—Compiled by VON Team
Sheena Shirani
Smriti aide under
Twitter lens
Leo wins hearts
at Oscars
Diktat on
films online
Apple’s
desi ad
Social media was abuzz re-
cently after a Delhi govern-
ment-commissioned forensic
report linked Shilpi Tewari, a
close aide of HRD Minister Smriti
Irani, to the doctoring of video
clips pertaining to the allegedly
“anti-national” sloganeering at
Jawaharlal Nehru University
campus. The Twitter account of
Tewari was found hosting one of
the allegedly “doctored” JNU
videos and twitterati blasted her
for being responsible for the im-
prisonment of three innocent stu-
dents. TruthLabs carried out the
forensic audio-video authentica-
tion study. Responding to
queries, the HRD ministry dis-
tanced itself from Tewari but said
that she may be “assisting” Irani
on a private basis.

NDIA EGAL
L
February 15, 2016
`100www.indialegalonline.com
I
STORIES THAT COUNT
Theapexcourtstepsintoward
offaconstitutionalcrisis
Fiascoin
ARUNACHAL
22
34
28
DidRohithVemulaHaveToDie?
AjithPillai
Politicalmeddlingbythecenterin
studentdisputesisuncalledfor
BikramVohra
Whatprice
suicide?
Theapexcourtsteps
offaconstitutionalc
MEHA
MATHUR
Minority
institutions
60
BOOK
REVIEW
Travails of
a lawyer
78
I RAMAMOHAN RAO
Witness to history 72
NEETA
KOLHATKAR
Underworld:
Business as
usual 56
RAMESH
MENON
Women
and
temples 14
CongressPresident
SoniaGandhi
ArunachalGovernor
JPRajkhowa
President
PranabMukherjee
PrimeMinister
NarendraModi
FormerArunachalCM
NabamTuki
NDIA EGALL February 29, 2016
`100
www.indialegalonline.com
I
STORIES THAT COUNT
WILLTHEREBEANOTHERCOVER-UP?
RKPachauri
16
MNREGA:Why is Modicelebratinga “failure”?Ajith Pillai 22
Legal respitefor GoodSamaritans 60
Zika’s
dangerousbite 70
Amma,Didi&Behenji
Kalyani Shankar:
Will the Bengal Tigress roar again?
R Ramasubramanian:
Will Jayalalithaa’s super branding
tactic pay off?
InterviewsNew FICCI chief on why
laws must changeMaharashtraAdvocate-General
Shreehari Aney explains
why he has appealed
Salman Khan’s acquittal
76
ThePrezremembers
BOOKEXTRACT
Meha Mathur:Will Mayawati be able to retain her
vote bank?
RameshMenon
SPOTLIGHT
SEXUALHARASSMENTREDUX
34
2838
52
46
e.ccooommmmm
AT CCCCCOOOOOOOOCOOCCCAT C
BOBOOOOOOOOOOO
RRREEEEVEVEVV
TTTrTrTraraaaa
aaaa lll
7778787888
RKRRK
MMMMMNMN
WWWWWWWhWhhy
cccececeeelleeb
aa ““ffafaai
Ajjijitititththhh P
SSSSSP
NDIA EGALL
March 15, 2016 `100
www.indialegalonline.com
I STORIES THAT COUNT
Areservations-linkedcivilwarinHaryanahasdamagedthismodelstateandmade
Bharatbleed.InderjitBadhwar,VipinPubbyandVenkatasubramaniandissectthe
legal,politicalandsocialconsequencesofquotablackmailing
ReapingaViolentHarvest
12
28
ToHell&Back:TheReturnofSanjayBaba
CriticalanalysisofhiscasebyRameshMenon
AjithPillairecallsaninterviewwiththelateSunilDuttafterhisson’sarrest
VIJAY
MALLYA
Legal
Turbulence
Ahead?
56
UNION
BUDGET
What Jaitley
Really
Wants
38
OPEN
LETTER
Lawyers
Condemn
Lawyers
42
CS KARNAN
The
Judge
22
Army patrolling
the streets of JindJATREBELLION
EVERY FORTNIGHT INDIA LEGAL WILL BRING YOU NEWS, ANALYSES AND
OPINION FROM THE SHARPEST INVESTIGATIVE REPORTERS AND MOST
INCISIVE LEGAL MINDS IN THE NATION ON MATTERS THAT MATTER TO YOU
ENC
ONLY THE STORIES
THAT COUNT
2^]cPRc)4=2^d]XRPcX^]b?ec;cS0(BTRc^a%'6PdcP1dSSW=PVPa=830D?! (

Film Review
Aligarh
OMOSEXUALITY in In-
dian cinema has been por-
trayed through a handful of
films that suffered quick,
painful deaths at the box of-
fice. People hardly remember Mahesh
Dattani’s Mango Souffle (2002) and fleetingly nod
remembrance to Onir’s I am (2010).
In I am, Rahul Bose plays a corporate profes-
sional who becomes a victim of a sex-hustler and a
sadistic cop because of his sexual preference. Al-
though it is one of the stronger stories in the four-
part pastiche, it barely manages to scrape through
the surface of the greater problem homosexuals
face in India. Karan Johar hazards a similar attempt
in Bombay Talkies (2013) with his story revolving
around Rani Mukherji and Randeep Hooda. Al-
though the film endeavors to put a mainstream
actor in a context where he grapples with his sexual
identity, it lacks a satisfying resolution to the prob-
lems it raises.
Aligarhsinglehandedlyachieveswhatearlierat-
tempts lacked. It demands to be patiently seen and
reacted to. Manoj Bajpayee plays SR Siras, a profes-
sor of Marathi at Aligarh University. The film starts
Sensitive
and PowerfulThe film deals with
homosexuality in a subtle
and nuanced manner. It
demands to be patiently
seen and reacted to.
BY TITHI MUKHERJEE
H

ALIGARH
Director::HansalMehta
Cast: ManojBajpayee,Rajkum-
marRao,AshishVidyarthi
Rating:
inthequietofthenight,asProfSiras’lifeiscapsized
whenheisdiscoveredwitha rickshawallah,bymen
who illegally film them. He is immediately sus-
pended and ostracized by society wielding their
sticksofmorality.Arookiejournalist,DeepuSebas-
tian, played by a dauntless Rajkummar Rao decides
to assist the disgraced professor in his journey to-
wards reinstating his dignity in the university.
SUBTLE IMAGERY
Aligarh’s dialogues are interspersed with bouts of
silence pregnant with meaning. Subtly nuanced and
ironical in its tone, director Hansal Mehta master-
fully uses imagery to expound his ideas of what
freedom means in an intrinsically homophobic so-
ciety. The dingy apartment lined with caged bars,
imprison the low profile professor who likes to end
his day with a peg or two of Royal Stag and old
Hindi film songs. Grossly uncomfortable with
being tagged “gay”, he explains his condition to
Deepu, as “an uncontrollable urge” that only poetry
can fathom. Although he is ably aided by his lawyer,
played by Ashish Vidyarthi and the devoted Deepu,
Siras is aware that he is fighting a lost battle.
After all, this is a society where breaking and
entering and filming two people within the privacy
of their bedrooms are dismissed as acts of public
service just because they are homosexuals. Mehta
portrays the problems that society has with out-
siders; Marathi in the land of Urdu, a gay professor
amidst a colony of married heterosexuals, the free-
dom to choose who we love, amongst a frenzy of
conventional moral codes.
Aligarh is about a yearning to belong with a
melancholic, beating heart. As talks of Aligarh’s ban
in Aligarh surface, the film wins with the one scene
where Bajpayee is crooning to a song, his toes tap-
ping to its rhythm. As Lata Mangeshkar’s song,
“Aapki nazron ne samjha pyaar ke qabil mujhe…”
floats ironically in the background, he is lulled into
an abyss of longing that glistens in his eyes. It is a
love that eludes him.
Mehta portrays the problems that society has
with outsiders; Marathi in the land of Urdu, a
gay professor amidst married heterosexuals,
the freedom to choose who we love, amongst
a frenzy of conventional moral codes.
OF LONGING AND BELONGING
Manoj Bajpayee (right) as Siras
and Rajkummar Rao as Deepu
Sebastian in a scene from Aligarh

Media Monitoring
TMM Survey
With the youth across the nation agitating over Rohith Vemula
suicide and JNU sedition row, much prime time on electronic media
was devoted to these debates.TMM highlights electronic media
coverage of Rohith Vemula issue, besides Jat agitation and debate
over Mahishasur in parliament
Covering Social Discontent
February 15 to February 29

11.00
13.00
18.00
12.00
13.00
11.00
9.00
16.00
0%
4%
6%
8%
12%
16%
18%
20%
Jatagitationstir
coveredbyTVchannels
IBN7 India TV NDTV Aaj Tak
Zee News Times Now India Today
14%
10%
2%
11%
12%
9%
15%
13%
12%
10%
18%
ABP
0%
4%
6%
8%
12%
16%
18%
Coverageof
RohithVemula’ssuicide
andprotestandparliament
debateonTVchannels
14%
10%
2%
9%
11%
17%
14%
13%
15%
10%
11%
ABP
0%
10%
15%
Coverageofuppercastereservation
stirinKanpuronTVchannels
25%
20%
5%
15%
13%
5%
13%
17%
7%
8%
22%
ABP
0% 5% 10% 15% 20%
IBN7
India TV
NDTV
Aaj Tak
Times Now
India Today
ABP
Zee News
CoverageofMahishasur
commentissueonTVchannels
23%
6%
1%12%
58%
Other news
OverallCoverage
Jat agitation
Rohith Vemula protest
and parliament debate
Upper caste
reservation stir
Mahishasur comment stir

NEWSDATE NEWS CHANNEL TIME
23/2/16
24/2/16
24/2/16
24/2/16
25/2/16
25/2/16
Delhipolicesubmitsitsreporton
KanhaiyatoHighCourt;decidesto
opposehisbailplea.
PlanegoesmissinginPokhara,Nepal.
Twenty-threeonboard.
Mayawati raisesVemula issue in Par-
liament; Ambedkar; says Ambedkar’s
followers are being targeted.
RahulGandhisaysgovtscaredofwhat
hehastosay,doesn’tlethimspeak.
26/2/16
10.00 AM9.58 AM9.56 AM
11:00 AM11:00 AM
12.16 PM 12.17 PM
11:00 AM 11:00 AM
12.17 PM 12.19 PM
10:31 AM
9.58 AM
10:30 AM 10:33 AM 10:34 AM
23/2/16 HurriyatcallsforKashmirBandhin
supportofJNU.
8:34 AM 8:34 AM 8:35 AM 8:35 AM
SanjayDutttobefreetoday.Spent
fouryears,threemonthsandfour-
teendaysinjail. 8:46 AM 8:46 AM 8:47 AM 8:47 AM
SureshPrabhupresentingRailBudget.
Nohikeintrainfares.Fournewtrains—
Tejas,Humsafar,Uday,Antyodaya. 12:06 PM12:05 PM 12:06 PM 12:07 PM
BJPparliamentarianUditRajon
Mahishasurcontroversy:Attendeda
functioninOctober2013;wasthereto
expressviewsonAmbedkar. 8:49 AM8:48 AM 8:48 AM 8:49 AM

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
26/2/16
26/2/16
26/2/16
1/3/16
Probeintoallegedgangrapeof10
womenatMurthalonFebruary22.
10.09 AM 10.10 AM 10.11 AM 10.11AM
12.01 PM 12.02 PM
PoliceclaiminTelanganaHighCourt:
VemulawasnotaDalit;thecasedoesn’t
fallinSC/STambit. 12.02 PM 12.04 PM
FMreleasesEconomicSurvey;GDP
growthratepeggedat7to7.5percent
in2016-17. 12.05 PM 12.05 PM 12.06 PM12.04 PM
11:01 AM 11:01 AM 11:01 AM 11:02 AM
11:15 AM
MinisterofStateRamShankarKatheria
deniesmakinginflammatoryremarks
againsttheMuslimcommunity.
28/2/16
ModionMannkiBaat;saysit’shisexam
timetoo.Sachinsendshismessageon
theprogram.
28/2/16
FourteenofaThanefamilydie;suspect
killsselfafterkillingentirefamily.
11:14 AM11:09 AM 11:10 AM
27/2/16
CongressaccusesofgovthandinFreedom
251scam.MDofRingbellcounters
charges,saystheyhavereturnedadvance
of30,000people.
7:54 AM7:54 AM
27/2/16
AccusedinJNUcase,Ashutoshreaches
RKPurampolicestation;facescharges
ofanti-Indiansloganeering. 10:01 AM 10:02 AM10:00 AM
7:54 AM
10:02 AM
7:53 AM
11:36 AM11:32 AM 11:34 AM11:34 AM

DESIGNSTHATMADE
IMAGINATIVEUSEOF
PHOTOGRAPHS,
FONTS,COLORAND
WHITESPACES
TOLEAVEAN
IMPRESSION
By ANTHONY
LAWRENCE
Design
Artist Shigeki
Matsuyama draws
inspiration
from the
camouflage tech-
nique used by
armies in World War
II, in this installation
in Tokyo. Identify
the model seated in
this “Dazzle Room”.
We may have to get used to
the idea of Donald Trump as US
president, a media critic
recently warned. And the
cover illustrations of The
Spectator (right) and
The Economist (below) project
the specter of a brash country
under a brash leader.

Homage in black and white. Law
clerks of the US Supreme Court
line up for the casket of
Associate Justice Antonin Scalia
to arrive at the Court premises.
Photographer Chip
Somodevilla has captured the
solemn occasion subtly.
Treating the world as his canvas,
painter Roberto Mamani has
converted these housing blocks
on the outskirts of La Paz,
Bolivia, into art works. Stepping
into the structure for amusement
is fine. But making it your home?
In this aerial shot of
Dharavi, Mumbai,
Danish Siddiqui of
Reuters has
captured daily life in
Asia’s biggest slum.
Amid the tightly-
enclosed and suffo-
cating sprawl, one
can see residents
converging in the
only available open
space to enjoy a
mobile museum.

lotmoreinhisbudgetandshowngreaterenterprise.
In the end, you couldn’t tell whether it was the
budget of the NDA or the UPA government.
He did some tinkering but there were no bold
measures. He could have done a lot more to recap-
italize public sector banks groaning under the pres-
sure of non-performing assets but he didn’t. He
could have raised taxes a little more and increased
indirect taxation to find more resources for the
urban and rural infrastructure projects, essential
for the country’s future growth.
The financial blueprint
drawn up by Arun
Jaitley was surprising
but you could not tell
whether it had the
stamp of the NDA
or the UPA on it
BY RAJENDRA BAJPAI
he budget comes every year
raisinghopesofabrighterand
more prosperous future but
unfailingly, those dreams
evaporate when the bulky fi-
nance documents are pre-
sented in parliament. Prime Minister Narendra
Modi’s third budget in a row was no different but
certainlysurprising.WithaclearmajorityintheLok
Sabha and two more budgets to go before elections
begin to stare in his face, Modi could have done a
TLACKING IN DARING
Jaitley packed a few
surprises but he could
have done a lot more
with Budget 2016
Budget 2016
overnanceG
Not Bold
Enough

The budget did provide Rs 87,000 crore for rural
development work and this was perhaps the single
most commendable effort although some more
would have been better. “Overall, it is a budget in-
tended to change the Suit Boot ki Sarkar image,”
wrote Sonu Iyer, National Leader of Ernst Young
on the company’s website. “There are a lot of poor
friendly schemes and initiatives…”
“He has balanced growth and social develop-
ment,” said Prof. N R Bhanumurthy of the National
Institute of Public Finance and Policy. But appar-
ently, he was a little disappointed because not
enough investment had been set aside to achieve a
growth of 8 to 10 percent.
The government has also decided to transfer
various subsidies to the bank accounts of potential
beneficiaries. But not all poor and rural folks have
bank accounts and that may create a problem.
The Modi government shot itself in the leg
when it announced that part of the savings in Em-
ployees Provident Fund (EPF) will be taxed when
it is withdrawn. EPF is a nest egg employees create
for their post-retirement days and touching that
could get nasty. There was an immediate hue and
cry and the government decided to beat a hasty re-
treat, fearing it could get badly stung in elections.
NOT ENOUGH SPUNK
The government could have also shown some more
spunk in dealing with the issue of bringing back
black money. Previous attempts and one-time
amnesties failed to attract large amounts. “The de-
clarants were liable to pay tax at the rate of 30 per-
cent and a like amount of 30 percent by way of
penalty on the value of assets declared,” the Central
Board of Direct Taxes said in a statement. “A total
of 644 declarations were made under the compli-
ance window provided in the Act (new anti-black
money law) which closed on September 30, 2015.
The amount involved in these 644 declarations was
Rs 4,164 crore by December 31, 2015. The amount
received by way of tax and penalty up to December
31, 2015 is Rs 2,428.4 crore,” the statement said.
Finance minister Arun Jaitley was more gener-
ous this time, declaring a penalty of only 15 percent
on top of a 30 percent tax. But there is no guarantee
black money will start flowing in. The trouble is you
cannot punish holders of black money because you
don’t know who they are and lowering the tax
below 30 percent raises moral issues because honest
tax payers are expected to pay that.
India’s black money stash is huge, one of the
highest in the world and is estimated at $51 billion.
Successive governments over the years have made
half-hearted attempts to open up the economy but
got only partial success. Manmohan Singh as fi-
nance minister made the first serious attempt in the
early 1990s but since then not much has been done.
Foreigners are still not allowed to invest directly
in the stock market and usually have to go through
institutional investors which many regard as cum-
bersome and expensive. Stockbroker Arjun
ONE GOOD MOVE
The budget has
provided `87,000 crore
for rural development
The government shot itself in the leg
when it announced that part of the EPF
savings will be taxed when withdrawn.
There was an immediate hue and cry and
it decided to beat a hasty retreat.

for recapitalization of banks which falls far short of
therequirement.Morgan Stanleyhasestimatedthat
bad loans of 28 public sector banks total about Rs
2.5 lakh crore while the government’s estimate is Rs
1.8 lakh crore. Liquor magnate Vijay Mallya alone
owes about Rs 7,000 crore to banks.
The banks are unable to make adequate provi-
sions to cover the potential defaults because some
are running at a loss and others have seen a drop in
profits. The Reserve Bank of India has allowed the
banks to revalue their real estate holdings acquired
years ago to bring it in line with current values. But
that would only help the balance sheets of the banks
but do nothing to reduce their imminent losses.
Most analysts believe the government needs to
do much more to strengthen the banking sector
and consolidation through mergers may be one an-
swer. “It is easier to opt for consolidation in a crisis
because it is difficult to take the decision in normal
times,” says Arundhati Bhattacharya, chairman of
the State Bank of India, adding that the country
needs only four or five large banks to meet the
economy’s credit requirements.
“A lower-than-expected PSU bank recapitaliza-
tionandhighertaxesonluxuryproductscouldkeep
markets panting for further measures and support
in certain sectors,” said Edelweiss Capital Markets.
All economic forecasts, including maintaining
fiscal deficit at 3.5 percent of the GDP, depend on
the accuracy of economics data published by the
government. Often, there is a wide difference be-
tween initial estimates and revised estimates.
Swaminathan Aiyar of The Economic Times said
the numbers could be faulty, making nonsense of
budget predictions. “The Central Statistical Office
has projected a growth of 7.6 percent in 2015-16,
the highest in the world,” he wrote. “But corporate
results stink. Top-line growth has been stagnant or
falling for large companies for several quarters. The
index of industrial production shows virtually zero
increase… but CSO declares that manufacturing
boomed 12.6 percent in the same period. The gap
is not just large but ridiculous.”
MISSED OPPORTUNITY
The finance minister
has failed to
tackle the issue of
stressed assets of
public sector banks
Kapur of Arjun Kapur Co. feels it’s not a bad idea
as the country is full of “shadowy” brokers who
would take foreigners for a ride. “99.9 percent of
brokers are crooks and if every Tom, Dick and
Harry is allowed to invest, they will be taken for a
ride.”
But global investor Jim Rogers strongly dis-
agrees and favors direct investment by brokers. “Am
I investing in India? No. This budget is not enough
to make me invest in India,” he told a newspaper.
“What would attract my attention is an open and
free market so that anybody could just pick up the
phone and buy Indian shares... If Modi ever opens
up the capital markets, I would be the first man on
the phone.”
BANKS AND STRESSED ASSETS
The finance minister also failed to tackle adequately
the issue of stressed assets of public sector banks.
Their ill-advised loans to failed or failing businesses
have created a huge portfolio of non-performing
assets. This has chipped away at the viability of the
banks and they need to be recapitalized or they will
face the prospect of bankruptcy which could do
much damage to India and undermine the confi-
dence in public sector banks.
But the budget has provided for Rs 25,000 crore
Budget 2016
overnanceG

JNU IMBROGLIO
VIEWSONNEWSMARCH 07, 2016 `50
THE CRITICAL EYE
www.viewsonnewsonline.com
Ode to Urdu
Jashn-e-Rekhta showed
its universal appeal 38
Education
Girls first in Bihar 50
SMALL SCREEN
Flop script
of film
awards
42
TMM SPECIAL
Negative
news on TV
channels
22
SplitWideOpen12
GROUND ZERO
There’s a
leopard in my
school!
30
1211212222
Why the arrest of a student leader has created a vertical divide in the nation’s
politics and media Ajith Pillai 12
SPOTLIGHT
How print
covers
farmers’
distress 24
Governance
Kanhaiya Kumar
after his arrest
=PT)0VT)BTg)
0SSaTbb)

2Xch)BcPcT)?X])
?W^]TATb)UUXRT)TPX[)
4]R[^bTS332WT`dT=^)3PcTS)3aPf])Uâ`)
2PaS=^)BXV]PcdaT)
5â^dcbcPcX^]RWT`dT_[TPbTPSS`$
332WT`dTc^QTSaPf]X]UPe^daÛ4=2^d]XRPcX^]b?ec;cS
C^QTbT]cc^)4=2^d]XRPcX^]b?ec;cS0(BTRcâ%'6PdcP1dSSW=PVPa=830D?! (
CTabR^]SXcX^]bP__[h?[TPbT_aêXSTdb#fTTZbc^bcPach^dabdQbRaX_cX^]
SUBSCRIBE TO VIEWS ON NEWS
GET FABULOUS DISCOUNTS
For advertising subscription queries
sales@viewsonnewsonline.com
HTb8f^d[S[XZTc^bdQbRaXQTcÊ84FB==4FBPVPiX]TUâcWTÛUTaX]SXRPcTSQT[^f
VIEWSONNEWSTHE CRITICAL EYE
S
SAVE UP TO 60%
SUBSCRIBE NOW
Views On News (VON) is India’s premier fortnightly magazine that
covers the wide spectrum of modern communication loosely known
as “the media”. Its racy, news and analysis oriented story-telling
encompasses current global and Indian developments, trends, future
projections encompassing policy and business drifts, the latest from
inside the print and electronic newsrooms, the exciting developments
in ever-expanding digital space, trending matters in the social media,
advertising, entertainment and books.
EVERY FORTNIGHT VIEWS ON NEWS WILL BRING YOU TELL-ALL
NEWS, ANALYSES AND OPINION FROM THE SHARPEST INVESTI-
GATIVE REPORTERS AND MOST INCISIVE MINDS IN THE NATION
An ENC Publication
If the media is leaving you behind, stay ahead of it by picking up yester-
day’s Views On News!
VIEWS ON NEWS
Don’t miss a single issue of this stimulating, unbiased, entertaining new fortnightly magazine and get special discounts for yourself and
your friends
CXRZ^]T CTaHTPab =^Û8bbdTb 2êTa?aXRT` H^d_Ph` H^dbPeT` BPeX]V
HTPa !#8bbdTb ! % % $
!HTPab #'8bbdTb !# (% ## %

Over the years, the Railway Budget is seen and
waited anxiously by the general public as the Rail-
ways are the most common carrier for ordinary
and other citizens of the country. Everyone looks
forward to the announcement of new trains, fare
structure and other facilities in the rail budget.
However, those who don’t travel by train show
no interest in it, barring economists, academicians
or institutions of research and infrastructure de-
velopment.
Earlier, around 50 to 80 pairs of passenger
trains were introduced every year through the
VERY year, in the last we-
ek of February, the Rail-
way Budget is presented in
the Lok Sabha. The rail
budget was separated from
the normal budget in 1905
when the railway budget was formed to separate
its heavy and adverse impact on general revenues.
A separate capital was thus created with the pro-
vision of annual dividend by Railways to the gen-
eral exchequer for running and development of
the Indian railway system.
E
Railway Budget
overnanceG

budget. This included increasing the frequency for
a few or extending the journeys of some. However,
for the last few years, the introduction of new
trains is not taking place in large numbers as there
are capacity constrains in the running and main-
tenance of passenger trains which affect freight
traffic giving revenues in much larger proportion
compared with that of passenger traffic.
Commuter and local trains are considered a
burden on the railway system as these are uneco-
nomical and exert pressure on the rail system as
these trains have to be accorded priority.
The 2016-17 budget is nothing but painting,
coloring and decorating a dilapidated building
which has become very weak, old and outdated.
No attention has been paid to strengthen the
building. The Railway budget, this year, has only
cosmetic changes, like introducing wi-fi systems
at 400 railway stations, “Make in India” project of
two loco factories, introduction of Antyodya Ex-
press, Humsafar Express, Uday Express, Tejas
Express trains as well as Dean Dayal coaches.
These indicate that the passenger sector is in a
pitiable condition.
Other cosmetic items include CCTV cameras
on Tatkal windows, “Clean my coaches” through
SMS, Rail Mitra Sewa, Janani Sewa, measures for
Divyang, travel insurance, smart coaches, mobile
apps, entertainment through FM radio in trains,
Bullet Train, naming coolies as “Sahayaks”, and
Not the
Right
SignalThere are only cosmetic changes and no
vision to ensure that the Railways’ core
activity—freight and passenger transport—
is flawless and improved
BY SATYA PRAKASH
CRUSHING PROBLEM
It is a challenge to revive
the cash-strapped railways
and relieve the agony of the
common traveler

healthy and strong. A body needs a strong and
powerful skeleton which has to act as a frame for
holding the body. The current budget lacks vision
from the point of view of measures and schemes
through which the production of transport activ-
ity is smooth and flawless. As such, there is big
competition of railways with other modes of
transport like road, air and waterways. Petroleum
companies have already started making pipelines
across various parts of the country to move petro-
leum products. Forty years ago, freight was being
carried by railways to the extent of 80 percent of
total volume which has now considerably reduced.
Over the years, it been seen that the govern-
ment in power takes populist measures more in
spirit, than on merit, to return to power. There will
always be elections in same part of the country.
Therefore, government takes populist measures to
retain power or gain power in states. This results
in weakening the system, and infrastructure min-
istries and departments suffer.
A balance is required to be struck between
pilgrim trains. There are proposals for the im-
provement of customer interface arrangements
through various methods and schemes.
H
owever, it is not being said that these
new ideas should not have been bro-
ught in. Change is the law of nature and
the world is changing very fast. The population
has to be served through new ideas. Progress is
achieved only through changes. The ideas are ap-
preciated and so it must be.
What is being pointed out is that the Railway’s
core activity and business is transport. The system
has to produce transport. It has to be financially
Railway management and officials spend
more time in arranging expenditure than
focusing on earnings. In various meetings, the
time devoted to increase revenue is marginal
while spending is discussed in detail.
ARDUOUSTASK
(Above) Rail Minister
Suresh Prabhu said
an investment of
`8,50,000 crore
is needed over five
years to modernize
the Railways
Railway Budget
overnanceG

populism and merit considerations in deciding
various measures which affect the department in
the long run.
T
he Railways need big generation of finan-
cial resources, and apart from freight traf-
fic, the other big source can be land
exploitation in a safe manner so that land is not
lost. Measures like increasing the revenue from
advertisements or small-level activities will not
give sufficient funds to run the system. The Rail-
ways propose PPP model schemes but not much
break- through is being achieved. The general
feeling is that in all such proposals, the risk is to
be completely owned by investors, whereas profits
assured to the Railways with guaranteed returns.
The Railways should merge with few depart-
ments and reduce the levels of disposal of files and
new schemes. There is a “terror” of vigilance am-
ongst officials who don’t dare to take decisions be-
cause of recent scams. Even after retirement,
people are not being spared. There is no reward
for excellence in output, whereas any slip, even if
unintentional and accepted by all, is not allowed
to be let off and an officer’s career gets threatened.
In such an atmosphere, papers are full with analy-
sis and examination with lot of study but no deci-
sion is being taken. The land belonging to the
Railways is being encroached and it feels helpless
in evicting encroachers. Whatever land is available
is not being exploited to gain financially.
Bodies like Rail Development Authority have
been formed, but of not much avail. Strong meas-
ures should be taken to gain huge revenue from
land which is quite prime from the location point
of view since these are mostly near railways sta-
tions and important areas of the city. Unfortu-
nately, the Railway management and officials
spend more time in arranging expenditure than
concentrating on earnings. In various meetings,
the time devoted to actually increase revenue is
marginal while spending is discussed in detail.
— The writer is former additional
member, Railway Board
A SYSTEM UNDER STRAIN
(Above left) Commuter
and local trains are
always a burden on the
Railways
(Above) The public
transporter no longer
carries the amount of
freight it used to, say 40
years ago

Views On News 22 march 2016

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Viewers also liked

Viewers also liked (20)

Similar to Views On News 22 march 2016

Similar to Views On News 22 march 2016 (20)

More from ENC

More from ENC (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Views On News 22 march 2016