Harnek Kang
In the last Hafta, Abhinandan spoke a bit about the history of Kumbh. If we leave out Brahminical versions and look at historical proofs like archeology, travelogues etc than we come across travelogues of Hiuen Tsang (629 to 645 AD) in his book describes Prayag as an important Buddhism city having 2 sangharaams or colleges with hostels, the site where Ganga and Yamuna (no Saraswati as per him) meets was called Maha Daan Bhoomi where during Mela or gathering as per astrological dates. Kings or the rich had a ceremony to give daan to the first Buddhist monks and institutions than to other poor people but no one talks about history as it was, Indian history is just a war of narratives.
Vaibhav
The Hafta episode I watched on February 15 worried me when I saw Abhinandan asking for proof of the RSS’s role in IAC protests of 2013-14. I believe that there is a clear gap in understanding on how RSS operates. RSS indoctrinates at an early age and then they take care of things themselves without having need for any central orchestration. You need to see who is involved and what is their background to understand how RSS infiltrates movements and organisations with their people hiding in plane sight. The way this indoctrination works is so subtle that even people with the purest of intentions are seen siding with right wing positions and causes.
AAP has a clear problem in this aspect starting right at the top. Congress has had huge infiltration for the longest of time reaching even inside the Gandhi family at times.
I hope that you will take note of this.
Sandeep Banik
Dear NL Hafta team,
News is time-sensitive, and fresh updates often overshadow older content. Podcasts like Hafta, however, provide deeper discussions with expert insights. To expand your subscriber base, consider releasing older Hafta episodes from behind the paywall after a set delay (e.g., three weeks). Historical data on free Hafta releases could inform the optimal timeframe. Since discussion topics eventually lose timeliness, the cost of making them public may be minimal. Additionally, the associated full video episodes could boost YouTube views, drawing in new subscribers. Your in-house analytics team could refine the data to make such decision. Such an approach might maximise engagement while retaining core subscribers. I hope you find these suggestions valuable and wish Hafta continued success.
Raghav S
Hello team, I went to the Kumbh recently and had a weird experience. In a conversation with friends, I accidentally said the word ‘Allahabad’... Following which my friends called me pseudosecular and leftist. This was very hurtful for me, coming from two of my closest friends. It was my observation that the locals called the place Allahabad and the outsiders like us wanted them to call it Prayagraj. The name change is more like Aurangabad to Chhatrapati Sambajinagar (to remove Aurangzeb association) rather than Mumbai or Chennai (name in the local language). What are your thoughts about this?
Love your work. Keep it up.
Methodman
It's unfortunate you covered the UGC story without referencing reportage from Kerala/Arif Khan, where there's been a lot of chancellor/government conflict recently. If you'd look at those rather than relying just on your guest, you would see what looks like straight-up nepotism, where rules were bent to get five wives of CPIM ministers and functionaries into university teaching posts, over the heads of better-qualified people.
Not saying that this justifies executive takeover. But if states rights arguments become a convenient cover for marking territory, the appointment system loses credibility and the public stops caring who controls the levers.
The fall of the state universities did not start with the BJP. Allahabad, Madras, even Calcutta are pale shadows, Delhi and Bombay rare survivors, and the central universities have done much better.
Re Hartosh, is there anything the man loves? I would like him more for it. And Tanveer Ejaz out-Abhinandan-ed Abhinandan, not letting others speak.
Manan
For Mahakumbh head count, I add that 48 crore number is bullshit. It can't be 48 crore because population of the country is 140cr. This means more than 1/3rd of the country is at Kumbh assuming these devotees are evenly distributed. Do you see 1/3rd of your housing society, office staff, friends visiting Kumbh? Now if we take other factors into account like
(a) People of other religions will not visit kumbh in the sam proportion as Hindus
(b) government claims 80 crore people get free food. So assuming most of them are unable to travel from states which are far from UP.
(c) Taking wealth disparity into account most people travelling to kKumbh may be from the middle/rich class.
Taking these factors into account this 1/3 may go towards 1/2. Take a poll around the panel, if anyone has half or 1/3 of their friends/relatives going to Kumbh? You'll get your answer.
I want to add my name to the Friends of NL list. [Editor’s note: Thank you so much, we have taken your details!]
Peri Sai Teja
Respected sirs and madams,
I was about to post a spirited defense of Mr. Anand Vardhan and how bland everyone else’s arguments feel compared to his, but the unfortunate incident at KIIT has forced me to shift focus on the shameful conduct of the institute management towards Nepali students. Having done my bachelors from a private university myself, I could say that this kind of shadowy suppressive behavior is all too common at private institutes. On the contrary, I found govt universities are much better in responding to student needs as they might be. In any case there would not be the vilest assault by security guards and management that we witnessed at KIIT. I also wonder where the opposition is when all of this is happening. Whether it be Kumbh mismanagement or KIIT or myriad other grievances I feel the opposition is completely absent.
Mayukh Bose
Kinda tragic, after hearing Abhinandan praise the stability of American institutions for so long in contrast to Indian ones, to see Trump take a dump on them.
Love your work. From the mission to every bit of execution. Thank you ♂️.
NL zindabad.
Jugraj Singh
My tin foil hat conspiracy theory about the India's Got Latent online controversy is as following: Adarniy Shree Shree Best PM promised eventual political protection and future wealth/influence creation opportunities to BeerBicep/SamayRaina to create this controversy so that the govt finds a reason to support its law to restrict and police digital media.
Sudipt Roy
Hi, as a long-term NL subscriber who is proud to support the awesome work that our journalists do, I am at a crossroads. After NL's alliance with TNM, I expected a wider coverage. But as I read and listen to TNM, they appear to be unidimensional activists lacking the impartiality of a journalist. Among several examples, while discussing NRN's 70-hr work week prescription, their highly regarded Executive Editor managed to bring in a caste angle completely out of context, as he is often prone to do. Extreme wokeism is not only troublesome but also leads to undesirable consequences, like Trump. You may not have an easy answer to this situation. So, you do what you have to, and I’ll choose what I should.
Baki Hanm
A few days back, a UFC fighter Bryce Mitchell started a podcast, and on its very first episode, he said, “He'd have loved to go fishing with Hitler, who was a nice dude.” There was backlash from all corners and he apologised.
UFC boss Dana White was questioned if he'd fire Bryce to which he said, “It was the dumbest and most ignorant stuff that Bryce had said, but it is free speech, we can like it or not like it, but it is what it is.”
Then we have the whole Samay-BeerBiceps thing where a joke has killed an entire IP. I'm not the target audience of what Samay puts out and for Ranveer is India's Joe Rogan (with hair and without charisma but with potentially a similar diabolic impact), bu does nobody care about “free Speech” in India? Sadly the answer is yes.. but..not even for the bunch that massaged the right?
Last couple of weeks have been interesting.
Srikanta
Dear NL Hafta.
I listened to the latest episode of Hafta featuring the editor of Caravan Bal and Prof Aijaz from Delhi University. I found the discussion on the new UGC regulations very useful and it got its balance because of Anand Vardhan's timely interventions.
It was sad to see Hartosh (and others) taking pot shots at conservative scholarship in India. They are probably not trained enough to read conservative scholarship in the vernacular. Swapan Dasgupta is a renegade as Hartosh recognised tongue-in-cheek. What Hartosh sees as right wing “scholarship is not seen as scholarship by those who are authentic conservatives. What he conveniently forgets is that the conservative thought leaders were many (Gandhi himself was a conservative! and so was Vivekananda and Aravinda) and they have had a greater role in shaping our cultural mindscape than these so called deracinated left wingers. The conservative thought is not lured by “secularised and narrative of the political”. Conservative thought is also more nuanced when it comes to debates on the social sciences. Scientific temper is essential. Science and tech progress is important but it is not the be all and end all of this world.
The left wing prides itself of having produced “great” scholarship or at least having the “right credentials” as Hartosh wants to put it. He is right to the extent that many liberal and left leaning scholars and vidwans have had a reputation of having western education or westernised education within India. We can also call it western enlightenment, which has played a crucial role in modernising the world. Almost all are well meaning.
I thank Anand for highlighting the left “education pogrom” of the 1970s. It did more damage than in most people's estimate. If not for that extreme communist doctrine, India couldn't have entered the modern so called “right wing lunacy”. Prof Aijaz shouldn't have dismissed it simply as tit for tat. Modern lunacy among the right-wing hoodlums is bereft of scientific temper. They do not constitute conservative thought in India. Do not make the mistake of equating conservative thinking with right-wing lunacy including fascism. It would be stupid of me if I equate liberal left leaning thought (a great force of humankind) with communist/stalinist/maoist bunkum. Why call left wing thought has to be progressive? Who says that conservative is regressive? Just self-glorification of the left and by the left?
Pradeep
Hello,
I have two questions:
1) This is regarding Abhinandan Sekhri claiming that RSS was not driving the IAC movement. However, Raju Parulekar said that he was part of the inner circle and said that it was driven by the RSS. Can you please invite him for a discussion on the IAC movement and debate with him on this?
2) How much time do you expect that an average person should spend reading news in a week? Because, if I watch the NL Hafta, South Central, NL Charcha, NL Tippani, TV Newsance, Reporters Without Orders. This easily takes up eight hours in a week, which comes to more than one hour per day. This doesn't even cover the ground reports and deep analysis done by your team. So, I wanted to know how much time do you realistically expect a person to consume watching news?
Hansika
Hi team NL
In NL Hafta episode 523, Manisha mentions the contrast of democracies and non-democracies and their economic progress. I was reading this (Beyond Regimes: China and India Compared) book for an assignment and feel it may be relevant in answering her questions. Though her context was comparing two historical colonized nations, I feel this book may still be relevant.
Good podcasts!
Rakshit Tyagi
Thank you Anand!
As someone who often finds myself getting emotionally invested in issues, I appreciate your unique ability to approach topics with calmness and nuanced perspective.
I propose and hope for a new, long-form podcast by you. Given your busy schedule, a semimonthly podcast could explore contemporary topics, without being tied to the news cycle. The format could mirror The Ezra Klein Show, with options for audio essays, expert interviews, or discussions with NL team members to delve deeper into your views. This podcast would offer a unique platform for thoughtful, in-depth analysis and discussion.
Navonil
Dear Newslaundry team,
I've been a subscriber since 2021, listening religiously to Hafta every week and Charcha regularly, besides keeping up with your reports. Last week, I discovered Awful & Awesome, and it's fantastic! Easily one of the best light podcasts I've heard – I'm a new fan!
As my birthday is February 7, sharing it with Newslaundry makes this discovery even more special. Kudos to Abhinandan, Anand, Jayashree, and Shardool for making all the podcasts so engaging. Keep up the great work!
Abhijeet
The Mahakumbh incident has left me dejected. The hiding of dead bodies, the denial, the cover-ups...it's nauseating.
Sure, the government will care about optics, and the media houses have vested interests, but one would still assume that at some point, a basic human decency will take priority; the basic respect for human lives and deaths!
Like Dhanya remarked on South Central, it's amazing how everyone involved complied with the cover-ups. One would guess that someone in those newsrooms would rebel at this point.
It's like we are in an Orwellian dystopia!
Kudos to reporters like Basant and Lallantop's Abhinav, but it is a depressing state of affairs if you need "investigative journalism" for something as simple as "how many people died?".
Lastly, someone should follow-up on what happened at that Haldiram store in Jhusi. Apparently, the people have changed and the new people are just saying "Sab changa si".
NR
Hey! Long time subscriber and fan of NL. Quick comment on the topic of immigration that came up in Hafta 523. It makes me very uncomfortable when the argument of "you plundered us, now it's our time" comes up. I've heard the same logic used by right wingers when it comes to justifying their muslim hate. "The Mughals looted/raped/ruled over us. Now we'll show them." I don't think this loop of perpetual revenge is helpful in moving forward. Immigration is a such a complicated issue and clearly needs to be dealt with empathy and kindness, while thinking of those seeing migration as well as current citizens. Thoughts?
***
Rohit
I saw Ravish Kumar's interview "can you take it".
I noticed how optimistic he was about social media and it's impact on women's future.It reminded me of myself I also used feel like him, like when I would grow up it'll be a very different world for my generation my generation won't believe in caste or we would be more welcoming and we would bring a good change but the more I'm growing up my friends, my contemporaries, people around me are getting more casteist, misogynistic and more homophobic. It's just tough for me to adjust to reality. Have you ever felt this way or I'm I thinking too much. Btw I'm 23.
Rakshit Govil
Hi NL Team,
I recently became a paying subscriber and truly appreciate the incredible work you all do, especially Hafta. My question is for Abhinandan: There have been serious allegations that the RSS played a crucial role in the Anna Movement. As someone who was actively involved, what are your thoughts on this?
Looking back, I personally feel a sense of guilt for unintentionally amplifying what may have been an RSS-driven agenda, especially since none of the alleged scams ultimately proved to be true.
Ujval
I may differ from other subscribers, but Anand’s failure to bring in ANY commentary is a big let down to Hafta. On each issue, he claims to add what has “not been said” (his words, not mine) but what he adds is the most obvious facts that rarely adds context, and offers hardly an opinion.
I find his calisthenic attempts at neutrality to be disingenuous and glad he was called out in #523 (the farce of ‘lawmakers’ v executive). If not adding a perspective - why is he there?
That said, his interventions are better than Shardul’s flippant (and sometimes ignorant) views.
Overall, fantastic work, I love you all very much, and am a proud and NL sticker brandishing subscriber.
Ujval
This is my second letter since I felt the last one was too critical. Unfortunately, I am blunt and 150 words don’t let me couch my criticism (Abhinandan will relate).
I write this to let you know how proud I am when I see/read your amazing work. In 2024, that was LS election reporting, AQI campaign and much more, each pulled off so well, it went well beyond my expectations.
I rely on NL for credible reporting and insightful commentary, and have been a long time supporter of both NL as well as Hafta.
Therefore, please read my critique as coming from a place of support and pride, and not bitterness - there are certainly merits to whom I have criticised, but it's my duty as a subscriber to voice where I feel let down. Look forward to hearing from all of you every week! Keep up the great work!
Aabha
Please yaar Abhinandan, please stop adding your comments before the headlines are done. You all should have a mechanism or like a code word to stop this happening.
Lohz
Dear Newslaundry team,
I hope this email finds you well. As an 18-year-old BMM student from Mumbai, I am writing to express my heartfelt admiration for the exceptional work that your team has been doing. Manisha ma'am and Abhinandan sir, your commitment to unbiased and fearless journalism is truly inspiring. I am also a huge fan of Nidhi Suresh's work.
Your dedication to seeking truth and holding those in power accountable has motivated me to pursue a career in journalism. I am reaching out to inquire about potential opportunities to intern or work with NewsLaundry. I understand that this is an informal request, but I would be thrilled to contribute to your team in any capacity.
On a lighter note, I would love it if you could read this email on your next NL Hafta episode! My name is Lohana, naam toh yaad rahega na? hehehe.
Thank you for your time, and I eagerly look forward to hearing from you.
Best regards,
Lohz the Journo!
Agitha Achyuth Kumar
Hey, I recently watched the BBC India interview with CJI Chandrachud. I personally liked it. But I found very few topics covered by the interviewer. Can we expect interviews with him from Newslaundry team questioning him about his decisions during his tenure as CJI? I think there is scope to learn. What is your opinion if you watched that interview?
Jersha Grace
Hello team,
I really enjoy NL Hafta, I always learn a lot from the discussions and I'm a big fan of Manisha's style.
My suggestion is to pick an environmental issue for discussion may be once in 2-3 weeks. The discourse around climate change generally sticks to mitigation measures like renewable energy but India needs to focus more on climate change adaption measures like protecting ecosystems and sustainable land use to safeguard the population from the adverse effects that we are already facing. Currently there are many ongoing issues like the conflicts between tribals and mining companies in Hasdeo forests in Chattisgarh, oil explorations in Assam, issues with water accessibility & landslides in Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the takeover of grasslands/wetlands for tree plantation projects, and the slow erosion of environmental laws and the EIA process in the name of development and National Security.
***
Abhishek Jadhav
Hi Abhinandan and everyone on the panel,
It would be interesting to see Newslaundry do more investigative journalism besides political news. With the mass deportation of Indian citizens from the US, many aspects need to be covered. As The Print spoke to one of the deported Indian citizens, they told them about the fake travel agencies and the dream that is sold. We need to cover these voices and bring out the names of these agencies by going undercover.
Thanks for all the good work.
Adish Sethi
Greetings to the Newslaundry team!
While I appreciate the independent and bold journalism done by the Newslaundry team, I have a philosophical question, about social justice in their funding model. Newslaundry is funded completely by subscriber money. Is this model fair, given that the poor are unable to afford subscriptions? Does it affect Newslaundry's ability or inclination to cover issues relevant to the poor?
We can even broaden this question to cover all subscription-based, ad-free news media outlets. My concern is that, without government funding, such media outlets may become elite clubs, with little regard for the journalism needs of the poor.
With best regards, Hoping to hear your reply in the next 'Hafta' podcast,
A curious subscriber.
Manan Shah
The best thing about BJP winning Delhi is now there’s one entity completely responsible for state of Yamuna and state of air in Delhi. They also have neighbouring UP and Haryana and are of course at the Centre and in local level. Now they’ll have to clean it for sure or face criticism without deflecting it to any one else. And you: the NL team has 40+ MLA houses to go to in coming days for the clean air project. I think you should definitely go to every single direct representatives house from Delhi (MP, MLA, Local councillor etc), and it will serve as a historical record for what this kind of government does to a society.
***
Manan Shah
Hi team,
This last 2-3 days we are seeing huge criticism of Donald Trump and of govt of India for how illegal immigrants were transported. This Modi government couldn’t protect the legal citizens on their own land in Mahakumbh. The people in Mahakumbh are literally core voters of BJP, it’s their own people; their own double engine or kinda triple engine sarkaar in UP, which is again their backyard. They couldn’t even protect 30 people (as officially stated or 89+ as NL found out) of their own, how the hell will this “56 inches” Modi government protect people who migrated illegally. What’s the point of even speaking about the illegal immigrants in such a scenario. It’s like expecting someone to get ranking at national level when he couldn’t qualify school level or building level things.
Dr Pamposh Bazaz
When I was 13, I wrote an essay discussing the phenomenon Arvind Kejriwal was and what he meant to the people of India, not just Indian politics, but to the people of India. Today, I witnessed the fall of a leader who was once “by the people, for the people, of the people,” yet no longer resonates with the sentiment of the citizens, those very people who once showered him with garlands and, at times, slippers. A man who once took both in his stride, standing alongside the people, is now a politician struggling to appease the masses.
I fail to understand why this country’s politics has shifted from governance to contesting extravagant election campaigns. The centre’s unwavering determination to succeed stems from its inability to perform. To rule on the grounds of division is politics no one thought an individual of the calibre of Arvind Kejriwal would stoop to; but it’s not far-fetched for the politician Kejriwal has become, unsurprisingly so.
Political discourse leading up to and in the aftermath of an election is all that makes up TV news these days. Whether in India or abroad, all our news programmes care about is, “Who won?” Do I think this is a blow to the democratic nature of this country? Not at all. On the contrary, this anti-incumbent nature of politics bolsters meritocracy, if elections are ever fought on those grounds. Alas, what might now be considered a fall from grace by some, a lesson learned by many, is simply a disappointing descent of a man into the shell of a politician.
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