In this episode of South Central, hosts Dhanya Rajendran, Pooja Prasanna and Leena Reghunath are joined by Newslaundry’s Manisha Pande and The News Minute’s Sudipto Mondal and Jahnavi.
Manisha talks about Newslaundry’s ground report on the real death toll at the Kumbh stampede last week, and how the ‘official’ death toll is significantly lower. “We accessed hospital records that show at least 79 bodies were brought in from the Kumbh stampede,” she says.
Dhanya questions the mainstream media’s lack of coverage. “But why have more people not demanded these numbers? That is what really puzzles me,” she says. Pooja adds that governments “want to set world records for attendance at these events, but basic crowd control measures are missing”.
The conversation moves to Chennai police summoning journalists and seizing their devices over the coverage of the Anna University sexual assault case. They discuss how “downloading an FIR in itself is not a crime” and how this was made clear in this case by retired Justice Madan Lokur, who wrote the SC guidelines on how to report on rape.
Leena highlights the broader legal implications: “Courts have given mixed rulings on the seizure of journalists’ phones, but this raises serious concerns about press freedom and police overreach.”
Jahnavi then breaks down the findings of Telangana’s recently conducted caste survey. “The government claims they’ve enumerated 97 percent of the population, but the numbers don’t match Aadhaar or voter ID records,” she says.
Sudipto critiques the lack of transparency: “A caste survey is supposed to reveal the socio-economic status of different groups, but this government has only released broad percentages. Without real data, how can policies be made?”
This and more, tune in!
Once a month, we will invite one TNM subscriber to the show. Write to us on what you would like to speak about to southcentral@thenewsminute.com.
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Timecodes
00:00:00 - Announcements
00:01:45 - Introduction
00:03:21- Headlines
00:07:11- Kumbh Mela stampede
00:22:56 - Delhi elections: AAP’s toughest battle?
00:33:20 - Chennai police vs. journalists
00:46:59 - Telangana caste census: What’s missing?
01:02:37 - Letters
01:07:36 - Recommendations
References
Criminalising faith: Karnataka’s anti-conversion law is being used to harass citizens
Bengaluru officials demand parental consent for interfaith weddings: A TNM investigation
The anti-federal winds that waft in the latest UGC regulations
Ground report: Not 30, at least 79 dead in Kumbh stampede, suggest official records
Media must apologise for revealing Anna University survivor's identity: Justice Madan Lokur
Tamil Nadu government in tough spot over SIT probe | Powertrip #89
Recommendations
Manisha Pande
Sudipto Mondal
Jahnavi
Leena Reghunath
Pooja Prasanna
Bhima Koregaon: Challenging Caste by Ajaz Ashraf
Dhanya Rajendran
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Produced by Bhuvan Malik, edited by Jaseem Ali.
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