Reporters Without Orders

This week, host Anmol Pritam is joined by Newslaundry’s Avdhesh Kumar and Sumedha Mittal.Sumedha profiled Bansuri Swaraj, daughter of Sushma Swaraj and the BJP’s candidate from New Delhi constituency. She explains why the BJP chose not to field Meenakshi Lekhi, a two-time winner from the constituency, and how Bansuri has been trying to make herself relatable to voters despite a ‘nepotism’ narrative.Avdhesh reported on the violence during polling in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal, where voters from Muslim-majority villages alleged they were beaten up by the state police. He says the voters, despite having voter IDs, say they were “deliberately” prevented from casting their votes. Tune in.Timecodes00:00:00 - Introduction00:00:35 - Violence and elections00:11:00 - Bansuri Swaraj00:29:20 - Sambhal incident00:42:10 - RecommendationsRecommendationsSumedhaThe Election TricycleIdentity politics, polarisation, and development aspirations mark the electoral battle for Bihar’s MithilanchalAvdheshUttarakhand: Over 1,000 forest fires in 4 months, crisis looms amid poor preparednessAnmolRuled or MisruledProduced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, recorded by Anil Kumar.

This week, host Basant Kumar is joined by Newslaundry reporters Tanishka Sodhi and Anmol Pritam, who have been reporting on the ongoing Lok Sabha elections from ground zero. Anmol talks about his experience of reporting from Bihar on the tussle between the BJP-led NDA and the INDIA alliance and the “Nitish Kumar factor”, which seems to be dying down. He also shed light on the state of affairs in the hinterlands and the shifting political dynamics in the backward state.  Tanishka reported on the Baramati constituency in Maharashtra, where the two factions of the NCP battled for the Pawar legacy. She says the rift in the Pawar family is leading the voters into confusion, while NCP supremo Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule told her it’s “not a family issue”.     Tune in.Timecodes00:00:00 - Introduction00:20:38 - Bihar politics00:20:43 - Pawar vs Pawar00:39:26 - RecommendationsRecommendationsTanishkaBigotry 101 | BJP’s Crazy Experience at a Samdish Rally in DelhiAnmolLaapataa LadiesBasantLaapataa LadiesProduced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, recorded by Anil Kumar.

This week, host Sumedha Mittal is joined by independent journalist Angad Singh.Formerly with Vice News, Angad was “blacklisted” by the Indian government over a documentary called India Burning, which he worked on as a production assistant. He talks about dealing with court cases after being accused by the central government of portraying India in a “negative” light. He says his OCI card was taken anyway and talks about the sorrow of not being able to return to India anymore.Tune in.Timecodes00:00:00 - Introduction00:03:01 - Angad’s story00:30:29 - RecommendationsRecommendationsAngadCaptivating the Simple-Hearted: A Struggle for Human Dignity in the Indian SubcontinentSumedhaTime Is Running Out for Rahul Gandhi’s Vision for IndiaProduced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, recorded by Anil Kumar.

This week, host Shivnarayan Rajpurohit is joined by independent journalist Astha Savyasachi and The Mooknayak’s Arun Kumar Verma.Arun reported on the rise and fall of the Bahujan Samaj Party. He delves into the ups and downs of Mayawati’s political career and explains how the BSP became sidelined. He also talks about the new leadership with Mayawati's nephew Akash Anand and what changes are expected from him to revive the party.Astha reported on how most Sainik schools across India are run by people with direct or indirect connections to the BJP or RSS. She explains how the central government essentially handed over 62 percent of new military schools to the Sangh Parivar, BJP politicians, and allies, bypassing eligibility criteria in the process.Tune in.Timecodes00:00:00 - Introduction00:02:28 - BSP’s rise and fall00:10:41 - Sainik schools00:38:08 - RecommendationsRecommendationsArunAmar Singh ChamkilaAsthaCentre hands over 62% of new Sainik Schools to Sangh Parivar, BJP politicians and allies.ShivnarayanHow BJP ‘won’ in Surat: Unravelling 24 hours of peculiaritiesProduced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, recorded by Anil Kumar.

This week, host Basant Kumar is joined by independent journalist Rahul Singh.Rahul talks about his report on the shortcomings of the public distribution system in Jharkhand. He says despite the online mechanism, food security is poor in rural areas, and instead of helping, the system “is emerging as a hurdle” for the Adivasis.Basant reported on people falsely named as beneficiaries of the Krishi Vigyan Kendra in a report by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, which also claimed their farm incomes doubled in 2022. He shares how he found out the factual errors in the government body’s book.   Tune in.Timecodes00:00:00 - Introduction00:01:14 - Lok Sabha Election00:07:57 - Issues in getting Ration in Jharkhand00:25:21 - Farmers’ income00:36:45 - RecommendationsRecommendationsRahulJawanBasantScoopMedia Ka LoktantraProduced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, recorded by Anil Kumar.

This week, host Tanishka Sodhi is joined by Shivnarayan Rajpurohit and The Quint’s Himanshi Dahiya.Shivnarayan talks about his profile of ANI and how it became the Modi government’s favourite media outlet. But the story isn’t that simple, he explains, because beyond ANI’s dismal coverage of the opposition are a number of contracts that the agency has signed with state governments. Himanshi reported on a Gujarat Dalit family that was “cheated” into giving a whopping Rs 11 crore in electoral bonds, of which Rs 10 crore was encashed by the BJP. She explains how the alleged scam took place and just how a company linked to the Adani group was involved. Tune in.Timecodes00:00:00 - Introduction00:02:05 - ANI’s journalism00:25:25 - Gujarat family’s electoral bonds 00:49:07 - RecommendationsRecommendationsHimanshiGita Press and the Making of Hindu India2024 Pro-Hindutva Films Were Funded By BJP-Linked People, Promoted by BJP NetasShivnarayanAamisTanishkaHow National Creators Award Winners Amplified BJP’s MessageProduced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, and recorded by Anil Kumar.

This week, host Sumedha Mittal is joined by Newslaundry’s Anmol Pritam and The News Minute’s Jahnavi.Jahnavi talks about her report on businessman P Sarath Chandra Reddy, accused-turned-approver in the Delhi liquor policy case. She says his firms bought electoral bonds worth Rs 55 crore, later encashed by the BJP, and also explains the ‘South Group’ connection to the case.Anmol was on the ground during the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. He talks about the mood among the people, based on his interviews with locals, whether the Delhi police is being ‘biased’, and how the AAP believes their right to protest is being suppressed.Tune in.Timecodes00:00:00 - Introduction00:01:31 - Kejriwal’s arrest00:20:39 - P Sarath Chandra Reddy00:29:06 - RecommendationsRecommendationsJahnaviAnatomy of a FallAnmolMedia Control: The Spectacular Achievements of PropagandaSumedhaAamisThe arrest of Mr Kejriwal: A PMLA caseProduced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, and recorded by Anil Kumar.

This week, host Pooja Prasanna is joined by the Ramnath Goenka awardees from Newslaundry and The News Minute, to talk about the four awards they won this year.While Ayush Tiwari and Basant Kumar won in the environment, science and technology category for the plunder of the Aravalli series, Hridayesh Joshi’s video report on arsenic in water triggering diseases in several villages, supported by the Thakur Foundation, was honoured in the Hindi broadcast category.The News Minute also won two awards. While Azeefa Fathima, Balakrishnan Ganesan, and Prajwal Bhat won in the civic journalism category for their five-part series on exposing manual scavenging, Prajwal’s reports on the 2022 hijab protests in Karnataka were awarded in the political reporting category.They look back at their work to discuss its importance and impact on society.Tune in.RecommendationsAyushThe Rise and Fall of the Third ReichBasant21वीं सदी : पहला दशकHridayeshबड़े शहरों में जंगल? बिल्कुल, खुद देखिए [Forest restoration in Delhi and NCR]The Cooking of Books : A Literary MemoirAzeefaACCESS DENIEDThese Precious DaysBalakrishna3 Body ProblemGita Press and the Making of Hindu IndiaThe Seven Moons of Maali AlmeidaPoojaLove Jihad and Other Fictions: Simple Facts to Counter Viral FalsehoodsThe GentlemenThe costs of Reliance’s wildlife ambitionsProduced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram; recorded by Anil Kumar.

This week, host Tanishka Sodhi is joined by Newslaundry’s Prateek Goyal and Basant Kumar.Both Prateek and Basant share their experience of investigating the patterns in political funding in India, and decoding the State Bank of India’s data dump on electoral bonds. They discuss how they found out about “a very strange pattern” of donation to political parties, with some companies donating or lapping up their donations after raids by central agencies. In some cases, the companies’ donations even surpassed their profit growth and revenue.Tune in.Timecodes00:00:00 - Introduction00:02:21 - Donations to parties00:05:18 - Electoral bonds00:25:22 - RecommendationsRecommendationsBasantProject Electoral Bond (Report)PrateekMaamla Legal HaiTanishkaPlunder of the AravallisProduced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, and recorded by Anil Kumar.