NL Hafta

In this episode of Newslaundry Hafta, The Caravan’s Staff Writer Praveen Donthi and Independent Journalist Makepeace Sitlhou join host, Abhinandan Sekhri, Newslaundry’s Managing Editor, Raman Kirpal and Correspondent, Gaurav Sarkar. Abhinandan begins the podcast with the National Register of Citizens (NRC). He asks if NRC is “some sort of a political masterstroke”. Makepeace, who covers stories from Northeast India and has been covering NRC, draws out the details of the situation. She says the enactment of NRC and the issues of foreigners has been a “long-burning issue.” Praveen talks about the obsession with the number 50 lakh concerning the register. The panel moves on to talk about recent developments in Kashmir. They discuss the Kashmir Press Club’s denouncement of the curb on journalists in the valley, the communication clampdown and a piece by Indian Express that questioned the methods of proceedings concerning the revocation of Article 370. Abhinandan talks about the international coverage of the issue and moves on to question Praveen on how the Kashmiris are taking the decision. He asks, “Are there people in Kashmir who are okay with this?” Praveen examines the points of views of separatists and mainstream politicians. He says “The mainstream politicians have never had a history of agitating against Indian state.” Raman points to the radicalization of the Kashmiri youth saying, “There were internal reports claiming that seventy percent of Kashmiri youth has been radicalized in the past four-five years.” Later, Gaurav Sarkar, who has been covering the Chidambaram case joins the conversation. Abhinandan asks him to spill the beans on the informal happenings in the court that did not make into the report. Gaurav narrates a funny incident from the proceedings. He also talks about the specificities of the cases on Chidambaram and his arrest. Abhinandan also talked about Ravish Kumar’s acceptance speech for the Ramon Magsaysay Award, the rise of fake news and the choice and plight of young journalists. For this and more, listen in!