NL Hafta

This week's Reporters Without Orders features our host Cherry Agarwal along with in-house writer, Gaurav Sarkar. Today, we have three guests joining us on the panel: Mumbai-based Parth MN, Haryana-based Jyoti Yadav, and DNA’s Amrita Madhukalya. This episode focuses primarily on the agrarian crisis—including the Kisan Mukti March which took place in Delhi on November 29 and 30. The podcast kicks off with the panel sharing their experiences of interacting with farmers at the rally. Parth talks about how the presence of Opposition leaders in the rally was favourable for the farmers’ movement. “They (farmers) can use the platform to hold the establishment accountable. It is all about holding the establishment accountable. And if and when they come to power, as media we can hold them accountable for the speeches they have made at the rally,” he adds. Jyoti agrees and says it is crucial to politicise the issue as it makes the issue mainstream. The conversation then moves on to discuss how the media covered the Kisan Mukti March. Parth points out that though this particular rally was covered well by the media, the media has also been largely ignorant of the agrarian crisis that has been affecting almost the entire rural economy. “(The) spurts in farmer suicides happened largely after a drought, hailstorm or a natural calamity,” he said. “This is usually the last straw on the camel’s back. But why the farmer was sitting on the brink is something that we do not explore.” Talking about how the rally was covered by the Hindi media, Jyoti says it's time they stop romanticising the farmer crisis and instead focus on talking about the actual issue as it is. She feels that the pieces being churned out by various publications should be written as reports and not as literary articles. Gaurav draws a comparison between the first farmers’ march in Mumbai and the one that took place recently in Delhi. He points out that while political leaders were not allowed to make speeches at Mumbai’s Azad Maidan, in Delhi, they were not only encouraged, but also expected to do so. The discussion then moves to how newsrooms were not very well prepared for the massive rally in Mumbai. Cherry points out that this shows the shortcomings of newsrooms. Amrita adds: “Newsrooms also need to invest in a sustained coverage of farmer crisis. Newsrooms need to take into account that this is going to be the biggest political conversation in the 2019 elections.” Summing up the discussion, Parth points out: “We need to ensure that the farming crisis becomes a part of our discourse and our daily conversations. Long story short—we should not be reminded of a farmer’s struggle only when they die.” For all this and more, listen up!