What a relief to see the Indian Express front page these days – no news of bombings or killings or scams. Just nice, clean, full front-page ads. But in the recent one for the UK-based Indian aluminium giant Vedanta Resources Corporation, Chettria Patrakar was horrified to see the name of Anil Agarwal, that (deceased) guru for all environmentalists, nestled closely with logos for the Madras Aluminium Company, Sterlite Technologies and Vedanta Aluminium. Surely these last are accused of all kinds of dastardly acts in Orissa – depriving Adivasi communities of their forests and livelihoods, and doing untold damage to the environment. But hold on, this is not that AA – it's another one, the founder-director of Vedanta and the 11th-richest Indian in the world. And what's more, CP hears that he has flung USD 1 billion of his USD 4.5 billion fortune towards the 'world class' Vedanta University on 6000 acres along the Puri-Konark marine drive. Oh reader, make no mistake – there are two Anil Agarwals who matter.
Unfortunately, sometimes people don't matter, as seen in this cartoon published by the popular English daily in Qatar, the Gulf Times, which targets migrant domestics. In this unfair depiction, the Southasian maid is made to be an atrocious baby abuser – a gross misconception of their vulnerable status in society.
A reliable source to a journalist may be as valuable as class struggle to communism, but this doesn't justify obsequiousness in the face of a moody Maoist, regardless of how many stories he can get you in a month. Maoist leader Koteswor Rao 'Kishen-to-the-ji' has managed to manipulate the media in just that, tipping off reporters to a tale when the time is right, and going out of service when the tale turns tasteless. He wouldn't pick up calls to answer journalists' questions on the recent murder of two sub-inspectors in Sankrail police station of West Midnapur; but he was on a spectacular rampage when it came to broadcasting the release of hostage Athidranath Dutta, officer-in-charge of the same police station. And all the while, the media gave prime-time access to his antics – his management of the hostage exchange, commandments over journalists, even his punishing them for taking pictures without permission, not to mention his intermittent revolutionary tantrums. Now this is one relationship that could really be overthrown.
Exiles are now also on air. The Burmese community-in-exile might have a government, activists and journalists of their own, but one thing they don't have is an independent television channel. Ostracised living just doesn't feel like home without one, which is probably why the Tibetan government-in-exile just launched a new channel – Tibet TV – with support from a local cable network operator. The channel will broadcast announcements made by the Tibetan Parliament and Cabinet Members, speeches by the Dalai Lama, as well as other news and information that builds on the cultural identity of the community. When can we look forward to – diaspora soaps and games shows?