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`100VIEWS ON NEWSTHE CRITICAL EYE
Why DIDI and DADAfell apart
Media tycoon Aveek Sarkar’s warm ties with Mamata Banerjee turn into a cold war
SHOULD GOVT CONTROL TERROR REPORTING? 44
CENSOR BOARD CHIEF PAHLAJ NIHALANI ON HIS ‘ACTION HERO’ MODI 38
JE SUIS LAXMANThe uncommon
life of RK Laxman 21
WHAT AN IDEA, SIR JI!Gopinath Menon writes on the trend of clubbing ads with social messages 24
HOW A TOUGH MODI BUREAUCRAT WAS COLD- SHOULDERED 32
Introducing new section on Governance
WE MAKE IT our dharma never to be satisfied by resting
on our laurels. In fact, the staff motto is that Views On
News (VON) is only as good as its last story – or its most
recent idea, if you will. We thrive on innovation. Our staff
is always on the lookout for new things to do, not only
new stories but also new approaches and novel art and
production techniques. A bored staff produces a boring
product, and bored readers are the biggest threat to the
health of any magazine or newspaper.
The way out, of course, is not sensationalism or over-
doses of infotainment or unsubstantiated spicy gossip.
The answer is innovation. In the pursuit of this goal, we
are starting, with this issue, a new section on governance.
Good governance has today been transformed from a
cliché into a political imperative. No party can afford to
omit mentioning this in its manifesto, because the demon-
stration of this by its practitioners have earned
them rich political dividends.
For VON, covering various aspects of gov-
ernance through exposes of corruption, inter-
views with top bureaucrats, tackling subjects
of administrative importance, raising issues
pertaining to ministerial responsibilities, civic
administration, and tracking careers of indi-
vidual bureaucrats, fills an important gap in
our overall editorial scheme.
While VON is unique in that it is India’s
only fortnightly covering and following devel-
opments and events in the media, the small
and big screens, social media, it is not purely
a “media review” magazine. Its very title,
“Views On News”, is designed to suggest that
our fortnightly concentrates equally on ex-
pressing views and commentary on the major
news developments as well. Add to this pot-
pourri a dash of insightful reportage on governance and
the bureaucracy, and voila! I think we can hope for
another winning combination from the ENC Group, which
already produces the fast-growing and racy India Legal
fortnightly and the adventurous 24X7 TV channel with a
difference—APN-TV.
There’s a smorgasbord of stories on governance in
this issue. Pick any dish. You’ll enjoy it. Let’s start with
the exclusive interview with Prime Minister Modi’s main
man on the Censor Board following the recent un-
pheavals. Pahlaj Nihalani, writer Somi Das says, “has no
qualms about admitting his love for Modi.” Veteran Vivian
Fernandes, whose columns for this magazine are gaining
in popularity, tackles the subject of government servants
who speak out or blow the whistle. He cites the example
of bureaucrat Alexander Luke, once a Modi favorite who
fell out. Find out why.
And in the spotlight in our new Governance section is
a thoughtful analysis about whether there is a need to
bring in official guidelines for the media when reporting
on terrorism. Minister Arun Jaitley is seriously toying with
the idea of bringing in a law to regulate coverage of
such violence.
And for those who have taken a fancy to the short and
spicy insider accounts of who’s doing what to whom
within the closed confines of the bureaucracy, ministerial
circles, and political backrooms, we’re featuring our writer
Roshni under a new sub-head entitled: “Grapevine.”
Enjoy the pickings.
THE GOVERNANCE IMPERATIVE
EDIT
OR
’S N
OTE
3VIEWS ON NEWS February 22, 2015
C O N Editor-in-Chief Rajshri Rai
Managing EditorRamesh Menon
Deputy Managing EditorShobha JohnSenior EditorVishwas Kumar
Associate EditorMeha Mathur
Deputy EditorsPrabir Biswas
Niti SinghAssistant Editor
Somi DasArt Director
Anthony LawrenceSenior Visualizer
Amitava SenGraphic Designer
Lalit KhitoliyaPhotographer
Anil ShakyaNews Coordinator/Photo Researcher
Kh Manglembi DeviProduction
Pawan Kumar
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VOLUME. VIII ISSUE. 10
Published by Prof Baldev Raj Gupta on behalf of E N Communications Pvt Ltdand printed at Amar Ujala Publications Ltd., C-21&22, Sector-59, Noida.
(UP)- 201 301 (India) All rights reserved. Reproduction or translation in anylanguage in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. Requests forpermission should be directed to E N Communications Pvt Ltd . Opinions of
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Chief Editorial AdvisorInderjit Badhwar
CFOAnand Raj Singh
VP (HR & General Administration)Lokesh C Sharma
LEDE
Why Dada and Didi went to war 13The relations between media baron Aveek Sarkar andWest Bengal Chief Minister Mamata have hit a low, writesSUJIT BHAR
Endangered world 16RAMESH MENON reviews journalist and environmentalistBahar Dutt’s book, Green Wars, which gives an insight into the reasons behind man-nature conflict
4 VIEWS ON NEWS February 22 , 2015
BOOK REVIEW
T E N T S
CASE STUDY
OBITUARY
The Common Man lives onASHIM CHOUDHURY on the country’sbest-known cartoonist, RK Laxman
21
Tough men don’t last 32
ADVERTISING
Brand building 24
R E G U L A R SEdit................................................03Media-go-round............................06As the world turns.........................07Vox populi.....................................08Expertspeak..................................09Quotes..........................................10Breaking news..............................28Grapevine.....................................50
Advertising is all about ideas—andsome ideas stand out because oftheir engagement with society,writes GOPINATH MENON
Like many before him, bureaucratAlexander Luke learnt that beingmorally upright in a world of businessand political machinations is not forthe faint-hearted, writes VIVIAN FERNANDES
38INTERVIEW
Modi’s man in theCensor Board
Even as Jaitley talks about bringing ina law to control coverage of terror attacks, six years after 26/11, no guidelines exist for the media to follow, writes AKASH BANERJEE
Controlling terrorreportage
SPOTLIGHT
Behind the leak 20MR DUA reviews Charlie Beckettand James Ball’s revelatory book,WikiLeaks. The daring disclosuresin 2010 got world leaders nervous
44
The new Censor Board chief, Pahlaj Nihalani, has no qualms about admittinghis love for Modi. He talks about hisplans in a tete-a-tete with SOMI DAS
5VIEWS ON NEWS February 22 , 2015
Governance
Cover design: Anthony Lawrence
FORMER UNION environment ministerJayanthi Natarajan resigned from theCongress after writing a searing letter toparty president Sonia Gandhi. In the tell-allletter, Natarajan took potshots at partyvice-president Rahul Gandhi, blaming himfor her removal as environment minister in2013 to push for big ticket projects, whichshe rejected as they were against the norms. The Nehru-Gandhi loyalistalso wrote that her sources in Rahul Gandhi's office told her that hissupporters planted negative stories about her in the media while SoniaGandhi refrained her from speaking to the press.
Jayanthi Natarjandrops letter bomb
AN IMAM in Kashmir has claimed he lost hisjob after featuring in the movie, Haider. He hassent a legal notice to director Vishal Bhardwajto pay the damages, The Times of India re-ported. Imam Ghulam Hassan Shah, a resi-dent of South Kashmir’s Qazigund area, allegedhe “read the nikah and participated in a videoshoot with the promise of the video ‘being uti-lized for some educative purpose”. It was laterused in the film, costing him his job, saidShah’s lawyer, Firdous Ahmad Bhat, in a legalnotice sent to the director.
Imam loses job for Haider role
PRIME MINISTER Narendra Modi andUS President Barack Obama bondedover their humble beginnings on theradio show, Mann ki Baat, which isModi's monthly address to the nation.
In their 30-minute talk that was re-plete with rich personal anecdotes, thetwo leaders said they never imaginedreaching high positions. “I think both ofus have been blessed with extraordinaryopportunity, coming from relativelyhumble beginnings,” Obama said in
answer to a question. “When I thinkabout what's best in America and what'sbest in India, the notion that a tea-selleror somebody who is born to a singlemother, like me, could end up leadingour countries is an extraordinaryexample of the opportunities thatexist within our countries.”As the sonof a tea vendor, Modi's personal storyis often compared to Obama'sinspirational rise to become America'sfirst black president.
NamObama tango on Mann Ki Baat
EDIA-GO-ROUNDM
6 VIEWS ON NEWS February 22 , 2015
FORMER FOREIGN Secretary Sujatha Singh,who was sacked on January 28, hit out at thegovernment in an exclusive interview to NDTV,
saying: “My reputation is being maligned, myrecord being trashed. Why was this necessary?”Singh was removed by the government with justseven months to go before retirement, andreplaced by S Jaishankar, former envoy to theUS, after a successful visit by President BarackObama. “It was a decision that had already beentaken and nothing I could have done would havemade a difference,” she said.
Sujatha Singh resigns, slams govt
CONTROVERSIAL FILM Kissa
Kursi Ka, depicting the ex-cesses of the Emergency,made by one-time CongressMP-turned detractor, Amrit Na-hata, is in the limelightagain.The film, made in 1975,was banned and its negativesreportedly burnt by Congress’Sanjay Gandhi and then I&B Minister, VC Shukla, in viola-tion of a Supreme Court order. Forty years later, the film-maker’s son, Raakesh Nahata, is threatening to sue theI&B ministry, The Times of India reported.
Plan to sue I&B ministry
AKSHAY KUMAR'S spy thriller, Baby, hasbeen banned by the Pakistan CensorBoard, for allegedly portraying Muslimsin a negative light. "The Censor Boardsin Islamabad and Karachi have decidedto ban the film because it portrays anegative image of Muslims and thenegative characters in the film haveMuslim names,” indiatoday.in
reported, quoting Dawn.
Designer thrilled by Michelle dress
Pak bans Baby
BRITISH TABLOID The Sun created ripples by an-nouncing it will no longer feature topless women onits Page 3, ending a controversial tradition that haslasted decades. The Guardian reported that Page 3had gone for good. “The Sun has scrapped Page 3’stopless women after 44 years, delighting the legion ofcritics who have branded the photos of bare-breastedmodels sexist, offensive and anachronistic,” The
Guardian said. However, two days later, The Sun wentahead with its Page 3 with a picture of Nicole, 22,from Bournemouth. “We would like to apologize on
behalf of print andbroadcast journalistswho have spent the lasttwo days talking andwriting about us,” thepaper stated. Its frontpage carried the head-line: “We've had amammary lapse.”
INDIAN-AMERICAN fashion designerBibhu Mohapatra was in for a surprisewhen one of his friends sent him a pictureof a TV grab that showed US First LadyMichelle Obama wearing a silk dress fromhis Spring collection as she landed in NewDelhi, The Economic Times reported. “It islike a full circle. The first lady in my home-land, wearing one of my clothes,” the 42-year-old Rourkela-born designer said from
New York.The first lady descended fromAir Force One wearing a knee-length floraldress paired with a matching coat andblack pumps designed by Mohapatra. Theaward winning designer said he hoped tosoon get the opportunity to design forPrime Minister Narendra Modi as well. Hesaid that he was proud to have connectedIndia and US in a small way through hiswork.
S THE WORLD TURNSA
7VIEWS ON NEWS February 22, 2015
The Sunconfounds media
KEIRA KNIGHTLEY fought toughcompetition from the Duchess ofCambridge, Kate Middleton, to benamed most stylish celebritymom-to-be. The actress, whoannounced that she was pregnantlast month, took more than a
quarter, 26 percent, of votes in apoll by baby brandMy1stYears.com, Hello! magazinereported. The 29-year-oldAtonement actor is expecting herfirst child with her husband,James Righton.
Keira Knightleyis most stylish mom-to-be
BOTH THE Wall Street Journal
blog India Real Time and The
Washington Post website, have up-loaded what they call the Indiangovernment's air-brushed video ofthe just-concluded visit of the USPresident, Barack Obama. Theypoint out how the Ministry of Exter-
Blackout or bias?nal Affairs' eight-minute videocarefully omits Obama’scomments on religious freedommade at Siri Fort. Both media, ofcourse, think this was one of themost significant moments of theObama visit,www.thehoot.org
has reported.
OX POPULI WHAT PEOPLE WANT
The expectationout of a lifestylesection of any mag-azine is to be ableto catch the latesttrends. The contentthat holds myinterest is travel,fitness and food.Flipping throughpictures of thelatest trends inclothes or make-upis the main reasonfor choosing a par-
ticular lifestyle magazine.Vogue, Elle, Prevention, Cos-mopolitan are some of mypicks. MSN India, being thedefault web page at work, be-came a preferential browsingpage for me. These days, I amexploring Pininterest and findit interesting in terms of con-tent and presentation.
— Manisha Dubey, head,communications, Pine Labs
I look out for high-end products, withelements of fun. Ilove Vogue andConde Nast Traveler.Keeping Up WithKardarshians is myfavorite TV show.
— Ranjunee Chakma,fashion stylist andmedia consultant
I generally look outfor interiors, arte-facts and recipes sothat I can cook dif-ferently for mykids. This takescare of my twin in-terests of home andchildren. I also liketo read gossipcolumns, relatingto films, politicsand the fashionworld. Cosmopoli-tan, Femina, DelhiTimes and theGoogle app on myphone are my fa-vorites. I enjoy Pin-
interest as well.
— Rachana Mahajan Sharma,home-maker
All that GLITTERS
V
VON talks toreaders to findout what theyare looking forwhen they readlifestyle content
Fashion, beauty,hair, makeup,accessories andjewelery are someof the things thathold my interest. I
have two daughters and want them to bewell turned-out, so I look out for these sec-tions in Femina, Elle and Vogue. NDTV’sBand Baaja Bride is also among my fa-vorite programs.
— Dolly Agnihotri, jewelery designer
I usually browse the net for lifestyle news. Ifollow GQ and Menxp for news on the latestgadgets. I like reading Men’s Health. I also lookout for haute resto-pubs, fashion trends, salestrategies and international celebrity gossip.
— Kabir Bhatnagar, media professional
I browse fashion andbeauty magazines to keepup with the latest trends.
The buzz in fashion, interms of colors and hues,
keeps changing so fast thatone needs to look at suchnews to keep oneself up-
dated. I usually read Cos-mopolitan and Elle for
this. I also love travel andlike to read about exotic
destinations and places tovisit. I really enjoy the
lifestyle programs on TLC.
— Reeta Agarwal, director,Packwell Packaging
8 VIEWS ON NEWS February 22 , 2015
When did lifestyle and fashion
journalism become big?Asian Age’s MJ Akbar was the first editor
to look at lifestyle and fashion in a news-
paper seriously in the 1990s. Lots of things
happened simultaneously. The two beauty
queens, Sushmita Sen and Aishwarya Rai,
won the Miss Universe and Miss World
pageants respectively in 1994. The beauty
industry started growing around the same
time. There was greater acceptance for
such news in the media. People wanted to
read more and more feel-good stories.
How old is Page 3 in India?Strictly speaking, posing for pictures at a
party and then getting it covered was first
started by Delhi Times in the 1990s.
How easy is it to promote clientsin the lifestyle segment?It is getting tougher. Space is getting sold.
Advertorials have replaced editorials. If it’s
a new product that you want written
about, it is easier to promote it, but to
build a brand is becoming difficult be-
cause you need space for that in
newspapers and magazines, which is
becoming scarce.
How do readers decipher apromotional plug from
genuine content?Everything is doctored now, presented to
make a certain impression. Readers are
used to that now, of living in a make-be-
lieve world. A majority of them make their
own judgments based on their interest
levels. Readers pick up the news they want
to. Fixing reviews, writing columns for de-
“READERS can siftthe news from HYPE”
ANSHU KHANNA,founder of GoodwordCommunications thathas been promotingfashion and lifestylebrands for over twodecades, tells NITISINGH that readerspick the news theywant to and can seethrough the hypeas well
signers or the script of their interview with
journalists is part of the regular scene for
PR professionals. People are used to sifting
news from hype.
What helps to create hype for thebrands you promote?It’s all about cross-promotions. Essentially,
it is working out a matrix that benefits all
clients. So, a global luxury brand hosts an
event with a fashion magazine; an art
gallery owner with a fashion designer; a
restaurat owner with a painter. Foood and
venue are sponsored as the sponsor also
gets “coverage”. Everyone goes back
pleased and the media returns with
a “story”.
Where is Indian lifestyle PR moving?It is moving in two directions. At one level,
a very creative thought process is required.
At another level, it’s all about making
strategies. You need to understand the
pulse of the reader, the media canvas and
then promote it. These days, there are a lot
of two-brand promoters who can only
offer a confused perspective. We have now
started offering a 360-degree approach,
with a gamut of lifestyle media services in
one basket, which includes advertise-
ments, events, exhibitions, designer cards,
and even mall décor. We look at every-
thing that creates a “wow” factor. And
that’s what one needs to do to remain on
the scene.
Expertspeak Anshu Khanna
9VIEWS ON NEWS February 22, 2015
U O T E SQTaslima Nasreen,Bangladeshi authorIndia is becoming Saudi Arabia. Mumbai newspaper editor is arrestedfor reprinting Charlie Hebdo cartoons.
Harsha Bhogle, CricketCommentator It is a bit scary when people startarchiving, and distributing, what yousay in commentary!!
Vir Sanghvi, Journalist,TV anchor News channels can make anyone famous for 15 minutes. Anna nowseems so foolish and irrelevant whenhe attacks Modi and Kejriwal. Timeschange.
Yashwant Deshmukh,Founder of CVoterIt's utterly disgraceful of #Jayanthi-Natarajan for what she is trying to donow. And God help BJP if she is joiningthem to become kosher. (On Natara-jan’s letter to Sonia Gandhi accusingthe party of treating her unfairly)
Nikhil Wagle, Journalist Today is one of the darkest days of history when a pervert killed Mahatma.Let us stand against all theefforts to glorify this pervert murderer.(On Martyr’s Day)
Amitabh Bachchan,Actor Mamata di .. I am not deserving ofsuch recognition .. most humbled andhonoured by what the Nation hasgiven me ..!!? (on Mamata Banerjee‘ssuggestion that he should be givenBharat Ratna)
They (the TV chan-nels) danced about thefirst couple (!) of Indiaand the US rather likethe joyous cartoons ofModi and his cabineton Aaj Tak’s So Sorry.
But this was seriousbusiness: each channelwas there to outshoot
the others.— Shailaja Bajpai, in The
Indian Express
My favorite theory aboutwhy the US president
was propelled in India’sdirection is because theNRIs (who also runthe numerous NaMofan clubs) have nowinfiltrated the White
House with dhoklasand khakras.
— Saba Naqvi in Outlook
Bedi…has succumbed tothe temptation of seeking instant
gratification, her moveto join the BJP just
ahead of the electionsis an example of
well-crafted opportunism.
— Rajdeep Sardesai, columnistand TV anchor, in Hindustan Times.
10 VIEWS ON NEWS February 22 , 2015
I want to thank the BJP be-cause it is campaigning for
us. By constantly fighting among each
other, the BJPleaders are helping us. — Arvind Kejriwal, AAP,
in The Indian Express
Ralph Waldo Emerson was gay,but he influenced Henry DavidThoreau, who in turn influenced Mahatma Gandhi.This intellectual trail
brought “civil disobedience”and independenceto India. Doesthat still makeEmerson apervert and acriminal?— Dipankar Guptaon how ambiguityin BJP’s official position gives hopeto India’s homosex-ual community, inThe Times of India
No one will stop us from opening a library,where books highlighting the life of Godse,will be kept so that people may know him asa person. — Munna Kumar Sharma, Hindu Mahasabha General Secretary, in The Indian Express on opening a Godselibrary after a failed bid to install his bust in Meerut
JRD Tata first came away quite excited but he said we havebeen out of the airline industry for many years and the industry
has changed. ..so let’s go and get the best partner we can…andgive the country a world-class airline. That never happened.
The same government that asked us to start the airline, madesure that the airline would never happen.— Industrialist Ratan Tata, at a gathering to celebrate the
launch of Vistara
The new government has timeand again promisedthe people of thecountry to bring achedin. However, barringa few capitalists, noone else has experienced it.— Anti-graft activist AnnaHazare in his blog
11VIEWS ON NEWS February 22, 2015
Views On News (VON) is India’s premier fortnightly magazine that covers the wide spectrum of modern communication loosely known as “the media”. Its racy, news and analysis oriented story-telling encompasses current global and Indian developments, trends, future projections encompassing policy and business drifts, the latest from inside the print and electronic newsrooms, the exciting developments in ever-expanding digital space, trending matters in the social media, advertising, entertainment and books.
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FEBRUARY 7, 2015 `100VIEWS ON NEWSTHE CRITICAL EYEwww.viewsonnewsonline.com
Pushing the edgeDILIP BOBB EXAMINES THE ISSUE OF CREATIVE LICENSE AND ITS LIMITS 12
RAHUL PANDITA
AUTHOR OF THE ‘ASPIRATIONAL’
RESIGNATION LETTER 36CONVERSION CONUNDRUM
IS MEDIA ‘SEXING’ UP THE
ISSUE? 24
METRO READS
Junk the style and content,
fast - paced books are in 33
EDITOR UNPLUGGED
Vinod Mehta’s racy account of
his roller coaster journey 30
JUST NOT SPORTS
CLAMOR FOR AWARDS OPENS
UP A PANDORA’S BOX 39
Lede Aveek Sarkar
As editor and businessman,Aveek was hugely respected.Few understood his closenessto Mamata Banerjee. In amatter of time, they fell apartBY SUJIT BHAR
LOVE AFFAIR TURNEDSOUR
HE Trinamool Congress in
West Bengal is in a state of
rapid decay, and the media
is lapping it up. One media
house in particular, the
Anandabazar Patrika (ABP)
group, has been trumpeting its fall for quite
some time now. This stand is far removed from
what it was when Mamata Banerjee and her rag-
tag men were giving the red brigade of the CPI
(M) a hammering.
Those were the days when 34 years of stag-
gering misrule of the CPI (M) crumbled at the
glasnost call of Mamata’s “paribartan” (change).
Holding Didi’s hand all the way was the ABP
group. Everything she did was right, every word
that she said was for a new future and every
mistake made would be redressed with correc-
tive measures.
AUTOCRATIC REGIMEThen, the new roots started to show signs of rot—
the sheer autocratic nature of Chief Minister Ma-
mata Banerjee allowed no dissent—and rampant
corruption sprouted under the shade of the great
banyan. That there was no ideologue within the
party—Mamata’s word was law—meant there was
bound to be administrative disorientation once
the initial euphoria died down. And that is
what happened.
Suddenly, in the midst of Didi’s term, ABP
group’s supremo Aveek Sarkar realized how hol-
low was the drum he helped beat. Signals of a
misguided doctrine (if any) were there even as the
Singur land agitation threw the Tatas and their
proposed Nano plant out of the state. Things
came to a head when a rape on Park Street was
trivialized by Mamata, who even cast aspersions
on the character of the victim.
IN GOOD TIMESABP group chief
Aveek Sarkarwith Mamata
Banerjee
T
13VIEWS ON NEWS February 22, 2015
Those were the early turning points of ABP’s
own “paribartan”. If Mamata’s party has reached a
nadir in public perception today, especially due to
the dramatic revelations of the huge Saradha chit
fund scam—in which the CBI has already arrested
four party head honchos, including minister Madan
Mitra—it is the ABP group that is now hunting with
the hounds, so to speak.
TROUBLED TIMESMeanwhile, the law and order situation has wors-
ened. The Bardhaman blast established that the
state has become a safe haven for Bangladeshi ter-
rorist outfits.
In keeping with her habit of shooting her
mouth, Mamata even said that the blasts could have
been stage-managed by the RAW.
This further added to her inability to handle na-
tional-level politics, even as the stock of her party
was spiralling down. The ABP group was the fore-
runner in pin-pointing the many flaws within the
TMC and how the party was on the verge
of a breakdown.
One cannot blame the media for using ammu-
nition that the chief minister herself has handed
over to them. The police, which has been acting the
stooge perfectly—as it did during the CPI (M) rule–
went ahead and blew up the improvised explosive
devices found in Bardhaman, robbing National In-
vestigating Agency experts of an opportunity to
study the bombs and detonators.
While one really cannot understand the ration-
ale behind Mamata and her men protesting the
NIA’s involvement in a blast case which is really
much more than arson, it is evident why they were
against the involvement of the CBI in the Saradha
scam case —their own MPs and senior functionar-
ies were involved in it.
Amidst this chaos came the news that Aveek
Sarkar had been provided “Y” category security by
the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
More than signifying the evident closeness that
the media house has developed with the ruling BJP
dispensation at the center, it has also created a pub-
lic percept that nobody is safe in West Bengal today.
CLASSY MANSarkar has always been in a class of his own. There
was a time when he assiduously avoided personal
publicity. His dailies, the Bengali Anandabazar Pa-
trika and The Telegraph in English, were instructed
not to publish any picture of his. He rarely gave
Sarkar is as astute an editor as he is abusinessman. He has guided the ABP
group to the top of the heap ofpublications in the state and its
revenues are next to none in the region.
IN THE DOCKThe arrested Saradha
Group chairmanSudipta Sen (second
from left)
Lede Aveek Sarkar
14 VIEWS ON NEWS February 22 , 2015
speeches. The situation has changed today, espe-
cially with the group’s foray into the electronic
space through ABP News and ABP Ananda.
The security, as sources point out, is apparently
to guard him against extremist outfits, including
fringe religious groups. But till the time of sanc-
tioning the security detail, the CRPF, which is the
local agency handling it, had no idea about what
the threat perception was.
According to Vivek Sahay, IG, CRPF: “It is up
to the MHA to assess the threat perception of an
individual and then decide on which agency—the
NSG, CRPF, etc—is to handle this. When we get
our orders, we will start collecting information.”
So even while there has been talk that the
media tycoon has had apprehensions about his
safety in a volatile political situation, it is not clear
how his “Y” category detail (with 11 security per-
sonnel) is related to the TMC and its supremo,
Mamata Banerjee, if at all.
Compare this to the “Y” security cover given
to New Delhi-based journalist Aniruddha Bahal.
Bahal has always courted controversy with various
stings, be it on cricket betting, defence scam or
bank scam. His Cobrapost website is full of contro-
versies; that is what Bahal revels in. Sarkar, on the
other hand, is as astute an editor as he is business-
man. He has guided the ABP group to the top of
the heap of publications in the state and neighbor-
ing states and its revenues are next to none in
the region.
One may point out that Aveek Sarkar’s sense of
propriety in public life is impeccable. He has never
really had to depend on any political party for his
success. And he guards his personal space strongly.
Sometime after former chief minister Buddhadeb
Bhattacharya allotted a Kolkata police security de-
tail for Sarkar, the editor-in-chief had it removed
because he believed that the police had planted a
mole within the detail to report his whereabouts.
Hence, the group’s acrimonious relationship
with the TMC has come to a head. One can recall
the time when Mamata had been at the side of the
Sarkars—even if it was The Telegraph that exposed
her spurious doctorate degree availed through a
degree mill. One can recall the hours Mamata
stood on the street watching with consternation
as a devastating fire engulfed the ABP group’s
main building in central Kolkata.
People who have been close to the enigmatic
Mamata say she has her heart in the right place. She
knew the power of the media in building a political
career and the Sarkars did not disappoint her. Then,
at the pinnacle of her career, she suddenly forgot
the many rungs she used to climb this far.
Is this loan foreclosure time for the media?
TOP LEAGUEAveek Sarkar withBarack and MichelleObama on their recentvisit to New Delhi
15VIEWS ON NEWS February 22, 2015
Bahar Dutt would rather be knownas a conservationist than a journalist, as she has contributed a lot to increasingawareness about the environment.Her fast-paced book is a goodread. You are wiser atthe end of itBY RAMESH MENON
Book Review
ournalists are generalists
and are expected to know
something of everything. But
where we lack in Indian jour-
nalism is the urge to specialize
in a field and become true ex-
perts. Most journalists just float
through their careers doing anything and every-
thing as their organizations also do not encourage
them to invest time and effort to master one area
and research and analyze. After all, they are just in-
terested in getting the news and moving on. Report-
ing on the environment has been one weak area in
India despite the fact that it is one of the most cru-
cial. Most magazines and newspapers do not even
have a specialized reporter on this beat. If there is
something to be written or covered in this field, any
reporter is assigned to do it. That is why when Bahar
Dutt was drafted in to exclusively cover the environ-
ment by CNN-IBN, there was a fresh, in-depth style
Green Wars: Dispatches from a Vanishing World/Bahar Dutt
JENDANGERED
WORLD
“Conservationists have propagated a banon the hunting of wild animals but whenanimals like the wild boar, elephant andsloth bear destroy poor people’s crops, theyoffer no solutions. That’s why wildlife conservation is often seen as anti-people.”—Bahar Dutt, conservationist-cum-journalist
to the pioneering environment
coverage that the channel did.
That is, of course, only till they
got rid of her as commercial in-
terests took over and environ-
ment was one of the areas then
went out of the window.
But for young journalists like
Bahar, there should be one rea-
son for cheer. Many commoners
are today realizing the need for
conservation and are ready to
learn, agitate and fight to save it.
VANISHING TRIBEI have watched Bahar’s video stories with great in-
terest, as what makes them stand out is the detail
she weaves in with the perspective. No wonder it
was a pleasure to read her book, Green Wars: Dis-
patches from a Vanishing World that chronicles the
tragedy of India’s vanishing natural wealth and
wildlife. Though the tribe of environment journal-
ists is a vanishing one, it feels good to see someone
like Bahar take up cudgels to fight the powers-
that-be who are destroying the environment to
further their business interests. It also reminds you
that the media can be a catalyst in changing atti-
tudes towards nature. After all, we are only de-
stroying our future.
Bahar is a conservation biologist who strayed
into journalism. In the process, she showed us
what it really takes to be one. She did path-break-
ing stories, travelled to difficult places, fought for
conservation like a committed activist and
followed her stories to a logical end as she really
cared. In a fast-paced world where news dies after
it is aired, her follow-ups showed that news
needs to be chased till the very end. Her
pioneering work won her the Wildscreen - Green
Oscar award among numerous national and inter-
national awards.
Wildlife was her first love and not journalism.
She ran an animal ambulance for injured primates,
helped build rope bridges for the colobus monkey
in Africa, studied Amazonian monkeys at the
world famous Jersey Zoo in the United Kingdom
and worked for a decade with a traditional com-
munity of snake charmers in India, helping them
find livelihood options in tune with wildlife laws.
As she did all this, she pushed the boundaries of
environment journalism. That journey itself
17VIEWS ON NEWS February 22, 2015
18 VIEWS ON NEWS February 22 , 2015
taught her how to be open and sensitive to issues
and not just skip it as most of us journalists do.
Bahar raises vital questions of how a moderniz-
ing economy brings in ecological destruction and
misplaced priorities and whether development must
always be in conflict with the environment.
SOLID RESEARCHERGreen Wars makes us think deeply of vexed issues
that are today disturbing question marks as far as
our ecology and environment go. Bahar writes with
passion that comes straight from the heart. It is like
a personal story. And the research shows. She is a
hard-boiled researcher and that is what makes her
stories so powerful. Little-known facts blossomed
in her TV stories at CNN-IBN along with a perspec-
tive that television hardly offered. Her stories made
you understand the landscape in which wildlife
conservation operated in India. Preservation of
Book ReviewGreen Wars: Dispatches from a Vanishing World/Bahar Dutt
19VIEWS ON NEWS February 22, 2015
species was daunting as it involved complicated
caste dynamics of the people around, if they were
rich or poor and how regional biases and political
interests called the shots.
Bahar showed how environment stories are not
soft features as most editors in India imagine, but
hard news. One example is her investigation on how
sarus cranes were being chased away by Uttar
Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav’s
supporters to convince a central government com-
mittee that there were no birds there and so they
could okay an airport there.
What is fascinating about Green Wars are Bahar’s
numerous anecdotes, each of which is a lesson for
all of us. Bahar says that if we want wild animals
around, we have to learn how to manage the asso-
ciated conflict that comes with it. She says: “Espe-
cially around forest areas, conservationists have
propagated a complete ban on the hunting of wild
animals but when animals like the wild boar, spot-
ted deer, elephant and sloth bear destroy poor peo-
ple’s crops, they offer no solutions and expect that
people should just ‘live with the problem’. And that
is partly why wildlife conservation is often seen as
being anti-people.”
THE FINE LINEHowever, there is also the development debate that
is valid and the country cannot say no to every proj-
ect as there are environmental concerns. What jour-
nalists need to do is to finely tread the balancing
line, keeping the interests of change and develop-
ment along with environmental protection that is
equally crucial. Mining may be important, but so
are forests.
Numerous instances in Bahar’s book tell us pre-
cisely this. It is for us to see the danger signals. Time
and again, she points out that there are solid eco-
nomic and social considerations that actually call
for saying no to big projects which, most of the time,
ignore the needs of the disadvantaged.
Green Wars- Dispatches from a Vanishing WorldBy Bahar DuttHarperCollins IndiaRs 299, 163 pages
HEN WikiLeaks, abruptly
made daring disclosures in
2010, in global media
outlets, of some top-most
confidential cables and over
a million government documents, many political
leaders of the world slipped into stupefied,
breathless predicament.
Knowing the global interest this issue would
garner, authors Charlie Beckett and James Ball,
both from the media think-tank of the London
School of Economics, ingeniously put together a
book on it, WikiLeaks: News in the Networked Era.
It deals with how the WikiLeaks style of
journalism would impact future global media
scenario and unauthorized disclosure of protected
governmental information.
The book provides details of some benchmark
events in the last few years and how these papers
leaked government secrets of the US, the UK, Iraq,
Iran, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, France and
many other countries. These were stealthily
collected, stolen or divulged for monetary consid-
erations and disseminated globally by WikiLeaks.
What wentbehind the
world’s greatestleak? How did it
manage to getglobal leaders
nervous? BY MR DUA
SENSATIONAL LEAKSJulian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks
Book ReviewWikiLeaks
Taking the world by stormNaturally, top leadership in these countries was
taken aback.
GLOBAL MEDIA
The publication of these papers was contracted by
WikiLeaks with leading dailies worldwide such as
The New York Times (the US), The Guardian (the
UK), Le Monde (France), The Hindu (India), Der
Spiegel (Germany), The Dawn (Pakistan) and El
Pais (Spain). As the documents hit global media,
political leaders looked for answers from their
secret services and intelligence agencies.
Meanwhile, as bit and pieces of information
surfaced, it came to be known that WikiLeaks
called itself a digital media organization, a “most
challenging journalism phenomenon” in the dig-
ital era. But it was of stateless origin, its credentials
suspect, and its unknown owner-editor-in-chief,
Julian Assange, held a treasure trove of top secrets
on war, particularly Iraq and Afghanistan. It broke
landmark stories comparable to the famous
Pentagon Papers and its dispatches led to the
creation of a “radical development in journalism
story-telling”, also called “WikiLeaks Journalism”.
Highly readable and well-researched, the
book’s four chapters discuss enormously complex
media-centered issues that WikiLeaks had given
birth to, including journalists’ rights, responsibil-
ities, ethics, truth and transparency. The authors
see a bright future for WikiLeaks type of journal-
ism, though Julian Assange, its father, has himself
been evading the long rope of law as several crim-
inal charges are there against him.
Though expensive, the book is, undoubtedly
compelling reading.
Book: Wikileaks: News In TheNetworked Era
By: Charlie Beckett and James Ball Publisher: Polity Press
Price: $54.99Pages: 198
20 VIEWS ON NEWS February 22 , 2015
Obituary RK Laxman
He was India’s best-knowncartoonist, though his creation
was more popular than hewas. With his deft lines and
witty humor, this prolific genius touched many lives
day after day, year after year BY ASHIM CHOUDHURY
LONG LIVE THE COMMON
MAN!
T was July 1990. Calcutta was
agog. RK Laxman was com-
ing to town for his exhibition,
“City Life”, chronicling the
life and times of the city
through his sketches. I was
with the air force then, but nurturing dreams of
making it as a writer and a cartoonist. And be-
fore me, at the exhibition, mobbed by admiring
fans was the legend himself. I instantly made up
my mind to interview him. He wasn’t very oblig-
ing, as I neither had a prior appointment nor
was I on the staff of The Statesman or even the
fledgling Telegraph. But, not one to be put off by
insolence, I pursued him doggedly, forcing him
I
or, more often, his wife to answer my questions.
“City Life” was a roaring success as his sketches
had transformed Calcutta’s garbage dumps, pot-
holes, and traffic jams – all those mundane,
frustrating aspects – into hilarious images.
Since he did not live in the city, I was
prompted to ask how he managed to draw those
vivid sketches. “He has a photographic mind,”
Kamala, his wife offered. “He has a remarkable
ability to remember places pictorially.” The
sketches were products of an earlier visit to the
city as he remembered it. It was this pictorial as-
pect of his cartoons that made them so appeal-
ing. Very often, they did
not say a word, and
yet the reader got the
message with a gen-
tle nudge on his
Illustrations: Ashim
21VIEWS ON NEWS February 22, 2015
funny bone. Laxman’s humor was rarely acerbic,
tickling rather than poking the ribs. Between the
common man and the establishment, he clearly
sided with the underdog. “Is the cartoonist a nat-
ural enemy of the establishment?” I had asked. He
fumbled for words finally saying: “Not exactly…
but a cartoonist naturally goes against the grain.”
FAMILY MANLaxman’s cockiness, which came from knowing
that he was the best, was mistaken by many for
vanity and arrogance. It wasn’t so. The man who
many thought was aloof (he had a soundproof
room to himself at The Times of India office in
Mumbai) was actually the family’s “handy man” as
his wife put it. He loved unwinding, doing the odd
job at home, repairing a leaking tap, replacing a
broken windowpane or adjusting the TV anten-
nae. When he was around at home, the plumber
or the mechanic had no business there. At home
he did no cartooning, except the odd freelance
work. Remember Gattu, the Asian Paint boy? His
daily cartoons were the result of a strict regime
from 9 am to 5 pm in the office, where the first half
of the day went in reading various newspaper sto-
ries and headlines. In the second half, he crystal-
lized his thoughts and put them to paper with the
deft strokes of his brush. Even editors did not al-
ways have the temerity to knock or enter his room
when he was working.
Though in the nineties cartoons had still not
been banished from the front pages, I had asked
him what he thought of “cartooning as a dying art”.
His face betrayed anger at the impertinence of the
question. Put to the doyen of Indian cartooning,
it did sound irreverent. But soon the livid expres-
sion melted into a smile that revealed his buck-
teeth. And he guffawed: “…not as long as I’m
alive”. But to young people, like me, he did not rec-
ommend cartooning as a profession. “Don’t!” he
had said. It was Kamala who explained: “He thinks
it’s a thankless job.” Raising a laugh was no laugh-
ing matter; I had tried it briefly too. How Laxman
managed to regale people with his deft lines and
witty humor day after day, year after year, will re-
main an enigma. True, towards the end of his ca-
reer he had begun to lose that punch. But then, the
sheer volume of his work was monumental. There
are no parallels to his prolific genius.
Rarely has a man’s creation been more popular
than the man himself, in this case, the Common
Man – the ageing bespectacled man in his checked
jacket. “Why does he look so helpless…Why does-
n’t your Common Man get angry?” I had asked.
Laxman loved doing the odd job at home,repairing a leaking tap, replacing a
broken windowpane. When he was aroundat home, the plumber or the mechanic had
no business there.
IMMORTAL CREATIONAn 8-feet bronze
statue of the “commom man”
was erected at the Symbiosis Institute,
Pune in 2001
Obituary RK Laxman
22 VIEWS ON NEWS February 22 , 2015
For a moment, the master of punning looked help-
less searching for a retort, then his expression
turned angry and he blurted: “…With the Chau-
talas and Devi Lals around, what can he do?”
(Those days, the National Front government was
gripped by a crisis when Chautala was re-elected
the chief minister of Haryana). He was clear; he
blamed politicians for the sad plight of the com-
mon man. Then, calling back through the throng
of autograph seekers he said: “You can quote me
on that.” There was something impish and child-
like about Laxman. Deep down, he strongly em-
pathized with the common man. It was this
empathy that had millions of readers looking at his
cartoons the first thing before moving on to the
day’s headlines.
A COMMON LIFELaxman’s inspiration was David Low, the famous
British cartoonist. “He was the only cartoonist I
was exposed to in my early childhood,” Laxman
admitted. Low later visited him in Bombay. There
were many, kings, queens and heads of states who
sought him out.
But this nation’s conscience-keeper once learnt
the hard way the perils of being a common man.
His car had broken down on Marine Drive in
Mumbai on his way back from office. For over an
hour, he stood on the road with his thumbs up,
pleading for a ride. Not a single car stopped. It was
little consolation that the next day, all the newspa-
pers in the city carried this story on their
front pages.
It is ironical that this celebrated cartoonist was
at one time denied entry into the JJ School of Art
for not having the “right” talent. That denial hurt
him deeply. To young aspiring artists his advice
was: “Don’t go to any art school; it kills your cre-
ativity.” He also encouraged them not to copy but
develop their own style.
With his passing away an epoch has ended.
The man who worked with The Times of India
since 1948 for over five decades, leaves behind a
humungous body of work that should be treated
as a national heritage. The best tribute to this ge-
nius would be to bring back cartoons to our front
pages. Rasipuram Krishnaswami Laxman is dead,
long live the Common Man!
Ashim Choudhury is the author of “The
Sergeant’s Son”
“He has a photographic mind. Hehas a remarkable ability to
remember places pictorially.”—RK Laxman’s wife Kamala explain-
ing how her husband managed todraw vivid sketches
23VIEWS ON NEWS February 22, 2015
AdvertisingBrand building
Advertising is all about ideas–brilliant, eye-catching, heart-tugging.
And yet, some stand apart from therest of the motley crowd for their
engagement with societyBY GOPINATH MENON
growing economy affects the advertis-
ing world too. While the growth rate in
India is at a steady five percent, overall
investments in advertising and promo-
tions have averaged around half a per-
cent of the total GDP. The staggering
number has resulted in countless commercial spots on
television and radio and ads in newspapers.
The Times of India alone brings, on an average, more
than Rs 12 crore of daily revenue. But most readers
spend less than 15 minutes on their morning paper even
as countless advertisers try to catch their attention. Apart
from this, more than six million spots are delivered to
TV audiences. These, coupled with 100 mainline
newspapers, 200 radio stations and countless
A
WHAT AN 24 VIEWS ON NEWS February 22 , 2015
IDEA, SIRJI!MAKING A ROARAircel saw an opportunity andpicked up the issueof tiger extinction tojazz up its brand’sfortunes
25VIEWS ON NEWS February 22, 2015
billboards lead to “fatigue” among consumers. This
is dangerous as the brands depend on the
consumer’s attention for growth. No wonder they are
looking at innovative ways to keep people engaged.
Brands have now started to talk to consumers
instead of talking down at them. The exclusivity of
the past has given way to inclusiveness. Advertisers
now focus on issues that concern society and
everyday lives. Here are some ads that stood out for
their engagement with society:
AIRCEL: SAVE THE TIGERThis was started some years ago when cellular
service players were serious and aggressive about
PLEASURES OF AHAPPY HOME
Adoption of the girl childis skillfully woven intothe Nestle campaign
that conveys themessage of happinessthrough the language
of food
“share of voice”. The belief was that anyone who
shouts the loudest was the best. Aircel saw an
opportunity and picked up the issue of tiger extinc-
tion to jack up its brand. Its initiative was shown on
news channels and the implications to humans
without tigers was stressed. It rubbed off positively
on Aircel, which otherwise had no novelty.
THE TIMES OF INDIA: LEAD INDIA ANDTEACH INDIAIn sync with the mind space it occupies, BCCL
Group started a Leadership series involving lead-
ers narrating their stories. This was followed by
the popular “Teach India” campaign. It aimed at
including youngsters who refrained from reading
papers and instead, got news on mobiles. This
TOI initiative appealed to educated readers and
urged them to take up teaching the underprivi-
leged with BCCL’s infrastructure and help. The
campaign built social equity for The Times of
India brand, which, otherwise was seen as a ship
without a visible captain. The initiative was a
Brands have started talking toconsumers. The exclusivity of the past
has now given way to inclusiveness.Advertisers now focus on issues that
concern society and everyday lives.
AdvertisingBrand building
26 VIEWS ON NEWS February 22 , 2015
marketing miracle.
TATA TEA: ‘JAGO RE’This was a scintillating case study of building so-
cial capital using a national concern. The “Need to
Vote” in a striving democracy was the highlight of
this campaign. The increase in voting over the last
6-7 years in Lok Sabha, assembly and university
elections could perhaps be attributed to this strate-
gic effort by Tata Tea. Most importantly, it was in
sync with the product values of tea “waking” you
up. Tea is supposed to kick-start your mind in the
morning and the “Jago Re” campaign was por-
trayed as kick-starting your future. This was a
movement that catalyzed the youth and elderly. It
was shown in a commonsensical, humorous way.
NESTLE: ADOPTION OF THE GIRL CHILDFMCG companies are often seen as chasing green
bucks. They try to sell things to people that they
don’t need, be it noodles, coffee, milk powder,
snacks, soups, baby foods, ketchup, etc. And yet,
SOCIAL STRATEGYTata Tea’s ‘Jago Re’campaign was peggedalong with the nationgoing to vote
they are billion dollar companies which have
looked after their stakeholders and customers. The
answer lies in quality products that build happy
homes through the homemaker. Hence, this cor-
porate initiative by Nes tle is rare and commend-
able. It emphasizes two things: One, the pain and
pleasure of adopting a child, and second, the
adopted girl child is from the North-east. It also
conveys happiness through the language of food.
Most homemakers, after seeing this commercial,
would be tempted to buy a Nestle product to
demonstrate affinity for this cause.
All these ads show that it is not enough to have
an idea. One has to be creative and sensitive about
delivering the idea to your advantage. So while
brands such as Airtel, Toyota and Seagram have at-
tempted to build social capital, they need to learn
sensitivity and relevance from the ones listed
above. Otherwise, they will be one among the six
million spots one sees every month and end up
being blind spots in the consumers’ psyche, leaving
one irritated.
Tea is supposed tokick-start your mind inthe morning and the‘Jago Re’ campaign wasportrayed as kick-start-ing your future. Thismovement catalyzed theyouth and the elderly.
27VIEWS ON NEWS February 22, 2015
NEWSDATE NEWS CHANNEL TIME
9:47 AM 9:50 AM 9:58 AM 10:42AM 10:42AM
17/1/15
17/1/15
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Nine Censor Board members send theirresignation letters to I&B Ministry in support of Leela Samson
Shiv Sena considering contestingDelhi polls: Uddhav Thackeray
BJP is importing leaders, Kiran Bedi andKejriwal are opportunists. Bedi alwayssaid she won’t enter politics: Ajay Maken
Camera has changed the definition ofnews, more focus on news on corruptionand crime; social media breaks news fasterthan TV: Arun Jaitley
BJP has parachuted Kiran Bedi, she isbeing made a scapegoat for BJP’sdefeat in Delhi: Arvind Kejriwal
Former AAP leader Vinod KumarBinny joins BJP, could fight againstManish Sisodia
High alert issued before Obama’s visit, threatof terror attack by LeT; security strengthenedin India-Pak border, additional BSF unit sentto the borders
11:35 AM 11:55 AM
19/1/15Congress lodges complaint with ECagainst Kejriwal for saying that theparty indulges in distributing money
10:35 AM 2:00 PM10:32 AM
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28 VIEWS ON NEWS February 22 , 2015
Here are some of the major news items aired on television channels, recorded by our unique 24x7 dedicated media monitoring unit that scrutinizes more than 130 TV channels in different Indian languages and looks at who breaks the news first.
DATE NEWS CHANNEL TIME
20/1/15
21/1/15
22/1/15
22/1/15
23/1/15
23/1/15
24/1/15
NEWS
Kiran Bedi declared CM candidate for BJP;Kejriwal congratulates Bedi, invites herfor a public debate
BJP MP Manoj Tiwari’s challenge to Kejriwal to fight against Bedi
Modi and Obama to address a jointMann ki baat on January 27, MichelleObama to accompany
Kiran Bedi is BJP’s masterstroke, will proveto be a good CM: Shanti Bhushan
Obama to India Today: Modi’s becomingPM is beneficial for USA, Modi has a clearvision and Modi’s policies will improveIndo-US relations
Modi to address 3-4 election rallies inDelhi, Delhi BJP chief Satish Upadhay sayshe will be addressing the rallies from January 29 to February 4
Barack Obama’s Agra tour cancelled for security reasons; was scheduled to visitAgra with Michelle on January 27
9:05AM
11:37 AM
9:08AM
10:04 AM
1:58PM 1:59PM
2:13PM
1:12PM 1:13PM 1:13PM 1:15PM 1:20PM
2:13PM 2:15PM
10:05AM 10:05AM 10:10AM 1:20PM
9:35AM 11:08AM 11:32AM
11:47 AM 11:48AM 11:48AM
9:07AM 9:07AM 10:42AM
21/1/15Top Delhi state leaders Mahesh Giri, VijayGoel, Harshvardhan present in Kiran Bedi’sroad show before nomination; Bedi willkeep the education and home department 10:30 AM 10:31 AM 10:33AM 10:33AM 10:33AM
29VIEWS ON NEWS February 22 , 2015
NEWSDATE NEWS CHANNEL TIME
10:23AM 10:23AM 10:23AM 10:23AM10:23AM
25/1/15
25/1/15
25/1/15
25/1/15
27/1/15
27/1/15
27/1/15
28/1/15
Barack Obama and Michelle Obama reachIndia; Modi receives Obama with a warmhandshake and a hug; Obama to stay inITC Maurya, security strengthened
White House tweets Jai Hind afterObama lands in India
Barack Obama pays homage to MahatmaGandhi; plants tree
Obama reaches Hyderabad House, Modialso present, bilateral talks begin
Kiran Bedi sends legal notice to ArvindKejriwal for using her picture on AAPcampaign posters, on auto-rickshwas
Obama to leave for Saudi Arabia afterdelivering his speech at Siri Fort, broadcast of Modi-Obama joint Mann-ki-baat on AIR at 8pm
Obama begins his speech at Siri Fort witha Namaste in Hindi; says he loved the bikestunts at R-Day parade, Obama also saysthe famous Sinorita dialogue from DDLJ
Mary Kom meets PM Modi, invites him forAcademy's inauguration
11:31AM
12:55PM12:55PM 12:55PM
11:31AM 11:33AM
12:45PM 12:46PM 1:15PM 1:25PM 1:27PM
9:31AM 9:32AM 9:40AM 10:17AM
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DATE NEWS CHANNEL TIME
1:17PM 1:18PM 1:31PM
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31/1/15
NEWS
Opposition parties might release a fakesting operation against AAP like last time,no one will believe is it: Arvind Kejriwal
Delhi election: EC gives clean chit toKiran Bedi in double voter ID cards issue
Sports ministry increases award money;Olympic champions will now get `75 lakh,silver medalists `50 lakh and bronze medalwinners `30 lakh
Delhi Police Commissioner Bassi: SunandaPushkar's Son Called for Questioning
Modi pays tribute to Mahatma Gandhi onhis 67th death anniversary; Sonia Gandhiand Rahul Gandhi also reach Rajghat topay homage
Arun Jaitley on Jayanthi Natarajan:Green clearances given arbitrarily duringUPA, will review all clearances, will supervise the review myself
Agni 5, India's Longest Range BallisticMissile, successfully test-fired
Complaint lodged against Kumar Viswasfor making indecent remarks againstKiran Bedi, BJP will also lodge a com-plaint with the EC
12:12PM
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1:13PM
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31VIEWS ON NEWS February 22, 2015
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Ethical management
HEN Narendra Modi became
the chief minister of Gujarat in
2001, numerous delegations
met him. Employees of Bar-
oda’s Gujarat State Fertiliser
Corporation (GSFC) was one of them. The com-
pany was making losses, the workers feared for their
jobs and they beseeched Modi for the sake of their
families. Modi sought some time as he was new to
Wadministrative matters. His officials said the choice
was binary: loss-making state enterprises were
closed down or sold off. Modi decided on a third al-
ternative—that of reviving them.
GUTSY BUREAUCRATAlexander K Luke, a bureaucrat, was the official
chosen. He lived up to the trust. When he took over
in May 2003, GSFC was bleeding. Losses for the pre-
PLAYING IT STRAIGHTBusiness Standard descibed Alexander K Luke as a“turnaround man”
32 VIEWS ON NEWS February 22 , 2015
a 10-year loan. No worker was sacked.
Luke ascribes the turnaround to “ethical man-
agement” by which he means doing whatever is
good for an organization, regardless of personal
consequences. At GSFC, he claims, he braved the
displeasure of Chief Minister Modi by not agreeing
to contribute ̀ 10 crore to the Chief Minister’s Relief
Fund, as it was beyond the company’s capacity (he
was vetoed by the other directors). While holding
additional charge of Gujarat Narmada Fertilisers, he
refused to implement a government order transfer-
ring the managing director of a subsidiary because
(a) transfers were his prerogative and (b) he felt the
executive deserved to be rewarded, not punished.
Upon assuming charge at GSFC, he renegotiated a
supply contract and got a giant petrochemicals
company (no prizes for guessing) to pay the market
price (almost double) and also cancelled a dealer-
ship that sat in between because it was not adding
vious financial year had piled up to ̀ 383 crore. The
stock price in the Bombay Stock Exchange was ̀ 17.
The company had sought legal protection from
creditors. The Reserve Bank had agreed to its bank
debt being restructured.
By the time Luke quit in November 2006,
GSFC’s stock price was `185. In between, it had
closed at a high of ̀ 243. It had not taken any money
from the government and had prematurely repaid
Being morally upright in a world of businessand political machinations is not for thefaint-hearted. Bureaucrat Alexander Luke,like many before him, learnt it the hard wayBY VIVIAN FERNANDES
WHENTOUGH MENDON’T LAST
33VIEWS ON NEWS February 22, 2015
value to the `50 lakh it was getting in commissions
annually. Cheekily, Luke says, the dealership be-
longed to a person whose name was similar to that
of a Gujarat minister who is related to the family
that owns the petrochemicals complex!
Luke has written a 1,70,000-word book on ethi-
cal management called, Passport of Gujarat: Haz-
ardous Journey. It is a 30-year personal excursion
through the innards of the government. The book
published by Delhi-based Manas Publications is due
for release in January. It can be more aptly titled,
“Why Government Sucks”.
As labour commissioner in 1990-91, Luke car-
ried on a rigorous drive
to enforce the Mini-
mum Wages Act. This
offended a well-known
garment exporter with
multiple factories in
India and also in Sri
Lanka and Egypt. For
his pains, Luke was
transferred to the cot-
tage industries depart-
ment, despite withering
comment in the media.
Harish Khare (who
later became Prime
Minister Manmohan
Singh’s media adviser)
named the industrialist
in his Times of India
report, says Luke.
Ela Bhatt, the founder
of Self-Employed
Women’s Association,
popularly known as
SEWA, interceded on his behalf with the chief min-
ister, to little avail.
SHAMELESS EMBEZZLEMENTAs cottage industries commissioner, Luke found his
officers indulging in brazen embezzlement. In
Saurashtra, they held a public event attended by
three ministers to celebrate the installation of 1,800
handlooms in the district— the year’s target for the
entire state. But an investigation revealed that all but
56 were fictitious. Of the 1,050 registered coopera-
tive societies which got grants and subsidies, 955
were found to be non-existent. That was in 1992.
When MLAs and other political heavyweights com-
plained that the investigation went against Dalit wel-
fare, the chief minister arranged a meeting. Luke
countered the charges with facts and figures. After
the meeting, the chief minister complimented
Luke. A week later, he was ordered out of the
department.
“I was a person of average intrinsic ability,”
says Luke on his website, www.ethicalmanage-
mentluke.com. “Ethically armed, I won luminous
victories.” Luke is being modest. He studied in IIT
Mumbai and was awarded the distinguished alum-
nus award in 2001 along with Congress leader and
minister, Jairam Ramesh.
For Luke, ethical management is not a call to
piety. He has no use for the honest leader who plays
safe. “Mine was not a moral crusade but a manage-
rial strategy,” he says about his stint in the labour de-
partment. It could not function effectively if officers
were venal. After regular field visits and relentless
exhortation, he saw a change of heart. The head of
the officers association even confessed to him that
many officers had decided to desist from corruption
till he was in charge. Perhaps, Luke was being flat-
tered. Perhaps, they had decided not to be brazen in
their self-aggrandizement.
An ethical manager is not a lone ranger. Luke
does not suffer the delusion that he is the solution.
There can be no success without everyone pitching
in. He recognizes competence in others, empowers
them to take decisions and assures them of his back-
“Public interest was the oracle I would turnfor seeking answers. There must be an objective good. Search for it continuouslyand you would know what to do.”
—Alexander Luke on what goads him to be ethical
AN ICON FOR INDIANS"Metro Man"
E Sreedharan is knownfor instilling ethical work
philosophy amongst DelhiMetro staff
overnanceGCase Study
Ethical management
34 VIEWS ON NEWS February 22 , 2015
ism. It is selfishness of a noble, creative kind. Luke
believes that altruism, like material possessions, sat-
isfies a psychic need. Honest achievement raises
self-worth just as worldly goods increase one’s
net worth. This is not a novel idea. In his December
1922 speech to the members of Poona (as it was
then called) District Law Library, BR Ambedkar
mentioned “public conscience” as one of the “con-
ditions precedent to the successful working of a
democracy”. By this he meant the “conscience that
becomes agitated at every wrong, no matter who is
the sufferer, and it means that everybody, whether
he suffers that particular wrong or not, is prepared
to join in order to get him relieved”.
Early in his career, Luke saw how the Mumbai
plant of the Gujarat’s fisheries department was made
to bleed and its 3,500 square yard plot sold in 1983
through a rigged auction for `9.5 lakh—about the
same price at which it was bought two decades ear-
lier. There are quite a few such instances.
Most of Luke’s postings ended in unpleasantness
for him. To not lose heart, Luke decided to work for
the “mythical citizen” who does not have any vested
interest and measures the success of officials by
ing. There could be no dithering; every
meeting had to yield a decision. At all
the struggling companies he headed,
emphasis was placed on sound man-
agement information. Daily produc-
tion, the total cost and item-wise
break-up, the sales inventory, the stock
of raw material, prices, sales realization,
the maintenance cost and such other
details were displayed for everyone to
see. Workers found this empowering.
They saw a causal link between their
efforts and the company’s perform-
ance. Even loaders gave preference to
trucks serving markets that yielded
higher profits.
HUMANE APPROACHEmpowerment does not mean being
ingratiating. At the height of labour un-
rest at one of the plants, Luke suspended a worker
for destroying the glass door of his office with a steel
pipe. Indiscipline is not tolerated. But the suspen-
sion was revoked after an apology. When workers
demand Diwali bonus which is beyond the com-
pany’s capacity to pay, he takes the union leader into
confidence and wins him over with his transparent
honesty. They settle for a much smaller amount.
Luke believes that the major problems of mod-
ern society are ethical, though they may appear in
other guises. Their solutions lie in ethics. India’s fis-
cal deficit can be plugged if money is spent on wel-
fare as intended; if project costs are not inflated and
money siphoned off; if taxes are paid honestly....
A few score “ethicals” can change India. Luke be-
lieves national resurgence is impossible without a
critical mass of ethical elite being on the vanguard.
These are pathfinders who are willing to fight for
public interest. They will be a fraction of the power
elite. A country’s greatness is determined by the
numbers willing to cross over. The ethical elite must
act as fifth columnists or Trojans for the sake of the
many who are not as fortunate, and become traitors
to their privileged class. This is not an act of hero-
UP AGAINST THE POWERFULAlexander Luke neverflinched to stand up tohis political bosses,including the then Gujarat Chief MinisterNarendra Modi
35VIEWS ON NEWS February 22, 2015
the extent to which they uphold public interest.
“This was the oracle I would turn to when I sought
answers. There must be an objective good. Search
for it continuously and you would know what to do,”
Luke tells himself.
COMPROMISED SYSTEMIn the end, Luke’s inability to kow-tow to the pow-
ers-that-be leads to his premature retirement. The
denouement happens at a review meeting of the
drip irrigation programme, entrusted to him by
Chief Minister Narendra Modi. Luke sets up the
Gujarat Green Revolution Company to persuade
farmers to do drip and sprinkler irrigation through
novel management practices. They pay half the
amount, while the rest is paid by the government.
But no cash changes hands. All payments are made
electronically so there is a paper trail. Suppliers
cannot scoot after selling equipment; they have
to market the concept and appoint agronomists
to hand-hold the farmers. A year later, Luke
expects praise from Chief Minister Modi; he is
criticized instead.
“I told him his assessment was wrong and the
scheme’s implementation was exemplary and
was being welcomed in the field. My daring to
do so resulted in a stunned reaction in the
room after which he (Modi) remained omi-
nously calm.” Luke asserts that the
players,bankers,drip equipment suppliers
and most important, farmers, were
happy with it. The mention of farmers infuriates the
ministers even more. “How could a civil servant,
and one who was not too civil, talk about the farm-
ers and what they felt? That only a politician could
do,” said Luke.
This is the nub of the problem. Luke believes
that a civil servant works for the interests of the peo-
ple or rather public interest, and he should directly
interact with the beneficiaries during the imple-
mentation of any scheme. But politicians consider
themselves to be the intermediaries. They tell the
civil servant what the people want and it is the
politician’s instructions that the civil servant should
follow. They want the civil servant to be not a ser-
vant of the people but an instrument in the hands
of the politician. “I rejected this assertion, particu-
larly looking at the calibre of our politicians. But it
is a fiction many civil servants maintain for their
own convenience. This is the conflict that is now
raging all over the country,” Luke says.
No one takes on the chief minister and survives.
Luke ascribes Modi’s spleen to the reasons men-
tioned at the beginning of the article. There is pro-
fessional jealousy as well; the chief secretary and
Luke did not get along. Luke is transferred as prin-
cipal secretary, posts and telegraphs. It is a promo-
tion but no sooner than he receives the order by fax,
Luke puts in his papers. The chief minister sum-
mons him later and persuades him to withdraw his
resignation. Luke insists that his transfer be re-
scinded. In the clash of two headstrong persons, one
had to give in. Luke buys a one-way ticket to Kerala
and flies out in the second week of November 2006,
two years before his retirement. He now lives as a
gentleman-farmer.
When Luke resigned, Business Standard de-
scribed him as a turnaround man. His ethical suc-
cess, Luke says, is a reproach to the many
professionals who have achieved it conventionally.
This is a book that some of the better-known
publishers should have accepted. Luke sent them
the manuscript, but they sat on it or turned it down.
Perhaps the title put them off. He should have dis-
guised it as a book on wellness.
36 VIEWS ON NEWS February 22 , 2015
ALWAYS IN LIMELIGHTLuke was awarded the
IIT alumnus award in2001, along withCongress leaderJairam Ramesh
overnanceGCase Study
Ethical management
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Interview
“EVERYONE ISPRO-MODI,
PRO-BJP TODAY”Controversial as this statement is, coming
from the new Censor Board chairman, PAHLAJ NIHALANI,
it has dangerous portents. He says in a few years, everybody will merge
with the BJP
Pahlaj Nihalani
overnanceG
38 VIEWS ON NEWS February 22 , 2015
office was that you were proud to be aBJP man. If I like something, why should I hide it?
Do you believe your strong politicalleanings could affect the fair dischargeof your duties? Everybody knows I am impartial. I am sincere in
my work. I believe in transparency. I don’t care what
other people think about me.
However, a majority of the nine-memberCensor Board appointed recently seem tobe BJP sympathizers. Vani Tripathi is amember of the BJP. Don’t you see any-
PAHLAJ NIHALANI always knew that he wanted to be in the film business. He wanted to buy therunaway hit of 1966, “Phool Aur Patthar”, at the age of 14. He couldn’t buy it due to family
pressure, but the success of the film at the box office gave him confidence in his judgment. Soon,he got into film production. However, it was in 2014 that he made news with his pre-election
video,“Har Ghar Modi”, an ode to BJP’s PM candidate, Narendra Modi. He’s back in the news asthe new chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification in the wake of the
controversial exit of his predecessor, Leela Samson. SOMI DAS talks to him about his love forModi, dealing with right-wing protests, nudity and tackling the issue of religion in films.
Did you know you would be chosen forthis post? It was a surprise for me. I came to know of it
through the media. Later, the board officially called
me and confirmed the news.
The decision must have been madequickly as the entire Censor Board hadresigned? No, its term had expired and they were on extension.
Tell us about your work before you became Censor chief?By the age of 25, I was already in the business of film
buying. I came into film production at the age of 29.
But I have always been involved in social work and
worked for the government whenever needed. I
have raised funds for it during calamities. I have
done charity work for former Gujarat chief minister,
Chimanbhai Patel, and did a charity show, “Star
Nights”, in Gujarat. I also did fund-raising during
the Bhuj earthquake. I contributed ̀ 4.5 crore to Vi-
lasrao Deshmukh’s CM’s Relief Fund for the quake.
I have worked for the Jyoti Basu government. I do
not have any political biases. I am a man for the peo-
ple. I gave `1 crore to Atal Bihari Vajpayee for
Odisha. I have done charity shows in Delhi during
Indira Gandhi’s tenure also.
You say you have no political biases, butyour first statement on assuming this
CHANTING MODI’SNAMENihalani’s pre-electionmusic video, Har gharModi was an ode to theBJP PM candidate
39VIEWS ON NEWS February 22, 2015
Shouldn’t the film frater-
nity have some protection
from right-wing threats
due to the huge invest-
ment involved? It is not in my jurisdiction to
protect someone’s investment.
Everyone should be responsible
for themselves. Filmmakers
must know what they are giving
to the people. One should not
show vulgarity to the younger
generation. One should follow the guidelines of the
Censor Board and there will be no problem in re-
leasing a film at all. There is no question of bias.
Religion is a touchy issue in India. Howdo you plan to deal with it in films? We have to make sure that the sentiments of no
community are hurt. There should be members
from different sections of society on the jury which
judges the content in films. I am the chairperson. I
am not going to watch each and every film. So it is
very necessary to have the right people on the
panel.
You have been emphasizing the impor-
tance of “clean and healthy entertain-ment”. What is your definition of that? There are many examples of clean and healthy en-
tertainment. Basu Chatterjee and Rishi da
(Hrishikesh Mukherjee) have always given clean
movies. Even masala films like Krishh and Koi Mil
Gaya qualify as clean movies.
Even your films like Aankhen and Sholaaur Shabnam?
thing wrong in this? Has the UPA government ever appointed any BJP
member on the board? And everyone is pro-Modi
and pro-BJP today. Even members of the Congress
are merging into the BJP. In a few years, with Modi’s
work, everybody will merge with the BJP. Every re-
gional party is merging with the BJP. Everybody be-
lieves in the vision of Modi.
Would you pass a film that is critical ofthe government or the PM? I will never allow any film that will damage harmony
in the country. I am not concerned about whether a
film is critical of the government or not. If the
content is good and clean, there is nothing that can
stop its release. But I will not allow anyone to cross
the barrier.
Even if you cut out nudity from films,everything is available on television and
most importantly, on the net….It is amoney-minting machine. It’s affecting ourpeople. Laws are required to keep a check.
CLEAN ENTERTAINMNETNihalani says his flilms likeAankhen and Shola aurShabnam not only providedhealthy entertainment butalso set a trend in thecomedy-action genre
InterviewPahlaj Nihalani
overnanceG
40 VIEWS ON NEWS February 22 , 2015
The government has to do something about it. Even
if you cut out nudity from films, everything is avail-
able on television and most importantly, on the net.
If you have a phone, you will have access to such
material easily. People are watching it openly. Chil-
dren are watching such videos on YouTube. An ac-
tress from the porn industry has become a part of
the film industry. She is popular because her site is
popular. Then how do you control nudity? It is a
money-minting machine. It’s affecting our people.
Laws are required to keep a check on access to these
sites.
Let’s talk about political pressure on theCensor Board to release the film, MSG.Was Leela Samson wrong when shespoke about political pressure? I think, jate jate kuch kar jana tha, woh karke gayi
(She had to do something before leaving, so she cre-
ated a controversy). Why talk about it?
Should MSG have been released giventhere were criminal cases againstGurmeet Ram Rahim, who plays a
Yes. They were clean and entertaining. Aankhen and
Shola aur Shabnam worked as comedy and action
films and set a trend. Even a film like Padosan didn’t
work that time. But today, it is being copied. How
you present a movie matters the most.
By that standard, a film like Gangs ofWasseypur would be rather violent. Would
its fate be any different if you were at the
helm of affairs then? I can’t talk about a particular film that was cleared by
the previous board. I have also not seen the movie.
But I must say that media makes heroes out of some
people. Media thinks these people are making real
cinema. All people in UP and MP are not like what
the film has portrayed them to be. The film medium
is a very strong one. We have to see what message it
conveys. What are you saying through the film? That
our Indian culture is like that? That people of Bihar
and UP are rough?
We send our movies for the international audi-
ence also. If we are showing our people in a bad light,
what is the message we are sending to them? Then
why did Indian producers criticize Slumdog Million-
aire for projecting India as a poor country? When we
are criticizing foreign filmmakers for projecting
India in bad light, what right do we have to show our
country in a bad light? The guidelines for making
cuts in films are there for you to see.
So, are films not being cleared accordingto Censor Board guidelines?No, the guidelines were not being followed.
Are we going to see some drastic changesin the way films are certified?
No, there will be nothing drastic. I will follow the
guidelines. Nothing else. Neither am I going to harm
nor give relief to anyone.
You have also spoken about censoring nu-
dity in cinema and on television also.How will you do that?
COMRADES-IN-ARMSNihalani with expelledBJP leader Ram Jethmalani(Right) and actor and BJPleader ShatrughanSinha
41VIEWS ON NEWS February 22, 2015
controversial films. What do you think
about controversies surrounding them? As a filmmaker, I believe that viewers are the best
judge. If a film does well at the box office, that
shows viewers have liked the film.
If people are the best judge, why have a
Censor Board? People can see a film only after the Censor Board
sees that it is clean and clears it.
Which is the first film you have cleared?Shamitabh.
Did you like the film?I can’t say anything about the film. There was
nothing wrong with it.
Are you producing any film? Yes, Bol India Bol. It’s on today’s students and
how they become victims of the drug mafia.
The film will star Govinda, Sunny Deol and Sha-
trughan Sinha.
Let’s talk about your love for Modi. Howdid you conceive the video, “Har gharModi”? Modi had already proved his strength and leader-
ship in Gujarat. After Nehru, Indira Gandhi and
Atal Bihari Vajpayee, we have got another strong
leader in Modi. I believed in Modi’s leadership and
I wanted others to see it. It was a personal initiative.
There was no contribution from anyone. A Delhi
girl, Heena Khan, wrote the song for the video fol-
lowing my vision. The catch line, Har Ghar Modi,
was given by me.
Why do you call him an action hero? Because he is a man of action. He is delivering what
he is promising.
One last question. Are you Govind Niha-
lani’s brother? (laughs) No. We are good friends.
messenger of God in this film? That’s not the point. That is not under my jurisdic-
tion. The picture was cleared by the Film Certifica-
tion Appellate Tribunal. And the Censor Board can’t
go against the Tribunal.
But isn’t it very unusual for the Tribunalto clear a film rejected by the CensorBoard? Is there any precedence to this? I don’t know. But there are many options open to a
filmmaker. The first stage in getting a film cleared is
the Censor Board. After that, the film goes for revi-
sion and re-revision. If not cleared, the film is re-
ferred to the tribunal. If the tribunal also doesn’t okay
the film, he can go to the courts. Many a time, a film
has been cleared after court orders.
Have you watched PK and Haider?No, I have not seen these as yet.
You seem to have missed seeing these
What is the message of Gangs of Wasseypur? That people in Bihar and MP
are rough? We send our movies for the international audience also.
Is this Indian culture?
InterviewPahlaj Nihalani
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42 VIEWS ON NEWS February 22 , 2015
overnanceGSpotlight
Coverage of Terror Attacks
Even six yearslater, there areno guidelinesfor journaliststo observeduring a terror strikeBY AKASH BANERJEE
SHOULDGOVERNMENT
CONTROL
t has been said that journalists are terrorists’ best friends,
because they are willing to give terrorist operations max-
imum exposure. This is not to say that journalists as a
group are sympathetic to terrorists, although it may ap-
pear so. It simply means that violence is news, whereas
peace and harmony are not. The terrorists need the
media, and the media find in terrorism all the ingredients of an exciting
story.”—Terrorism expert Walter Laqueur in his book, The New
Terrorism (1999).
Laqueur first suggested the symbiotic relationship shared between jour-
nalists and terrorists in the 1970s while studying how the American media
covered hostage and terror situations. Today, his observations ring true as
terrorist groups become adept at using various forms of media to gain max-
imum traction during an attack.
There is, however, one vital change. Though journalists and news or-
ganizations have been willing or unwilling conduits of terror news all
these years, that system is crumbling now. With terrifying speed, the
IREPORTING?
44 VIEWS ON NEWS February 22 , 2015
Smoke and fire billow out of Taj Hotel in Mumbai as elite commandos fought room to room battleswith militants to save people trapped there during the 26/11 terror attack
45VIEWS ON NEWS February 22, 2015
Lecture recently, I&B Minister Arun Jaitley indi-
cated that “strict” norms would be put in place soon
to regulate broadcast during a terror attack and to
prevent a Mumbai-like situation where terrorists
gained vantage from information provided on news
channels. “Our security agencies and the ministry
of defense are of the view that this cannot be al-
lowed. And, therefore, during the limited duration
when the security operation is on, a very strict dis-
cipline on the kind of reporting which is to take
place from the place of the incident will have to be
maintained,” Jaitley said.
Jaitley’s comment is of particular interest in the
light of the badgering that the media received for
its coverage of 26/11. The minister admits that even
six years later, there are no guidelines for the media
to observe during a terror attack.
During the Mumbai siege, while the record of
merchants of death are discovering they can connect
directly to millions of people and spread their mes-
sage of panic and hate though social media tools like
Facebook and Twitter. The Westgate Mall attack in
Nairobi demonstrated this with chilling accuracy.
Even though the media was restrained from beam-
ing live images, the theater quickly shifted online
with the Al-Shabab terror group launching its own
(mis)information campaign through social
media sites.
The terrorist of tomorrow will be as adept at
Twitter as with AK-47s. This is a worrying scenario
for India where after six years and a change of gov-
ernment, we are still trying to figure out how to han-
dle news media during a 26/11 like situation—an
online counter-offensive by the authorities is a pipe
dream at best.
While speaking at the Justice JS Verma Memorial
IN THE HOT SEATMedia reporting
during the26/11 attack
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46 VIEWS ON NEWS February 22 , 2015
precincts of the Taj hotel? Media teams are denied
access to even a basic scene of crime. What pre-
vented a commonsensical step from being taken?
� The I&B ministry could have imposed a news
blackout. Why didn’t it do so?
� Instead of presenting a single stream of infor-
mation, various branches of the government spoke
in different voices. The security forces too jumped
into the melee.Through the entire incident, the
media worked with meager resources and informa-
tion and never broke any government directive. Ex-
pecting a hundred journalists during the biggest
terror attack of our times to “restrain themselves”
was impractical. Calls were being made by the
minute and yet no one had a clue about the overall
picture. “The (media) beast has to be constantly fed.
The information flow from government sources
was terrible,” said Rajdeep Sardesai, (then edi-
The mediaworked withmeagerresources.Expectingthe 100 or sojournalists torestrainthemselveswas reallynot practical.
the media was far from exemplary, the govern-
ment’s actions (or the lack of it) seem to have been
glossed over. What’s widely reported is the story of
how the government ignored intelligence reports
about an impending attack; the infighting within
the Mumbai police and lack of coordination and
planning that resulted in four young fidayeen hold-
ing out against our best and brightest for days on
end. What isn’t talked about is how the govern-
ment’s handling of media and information was even
more disastrous. Let’s take a look:
� Within hours of the attack, it was clear to the
intelligence agencies that terrorists were being
guided by their handlers via sat phones that in-
cluded a running commentary on what was hap-
pening outside via news channels.
� What prevented the authorities from ordering
a full evacuation of media persons from the
47VIEWS ON NEWS February 22, 2015
rators across the border on TV screens and being
communicated to the terrorists. The goriest details
were shown live on Indian TV from beginning to
end, almost non-stop.”
Ironically, the court didn’t question why the
government allowed media so close to the action
scene. Perhaps another inquiry needs to be done to
understand the pressing need to allow thousands
of Mumbaikars to mill around the Taj even as the
encounter was on. The media was reporting from
behind a cordon drawn by the police—an area that
was accessible to the general public as much as the
media. The media never had any special access.
What if one of the terrorists decided to spray the
promenade outside the Taj with an AK or lob
a grenade?
While it’s no secret that the government failed
before and during 26/11, it’s worrying that tomor-
row when terrorists mount an offensive with bullets
—we will fail even more spectacularly.
Terrorists think and plan way ahead. The Al-
Shabaab terrorist group went online during their
attack at Nairobi’s Westgate Mall. While the televi-
sion media was kept out of direct visual contact of
tor-in-chief of CNN-IBN) to the Christian Science
Monitor later. What Sardesai didn’t mention was that
there was unprecedented viewer interest in what was
going on, people clung to their TV sets for days to
see the events unfold.
The Supreme Court didn’t see it that way; it
held back no punches when it observed, that
channels “have served no national interest or
any social cause. Reckless coverage gave rise
to a situation where...the terrorists were
completely hidden from the secu-
rity forces. All operational
movements were being
watched by the collabo-
“During the limited duration when the security operation is on, a very strict
discipline on the kind of reporting which isto take place from the site will have
to be maintained.”— I&B Minister Arun Jaitley
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�Set up a security ring around the area, and give directions tothe media. There is no reason why the media will not holdback. (This protocol is still not followed as the recent livebroadcast of a counter-insurgency operation in J&K’s Uri sec-tor demonstrated). �Regular, authentic, verified, non-compromising media up-dates, on an hourly basis. (The government tends to go into ashell during a crisis. In the information age, this is counter-productive). �Social media cells to monitor traffic and information beingposted online by media houses and terror groups to preventany misinformation campaign. �Clear and direct lines of communication with prominentmedia houses to ensure that strategic information is put out ina synergized manner. � Hold periodic seminars with editors, journalists and policeofficers on how the media plays out coverage of a terrorist at-tack and where the intervention points could be.
WHAT GOVERNMENT NEEDS TO DOIN A TERROR ATTACK
the mall – the government failed to provide critical
updates to the media on the operations to end the
crisis. This gap was exploited by the terror group to
float its own version of the attack. Morphed photos
posted by the group were picked up by mainstream
publications, creating panic. Clearly, the terrorists
outfoxed the government in the information game
and prolonged the crisis by a huge margin.
We shouldn’t be surprised if the next wave of ter-
ror attacks has live tweets coming from inside to am-
plify the shock effect of the act. Is the Indian
government equipped to handle such a situation,
technically or strategically?
While we grapple with TV broadcast, the speed
at which social media works, the difficulty in block-
ing it and its global consumption pattern present a
unique challenge for security forces during future
terror attacks.
How will the government machinery put out
faster, more credible information, than terror
groups? How will the authorities beat the opponents
in the information game? To begin with, the govern-
ment needs to understand the media in a new light;
for now, it’s an irritant, that needs to be tolerated in
the name of freedom of press and democracy. Dur-
ing a terror attack the media will have to be an ally
of the government, helping it to disseminate infor-
mation on a minute-to-minute basis.
Terrorists have to be denied success. The way to
do that would be to steal the terrorists’ best friend
– the media.
The 26/11 attack was the first of its kind for the
government and the media. Mistakes were made
on both sides and terrorists took advantage of that,
but to defeat them in future, the government
will have to act WITH the media, not against it.
— Akash Banerjee is a broadcast professional and author of‘“Tales from Shining and Sinking India”
With terrifying speed, the merchants ofdeath are discovering they can connect directly with millions of people and spreadtheir message of hate though social mediatools like Facebook and Twitter.
SIEGE OF TERROR(Above) A womanclimbs down to safety
(Facing page)Terrorists look out fortheir target during the26/11 attack
49VIEWS ON NEWS February 22, 2015
After tweeting that Katrina Kaif beconsidered for the post of presi-dent of the country (he later
tweeted that he was joking), JusticeMarkandey Katju was at it again. Hetweeted that if Shazia Ilmi was madechief ministerial candidate, the BJPwould definitely win the Delhi poll battle,as people vote for beautiful faces. “I re-gard Shazia Ilmi much more beautifulthan Kiran Bedi. If Shazia had beenmade their CM candidate BJP wud havedefinitely won DelhI,” he tweeted. Doesthis come under freedom of expression?
Beautiful Ilmi
Despite bad weather and coldwinds, lunch bashes by minis-ters are going on as usual for
journos in Delhi. One such bash washosted by HRD Minister Smriti Irani ather new Tughlak Crescent bungalow.Amidst good food, a classy ambience,laughter, bonhomie and selfies, thehappy Irani family was introduced toall the bureaucrats and media person-nel present. Many wondered if all thiswould help the party for the comingDelhi elections.
Union minister for health and familywelfare, JP Nadda, has not been ableto find much time for his ministry.
First, he was made in-charge of the party’scampaign in J&K elections, then, he gotbusy with the elections in Delhi. Juggling somany responsibilities has become a bigproblem for Nadda. Even serious concernslike the H1N1 scare have been put under thecare of the ministry’s bureaucrats.
TimeManagement
On a cold, rainy day, during thegrueling campaign for the elec-tions in Delhi, the minister of sci-
ence and technology, Dr Harsh Vardhan,offered tea to his party workers alongwith Marie biscuits, saying they werehealthy and low in calories; excess calo-ries would hamper their energy levels,he said. In stark contrast, journalists onthe beat were offered gulab jamuns andsamosas, prompting many hacks towonder why the minister would wantsluggish journos on the trail.
RefreshmentBreak
After the Haryana government’sdecision to bringdown the retire-
ment age of its officers to58, babus of the centralgovernment are panic-stricken. The wordgoing around in thebhavans of the capital isthat the central govern-ment too migh followHaryana’s exampleafter the elections inDelhi are over. Top-rung bureaucrats are aworried lot these days!
Retirement woesLunch Diplomacy
All That MattersGrapevine
Illustrations: UdayShankar
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—Compiled by Roshni
50 VIEWS ON NEWS February 22 , 2015
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RNI No. UPBIL/2007/22571 Postal Regd. No. UP/GBD-204/2015-17