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New Indian Express
a day ago
- New Indian Express
Padma awardee environmentalist warns of rising Himalayan disasters; urges urgent government action
DEHRADUN: Noted environmentalist and Padma awardee, Dr Anil Prakash Joshi, has expressed profound concern over natural disasters in Dharali, Uttarkashi, issuing a stark warning that such recurrences will continue unabated unless concrete and effective measures are taken. Speaking exclusively to TNIE, Dr Joshi, recipient of both the Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri, emphasized the immediate need for governmental action. "Now is the time that the government must become serious about all the settlements at the foothills of glaciers," he stated. Joshi explained the alarming transformation. "In the context of global warming, glaciers are currently converting into lakes. Any heavy rainfall can turn that converted lake into a deluge, as we witnessed in Dharali. We should know the cause of water, and it is extremely important to review such settlements." Posing a critical question, he highlighted the broader national challenge. "The entire country does not have mountains, but we saw the fate of Kerala. Considering this, policies regarding settlements across the country should be re-examined." He added, "I am working on this. There is an urgent need today to formulate a comprehensive plan for the entire Himalayas and other mountain regions. We must take serious lessons from the fate we are witnessing in Himachal Pradesh." The world-renowned environmentalist delivered a candid, warning-laden suggestion: "Today the mountains are suffering, tomorrow the whole world will suffer. How can we imagine the Himalayas without our soil, water, and air?"
Time of India
2 days ago
- Time of India
Trumputin talks! India pins hopes on Alaska assembly
The much-anticipated August 15 meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska has raised hopes in New Delhi of a probable deal and subsequent easing of tensions and lifting of certain sanctions from Moscow. India is hoping that a deal between the US and Russia and subsequently a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine could provide sanctions relief to Russia, easing transactions between New Delhi and Moscow and subsequently lifting of the 25% extra tariff imposed on India that, according to Trump, is "funding" Russian war efforts, according to diplomatic observers. Productivity Tool Zero to Hero in Microsoft Excel: Complete Excel guide By Metla Sudha Sekhar View Program Finance Introduction to Technical Analysis & Candlestick Theory By Dinesh Nagpal View Program Finance Financial Literacy i e Lets Crack the Billionaire Code By CA Rahul Gupta View Program Digital Marketing Digital Marketing Masterclass by Neil Patel By Neil Patel View Program Finance Technical Analysis Demystified- A Complete Guide to Trading By Kunal Patel View Program Productivity Tool Excel Essentials to Expert: Your Complete Guide By Study at home View Program Artificial Intelligence AI For Business Professionals Batch 2 By Ansh Mehra View Program The developments could also have a positive spin-off on the India-US ties and Indian traders may be spared of the 25% extra tariff imposed on account of India's imports of Russian oil. On Saturday night, the ministry of external affairs issued a statement endorsing the Trump-Putin summit and suggested that it is ready to support these efforts. "This meeting holds the promise of bringing to an end the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and opening up the prospects for peace. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said on several occasions, 'This is not an era of war'," a ministry of external affairs spokesperson said in a statement. Pankaj Saran , currently member of the National Security Advisory Board (NSAB) and former Deputy NSA, told ET, "It is a defining and potentially transformative summit for the world, specially for India. Our ties with both countries are integral to the success of our national development and security goals. India should extend its full support to the summit." Live Events DB Venkatesh Varma , India's former envoy to Russia and currently member of NSAB, told ET, "The Alaska summit could prove to be a turning point at the global level and India has a vital interest in its success." Observers are of the opinion that India's statement has been able to bring out Europe from New Delhi's equation in matters pertaining to Russia-Ukraine war and India-USA ties. The EU has been critical of India's oil purchases from Russia even before the US started criticising India's oil imports. This may have played a part in influencing Washington to impose an additional 25% tariff on India, according to a diplomatic observer. It may be recalled that the NATO chief, who is the former PM of the Netherlands, also threatened tariffs against India for purchasing Russian oil after his meeting with Trump. Critics allege some European powers are trying to sabotage or play spoiler ahead of the summit and Ukraine may be encouraged to launch a strike against Russia over the next five days. Economic Times WhatsApp channel )
The Wire
7 days ago
- The Wire
How Modi Controls the Mass Media and its Narrative
From pushing the government line, the mainstream media has moved to activism against the opposition parties. Adi Shankara had propounded two levels of truth – truth as seen by the common man and what those who realised brahman perceive. The first is ephemeral and the second, eternal. But in Narendra Modi's India, we have three levels of truth. The first is what the obedient mass media presents, which becomes the public narrative. The second is the counter-points presented by the alternative media, mostly on web portals and YouTube and other social media platforms. And the third is the ultimate truth or what actually happened. When unfulfilled promises accumulate, totalitarian regimes routinely block free flow of information at the source. They fudge data to prevent adverse remarks by statutory institutions and find ways to silence independent think tanks. In India, the Centre for Policy Research (CPR), Greenpeace India, Oxfam and Amnesty International have had their access to foreign funds blocked and have faced raids. On the other hand, pro-establishment thinks tanks have been given government assignments. The print media has been the worst victim of the content control and armtwisting. Its working dynamics, with heavy investment and cost of production, make it vulnerable to pressures and intimidation. At the same time, the print media's very survival depends on the trust it builds with the readers. It cannot get away with irresponsible behaviour like television channels can. Newspapers are under pressure to maintain a balance between complying with the official line and trying to appear free and fair. So, while television channels were quick to fall in line with the new information control system, the mainstream print media took longer. Going by political reporters, the PMO sends all of Modi's speeches to journalists, who use these as the basic material for their reports. A set of headlines are also provided with important stories, from which they can choose the intro. These are reproduced without any negative remarks. When this writer began political reporting in the 1970s, we were repeatedly reminded that such political stories should be accompanied with the right contextualisation. Often, we carried responses from the other side, together with implications and relevant background, to make it a balanced presentation. Now all this has been done away with. In the past two years, there has been a change for the worse. The mainstream media is now proactively aggressive towards the Opposition. They dig out every available issue, often trivial, to project the regime's rivals as a divided, ever-quarreling crowd incapable of providing a viable alternative to Modi. Look at the persistent reports of sharp differences within the India bloc on the issue of leadership. Kanhaiya Kumar has had to state more than once that his party had no problem with the leadership of Tejashwi Yadav in Bihar. Sections of the media came out with big stories saying that a divided Opposition had failed to corner the government on Operation Sindoor in Parliament. Another report got reactions from various Opposition parties to gleefully cite how 'divided' the India bloc was. However, Parliament's monsoon session showed how erroneous the report was. The 'leadership tussles' of the India bloc have long been a favourite theme for the mainstream media. In the normal course, there is nothing exceptionable in such media projections. But the problem arises when it is selectively applied to the Opposition under pressure from the bosses. Can you find such critical stories about differences within the ruling party unless the tussles play out in the open? Whenever Opposition leaders comment on the ruling party's policies, the newspaper reports include a formal reaction from the latter, preferably in the second para. Some even lead with the ruling party's denial, dumping the original accusations in a couple of sentences at the bottom. Not surprisingly, the statements of the BJP bosses are standalone, often on the front page and not below the fold. The other practice has been to push the Opposition's statements into the inside pages and below the fold, preferably in a single column — unless they generate a damaging controversy. The tug of war between partisan presentation of news and reader pressure for free and fair facts has left the mainstream media in a deep survival crisis. They are resorting to several subtle strategies to bridge the credibility-compliance gap. An example is the paywalled special stories, many of them more critical of the regime, which largely go unnoticed. Critical stories are often deliberately kept for the online pool so that they escape the much-dreaded blue pencil even while sending the right message to the readers who care. Such initiatives though are denting the 'complete' newspaper claim. The latest trend is to sensitize the Delhi editions to the Modi government and allow the regional editions to adjust to the requirements of local politics. We also have the worst kind of media activism. The editor-in-chief of Adani-owned NDTV was alleged to have asked the channel's then Mumbai bureau chief to 'disrupt and create a ruckus' at Rahul Gandhi's press conference at a hotel. Another channel conducted a quick survey to prove that 88 per cent of the people supported the Prime Minister on Operation Sindoor. It also reported that 87 per cent had a poor opinion of Rahul Gandhi's 'Narender-Surrender' remarks. Narendra Modi, like other spin dictators, has always had a mistrust of the free media. Two years ago, India amended the Information Technology Rules to tighten its control over news, the amendments allowing it to order intermediaries like Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and YouTube to take down any content that the government decided was fake. Intimidation of the media happens at two levels — threatening the owners with cases of financial irregularities and punishing individual journalists for their 'defiance'. The mainstream print media, largely owned by business houses who can be harassed with income tax notices and ED threats, is always a vulnerable target. Few details have come out of such intimidation because the owners don't want bad publicity. So, the information we have is from foreign media and international agencies. Two years ago, the BBC offices in Delhi and Mumbai were raided and phones, laptops and other communication equipment were seized. This was after it broadcast a two-part documentary on Modi, covering the 2002 Gujarat riots as well as his relationship with the minorities as Prime Minister. Some 20 officers trooped into the office and shouted at the staff to step away. The government agencies alleged that BBC had failed to respond to requests to clarify its tax details and remittances abroad. The Time magazine wrote that think tanks, journalists, and civil society members were being targeted as 'part of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's growing crackdown on dissent'. It spoke of critics being charged under opaque terrorism and sedition laws, and allegations of financial misconduct and improper foreign funding being used to freeze bank accounts. The report mentioned Oxfam, the Media Foundation and the CPR. At the same time, several Indian media organisations were also subjected to intimidation. The Quint, Dainik Bhaskar and Bharat Samachar were raided by income-tax authorities , NewsClick by the Enforcement Directorate , NDTV (before the Adani take-over) by the CBI, and Greater Kashmir by the NIA. NewsClick , an independent portal, was charged with money laundering and accepting foreign funds. At the second level, many journalists who criticised the regime were arrested and some even charged with sedition. Shashi Tharoor, before he became a Modi fan, had spoken of his own experience when he and six journalists faced criminal charges on the grounds of 'misreporting' the facts about a protester's death. He referred to the Caravan case and pointed out that in 2020, 67 journalists were arrested and 200 were physically attacked. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said there were a record seven journalists in jail at the same time, including Gautam Navlakha, Prabir Purkayastha, and Asif Sultan. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) called for the withdrawal of charges against journalists and for their release. Navlakha is out on bail but cannot return to his hometown Delhi, Purkayastha was freed on the Supreme Court's intervention after seven months, and Asif Sultan walked out of jail last year after five and a half years behind bars. P. Raman is a veteran journalist and political commentator. This article went live on August sixth, two thousand twenty five, at zero minutes past six in the evening. The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
