Hafta letters: Demolition drives, India's renewable energy issues, criticism of NL app
Anand Vardhan (AV) is a genius jaise maine pehle bhi kaha hai. Still, his recommendation last week (Imran Khan) made me laugh. I could also hear him giggling. I love what you do and I cannot underline this more. More power to everyone and crazy hugs to Nikku. Nikku, please more uncle jokes on Hafta. Plees!
Rohit
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Great Hafta. Just briefly:
Without changes in urban governance, the encroachment/demolition narrative isn't going anywhere. People are fighting for scarce space/resources, and it's about how much they can get away with, not principled positions.
It's why I can't understand NL's position against high-rises in RK Puram/Kidwai Nagar. In my opinion, it's obscene how people live in lal dora areas; you only have to go to Khirkee compared to Saket across the road. Or Okhla/Nizamuddin, Trilokpuri/Mayur Vihar. When will we learn that blanket disapproval helps no one? And instead try to ensure that development doesn’t displace the poor, and gets them a fairer deal?
If tree-felling increases the total housing units, then do that and talk about other ways to save the green cover. No?
Also, have you thought about stories on peace committees in Shahdara/Sundarnagri/Jahangirpuri? I would be curious to know whether they exist, who’s on them, and how they work (especially with how things are right now).
Vijay Krishnan
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A small criticism.
The iOS app is the same as the mobile version of your webpage. As a paying subscriber, the least I expect is that I can enjoy your podcasts with "resume" features. Sadly, your webpage and app do not support that (it is lost if you refresh the webpage or restart the app), and I have to scroll every time to the right part where I last stopped, which is quite irritating.
This is the very reason I asked you last time for an RSS feed for Spotify but so far, I haven't received any. I understand that you have to be a Gamechanger subscriber for an RSS feed, but then please enable this feature of resuming a podcast on your webpage or your app.
Thanks.
K
***
Hi team,
Hope you all are doing great and thank you for all the brilliant reporting.
Two points:
1) Can you please try to interview some senior AAP leadership (CM or deputy CM) and challenge them on all the chest-thumping they are doing from one state to another? Other news channels are only letting them talk (advertising money) or asking them on their stands on religion, but no challenge on delivery promises.
2) Do you maintain a tracker for every recommendation made by subscribers that you promise on Hafta to implement? It is becoming more like politician's promise.
Keep doing the great work.
Thanks,
Ritesh
***
This is a story suggestion.
Much has been made of the transition to low-carbon sources of energy and two major players here are India and China. Endless paeans have been written about India's investments but there is a curious angle missing in almost all – the fact that India is unlike the developed world in that electrical energy demand is still growing. Rapidly. As electricity reaches more Indians, their aspirations grow. To date, no grid has met a growing demand through renewables.
Therein lies the pitfall – how exactly will India's renewable energy targets be met? For context, India's per-capita consumption of electrical energy today is around a quarter of China's. For parity, Indian electrical generation must quadruple. The Indian government's own planning figures estimate less than a doubling of energy consumption by 2029. This conversation is important not just for India but also the world, given how much coal India and China burn. Would there be a story here?
Eldrich
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Hello everyone,
I am a great fan of Hafta. I eagerly wait every week for Friday/Saturday to listen to this podcast.
I have a question related to the communal riots that have been happening recently. I ignored previous uses of bulldozers in other states but somehow what happened in Jahangirpuri sent a chill down my spine. I felt it's too much of a response for a local conflict.
I am wondering about the long-term effects of this. Does it not motivate the person or children whose house was bulldozed to take up arms or take the route of insurgency to fight the state? Does it not worry bureaucracy or the home minister about India? I am somehow so sad from the day the bulldozer was used in Delhi even though I live very, very far from Delhi.
Saketh
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Hi Abhinandanji,
I have been an NL subscriber since 2016. Congrats for completing 10 years.
During the discussion about the Jahangirpuri demolition, you were so apt in calling out political parties for not being present at the site. You named RaGa, AY, PriGa – but you didn't mention one obvious name. I wondered why. Even when Manishaji mentioned Atishi's name, you were so defensive. Again, I wondered why. You and Ramanji mentioned Delhi government but still didn't mention his name. Again, I wondered why.
Then I realised – oh, he is Abhinandanji's friend, that's why.
So, here is the thing, jaisa allahabadi mein kahate hain "Ya toh dosti kar lijiye ya independent hone ki bakaiti’". I have my yearly subscription up for renewal in June. I am not going to touch anything in my account and I hope my subscription doesn’t go through. I am disappointed in you and, more than you ,in your panel not mentioning him even once. For god’s sake, he is CM of the state and you can’t mention his name?
Ashutosh
***
Dear NL team,
Thank you so much guys for your sweet acknowledgment and as I have followed NL from its early years, it feels great to see you guys grow and hope it grows more, and I am happy to be part of that journey now as a subscriber.
As we are seeing a total breakdown of Hindu-Muslim relations in India and the state itself is posturing against its citizens (ie Muslims), my question for the panel is how should Muslims go about facing these challenges especially in electoral politics, media spaces and civil services. I say these three as they would face trust deficit or discrimination just because of being Muslim, because of the mass propaganda done by the right-wing (Hindu nationalists).
My other question is now that the BJP has been able to merge Hindu nationalism as Indian nationalism. How do you think other parties, especially secular parties, can revive Indian nationalism as an inclusive, plural and secular idea among the masses? How can media play a role in the same?
Ibrahim
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Hi,
Mentioning of "demolition man", not sure/surprised that former union minister and MP Alphons Kannanthanam was missed. He is also known as demolition man, or do you have an alternate opinion?
Watch the Print episode where he asked first to be considered is Sainik Farms. Very good watch, how he handled it.
Antisen AM
***
Hi Abhinandan,
I’m a subscriber since over a year and a proud one too. You guys are doing a phenomenal job. Keep it up!!
Few points:
1) Your app is way behind time which is very wrong…Don’t know what’s the problem.
2) A desperate request to Anand, with due respect to him, to keep his replies brief and to the point.
3) Your NL Hafta quality is gradually dipping (felt by many). Please do something.
Again, love you all and keep up the great work.
Regards,
Janak Parikh
***
Hello team, Jeremy here from Pune.
Thank you for all that you do. I'm a very new subscriber but am a fan of the way you are presenting news and other content already. My only wish is that I'm hoping it becomes feasible for the production team in the future to have the video of the NL Hafta discussions too. You had it done for an episode a couple of weeks back and it was really good to watch. Getting to watch the non-verbal cues, expressions and reactions made it very fun..
Thanks,
Jeremy
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Hi NL team,
Just a follow-up email. Manisha had sought more info about an event that I'd mentioned in my previous email.
>> a news reporter brokered between govt, forest official and smugglers. There are more detailed stories in Malayalam.
Thank you,
Prasoon
***
Hey NL team,
I have been a subscriber since last year, I started as soon as I got my first job because I really appreciate what you do.
Over a lot of your podcast discussions, you increasingly have a number of topics, for example conversations about why Indore's cleanliness drive works, and would the people from Indore continue their practices if they went somewhere else, and many others including minority-majority relations which are questions researched by my field, social and cultural psychology.
I have mainly two questions:
1) Would you ever consider discussing prominent research in, say, social or political psychology and how it relates to our situation in India?
2) As a PhD student with the KU Leuven Center for Social and Cultural Psychology (primarily focusing on emotional acculturation of Turkish and Moroccan immigrants), is there any way that I can help provide resources in some way?
Basically, I want to help in any way I can. I think it will benefit both the state of social psychology as a field in India which seems to be pretty sparse, as well as potentially add a different layer of analysis to the conversations you sometimes find yourselves in on the podcasts.
It would also allow me and others like me who are learning and conducting research abroad in a variety of fields with some hope of being able to apply what we learn to social and political issues in India some day, to actively contribute.
Apologies for the long mail, and keep fighting the good fight!
Much love from Belgium,
Ashay
source https://www.newslaundry.com/2022/04/30/hafta-letters-demolition-drives-indias-renewable-energy-issues-criticism-of-nl-app
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