Newslaundry English

The Jan Vishwas Bill , which was recently passed by the Lok Sabha, has provoked a controversy regarding its implications for public health in India. This after the government put out a rather misleading press release in response to claims that one of us made on Twitter.  Thread I am grateful that the @MoHFW_INDIA has issued a clarification to my tweet thread about the decriminalization of provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 which I re-posted yesterday after the Jan Vishwas Bill 2023 was passed in the Lok Sabha to rebut my 1/n — Dinesh S. Thakur (@d_s_thakur) July 28, 2023 Simply put, the government press release seeks to perpetuate its earlier claim that the bill aims to decriminalise only minor offences. This is simply not true because amendments pertaining to the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 goes to the core of drug quality.  The act currently prescribes four different categories of offences pertaining to drug quality. These are adulterated drugs, spurious d

Saeeduzzaman brings you the news from Parliament, Supreme Court, Jammu and Kashmir, and Pakistan. Produced by Ashish Anand, edited by Samarendra K Dash.  We have a new Sena project on the widespread devastation in Himachal Pradesh after torrential rain. Contribute now . source https://www.newslaundry.com/2023/07/31/daily-dose-ep-1417-manipur-video-case-ls-clears-cinematograph-amendment-bill

11 जुलाई को दिल्ली में यमुना नदी का जलस्तर 1978 में बने सर्वकालिक को तोड़ते हुए 208.66 मीटर तक पहुंच गया. इसकी वजह से दिल्ली में बाढ़ की स्थिति पैदा हो गई और यमुना का पानी लाल किला, सुप्रीम कोर्ट, आइटीओ, रिंग रोड और सिविल लाइंस तक पहुंच गया. यहां तक कि यमुना खादर में बसे सभी इलाके जलमग्न हो गए और इसके चलते करीब 25 हजार लोगों को राहत शिविरों में शिफ्ट करना पड़ा. आम आदमी पार्टी ने इस बाढ़ के लिए हरियाणा की भाजपा सरकार को जिम्मेदार ठहराया, क्योंकि हरियाणा ने हथिनीकुंड बैराज से 11 जुलाई को दो घंटे के लिए 3.6 लाख क्यूसेक पानी छोड़ दिया था. वहीं भाजपा की तरफ से बाढ़ के लिए केजरीवाल सरकार को जिम्मेदार ठहराया गया.  ऐसे में सवाल यह उठता है कि क्या दिल्ली में बाढ़ के लिए अकेले हथिनीकुंड बैराज से छोड़ा गया पानी जिम्मेदार है? जवाब है नहीं. विशेषज्ञों का मानना है कि यमुना की बाढ़ के लिए सबसे ज्यादा जिम्मेदार दिल्ली में यमुना के फ्लडप्लेन पर बढ़ता अतिक्रमण है. यमुना फ्लडप्लेन पर साल दर साल बढ़ते अतिक्रमण के कारण यमुना की बाढ़ को समाहित करने की क्षमता लगातार कम होती जा रही है. यमुना पर एक दशक से

It was around 5.30 pm in Kohima. Already dark, the electricity too had just gone off. The light from the firewood ablaze in one corner of the kitchen faintly revealed a pot cooking on top. A crying toddler clung to his father’s legs as he moved around the dark room. The toddler’s father, Boylene, 33, had arrived in Kohima from Manipur’s Kangpokpi that evening.  For the last few months, with no access to medical facilities in Manipur, Boylene was unable to take his critically ill father to a hospital. It was a long wait without a semblance of respite in the tensions before they decided to bring him to Kohima. Upon arrival, his father was immediately admitted to a private hospital. And Boylene came to the church to prepare supper for the family. The Kuki church in the heart of Kohima town has made its kitchen available to the community to help those in need, especially the attendants of hospitalised patients. The pastor said the first eight victims came in May, with horrific gunshot wo

“Media, please respect my privacy,” reads a note outside the residence of Sachin Meena and Seema Haider as the couple have now refused to speak to the media in Rabupura village of Greater Noida.   Over the last few days, the couple’s love story has triggered an unending meme fest and a circus of television crews and social media influencers around their house. Sachin’s family and villagers in Rabupura had earlier told Newslaundry that media crews repeatedly misbehaved in the area. Many media professionals did not respect the family’s demand to limit interviews to five minutes, and consistent refusals to follow appointment timings often resulted in verbal duels. A section of the media had initially portrayed the Pakistani national as just a woman who had dared to leave her husband and cross the border with her four children – to convert to Hinduism and marry her Indian lover Sachin, who she had met while playing PUBG on her phone.  However, with the couple’s arrest – and bail – in a

हिंदी के प्रमुख अख़बारों ने आज एक नहीं बल्कि अलग-अलग ख़बरों को प्रमुखता दी है. किसी ने प्रधानमंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी के ‘मन की बात’ कार्यक्रम तो किसी ने कश्मीरी सैनिक के अपहरण तो वहीं किसी ने विपक्षी सासंदों के मणिपुर दौरे को पहली ख़बर के रूप में पहले पन्ने पर जगह दी है.  आज के प्रमुख अख़बारों की सुर्खियों पर एक नजर डालें उससे पहले अगर आप रोज़नामचा को अपने ई-मेल पर पाना चाहते हैं तो  यहां क्लिक करें. दैनिक जागरण अख़बार ने पीएम मोदी का मासिक रेडियो संबोधन ‘मन की बात’ को प्राथमिकता से पहली ख़बर के रूप में जगह दी है. अख़बार ने लिखा कि पीएम मोदी ने देश के बलिदानियों के लिए ‘मेरी माटी, मेरा देश’ अभियान की घोषणा की है. नरेंद्र मोदी ने कहा कि देश के लिए शहिद हुए सैनिकों के लिए देश की हर पंचायत में कलश यात्रा निकाली जाएगी और शिलालेख निर्मित किए जाएंगे.  अख़बार ने आतंकियों द्वारा कश्मीरी सैनिक के अपहरण को दूसरी सुर्खी बनाया है. अख़बार ने लिखा कि कश्मीर के कुलगाम में आतंकियों ने बकरीद पर घर आए सैन्यकर्मी जावेद अहमद वानी का अपहरण कर लिया है.  वहीं तीन वर्ष में 13.13 लाख से अधिक लड़कियां और महिल

The contrast has been too stark to escape notice. Over the last few weeks, the cricketing gaze has largely been at the evenly-matched, intense game seen in the ongoing Ashes Test series , between archrivals England and Australia. At the same time, the touring Indian team’s 1-0 test series win against West Indies in the Caribbean has hardly caused any ripple. Keeping aside the overkill factor in the round-the-year cricketing calendar, the reactions to the Caribbean tour, or rather the lack of it, is one more telling sign of the definitive fall of the Caribbean team – from being the past giant to joining the list of minnows in world cricket. Far from discussions on what was seen as a foregone conclusion, the chatter in the series was more about some individual performances, and some experiments that the Indian team did with the batting slots and the pace bowling battery. That meant that test debutants, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Mukesh Kumar, did evoke sporadic interest. But the lack of conte

“I know our country is in the right hands...Under the leadership of Narendra Modi ji, every person is trying to make it stronger,” read the caption of an Instagram post by influencer Sunil Minglani, with pictures of him posing with a gleeful union minister Piyush Goyal. The influencer, who describes himself as a “stock market psychologist” and has 1.4 million YouTube subscribers and 2,14,000 followers on Instagram, saluted Goyal for his “honesty, dedication, and clarity of thought” in the post . But he was not the only one – similarly-worded posts heaping praise on the ruling dispensation popped up on Instagram late last month from around 50 social media influencers, each boasting millions of followers. This was preceded by the minister of consumer affairs’ meeting with some of the most popular Indian YouTubers on June 23 in Delhi.  The government’s purported outreach programme was communicated to the influencers through email and social media, after which they were flown into the na

मणिपुर में कुकी और मैती समुदाय में चल रहे हिंसक संघर्षों के बीच इंफाल में हजारों लोगों ने शांतिपूर्ण तरीके से प्रदर्शन किया. इस प्रदर्शन में नागा समूह के अलावा ज्यादातर लोग मैती समुदाय से थे. इनकी मांग थी कि सरकार जल्द से जल्द मणिपुर में शांति बहाल करे.  शनिवार सुबह 11 बजे थांगमीबंद थाउ मैदान से शुरू हुआ यह प्रदर्शन हप्ता कांगजीबुंग पर समाप्त हुआ. इस दौरान प्रदर्शनकारियों ने हाथों में नारे लिखी तख्तियां पकड़ी हुई थीं. इन तख्तियों पर ‘हमें चाहिए एनआरसी’, ‘हिंसा रोको’ और ‘घुसपैठियों को रोको’ आदि नारे लिखे हुए थे.  बाहरी लोगों या घुसपैठियों की पहचान के लिए प्रदर्शनकारी एनआरसी की मांग कर रहे थे.  प्रदर्शन में शामिल एक कॉलेज छात्र ने कहा, ‘हम न पढ़ पा रहे हैं और न ही परीक्षा दे पा रहे हैं. क्या हम भारत के नागरिक नहीं जो आप शुरू से हमें नजरअंदाज करते आ रहे हैं? हम भी भारतीय हैं. प्जीज, हमारी तरफ भी ध्यान दो. हम इस सब से थक चुके हैं.’ प्रदर्शन में शामिल एक आंगनवाड़ी वर्कर ने कहा, ‘सरकार को शांति स्थापित करने के लिए तुरंत कदम उठाने चाहिएं’ प्रदर्शन में शामिल बाकी लोगों ने क्या कुछ कहा जान

Amid intensified clashes between Kuki and Meitei groups, thousands of people – most of them Meitei women activists and some from Naga groups – took to the streets in Imphal on Saturday, to demand government action to restore normalcy in the state.  The march, which started around 11 am from Thangmeiband Thau ground and concluded at Hapta Kangjeibung, saw participation of groups such as COCOMI and Meira Paibis. Ethnic faultines were visible as protesters blamed Kuki miscreants for the unrest, and demanded an NRC to identify “outsiders”. The protestors held placards with slogans such as “abolish narco terrorism”, “we want NRC”, “stop violence”, “no separate administration” and “no political rights to immigrants”. A college student in Imphal said, “We are unable to study or give exams… Are we not Indians that you have avoided us for all this time? We are also Indians. Please do something for us, we are very tired.” Another protester said that she was “angry at PM Modi”. An anganwadi

Gurmehar Kaur brings you the news from Manipur, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and the United States. Produced by Chanchal Gupta, edited by Umrav Singh. Floods have ravaged Himachal Pradesh, leaving more than 100 dead. Our new Sena project will probe the scale and triggers behind this disaster. Contribute now . source https://www.newslaundry.com/2023/07/29/daily-dose-ep-1416-opposition-delegation-in-manipur-bjp-reshuffles-office-bearers

The fallout of the crisis unfolding in Manipur has transgressed state borders. The violence in the northeastern state is impacting its relationship with neighbouring Mizoram, where thousands of Kukis have taken shelter to escape the conflict.  Mizoram’s lone Lok Sabha MP C Lalsoranga speaks to Newslaundry’s Pratyush Deep Koty on the difficulties befalling the northeastern states, the central government’s response to the crisis and its impact on the political dynamics.     Lalsoranga says Mizoram chief minister M Zoramthanga has written several letters to the centre on the crisis in Manipur and its impact on Mizoram, but has not received “any response”. He accuses the central government of “apathy” towards the situation in Manipur.   “Within our party, there have been expressions of personal feelings that if things are like this, in view of the situation in Manipur, should we continue to be in the NDA? When a member state of the NDA has not been able to do anything, has not been ab

इस हफ्ते चर्चा में बातचीत के मुख्य विषय मणिपुर में जारी हिंसा को लेकर संसद में सत्तापक्ष और विपक्ष के बीच जारी गतिरोध, विपक्ष द्वारा राज्यसभा में नियम 267 के तहत चर्चा की मांग, कांग्रेस पार्टी द्वारा लोकसभा में सरकार के खिलाफ अविश्वास प्रस्ताव, राज्यसभा में आम आदमी पार्टी के सांसद संजय सिंह का पूरे सत्र के लिए निलंबन और प्रधानमंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी का विपक्षी गठबंधन इंडिया पर तीखा हमला आदि रहे.  हफ्ते की बड़ी खबरों में पुरस्कार वापसी विवाद को लेकर संसदीय समिति का सरकार को  दिया गया सुझाव भी रहा, जिसके मुताबिक पुरस्कार पाने वालों से अब ये हफलनामा लिया जाएगा कि वो राजनैतिक कारणों से अपना पुरस्कार वापस नहीं करेंगे. इसके अलावा मनरेगा में नामित 5 करोड़ से ज्यादा मजदूरों का जॉब कार्ड डिलीट, मणिपुर में आंशिक रूप से इंटरनेट सेवाओं की बहाली, मिजोरम से माइती समुदाय का पलायन, राजस्थान सरकार द्वारा अंशकालिक मजदूरों को सामाजिक सुरक्षा प्रदान करने हेतू न्यूनतम आय गारंटी विधेयक आदि भी अहम मुद्दे रहे. सुप्रीम कोर्ट द्वारा पांच सालों से जेल में बंद भीमा कोरेगांव हिंसा मामले के दो आरोपितों वर्नन गोंजाल्व

Hey NL team, it’s दिवगुन्न btw. I thought it best to type out in Hindi. My suggestion to the NL team is if they can start film discussions, critique and roundtables with sound designers, cinematographers and writers. As somebody who works in the film industry, it is sad to not see good film journalism as most of the space is taken by elite media, and their discussions are very light and lame. I don’t care about celeb fashion and diet routines and would like to know more about the art and craft of the artists. The media at present, such as Film Companion , just invites mainstream directors and actors and have nothing new to ask. I lost my trust when they didn’t have filmmakers like Neeraj Ghaywan, Chaitanya Tamhane and Kanu Behl on their episode on best films of the decade, whilst having celebrated much mediocre films. Divgunn *** I am that Anonymous who wrote the letter about ’people those who believe in God are not educated enough’, and I still stand by my opinion. But Manisha, how

This week we took a look at all the nuisance around Seema Haider, a Pakistan national, who crossed the border into India to be with her lover – becoming the obsession of TV news media.  Over the past few weeks, all the news channels covered Haider’s story extensively – some even uploading around 20 new videos on it every day, many laced with sensational, misleading thumbnails. Amid this, Sudhir and gang found a new reason to get offended on behalf of the Hindu community. The cause of their outcry this time was the sex scene in Christopher Nolan’s new movie Oppenheimer, in which the protagonist recites a verse of the Bhagwat Gita.  Meanwhile, the Parliament’s monsoon session witnessed upheavals through the week as the opposition demanded that prime minister Narendra Modi discuss the Manipur issue. But while PM Modi continued to wear silence, BJP minister Smriti Irani indulged in pitiful whataboutery, and accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of “putting Manipur on fire”. This, when

हिंदी के प्रमुख अख़बारों ने आज एक नहीं अलग-अलग ख़बरों को प्रमुखता दी है. किसी ने प्रधानमंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी के गुजरात दौरे तो किसी ने उनके राजस्थान के भाषण को प्राथमिकता दी है. वहीं कुछ अख़बारों ने सुप्रीम कोर्ट द्वारा ईडी डायरेक्टर संजय मिश्रा के कार्यकाल विस्तार को मंजूरी दिए जाने को अपनी पहली सुर्खी बनाया है.  आज के प्रमुख अख़बारों की सुर्खियों पर एक नजर डालें उससे पहले अगर आप रोज़नामचा को अपने ई-मेल पर पाना चाहते हैं तो  यहां  क्लिक करें. अमर उजाला ने राजस्थान में पीएम नरेंद्र मोदी की यात्रा के दौरान दिए गए बयान को पहली सुर्खी बनाया है. इस दौरान पीएम मोदी ने विपक्षी गठबंधन पर निशाना साधते हुए कहा कि गठबंधन का नया नाम यूपीए की ग़लतियों को छुपाने के लिए रखा गया है. उन्होंने कहाल कि विपक्ष ने अपना नाम देशभक्ति दिखाने के लिए नहीं बल्कि देश को लूटने के लिए बदला है.  अख़बार ने ज्ञानवापी मस्जिद के सर्वे को लेकर इलाहाबाद हाईकोर्ट में हुई सुनवाई को भी अहमियत दी है. ख़बर के मुताबिक, ज्ञानवापी के सर्वे पर 3 अगस्त तक रोक बरकरार रहेगी. हाईकोर्ट ने मामले की सुनवाई पूरी कर ली है और अब हाईकोर्ट

The Newslaundry app won the award in the category of Best Use of Technology at this year’s Digipub Awards organised by AFAQs . The award acknowledges the use of new technology in online publishing to enhance user experience and improve efficiency. The app, funded by readers, offers features like a podcast player, in-app payments and custom notifications.  When we first thought of building an app, we turned to our subscribers – and they came through. We raised Rs 15 lakh from over 500 subscribers in less than two months. It took us more than a year to build it and months to fine-tune, debug, test and reiterate. Along the way, our subscribers also tested features and helped us improve the user experience. We launched the app for subscribers in November 2022 and for the public in April this year .  A special shout-out to our tech-product team members – Rishabh Dixit, Danish Shaikh, Aditya Vikram, Rishabh Pandey and Chitranshu Tewari – and other current and former colleagues who have