views on news 07 december 2015

VIEWSONNEWSDECEMBER 07, 2015 `50
THE CRITICAL EYE
www.viewsonnewsonline.com
f
GOVERNMENT FUMBLES
AS PUNJAB BURNS
By Vipin Pubby 50
WILL THE PARIS CLIMATE
SUMMIT CLEAN UP THE AIR?
By Papia Samajdar 38
AJITH
PILLAI
Exit Bihar
polls
16
SHAILAJA
PARAMATHMA
Javed Akhtar’s
poetry show
30
STILL
PAYING
DIVIDENDS?
RajshriRai’sonthespot
analysisofthePM’sfirst
visittotheUK
MODI’SFOREIGNVISITS
12
PMsNarendraModiand
David Cameronat10DowningStreet
PRASOON
PARIJAT
Prashant
Kishor,
India’s
buzzman 24
Governance Section

Will there be a climate change during this winter
assembly of parliament? Will it be another mon-
soon session wipeout that saw important bills
drowned in the flood waters of obdurate obstruc-
tion? The prime minister looks confident and reju-
venated after his recent visit to 10 Downing Street
and Wembley Stadium where he attracted the com-
mendation and adulation of thousands of expat
fans. His barrel of a chest seemed to double with
pride when the British premier actually repeated
Modi’s achhey din slogan in a Brit-Hindi accent.
With another trip planned for South-east Asia,
Prime Minister Narendra Modi seems to be telling
India and the world that the loss in Bihar was a tem-
porary political aberration that is no more than a
blip of a dip in his steady
graph of success and
popularity.
The first proof of the
pudding will be in the eat-
ing of the parliamentary
pie. The winter session
will be of extraordinary im-
portance. It will test, be-
fore the whole nation,
Modi’s ability to carry with
him the majority of India’s
elected leaders in fashion-
ing his vision of achhey
din based on a broad plat-
form of tax reform, GST
and the lifting of stifling
bureaucratic regulations
which make India one
of the most difficult countries with which to do
business.
No matter what the promises made by world
leaders to Modi regarding investment in India, in-
ternational and business confidence in India’s
economy remains abysmally low. Foreign leaders
and Indian investors may see a new Modi but they
see alongside of him an old India, unwilling to take
any steps much beyond the reforms initiated in
1991 by Narasimha Rao and Manmohan Singh.
The disconnect between the rosy official pro-
nouncements and the realities on the ground are
creating a huge credibility gap between the govern-
ment and the people. Bank non-performing assets
(NPAs) are at an all-time high. The largest industrial
houses are groaning under debts which are being
restructured to give them a more palatable coloring.
The gold monetization scheme has so far produced
a duck’s egg. The government has been unable to
take advantage of falling oil prices.
Among other economic indicators, consider this
quote from Mint: “India’s factory output expansion
surprisingly slowed in September ahead of the fes-
tive season as growth in the production of con-
sumer goods declined, raising a question mark on
the consistency of economic recovery, and inflation
accelerated in October, led by a sharp increase in
prices of pulses.”
The index of industrial production (IIP) coupled
with inflation, the eminent journal noted, “point to
rural distress”. This is serious stuff. Right now,
world leaders are taking Modi seriously and Indians
abroad are cheering him wildly because, in a de-
clining world economy, India appeared to show
CLIMATE CHANGE IN
WINTER’S PARLIAMENT
EDITOR’SNOTE
4 VIEWS ON NEWS December 7, 2015
in his party and to play the role of a leader devoted
to pacifying inflamed passions in order to assure
a more sympathetic attitude towards him in
parliament?
But today his economic agenda, attractive as it
may sound, may not find resonance in parliament
because it has been sidelined by divisive social
agendas which have collectively been labeled “In-
tolerance”. Adding fuel to the fire, the raking up of
Rahul Gandhi’s passport issue and his aggressive
defense of his position and the half-finished agen-
das of Dadri and the Lalit Modi controversy are not
going to die down.
There is much to be admired in what Modi
wants to do in parliament. His success or failure
will have karmic consequences.
TIMETOWALKTHETALK
(Above) The winter session
will be most important in the
wake of Modi’s visits
abroad; (left) Arun Jaitley
must deliver
signs of stability, growth and investment opportu-
nities. Take these away and you detract from Modi’s
attractiveness in the international arena.
That is why this session of parliament is crucial
for the BJP. Some of the economic reforms that Fi-
nance Minister Arun Jaitley wants to push may cer-
tainly help remove some of the sluggishness from
the economy and promote growth at a later stage.
But will he succeed? To push GST, the BJP needs a
constitutional amendment which will require a ma-
jority which the BJP, despite its Lok Sabha majority,
lacks in the Rajya Sabha.
The BJP is trying friendly persuasion with the
opposition such as all-party meetings and Jaitley’s
personal invitations to Sonia and Rahul Gandhi to
attend his daughter’s wedding. These measures
may have worked earlier. But will they in today’s
heavily charged divisive atmosphere?
After Delhi and Bihar, Modi has been a sitting
duck for his detractors. The aura of his invincibility
has evanesced. His having stayed out of the country
for nearly three months of his 18-month tenure has
left party management and dealing with the oppo-
sition largely in the hands of Jaitley who is already
overburdened. Modi has the capability of taking the
country and even the opposition along with him. He
demonstrated this during his election. But has he
devoted enough time to silence the strident voices
International
and business
confidence
in India’s
economy
remains
abysmally low.
Foreign leaders
and Indian
investors may
see a new Modi
but they see
alongside of
him an
old India.
5VIEWS ON NEWS December 7, 2015

C O NLEDE
London
calling
12
Modi’s UK visit
soon after the
defeat in the Bihar
polls is significant.
He attempted to
project himself as a
world leader
pushing for India’s
interests, reports
RAJSHRI RAI
Editor
Rajshri Rai
Managing Editor
Ramesh Menon
Deputy Managing Editor
Shobha John
Executive Editor
Ajith Pillai
Associate Editors
Meha Mathur, Sucheta Dasgupta
Deputy Editor
Prabir Biswas
Art Director
Anthony Lawrence
Deputy Art Editor
Amitava Sen
Graphic Designer
Lalit Khitoliya
Photographer
Anil Shakya
News Coordinator/Photo Researcher
Kh Manglembi Devi
Production
Pawan Kumar
OWNEDBYE.N.COMMUNICATIONSPVT.LTD.
NNOIDAHEADOFFICE: A-9,Sector-68,GautamBuddhNagar,NOIDA(U.P.) -201309
Phone:+91-0120-2471400-6127900;FFax:+91-0120-2471411
e-mail:editor@viewsonnewsonline.com,wwebsite:www.viewsonnewsonline.com
MUMBAI:ArshieComplex,B-3&B4,YariRoad,Versova,Andheri,Mumbai-400058
RANCHI:HouseNo.130/C,VidyalayaMarg,Ashoknagar,Ranchi-834002.
LUCKNOW:Firstfloor,21/32,A,WestView,TilakMarg,Hazratganj,Lucknow-226001.
ALLAHABAD:LeaderPress,9-A, EdmonstonRoad,CivilLines,Allahabad-211001.
For advertising & subscription queries
sales@viewsonnewsonline.com
VOLUME. IX ISSUE. 05
PublishedbyProfBaldevRajGuptaonbehalfofENCommunicationsPvtLtd
andprintedatAmarUjalaPublicationsLtd.,C-21&22,Sector-59,Noida.All
rightsreserved.Reproductionortranslationinanylanguageinwholeorin
partwithoutpermissionisprohibited.Requestsfor
permissionshouldbedirectedtoENCommunicationsPvtLtd.Opinionsof
writersinthemagazinearenotnecessarilyendorsedbyENCommunica-
tionsPvtLtd.ThePublisherassumesnoresponsibilityforthereturnof
unsolicitedmaterialorformateriallostordamagedintransit.All
correspondenceshouldbeaddressedtoENCommunicationsPvtLtd.
Chief Editorial Advisor
Inderjit Badhwar
CFO
Anand Raj Singh
VP (HR & General Administration)
Lokesh C Sharma
Circulation Manager
RS Tiwari
16 Wrongcall
FOCUS
On November 8, many TV
channels got the Bihar results
wrong. Why were they so off
the mark and how did they
get egg on their faces?
AJITH PILLAI examines
broadcasting’s Black Sunday
T E N T S
R E G U L A R S
Cover design: Anthony Lawrence
Javed unplugged 30
34
SHAILAJA PARAMATHMA
reviews a program where Javed
Akhtar in his inimitable style
explains shayari and dohas so that
the younger generation can fall in
love with them
Governance
Climate change? 38
Will the climate summit in Paris
yield any concrete results, with
the developed and developing
blocks sticking to their guns?
PAPIA SAMAJDAR analyzes
All smoke and fire 44
Getting Punjab farmers to practise
conservation agriculture has
many challenges. But it will
reduce North India’s air pollution,
says VIVIAN FERNANDES
Badals under siege 50
Protests in Punjab against the
family’s alleged misgovernance
intensify, reports VIPIN PUBBY
ANCHOR REVIEW
DESIGN
Edit..................................................04
Quotes.......................................08
Grapevine........................................10
Media-Go-Round............................15
As the World Turns.........................28
Breaking News...............................36
Web-Crawler....................................43
Vonderful-English............................49
SOCIAL MEDIA
Man with the
Midas touch
24
Social media was used to the hilt dur-
ing the Bihar polls by Prashant Kishor
and his cyber brigade. It is obvious that
this e-tool can make or break elections,
says PRASOON PARIJAT
HowAPNgot it
correct
21
As most channels misread Bihar’s
mood, this channel projected the right
result, says PRASOON PARIJAT
Going futuristic
ANTHONY LAWRENCE
comments on cover designs,
installations and much more,
which fuse utility and beauty

U O T E S
First, it is required to remove Modi, otherwise talks will not move
forward. We'll have to wait for four years. These people are very
optimistic about Modi, they think that talks will move forward
with Modi's presence. But I don't think so.
—Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar, on Indo-Pak relations, to Duniya TV
Zero communal tension, no loose
statements. When we want to send out
a strong message, we should do it in a
sober way; AB Vajpayee also used to
speak strongly, but in a sober way.
—BJP national spokesman Syed Shahnawaz
Hussain, on how the BJP can do a course
correction after the Bihar debacle, in Outlook
I have to put a stop to this onslaught, this
barrage of attacks and of subtruths and very
harmful and mercurial stories. I am here to
admit that I am in fact HIV positive.
—Charlie Sheen, star of US television comedy Two and A
Half Men, admitting to be HIV+ on NBC's Today show
Now more than ever, we
need to talk to each other.
When cultures are being
questioned and prejudices
against communities are
dividing the world.
—Actor Amitabh Bachchan, in
his inaugural speech at the
21st Kolkata International
Film Festival
History, is of course, a
great place to look for
wrongs. If history is
your guide, there can
be no peace in the
world. The Chinese
must fight the
Japanese, the Russians
cannot have peace
with the French and
Germans, the British
must finish off the
French and the whole
world must stamp out
the Mongols.
—Manoj Joshi, senior
journalist, on the Tipu Sultan
controversy, in The Wire
Shekhar Gupta
editorial adviser
India Today Group
Singapore built a mini city on land
reclaimed from sea.We’re afraid to take
150 metres for a coastal road in Mumbai.
Tavleen Singh
columnist
Terrific to be at a conference in Goa
where there isn't a leftie or
award-returning liberal in miles!
Shashi Tharoor
Congress leader
It isn’t raining in 90% of India. But @BCCI
has an uncanny knack for scheduling
Tests in the other 10%.
Mahesh Bhatt
filmmaker
The last thing the world needs at this
point is for us to find new ways to be
horrible to one another.
Ashok Malik
columnist
Sumitra Mahajan met Sonia, Sushma
metVice-Pres and now Jaitley met Rahul.
Govt is reaching out before Parliament
session. Sensible approach.
Shobhaa De
columnist
How does the Indian Censor Board define
“excessive kissing length”? Spectre of
moral policing strikes JamesBond.

Grapevine
Here is an update on our prime minister’s
foreign jaunts. After his trip to Britain and
Turkey, his next port of call was Malaysia from
November 21-23, and then to Singapore from
November 23-25. Modi will return home for a
brief stopover, and then flies on November 30 on
a trip to France. After that, it’s time for Russia
and Timbuktu.
Should he not be spending more time in his
own country, where his favourite tur dal is
selling at `210 per kg?
While the underworld don
Chhota Rajan was the
talk of the town and breaking
news across TV channels,
NDTV India splashed a photo
of Rajan to accompany the re-
porter’s voiceover. In a bizarre
goof-up, the picture turned out
to be not that of Chhota Rajan
but of RBI Governor Raghu-
ram Rajan! The financial world
went on a tizzy before the root
of the confusion was detected
and the photo was changed.
Not a very Chhota mistake this!
King-sizedMistake
StickyNoodles
Tipu’sCurse
The great warrior Tipu Sultan keeps
surfacing every now and then. San-
jay Khan, the famous film actor/pro-
ducer/director suffered major burns
while filming the serial, Tipu Sultan.
Beer baron Vijay Mallya could not re-
tain the title of “King of good times”
once he bought the “sword of Tipu Sul-
tan”. And now Karnataka Chief Minis-
ter S Siddaramaiah better tread
cautiously. There have been demands
for the CM’s resignation following the
death of two people in the violence that
broke out over Tipu Sultan’s birth
anniversary celebrations.
SeizedbytheTravelBug
Even as Baba Ramdev’s atta
noodles have started doing
good business, Patanjali finds it-
self in a soup over not having an
FSSAI permit. Meanwhile,
Nestle has been preparing for an
emotional comeback, but the
Maharashtra government has
decided to challenge Nestle in
the apex court. The center is
backing Maharashtra’s decision.
The Bihar elections are done
and dusted, the cows and
dogs have settled down, and the
BJP’s loss blamed on “social
arithmetic” of the Grand Al-
liance (whatever that means!),
but the inside blame game is
still on. RSS chief’s Mohan
Bhagwat’s “untimely” statement,
BJP leader Kailash Vijay-
vargiya’s salvo on Shah Rukh
Khan and later the unsavoury
reference to dogs, along with
periodic anti-party comments
by actor-turned-politician Sha-
trughan Sinha, MP RK Singh,
and disgruntled leader Arun
Shourie, there indeed has been a
lot of noise. What is to be noted,
however, is that the PM and the
party president have been
above blame.
HitbytheBiharBoomerang
WhoLettheDogsOut?
It’s literally a dog’s day for the canine
class. When he was the CM of Gujarat,
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s use of a
puppy analogy while referring to the
deaths in his state in the 2002 riots trig-
gered a storm. “Even if a puppy comes
under the wheel, will it be painful or
not?” he stated. Using a similar analogy
recently following the murder of two
Dalit children in Haryana, minister VK
Singh stated: “If someone throws stones
at a dog, the government is not responsi-
ble”. In the wake of Bihar polls, BJP vice-
president Kailash Vijayvargiya took
pot-shots against MP Shatrughan Sinha:
“A dog runs after a car and thinks the car
is moving because of him”. Sinha
promptly retorted: “Haathi chale Bihar,
….(Kutte) bhaunken hazaar (when the
elephant moves, a thousand dogs bark).”
NextStopAssam
President Pranab Mukherjee
is an angry man these days.
For the third time in less than
a month, he has spoken out
against rising intolerance, as-
serting that India has thrived
despite all its diversities be-
cause of “assimilation and tol-
erance.” However, he is angry
about other matters as well.
According to protocol, after
every major foreign visit, the
prime minister has to brief the
president about his visit. This
has not been happening.
This is the reason of the
president’s ire now.
PranabdaKo
GussaKyunAataHai?
Preparations for the Assam
elections have started in full
earnest. ULFA leader Anup
Chetia’s custody was one feather
in the cap for the CBI, and put
the focus on Assam. Then came
the announcement of the South
Asian Games to be held in
Guwahati in February 2016. The
event will be attended by the
president, prime minister and
other VVIPs; in short, it shall be
a good opportunity for a show of
sorts by Sports Minister Sar-
bananda Sonawal, who is posi-
tioning himself as the next CM of
Assam. Strategies are being
worked out in Shastri Bhavan
corridors to maximise the gains.
What better opportunity to
utilize the government machin-
ery for a good cause?
Illustrations: UdayShankar
—Compiled by Roshni Seth

Prime Minister
Narendra Modi’s
visit to the
United Kingdom
after defeat in
the Bihar polls is
significant. He
positioned
himself as a
world leader
pushing for
India’s interests
BY RAJSHRI RAI
IN LONDON
Modistrengthe
A BONDTO ENDURE
(Right) Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi greets British
Prime Minister David
Cameron at
Wembley Stadium
in London
Lede
Modi in the UK
AR away from the cameras of In-
dian news channels and domestic
critics, Prime Minister Narendra
Modi's recent visit to the United
Kingdom (UK) managed to reshape the contours
of India-UK partnership. He received a warm
“Namaste” from Britain, be it lunch with the
Queen or a good reception at Wembley Stadium.
While his UK visit was an important moment
for bilateral relations between both countries, it
also sparked a debate on social media from those
who love and loathe him in equal measure.
Though the media was more than keen to high-
light the controversies surrounding Modi, he
EXPAT EXPECTATION
(Left) Narendra
Modi greeting
people after
delivering his
address at
Wembley Stadium
(Below) Modi at the
Jaguar Land Rover
plant in Solihull, UK
F
nsIndo-UKties

rather lost as they couldn’t get access to Modi and
his team.
No doubt for the Indian diaspora in the UK,
Modi is seen as quite distinct from the incompe-
tent and corrupt governments that have gone be-
fore him. He is also viewed as a modern leader,
focused on growth and business interests. Inci-
dentally, Modi also met senior Sikh leaders there
and gave them a patient hearing for almost one
hour. This threw some of his planned pro-
grammes out of gear.
Earlier in the year, Modi made a similar visit
to the US to improve trade and political relations
there. But after suffering a humiliating electoral
defeat in Bihar, this visit was important for send-
ing out a positive message to critics. Understand-
ing the situation, Modi and his team planned the
strategy accordingly on this visit.
When I asked Indians at Wembley why his
visit was so hyped, their standard response was
that Modi was popular with British Indians as
they saw it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to
see an Indian prime minister, especially since he
was so popular.
Modi has managed to connect with young
British Indians in a way that no other Indian
prime minister had. His use of social media,
makes him seem modern. Many Indians, espe-
cially Gujaratis of all age groups, were keen to see
a Gujarati prime minister visiting the UK.
However, critics said that while the image of
a relationship cemented by cricket, Shakespeare,
Madame Tussauds and a liking for curry is not
entirely false, it was misleading. Nonetheless, de-
spite all the naysayers, the truth of the matter was
that the trip was not only ideal for investments
and deals but for bilateral ties too.
Modi’s globe-trotting over the past 18 months
to woo the 35-million-strong Indian diaspora has
paid dividends. He has got their support, at-
tracted investment and skills back to India and
got enough assurance from Cameron who like
many of us hope that acche din zaroor ayenge.
managed to redefine the relationship between
India and the UK.
Core strategists of this visit, National Security
advisor Ajit Doval, and UK ambassador Ranjan
Mathai, exclusively shared with VON that this
visit was truly a historic one for the prime minis-
ter and the results would show soon. Both Modi
and UK Prime Minister David Cameron outdid
each other in praise. While Modi insisted that this
was “a huge moment for our two nations”, Came-
ron announced that 2017 would be a UK-India
Year of Culture and claimed that “the great part-
nership between India and the UK extends be-
yond economic ties to the boards of the Bard and
the beaches of Bollywood.” That was fulsome, in-
deed. However, the Indian media in the UK was
THE MAN IN CHARGE
National Security Advisor
Ajit Doval worked out the
strategy of Modi’s UK visit
with close advisors
Lede
Modi in the UK
Pitching for an increase in its legislative and financial pow-
ers, Press Council of India chairperson Justice (retired) CK
Prasad (left) has said that the media watchdog was facing
constraints, The Times of India reports. Speaking on National
Press Day, Prasad said the Council was best placed as a regu-
lator not just for print media but also for TV and internet. The
PCI chief suggested reduction in government funding and an
increase in funding by stakeholders to ensure independence.
The Press Council of India has
announced the winners of its na-
tional awards for 2015. The winners
were decided by a jury comprising
the council’s convener, Ravindra
Kumar, along with members Uttam
Chandra Sharma, SN Sinha, Prakash
Dubey, Rajeev Ranjan Nag, Dr Suman
Gupta and Sudhir Tailang. Shahbaz
Khan (PTI) won in the “single news
picture” category; Tashi Tobgyal (The
Indian Express) bagged the honor in
the “photo feature” category; Sharad
Vyas (Mid-Day) won the “investiga-
tive journalism” category; Vinoy
Mathew (Matrubhumi) and Sujit
Chakraborty (IANS) won in the “de-
velopmental reporting” category. CR
Sasikumar (The Indian Express) won
for the “best newspaper art”.
Awards
for journos
EDIA-GO-ROUND
The Film and Television Institute of India
(FITI) Students’ Association has
sought the resignation of the Central
Board of Film Certification of India’s chief
Pahlaj Nihalani for his “plan” to make a
film showing them as “anti-national”, re-
ports PTI. The students have urged Minis-
ter of State for Information and
Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore to
seek Nihalani’s ouster.
The students’ body also demanded the
removal of Nihalani from FTII Society,
along with chairman, actor Gajendra
Chauhan. Just 21 days ago, it called off a
139-day strike to oppose Chauhan’s
appointment. The centre has
nominated film and TV actor Satish Shah,
film critic Bhawana Somaaya and TV pro-
ducer Bijendra Pal Singh as members of
the society. The trio will replace filmmak-
ers Santosh Sivan and Jahnu Barua, and
actress Pallavi Joshi, who quit in July.
The media in Nagaland is in an unprece-
dented situation vis-à-vis reporting on the
banned outfit National Socialist Council of Na-
galand (Khaplang) following a warning by
Assam Rifles to editors, says The Hoot.
NSCN-K issued a statement declaring it
would undertake “selective obliteration of ele-
ments daring to effect demise” of the struggle
of the Naga people at the behest of the gov-
ernment. This was duly reported by local
newspapers. On October 24, a colonel in
Assam Rifles sent a warning mail to the
editors of Nagaland Post, Nagaland Page,
Morung Express, Eastern Mirror and Capi,
saying that since the NSCN-K is a banned
outfit, publishing its statements could be
“construed as providing support to an
unlawful association”.
The National Foundation for India (NFI)
has invited applications for its media
awards from young, mid-career journalists.
The awards let them take time off from their
routine beats to research and publish arti-
cles and photo essays on issues concern-
ing the less privileged.
Topics cover a wide range of issues of im-
portance to ordinary Indians, their battle for
a better life and development-related sub-
jects such as community health, education,
social justice and livelihood security. The
age-limit for applicants is 40 years. Appli-
cations must reach by December 30, 2015.
Applications for media awards
Nagaland
media in a tizzy
Demand for Nihalani’s ouster
Press Council for more teeth
(L to R) President Pranab Mukherjee,
Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore and Tashi
Tobgyal of The Indian Express

For almost an
hour on
November 8,
several TV
channels got the
outcome of the
Bihar polls
horribly wrong.
Why were
projections based
on early leads off
the mark and why
did some
channels jump
the gun?
BY AJITH PILLAI
OVEMBER 8, 2015 will
go down in broadcast
history as Black Sunday
for TV news channels,
political pundits and
opinion pollsters alike.
They will remember it with regret as the fateful
day when the results of the Bihar assembly elec-
tions delivered a sucker punch. Pre-poll predic-
tions fell by the wayside and exit polls were
proven to be wide off the mark. More impor-
tantly, for the first time, seat projections made be-
tween 8 am and 10.15 am by newscasters when
first leads came in, went horribly wrong. What
was declared hastily as a resounding win for the
BJP-led NDA turned out to be its ignominious
defeat and the so-called losers—the Mahagath-
bandan or grand alliance—won handsomely.
Many were left with egg on their faces.
How does one explain the two-hour fiasco on
Counting Day? According to insiders in TV
channels, things went wrong because several of
them were relying on a common feed routed
through the News Broadcasters Association’s
(NBA) Noida office. The NBA, funded by mem-
ber networks, represents the interests of 56 lead-
N
The Bihar
Bungle
FALSE NOTE
NDTV-head Prannoy Roy had
declared that the NDA victory
was inevitable after an hour
of counting
TV ChannelsFocus
Bihar Results
ing news and current affairs channels across the
country. On November 8, it was disseminating in-
formation collated from counting booths by the
marketing and research agency, Nielsen. The pro-
jections were made on the basis of this data.
MISLEADING RESULTS
Umesh Jha, director, Nielsen India, has defended
his agency and said that the information it gave
was purely based on inputs provided by returning
officers of the Election Commission. He report-
edly said that the information it fed was accurate,
although it was possible that the initial results
trickling in indicated an NDA victory. This, he
said, was perhaps misleading, but added that TV
channels were also getting their own feedback
and collating information.
According to those in the know, the estab-
lished first stage of counting is that of postal bal-
lots. These are votes cast by those serving outside
Bihar in the government and armed forces. A
substantial number of such voters is known to
vote for the party in power at the center—in this
instance the NDA. That is perhaps why the initial
leads showed a BJP-NDA surge.
But results are never extrapolated with any
ring of finality from postal ballots as they consti-
tute only a miniscule fraction (one percent or
less) of the total votes in a constituency. But why
was this done during the Bihar results? Was
Two channels which got
the poll results right
were CNN-IBN and APN
News. They relied on
independent sources and
not on the News
Broadcasters Association
or agency feed for results.
PERFECT ANALYSIS
(Left) CNN-IBN
(Below) APN News

when it comes to covering results. So many be-
lieved it when, within an hour of counting at 9 am,
it declared that the BJP-led NDA was forming the
next government in Bihar. In fact, Prannoy Roy,
who heads NDTV, even declared that the NDA
would be comfortably home with 145-149 seats.
Other networks like Times Now and India Today
also made similar projections of the NDA being
ahead till 9.30 am, although none of them were
committing themselves as categorically as Roy.
He and the experts on the NDTV panel kept
harping on the fact that leads were coming in from
all regions of Bihar and that an NDA victory was
inevitable. Nitish, Lalu and the Mahagathbandhan
had no choice but to bite the dust.
Writer and commentator Mukul Kesavan, who
was surfing channels on Result Day, described
how political pundits and psephologists had to eat
their words. To quote from his column in The
Telegraph: “The prize for Most Irresistible Come-
uppance belonged to Shekhar Gupta, once editor
someone in the information delivery chain pro-
viding misleading inputs to serve vested interests
(see box)? Or did the channels in a bid to get
“clear trends” out before the competition, throw
caution to the winds?
NDTV FIASCO
Whatever the reasons, several news channels did
get it wrong, although the one whose credibility
took the biggest hit was NDTV. It had over the
years built a reputation of being the most accurate
The people who were laughing all the way
tothebankbecauseofthetwohoursofmis-
information on Counting Day were punters
in satta markets across the country. A day
aftertheresults,TehseenPoonawalawriting
in the DailyO, the online platform of the
India Today group, pointed out that many in
sattabazaarsmadeakillingonNovember8.
VON’sindependentfeedbackfrompuntersin
Mumbai revealed the following:
Even before November 8, the satta bazaar
was predicting a victory for the NDA. The
odds were favouring the BJP-led NDA form-
ing the government. On November 1, the
Mumbai satta bazaar gave NDA 138-150
seats, the Mahagathbandhan (MGB) 70-90
seats. Jaipur and Kolkata bazaars gave the
NDA 130 and MGB less than 100. Delhi and
Indore punters put the NDA tally at 130-136
and the MGB around 100 seats.
Unofficial estimates put the satta market
transactionsduringtheBiharassemblypolls
at `6,000 crore.
Amit Shah’s breakdown of the five phases
of polling and how the BJP would fare well
led to odds favoring a BJP victory. The BJP’s
internalsurveywhichindicatedthattheNDA
would get a big push in the fourth and fifth
phasesoftheassemblypollsfurtherboosted
this perception.
In the one hour that the NDA victory was
projected by TV channels, those with inside
informationplacedtheirmoneyontheMGB
winning. They made a killing because this
was seen as a distinct impossibility. The re-
turns were between 200 percent and 300
percent on every rupee put on the MGB.
Many punters who had earlier betted on
an NDA victory would have lost money but
they made a sharp recovery by placing fresh
bets on the MGB.
There is no clarity on whether the initial
leads fed to channels after postal ballots
were counted was done at the behest of
punters. But it certainly did help them rake
in the moolah.
The`6,000croremoolah
“The prize for Most Irresistible
Comeuppance belonged to Shekhar Gupta,
former editor of The Indian Express.... On
Sunday morning, he surpassed himself.”
— Mukul Kesavan (right), writer and
commentator, in The Telegraph
TV ChannelsFocus
Bihar Results
when actual results come in. We had invested
much in our exit poll which had a massive 76,000
respondent base and had predicted an NDA win.
So when the leads came in, there was much ex-
citement in the newsroom. It seemed we had got
the results right.”
According to him, an NDA victory was also
the conclusion arrived at by Prannoy Roy and a
team of experts who toured Bihar extensively
during the elections. “The early trends came as a
confirmation of what they were saying over the
last few days,” he added.
NDTV had to later apologize to viewers for
what happened. Roy came on air and said: “On
of The Indian Express. Gupta’s commentary (on
NDTV) is a blend of insider knowingness and
vatic generalization. On Sunday morning, he sur-
passed himself. When the NDA had won the elec-
tion (that is, before 10 am), Gupta in his usual
forensic way, cut to the heart of the matter. Nitish
Kumar had been humiliated (on the strength of
the leads in the first half hour) on account of his
arrogance in his second term. He had humiliated
Jitan Ram Manjhi and alienated the Mahadalit
vote. He had his head turned by provincial suc-
cess and began to dream of Delhi. He began to
pander to Delhi’s drawing-rooms and lost touch
with the Nitish Kumar of old, the grassroots po-
litical worker. Dreaming all-India dreams, he lost
Bihar. This was a fine, fluent explanation; the
trouble was, Nitish won.”
To be fair, NDTV was not alone in misreading
the initial trends. Others were guilty too. How-
ever, channels like Times Now and India Today
did a course correction after 9.30 am indicating
that the Mahagathbandhan was fast gaining
ground. This move allowed them to later claim
that “they had got it right”. On the other hand,
NDTV persisted with its NDA-the-winner line till
10.15 am when it saw the writing on the wall.
CARRIED AWAY
But why did this happen? A senior NDTV staffer
gave VON this explanation: “TV channels get car-
ried away when their poll predictions prove right
NDTV was not alone in
misreading the initial
trends. Others were
guilty too. However,
channels like Times Now
and India Today did a
course correction after
9.30 am indicating that
the Mahagathbandhan
was fast gaining ground.
FAR FROM REALITY
(From top) Times
Now and India Today
telecasting the Bihar
poll results

Prannoy Roy, head of NDTV, said
that the last time he had got the
results wrong was 32 years ago
when NT Rama Rao (right) won
with a landslide in Andhra
Pradesh. “Since then we’ve never
made such a big mistake....”
the powers that be in CNN-IBN were “not con-
vinced” by the results.
The other poll that created a buzz was the exit
poll conducted by Today’s Chanakya for News24.
It predicted a clear win for the NDA with any-
where over 155 seats. After the results proved it
wrong, it sent out an astounding email explaining
why it erred: “A simple computer template coding
marking the alliances got interchanged at our
end. Due to this our seat numbers remained the
same but respective alliances got interchanged.”
In the final analysis, many lessons have to be
learnt from the Bihar elections. Foremost among
them is to exercise caution before one makes tall
predictions. Blessed indeed were those who kept
their wits about them and admitted that they
don’t know so they can’t say....
every Counting Day, like today, all
news channels get data from one
agency. Again, a very globally re-
spected agency. This morning, the
first data that came in to all news
channels was completely wrong.
Our trend analysis was based on
this data like it has been for 35
years—it’s never been wrong so
far.” He said that the last time he
had got the results wrong was 32
years ago when NT Rama Rao
won with a landslide in Andhra
Pradesh. “Since then we’ve never
made such a big mistake—we've
made errors—but not as big as
this one.”
Two channels which did get it right were CNN-
IBN and APN News. Both relied on independent
sources and not on the NBA or any agency feed to
get its results.
CNN-IBN’s statement spelt this out: “What
went in our favour was Network18’s extensive net-
work of reporters all over Bihar. ETV reporters
were at every counting station and each assembly
seat had a dedicated correspondent tracking the
counting trends. They were faster and accurate
than the rest. This enabled us to beat all our com-
peting channels.”
However, the channel was guilty of not using
an exit poll it commissioned Axis Media Ltd to
conduct. The agency had accurately predicted be-
tween 169-183 seats for the Mahagathbandhan.
But the poll was withheld by the channel because
TV ChannelsFocus
Bihar Results
risk in projecting a clear majority for the JDU-RJD even
when initial results showed the NDA was winning.
So the big question is: How did APN get it right before
other channels? Was it a gamble by APN’s top team? No,
it was sheer hard work, experience-driven insight and,
above all, a will not to succumb to any hidden agendas.
While other channels continued their high-decibel
claims of being right when others were not, APN kept
quiet and let their work do the talking.
T is not easy for TV news channels
to project the outcome of polls.
This was especially true during the
Bihar polls when several channels
got egg on their faces for jumping
the gun and projecting wrong
trends. However, the channel which got it right from the
very beginning was our own one, APN.
While this is not an attempt at thumping our own
backs, we felt the need to set the record straight when so
many channels falsely claimed that they were the first to
project the results, including ETV.
Testimonials which our channel got in the form of
calls and WhatsApp messages before the Bihar polls were
heartening. There was Pankaj Singh, a landlord from Kur-
saila, North Bihar, who said: “I was surfing through sev-
eral channels and was tired of seeing pompous anchors
and loud panelists and their endless debates till I chanced
upon APN. It was so much clearer and clutter-free and
right in its projections.” Jitendra Singh Bhasin, a Supreme
Court lawyer, said: “While everyone was claiming that the
NDA coalition would win, APN was the only channel
showing a clear lead for the JDU-RJD combine. And the
best part of the coverage was the legal angle.” Similarly,
politicalanalystManishaPriyam from theLondonSchool
of Economics and Political Science, who is frequently
seen on channels, asked how APN had taken such a huge
I
First off
the Block
This magazine’s TV arm, APN,
has proved that as far as
election projections go, it gets
it right.The Bihar elections
proved that once again
BY PRASOON PARIJAT
BINGO!
In the early
hours of
November 8,
many news
channels
showed NDA
leading over
the RJD-JDU
combine,
except
APN (top)
Focus
APN Election Analysis
Bihar

HONESTY PAYS
(Above L-R)
Excellent
groundwork
and a will not
to succumb
to hidden
agendas
helped the
channel
correctly call
the elections
The razor-sharp analysis was backed by a high-caliber
editorial team headed by veteran journalist Inderjit Bad-
hwar who has covered every election that had been con-
tested in India from 1986 onwards, and the presidential
elections in the US before that. He was backed by senior
journalists Ramesh Menon and Ajith Pillai.
T
hroughout the day, the team quoted and ana-
lyzed the first tweets and interpreted those of
Amit Shah and Narendra Modi and saw their
body language while they wished BJP veteran LK Advani
on his birthday. From the very beginning, Badhwar in-
formed viewers that things were not hunky-dory for the
BJP camp. Interestingly, APN coined #Ek Bar Phir, Nitish
Kumar, even as Twitter and Facebook showed the trends
in Bihar. What also set APN apart was its coverage of the
legal angles related to electioneering in India, including
PILs filed during pre- and post-elections.
But was being first and fastest a flash in the pan for
APN? No. Even before the swearing-in of Nitish Kumar
as CM, APN had announced that senior leader Shyam
Rajak would be denied a cabinet berth. Similarly in the
2014 Lok Sabha elections, this channel had predicted the
results accurately much before others. This shows that
sound editorial and journalistic contacts in the right
places, honest insights and in-depth research can make
any channel a winner.
Seeing is believing, after all.
APN teams arrived for work on November 8, the day
of vote counting in Bihar, at 3 am. Each person was as-
signed a task that they had been preparing for months.
APN’s 50-strong research team had been continuously
monitoring the top 20 channels on a 24/7 basis in the run-
up to these elections. They were data mining to produce
unmatched facts and figures on constituencies, candi-
dates’ profiles, their criminal records and past election
trends to showcase on the channel. The social media team
of APN, headed by this writer, too tracked details about
top leaders and their aides. They used analytics to check
out trending topics on various platforms, feeding detailed
reports to the editorial team and the anchors. The studios,
anchors, experts and news feed from other studios
showed the mammoth effort that was under way.
The editor-in-chief and the chief anchor were ready
for the big day: to take an honest stand that was free from
political or business biases and take a stance that was very
different from other national channels. APN was ready to
stake its claim: To be the first and fastest.
Focus
APN Election Analysis
Bihar
APN’s research team had been
monitoring the top 20 channels on a 24/7
basis in the run-up to the elections. They
were data mining to produce unmatched
facts and figures on constituencies.
VIEWSONNEWSNOVEMBER 22, 2015 `50
THE CRITICAL EYE
PIYUSH
PANDEY
NNOVEMBER 22,NNNNNN 2015 `50
THE CRITICAL EYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
YUSHYUSH
ANDEYANDEY
ChickenSoup
forthe
Advertising
SoulBy KrishWarrier10
ELECTIONCOMMISSION
WOOINGVOTERS
By Rakesh Bhatnagar 52
WHYTHEMEDIABLACKSOUT
THEDARKCONTINENT
By Abhay Vaidya 18
MATRIMONIAL
WEBSITES
Enter the Class
By Sampad Patnaik
32
WHY EXPRESS
ADS FAILED
By Gopinath Menon 38
SOBHRAJ
FILM
Serpentine
Redux
By Shobha John
40
=PT)0VT)BTg)
0SSaTbb)

2Xch)BcPcT)?X])
?W^]TATb)UUXRT)TPX[)
4]R[^bTS332WT`dT=^)3PcTS)3aPf])Uâ`)
2PaS=^)BXV]PcdaT)
5â^dcbcPcX^]RWT`dT_[TPbTPSS`$
332WT`dTc^QTSaPf]X]UPe^daÛ4=2^d]XRPcX^]b?ec;cS
C^QTbT]cc^)4=2^d]XRPcX^]b?ec;cS0(BTRcâ%'6PdcP1dSSW=PVPa=830D?! (
CTabR^]SXcX^]bP__[h?[TPbT_aêXSTdb#fTTZbc^bcPach^dabdQbRaX_cX^]
SUBSCRIBE TO VIEWS ON NEWS
GET FABULOUS DISCOUNTS
HTb8f^d[S[XZTc^bdQbRaXQTcÊ84FB==4FBPVPiX]TUâcWTÛUTaX]SXRPcTSQT[^f
Tick one Term (Years) No. of Issues Cover Price (`) You pay (`) You save (`) % Saving
1 Year 24 Issues 1,200/- 600/- 600/- 50%
2 Years 48 Issues 2,400/- 960/- 1,440/- 60%
For advertising subscription queries
sales@viewsonnewsonline.com
VIEWSONNEWSTHE CRITICAL EYE
S
SAVE UP TO 60%
SUBSCRIBE NOW
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.
EVERY FORTNIGHT VIEWS ON NEWS WILL BRING YOU TELL-ALL
NEWS, ANALYSES AND OPINION FROM THE SHARPEST INVESTI-
GATIVE REPORTERS AND MOST INCISIVE MINDS IN THE NATION
An ENC Publication
If the media is leaving you behind, stay ahead of it by picking up yester-
day’s Views On News!
VIEWS ON NEWS
Don’t miss a single issue of this stimulating, unbiased, entertaining new fortnightly magazine and get special discounts for yourself and
your friends

Social Media
Elections
The importance of social media was apparent during the Bihar polls when
a cyber brigade propelled Nitish Kumar into the CM’s chair.With more
polls in the offing, social media could well turn the tide
BY PRASOON PARIJAT
HE man with the Midas
touchdidit again.Forthelast
six months, 7, Circular Road,
Patna, the residence of Chief
Minister Nitish Kumar, had
been witnessing an unusual
scene. Several young men, who didn’t resemble
party workers in their attire or body language, had
been continuously hooked to their laptops. The
contribution of this cyber brigade was fully realized
only after the sound of celebratory crackers had
subsided in the Bihar elections. They were led by a
fair and bespectacled man in blue denims and T-
shirt—Prashant Kishor. He was the man who had
orchestrated the high decibel, high-octane battle for
Bihar, leading to the crushing defeat of the BJP.
This team showed the success of social media
in elections as they mined the digital world, gauged
the real mood of voters, finalized local issues, in-
fluenced the undecided voter and countered the
BJP’s online army.
These buzz-igars had quietly stolen the thunder
from Modi’s high-pitch campaign. The Bihar elec-
tions showed how important it was to decode the
T
of Bihar Polls
POINT-COUNTERPOINT
(Clockwise from
below) A vehicle
carrying Nitish-Lalu
messages to the
rural voters; Nitish
Ka Nishchay
message as against
Modi’s Sabka Saath,
Sabka Vikas
voter’s mind. Those leaders who were able to con-
nect with the masses with the right message at the
right time and in the right social context generally
won their voters’ faith.
SOCIAL BUZZ
The use of social media for elections started with
US President Barack Obama’s presidential election
campaign in 2008. It included an intensive voter
reach-out program with campaigns aimed at issues
that mattered to each segment specifically. Using
high technology and mining different channels of
social media were the buzzwords. This was repli-
cated by Modi in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, and
interestingly, the same team did it in Bihar for the
Nitish-Lalu grand alliance.
High-tech software can be used to scan social
media to bring up local issues. This is based
on data-analysis of a complex matrix of gender, in-
terest groups, age, education and socio-economic
profiles of prospective voters. These are based
on conversations on social media like Facebook.
After the analysis, these are dovetailed into the
messages sent out by leaders and are also used in
outdoor campaigns, hoardings, posters and audio-
visual materials.
Good data analysis also gives feedback about
political opponents and their moves. Platforms like
Twitter are used to create followers and establish di-
rect contact and dialogue between the leader and
voters. Whatsapp is also used to reach out to
close-knit focus groups.
Social media played three roles in Nitish’s
campaign. They gave him a set of local issues to talk
about as compared to the tall claims of Modi, gave
him continuous insight into people’s moods and
their reactions to Modi’s statements and kept him
in touch with the electorate.
And the importance of social media in Nitish’s
campaign was evident on November 8 when the
Bihar results were announced. Among the first
pictures to appear on social media and the press
were of Nitish hugging Prashant Kishor. Nitish had
made it a point to showcase to the world how much
he valued the contributions of this backroom
strategist and manager who led the Mahagath-

The next step was how to deliver tangible results
on the ground. Radio and LED-mounted trucks
were used to reach out to voters in rural areas, un-
like the ad-blitz campaign of the BJP in newspapers.
In order to target the youth, an online search engine
was used to reach out to those websites frequented
by young Bihari voters.
COUNTER-ATTACK
Similarly, the famous “Chai Pe Charcha” of Modi
was countered by “Parcha Pe Charcha” that was a
recall of Nitish’s “Sushashan” (good governance)
image pitted against Modi’s “Achhe Din” claim.
Also, “Nitish Ka Nischchay, Vikas Ki Guarantee”
messages were carried to rural constituencies to
counter the “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas” call of
Modi. “Har Har Modi, Ghar Ghar Modi” was
matched by “Ghar Ghar Dastak” of Nitish’s cam-
paign. Even a comic series called “Munna Se Nitish”
was launched as a response to “Bal Narendra”
of Modi.
Campaign managers also handled Nitish’s Face-
book and Twitter accounts and posted well-re-
searched information that made holes in Modi’s
claims. The team forced Modi to react to issues
raised by Nitish such as the special package for the
people of Bihar, which was actually an old package.
This was backed by a slogan: “Jhanse Me Na Ayein,
Nitish Ko Jitayein”.
Mohul Ghosh, convergence manager of APN
News, which correctly predicted the Bihar elections,
says: “Nitish was better connected with the people
and knew their pulse through social media.”
Even the first congratulatory message from
Modi was on social media which he tweeted. Nitish
too has been acknowledging all the messages he re-
ceived on Twitter.
With more assembly polls round the corner,
there are no prizes for guessing who called Prashant
next: Mamata Banerjee. This was followed by a
meeting with Rahul Gandhi.
The master buzz-igar is indeed the man of
the moment.
bandhan poll campaign. This has signaled a new
page in Indian politics and its reach will be obvious
in upcoming elections in Bengal, Punjab and UP.
SMART MOVE
Prashant Kishor has shown how social media can
make or break an election. A search on the net for
him springs up more than six-lakh results. Accord-
ing to online media reports, much like Ramayana’s
Vibhishan, he switched sides from the Modi camp
to Nitish’s due to a clash of his vision and ambition
with that of senior BJP leaders.
There is also a theory that he wanted Amit Shah,
the chief strategist of Modi, to bite the dust. What-
ever the truth, it was a masterstroke on Nitish’s part
to get Prashant, a person who knows exactly how
Modi thinks and acts to his side.
The core social media team was picked up from
premier institutions like IIT and IIMs. The only
criteria was that potential team members should
have had no history of political affiliations to any
party. So how did this K-team steal the thunder
from Modi’s massive campaign, which was backed
by the might of the Sangh, money power and the
clout of a serving prime minister? The brief to them
was clear: refute and respond to the tall claims
made by Modi. Outsmart him at every step. Stay
ahead of the BJP in every situation.
MASTER OFTHE GAME
Nitish with social media
wizard Prashant Kishor
Social media
played three
roles in Nitish’s
campaign. It
gave him a set
of local issues
to talk about,
gave him
insight into
people’s moods
and kept him in
touch with the
electorate
through
outbound
messages.
Social Media
Elections
RAISING
THE
STAKES
NDIA EGAL
L
October 31, 2015
`100www.indialegalonline.com
I
RAMESHMENON:
CORRUPTIONBEHINDTHEBARS
STORIES THAT COUNT
36
MEAT POLITICS
INDERJITBADHWAR,
AJITHPILLAI,
KALYANISHANKAR,
RAKESHBHATNAGAR:
In-depthanalysisofthe
legal,political,ethical,
religiousdimensionsof
beefban22
W
TAHIR
MAHMOD
Is Muslim
personal law
still valid?
58
MEENA
MENON
Haji Ali
Dispute 50
VIPIN
PUBBY
Defamation
turbulence
42
PLUS:
Scrap 3-year law degrees? 46
Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh
Insan: Religion or politics? 54
Italian Marines: Jurisdiction
war 66
Exclusivedetailsandanalysisof
India’shottestjudicialcontroversy12
YourLordships,Webegtodiffer
NDIA EGALL November 15, 2015
`100
www.indialegalonline.com
I RAMESHMENON
Liberatedsexworkersturnintoparalegalvolunteers
STORIES THAT COUNT
42
NJAC
ExclusIndia’shott
Your
Web
SHOBHAJOHN:New
guidelinesto make
58
PAPIA
SAMAJDAR:
bio-medicalwaste 70
KALYANISHANKAR:Santhara—religionthe land 48
VIPIN
PUBBY:
largesse to
30
MEENAMENON:Will
Maharashtracontinuewith dancebar ban? 38
Special column
NARENDRA
CHAPALGAONKER
20
Justice
MadanBLokur
Justice
AdarshKGoel
Justice
JChelameswar
Justice
KurianJoseph
Justice
JagdishSKhehar
0000
nee.ccccoooommm
ATATT CCCCOCOCOCOCCCATTAT
PPPPPLLLLULU
LLLi
HHOHOOOOOBOBBH
HHHHHNNNN:N:
wwww
eeeeelliinnne
aaakkkkeee
Moditva’s
Diminishing
Returns
NDIA EGALL
November 30, 2015 `100
www.indialegalonline.com
I STORIES THAT COUNT
ditva’s
minishing
urns
STORIES THAT COUNTSTORIES THAT COUNT
InanaspiringIndia,oldtacticsof
divisivepoliticswillnotwork 08
BIHAR ELECTIONS
BIKRAM
VOHRA:
Air travails
of the
disabled 64
RK MISRA:
Wanting a
Womb 26
R RAMASUBRAMANIAN:
Bad blood in
Madras HC 42
VIPIN
PUBBY:
Identity
crisis hits
meat 40
Bad blood in
Madras HC 42
49
JUSTICE NCHAPALGAONKER
InterpretationofSedition ChhotaRajan:PoliticalMinefield
52
AJITH PILLAI
Modi’sFreakonomics
ByAjithPillai
PracharakorPM?
ByInderjitBadhwar
LessonsforModiandNitish
ByKalyaniShankar
EVERY FORTNIGHT INDIA LEGAL WILL BRING YOU NEWS, ANALYSES AND
OPINION FROM THE SHARPEST INVESTIGATIVE REPORTERS AND MOST
INCISIVE LEGAL MINDS IN THE NATION ON MATTERS THAT MATTER TO YOU
ENC
ONLY THE STORIES
THAT COUNT
2^]cPRc)4=2^d]XRPcX^]b?ec;cS0(BTRc^a%'6PdcP1dSSW=PVPa=830D?! (

S THE WORLD TURNS
Getting away
with murder
The Committee to Protect Journalists
(CPJ) published its annual Global Im-
punity Index, which spotlights countries
where journalists are murdered and their
killers go unpunished. It examined mur-
ders taking place between September 1,
2005, and August 31, 2015. Nations
with five or more unsolved cases are in-
cluded and, this year, 14 met the criteria.
For the first time since CPJ began
compiling the index in 2008, Iraq did not
claim the title of the worst offender as
Somalia figured in that slot. Under siege
by ISIS, Syria rose in the index from
number five to number three. Pakistan
was 9th on the index and Nigeria, 13th.
The Philippines, Russia, Brazil, Mexico
and India also made it to the list.
French satirical magazine Charlie
Hebdo has prompted outrage in
Russia by publishing a cartoon on
its new cover that likens the crash
of the Russian Metrojet liner in
Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula to a sex act,
reports Al Jazeera.
The latest issue landed on
newsstands with a cover cartoon
showing what appears to be the
Russian A321 liner with a missile
penetrating its tail. The caption
reads “The crash in Sinai: Finally
the sex tape.”
The magazine, which often
prints controversial depictions of
current events, also published car-
toons of the crash, which killed 224
people, in its issue last week. The
cartoons were received with great
offense in Russia. The Kremlin
branded them “sacrilege” while
members of the parliament in Rus-
sia labeled the artists “scumbags”.
The creator of Coronation Street, Tony Warren, has
received the inaugural Nations and Regions Media
Achievement Award at this year’s Salford International
Media Festival.
The award recognizes his outstanding contribution
to, and impact on, the development of media in the UK.
Tony Warren established the world’s longest run-
ning TV soap opera in production, Coronation Street.
He is still a consultant to the show. The Royal Televi-
sion Society has labelled the show as “the most suc-
cessful television programme in British history”.
The Salford International Media Festival was organ-
ized at the University of Salford from November 16 to
November 19.
TonyWarren to receive media award
The European Commission, in an an-
nual report of countries keen to join
the grouping of 28 nations, has strongly
criticized Turkey for curtailing freedom of
expression and undermining the inde-
pendence of its judiciary, reported
Reuters.
The decision-making body of EU
points in particular to the “ongoing and
new criminal cases against journalists,
writers or social media users, intimidation
of journalists and media outlets as well as
the authorities’ actions curtailing freedom
of media”. “Changes to the internet law are
a significant step back from European stan-
dards,” it declares.
Ankara has been seeking EU member-
ship since 1987, but the negotiations have
been hit mostly because of Franco-German
opposition and tensions with Cyprus. The
EU has often criticized Turkey for its ques-
tionable human rights record.
EU wants Turkeyto lift media curbs
OXFORD Dictionaries has cho-
sen the emoji “face with tears of
joy” as the Word of the Year.
The choice reflects how internet
and mobile phones have influenced
the development of language in re-
cent years. Casper Grathwohl, presi-
dent, Oxford Dictionaries, said:
“Emoji are becoming an increasingly
rich form of communication, one
that transcends linguistic borders.”
Emote,don’t say
Russian anger
at Charlie Hebdo
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.
EVERY FORTNIGHT VIEWS ON NEWS WILL BRING YOU TELL-ALL NEWS, ANALYSES AND
OPINION FROM THE SHARPEST INVESTIGATIVE REPORTERS AND MOST INCISIVE MINDS
IN THE NATION
An ENC Publication
If the media is leaving you behind, stay ahead of it by
picking up yesterday’s Views On News!
VIEWS ON NEWS
Don’t miss a single issue of this stimulating, unbiased,
entertaining new fortnightly magazine and get special
discounts for yourself and your friends
E. N. COMMUNICATION PVT. LTD.
A -9, Sector-68, Gautam Buddh Nagar,
NOIDA (U.P.) Pin : 201309.
Phone: + 91–0120–2471400–432 / Fax: + 91–0120–2471411
editor@viewsonnewsonline.com / sales@viewsonnewsonline.com
www.viewsonnewsonline.com / www.encnetwork.in
VIEWSONNEWSNOVEMBER 22, 2015 `50THE CRITICAL EYE
PIYUSH
PANDEY
NOVEMBER
NNNNNNNNNNNN
22, 2015 `50THE CRITICAL EYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
YUSHYUSH
ANDEYANDEY
ChickenSoup
forthe
Advertising
Soul
By KrishWarrier10
ELECTIONCOMMISSION
WOOINGVOTERS
By Rakesh Bhatnagar 52
WHYTHEMEDIABLACKSOUT
THEDARKCONTINENT
By Abhay Vaidya 18
MATRIMONIAL
WEBSITES
Enter the Class
By Sampad Patnaik
32
WHY EXPRESS
ADS FAILED
By Gopinath Menon 38
SOBHRAJ
FILM
Serpentine
Redux
By Shobha John
40
VIEWSONNEWSTHE CRITICAL EYE

Anchor Review
Actve Javed Akhtar
HEN a program on
shayari and doha hos-
ted by poet, script-wri-
ter and lyricist Javed
Akhtar opens with lines
by philosopher and author Albert Camus, the
francophone in me sits up and takes notice. As
if on cue, Akhtar laughs and says: “I am honored
that I am chosen to decipher the doha and po-
etry to a generation I am also writing songs for.
Let’s not be overwhelmed by the names. Shayari,
people think, is only for intellectuals and poets.
No, it isn’t. It is written keeping in mind the sit-
uations, the emotions and the moods one comes
across. Love is one such emotion. But to be in
love and read poetry, one need not be a sick
lover who is always drunk.”
The program hosted by Akhtar is on Tata Sky
and is titled, Actve Javed Akhtar. It is an interac-
tive platform, where he describes the true ess-
ence of some of the most beautifully penned
shers and dohas of yesteryears, reminding us of
their relevance and definition even today. And
citing Kabir’s doha or Mir’s shayari comes natu-
rally for the gifted Akhtar.
The program flows like a conversation and I
am soon transported to my childhood when,
during vacations, I would sit with my cousins
W
A Tata Sky
program has
the gifted
Javed Akhtar
interpreting
poetry of a
bygone era for
the younger
generation and
igniting in
them a love
for it
BY SHAILAJA
PARAMATHMA
POETRY MADE EASY
A grab from the
program Actve Javed
Akhtar on Tata Sky
Poetrywith
Passion
around the elders of the family and listen to their
experiences, anecdotes and life’s lessons. Akhtar,
being the consummate poet, is totally immersed
in it and moves from one reference to another
deftly and effortlessly without breaking the rhy-
thm of the program.
UNIQUE STYLE
Akhtar’s words of wisdom find a chord in the
audience. For example, Rahim’s “Rahiman dhaga
prem ka matt todo chhitkay, toote se phir na jure,
jure ganth padh jaaye” is interpreted by Akhtar
in an easy and convincing manner. He says:
“Rahim is not advising to not break away from
every relationship that you ever found yourself
entwined in. He is advising to do it with com-
passion.” I smile and marvel at the beauty of
the words.
This program is aimed at tapping the minds
and hearts of the younger generation and reigni-
ting a bygone literary era. Akhtar feels that sha-
yari and doha interpreted in the modern-day
context can help navigate the stresses and strains
of life and relationships.
Akhtar’s program which provides a soulful
and romantic experience is followed by a musi-
cal performance of sher by contemporary artists
such as Tochi Raina, Roop Kumar Rathod,
Shweta Pandit, Akriti Kakar and Abhijit Po-
hankar. Apart from the video format, the inter-
active service also allows viewers to learn the
meaning of various Urdu and Sanskrit words
used with the help of a built-in on-demand op-
tion. This innovative service gives Tata Sky sub-
scribers an opportunity to experience our rich
poetic culture with an unconventional and mod-
ern approach.
SUBLIME INFERENCES
For those who aren’t too familiar with Urdu po-
etry, Akhtar draws comparisons with English
poets. When he compares Majaz Lucknawi to
John Keats, whose poetry is characterized by
sensual imagery, and with Shelley, both of whom
are called Romantic Poets for their extremes of
joy and the depths of their brooding despair, the
viewer is left admiring the wealth of Akhtar’s
knowledge. When he reads out lines from Ma-
jaz’s sher: “Raaste mein ruk ke dam le lu, meri
aadat nahi. Laut kar wapas chala jaun, meri fi-
trat nahi; aur koi humnawa mil jaye, ye kismet
nahi”, you cannot but agree with the compar-
isons made earlier.
He says in an interview: “I am pleased to col-
laborate with Tata Sky in its endeavor to bring
back the essence of our literature. This is a proj-
ect which is very close to my heart as it resonates
my love for the subject. The service revolves
around the golden shayari and doha of Ghalib,
Mir, Kabir, Rahim and many more, which will
continue to appeal to people regardless of the
constant changes that take place in today's
world. Emotions are universal and everyone will
identify with the selected works of the ancient
poets.” How true.
The lines: “Ye sard raat, ye awaregi, ye neend
ka bojh. Hum apne shehar mein hote, toh ghar
gaye hote”, make one recall the human exodus
taking place in Europe as people flee their ho-
mes in war-torn Syria. They would have under-
stood the depth and despair in those words.
“This is a
project which
is very close
to my heart as
it resonates
my love for
the subject….
Emotions are
universal and
everyone will
identify with
the selected
works of the
ancient
poets.”
—Javed Akhtar
ODETOTHE MASTERS
(From L-R) The program
revolves around the
shayari and dohas of
Kabir, Ghalib and
others

Media Monitoring Festivals
TMM Survey
As one festival season culminates with Diwali, the country gears up to cele-
brate Guru Nanak Jayanti and Christmas. How does our media highlight
these festivals? Is it, for all its clamor for secularism, fair in its coverage of
festivals of all faiths? Does it give due importance to all regional festivals or
is its attention also dictated by numbers, like our politicians? TMM scans
some leading Indian channels to know the pattern
Coverage between December 2014 and November 2015
Reporting Faith
Overallcoverageoffestivalsonchannels,innumberofhours
Hindu
This graph makes it obvious how
lopsided the coverage of festivals is,
even if it’s on account of larger
number of Hindu festivals. Chris-
tian festivals come next, and Jain
festivals get minimum coverage,
despite the community’s growing
political and economic clout.
AajTak ABP News IBN 7 India TV Zee News
Muslim
Sikh
Jain
Buddhist
Christian0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Totalcoverageofregionalfestivals
onnationalHindichannels,innumber
ofhours
While channels take into account certain regional senti-
ments and give a fair coverage to Ganesh Chaturthi, Rath
Yatra and Chhath Puja, certain other festivals like the Tea
Festival of Assam or Hornbill Festival of Nagaland or Ningol
Chakouba (Bhai Dooj) of Manipur are completely ignored.
TotalcoverageonUrduchannel
If national media gives disproportionate coverage to certain
festivals, where do festivals of other faiths get fair cover-
age? An indicator is Urdu channels, which give fair cover-
age to Muslim festivals. This is the unfortunate reality, of
Urdu largely being identified with one religion.
AajTak ABP News Zee News IBN7
0
1
2
3
4
5
Chhath Puja Rath Yatra Ganesh Chaurthi
3.7
2 2
3.1
2.5
2
3.5
3 3
4.2
2
5
Zee Salam Peace TV Urdu ETV Urdu
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
Eid-ul-Fitr Eid-ul-Adha
Muhharam Ramzan
3.02 2.73
4.04
3.16
7.21
3.71
4.21
5.03
11.13
4.27
6.07
5.29

DESIGNSTHATMADEIMAGINATIVE
USEOFPHOTOGRAPHS,FONTS,
COLORANDWHITESPACESTO
LEAVEANIMPRESSION
By ANTHONY LAWRENCE
Design
Newsweek depicts a hawk’s eyeview of the
world, where less is more.
The bone of contention in Indian politics today—
meat and beef ban—simply depicted on Time
magazine’s cover.
An uncharacteristically friendly Putin is inviting Obama to join the
geo-strategic muck, and an all-too-obliging Obama is already rolling
up his sleeves. If only this fantasy of Obama-Putin chemistry could
be actualized!
Would you care to live in this structure? Not if you knew that it’s titled
“Untitled (Fungus)”. This is Polish artist Krystian Truth Czaplicki’s
idea of reality and abstraction being fused together. High on experi-
mentation, yes, but whatever happened to aesthetics?
Ropeway to art. Orly Genger has
created an art installation at the
Aldrich Contemporary Art
Museum in New York with wave
after wave of colored nylon
ropes.
Body painting entails not just creativity, but is also about
patience. In this artwork at the United Nations memorial in
Busan, South Korea, the model’s poise is commendable as
he sits still as part of the whole artwork.

NEWSDATE NEWS CHANNEL TIME
7/11/15
9/11/15
9/11/15
9/11/15
9/11/15
10/11/15
Marchoffilmfraternityinsupportofgov-
ernmentandtoopposethosereturning
awards.MadhurBhandarkarandAnupam
Khertoparticipate.
ShatrughanSinhareachesouttoNitish
Kumar,congratulateshimonstupen-
dousvictory.
Modi to arrive at the BJP Parliamentary
Board meeting shortly; action against
those criticizing the party on anvil.
BJPGeneralSecretaryKailashVijayvargiya
comparesShatrughnSinhatoadog;saysa
dogrunsafteracarandthinksthecarruns
becauseofhim.
10/11/15
1.19 PM1.19 PM1.18 PM
4.16 PM4.15 PM
5.19 PM 5.20 PM
1.20 PM
1.17 PM 1.17 PM
5.21 PM 5.22 PM
10.13 AM10.12 AM 10.14 AM 10.15 AM
7/11/15 UnderworldDonChhotaRajanappears
beforemagistrate;takentoCBIoffice.
1.50 PM1.49 PM 1.51 PM 1.52 PM
BJPparliamentaryBoardmeetconcludes.
ArunJaitleyaddressespressconference;
saysthepartyrespectsBiharpollverdict;
Bihardefeatdiscussedatthemeet. 5.47 PM5.46 PM 5.47 PM 5.48 PM
NitishKumartobesworninonNovem-
ber20;toaddressthestatefromGandhi
Maidan. 9.01AM9.00 AM 9.02 AM 9.03 AM
NitishdecidesonfiveMLAsasministersin
hiscabinet.
12.02 PM 12.03 PM12.00 PM 12.01 PM
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
NEWS
11/11/15
12/11/15
14/11/15
18/11/15
ModitocelebrateDiwalitodaywith
jawansguardingnation’sborders.
10.32 AM 10.33 AM 10.34 AM 10.35 AM
8.45 AM 8.46 AM
ModileavesforLondon;toaddressBritish
Parliamenttodayandtomorrow;topress
forgreatereconomiccollaborationbe-
tweenIndia,Britain. 8.47 AM 8.48 AM
Parisreelsunderterrorattack;150
peopleconfirmeddead;emergency
declared. 10.00 AM 10.01 AM 10.01 AM10.00 AM
10.10 AM 10.11 AM 10.15 AM 10.11 AM
11:06 AM11:06 AM 11:06 AM 11:07 AM
Paris-boundflightsdivertedfollowing
newsofrepeatfiringsinParis; policecon-
tinuesearchoperationforterrorists.
17/11/15
ACPAmitSinghshootshimself,wife
attemptssuicide.Thecouplelivedin
NOIDASector100.
16/11/15
MajorlapseinsecurityonWagah
border;acarbreachestwogatesto
reachLineZero.
10:01 AM10:00 AM 10:00 AM 10:02 AM
15/11/15
Fourpolicepersonnelinjuredinsuicide
attackinsouthernTurkey;thecountry
ishostingG20Summit. 1:55 PM1:55 PM 1:55 PM 1:56 PM
15/11/15
TerroristinvolvedinFrenchattacksidenti-
fiedasParisresidentUmarIsmail;terror
squadincludedaFrenchcitizenalso. 11:05 AM11:00 AM 11:05 AM 11:06 AM

A UN climate meet starts on
November 30 and countries will
work towards a treaty to check
greenhouse gases. As for India,
it’s trying to reduce emissions
and should mobilize its own
funds to do so
BY PAPIA SAMAJDAR
How Green is
my World?
ROM November 30 to De-
cember 11, this year, world
leaders will congregate in Pa-
ris at the Conference of Par-
ties (CoP) under the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Cha-
nge (UNFCCC). They will discuss the way towards
a legally binding treaty for checking global emis-
sions of greenhouse gases.
The stage for this was set in 2014 at the Lima
CoP, where 190 negotiators had met and charted a
way to formulate a mutually agreeable, legally bind-
ing treaty in 2015. They had also agreed to a pro-
cedure for submitting voluntary contributions to-
wards emissions control, mitigation and adaption.
Referred to as Intended Nationally Determined
Contributions (INDCs), these have been negoti-
ated at Bonn, in Germany, this year and will be fur-
ther discussed in Paris. INDCs, incidentally, are
NATURE’S CURSE
Climate change may
lead to increase in
frequency of rains and
flash floods
F
Climate ChangeEnvironment
Paris Meet
overnanceG
supposed to be the foundation for climate action
post-2020, and which is what the Paris CoP will
try to achieve.
TEMPERATURE RISE
October 1, 2015, was the deadline for submitting
these national contributions; the deadline was
met by 147 countries. Till date, all developed
countries and 104 developing members of the
UNFCCC have made public their plans to cut
down emissions. Though the attempt is to cap
temperature rise by 2 degrees Celsius, an analysis
of INDCs by scientists and civil societies has
pegged a rise of almost 3 degrees Celsius by 2030
and more than 3 degrees Celsius by the turn of
the century.
The synthesis report recently released by UN-
FCCC is an aggregate of the climate action plans
which the world has voluntarily agreed in order
to curb growing temperatures. However, the ac-
tion plans will not be able to arrest the tempera-
ture hike at 2 degrees Celsius. According to the
Center for Science and Environment, a leading
RAGING INFERNO
(Left) Forest fires
around the world have
increased as a result of
global warming and are
more intense than ever
(Below) Members of an
NGO dressed as tigers
and penguins
participating at the
People’s Climate
March on September
20, 2014 in New Delhi
environmental think-tank in Delhi, global emis-
sions may not peak by 2030 as anticipated, and
the world may finish 75 percent of the remaining
carbon budget by then. Considering these scenar-
ios, the world is set on a path of more than 3 de-
grees Celsius temperature hike by 2100.
In its 5thAssessment Report, the Intergovern-
mental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) had

coined the term “emissions budget”, indicating the
amount of CO2 the world should emit to maintain
the 2 degrees Celsius temperature hike from pre-
industrial levels. The estimated amount was 2,900
billion tons of CO2 from all sources, or 1 trillion
tons of carbon. The world has already spent 52 per-
cent of this budget, and if emissions continue un-
abated, the entire budget will get over by 2045, says
the World Resources Institute.
CARBON BUDGET
So far, India has emitted approximately 2.8 percent
of the world’s total emissions (1850-2011). If it
manages to achieve the pledges made in its INDC,
the country will use up around 8 percent of the re-
maining carbon budget between 2012 and 2030.
Though India is the third largest emitter of green-
house gases, its per capita emissions in 2030 will re-
main one-third that of China and the US, and will
be comparable to that of the least developed coun-
tries. However, India seems to be keen to play an
important role in fighting climate change as is evi-
dent by its ambitious INDC. The country has
pledged the following:
Reduce emission intensity of its GDP by 33-35
percent by 2030 at 2005 levels.
Increase the share of non-fossil fuel-based elec-
tricity to 40 percent in installed capacity by 2030.
Increase carbon sequestration by increasing and
improving its forest cover from 24 percent to 33
percent in the long term, which will absorb 2.5-3
billion tons of CO2 by 2030
In 2009, after the Copenhagen Accord, the then
UPA government had made voluntary pledges
under the Prime Minister’s National Climate Ac-
tion Plan. It had eight missions under it, along with
a slew of policy measures to achieve the Indian
contribution to combat climate change.
India had voluntarily pledged to reduce its
emissions intensity by 20-25 percent over the 2005
limits by the year 2020 despite having no binding
mitigation obligations. In fact, India has already de-
creased 12 percent of its GDP between 2005 and
2010. A number of studies suggest that India could
GLOBAL ISSUE
(Right) US President
Barack Obama talking
about climate change in
Kotzebue, Alaska, on
September 2, 2015
India’s National Clean Environment Fund
had a total collection of $2.7 billion
(2014-15) from imposing a $2 per ton of
coal tax. This is used to fund clean energy
projects worth $2.6 billion domestically.
Paris Meet
overnanceG
FOR ALTERNATE POWER
(Above) A solar plant set
up at Deoghar, about
400 km from Ranchi
The
Jawaharlal
Nehru
National Solar
Mission 2009
aims to
achieve 20
GW of
installed solar
capacity by
2022. In 2015,
the NDA govt
pledged for
100 GW by
2022.
get, large corporates, independent power genera-
tors and state governments will have to contribute.
The solar policy, however, is yet to effectively ad-
dress the domestic manufacturing sector, to con-
vince home manufacturers to contribute, instead of
using Chinese- and US-manufactured parts. It also
needs to address the fact that 300 million Indians
still do not have access to electricity, and off-grid
solar energy could be an answer. The solar policy
falls a little short of this development vision.
The Green India Mission is one of the eight
missions—it is targeted to improve the quality of
five million hectares of degraded forests and bring
another five million hectares of non-forest area
under plantation in the next 10 years. The INDC
pledges to absorb 2.5-3 billion tons of CO2 by car-
bon sequestration by forests, which is expected to
be contributed by the Green India Mission by 50-
60 percent. However, the Mission itself raises the
question of land availability. India also needs to
make transparent policies on how it plans to
achieve the rest of the target. The implementation
and achievement of the goals are—again—hugely
dependent on the availability of funds.
But where is the money? How does India plan
to fund its pledges? Climate Policy Initiative
reduce its emission intensity by much more than
what has been pledged.
Emission intensity is the level of greenhouse gas
(GHG) emissions per unit of economic activity,
usually measured at the national level as GDP. Car-
bon intensity is known as the amount of carbon re-
leased by weight per unit of energy consumed.
Though population and GDP are the major deter-
minants of a country’s emissions, the level of green-
house gases emitted is dependent on the country’s
energy efficiency, including the carbon content of
goods imported and exported.
AMBITIOUS TARGETS
India has also pledged to reduce its carbon intensity
following a low carbon development trajectory—
unlike developed countries. However, this would
be dependent on technology and its financing.
The Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission
of 2009 aims to achieve 20 gigawatt (GW) of in-
stalled solar capacity by 2022. In 2015, the NDA
government under Narendra Modi revised the
solar mission, pledging to achieve 100 GW installed
capacity by 2022. This has been divided into
rooftop and large and medium scale grid-con-
nected solar projects. To achieve the ambitious tar-

estimates the total available funds to combat cli-
mate change is around $331 billion annually in
public and private investments. CarbonBrief (UK-
based website) analysis shows that developing
countries would need a total of $3,535 billion to
implement their INDCs —$81 billion from do-
mestic sources, $407 billion from international
sources and the rest has not been specified.
Achieving the ambitious goals is an expensive af-
fair. An estimated $2.5 trillion (2014-15 prices) is
required to achieve the pledges announced by
India, which is partly shared by the international
community and partly raised domestically. India
continues to suffer due to climate-induced ex-
treme weather events and it is estimated that it
will continue to lose approximately 1.8 percent of
its GDP annually by 2050.
COMMITTED FUNDS
The government of India has set up dedicated
funds and taken specific initiatives to meet the
domestic financial components—the National
Clean Environment Fund, collected from the cess
on coal to fund green technologies, had been set
up in 2010. The total collection of $2.7 billion
(2014-15) from imposing a $2 per ton of coal tax
is being used to fund clean energy projects worth
$2.6 billion domestically.
The national adaptation fund with an initial
allocation of $55.6 million is set up for adaptation
initiatives in agriculture, water forestry, etc. India
has also cut its fossil fuel subsidies and increased
taxes on both petroleum and diesel.
Though there is a semblance of movement to-
wards climate change combat, further policies are
required to achieve the INDCs. India maintains
that the achievement of its INDCs would be con-
tingent on international support. But, the extent
of its dependence on international funds and sup-
port remains ambiguous.
The developed community continues to shirk
its responsibility of historical actions, and the pol-
itics of the negotiations is increasingly trying to
delink action to be taken by the developing world
and support by the developed world.
Another factor that stands in India’s way of
claiming international monetary support is that
the funds are limited and claims by least devel-
oped countries and island countries would be
taken up on a priority bases. The Green Fund set
up by the Copenhagen Accord in 2009 which
pledged to mobilize $100 billion a year by 2020 is
estimated to stand at $30 billion by the World
Bank (2014) and 60 billion by Organization for
Economic Co-operation and Development.
It’s plain to see there is a huge differential in
the financial requirement to achieve India’s INDC
pledges and the supply. India needs to prioritize
and demarcate climate contributions by mobiliz-
ing funds domestically instead of leaving the im-
plementation of its action plans on uncertain
international funds. For that, it has to make strict
policies and make sure to implement them.
According to Ashok Lavasa, secretary, Min-
istry of Environment, Forests and Climate Cha-
nge, India hopes for a good agreement at the Paris
CoP, an agreement which would capture the in-
terest of most developing parties and does not de-
viate from the principle of the UNFCCC.
According to
Ashok Lavasa
(right),
secretary,
Ministry of
Environment,
Forests and
Climate
Change, India
hopes for
a good
agreement at
the Paris
Conference of
Parties under
UNFCCC.
Paris Meet
overnanceG
Web Crawler What Went Viral
“Peace for Paris”symbol
Militant attacks on innocents eli-
cit an array of responses from
people. French graphic artist, Jean
Jullien (right), who lives in London,
took to his craft to send a message.
As news about terror attacks in
Paris reached him, Jullien created a
“Peace for Paris” symbol, combin-
ing the city’s iconic Eiffel Tower with
the peace sign of the 1960s. He
posted it on Instagram and Twitter.
And it went viral with people using
the image as a mark of solidarity for
French citizens.
“My first reaction was to draw
something and share it. It was spon-
taneous. I wanted to do something
that could be useful for people. Gi-
ven the scale of the violence, the
peace-and-love symbol was essen-
tial. It was then quite an easy thing
to combine it with the Eiffel Tower,
the symbol of Paris,” Julian told
ABC. The peace-and-love motif was
used by anti-war and “counter-cul-
ture” militants in the 1960s.
Mother deprived
of son’s vote
Aspiring politicians can bank on the votes of
family members during elections. But this
did not happen for a woman hoping to win a
seat in the panchayat elections in the Alleppey
district of Kerala. Her son chose to support the
opposition. He even explained the reasons in a
Facebook post, shared thousands of times.
Rajesh Kumar (above), a police constable in
Kerala, wrote that he would not let his motherly
love “stop my duty towards the nation”. His
mother, Jagadamma, was a candidate for the
ruling BJP. And her son's support could have
been crucial as she lost by only seven votes.
Rajesh Kumar wrote: “My mother was a tea-
cher in my school, but when she forgot the na-
tional pledge she taught me, I decided to post
this to remind people like my mother about that
pledge.” He went on to criticize the BJP’s fol-
low-up on its policies, such as PM Modi's cam-
paign to eliminate public defecation.
Antoine Leiris lost his wife Helene in the
Bataclan theatre in Paris, where terror-
ists struck. His Facebook tribute to his
wife and his challenge to her killers has
been shared thousands of times. Leiris
read out the letter to BBC News in Paris,
which posted it on Facebook. It has since
garnered over 21 million views.
“I do not know you and do not want to
know you—you are dead souls. If the God
for whom you kill so blindly made us in
His image, each bullet in my wife's body
would have been a wound in His heart.
Therefore, I will not give you the gift of hat-
ing you,” Leiris is seen telling the 13/11
terrorists. Incidentally, he has a 17-year-
old son to look after.
Hubby’s tribute to Paris victim
Amidst universal shock and outrage af-
ter the heinous attacks in Paris, neti-
zens across the globe took a proactive
approach on Twit-
ter with the hash-
tag#PorteOuverte,
meaning “open do-
or” in French. Peo-
ple using the hash-
tag were offering
shelter to those
stranded after the
heinous killings.
One such tweet
came from a Sikh
man, Rohan Singh Kalsi (bottom). It said:
“Anybody who’s stranded in Paris and
needs shelter and somewhere safe, any
Sikh Gurdwara (temple)
will be happy to accom-
modate #PorteOuverte.”
It was retweeted over
14,000 times, and got a
huge positive response.
Touched by the gratitude
his tweet had garnered,
Kalsi later tweeted that
there was no need as
“Sikhs are here to serve
humanity at all times.”
Sikh man’s tweet goes viral
—Compiled by Anuj Raina

Punjab
Environment
overnanceG
Increased pollution
in North India is
due to Punjab
farmers burning
rice straw.This can
be prevented by
proactive gover-
nance and plough-
ing the straw back
into the field
BY VIVIAN FERNANDES
N October 30 satellite grab of
Punjab on the website of NASA’s
Earth Observatory shows hun-
dreds of tiny red dots as if de-
posited by a spraying device.
They “indicate hot spots where
the sensor detected unusually warm surface tem-
perature generally associated with fires,” the caption
said. “Thick plumes of smoke drifted from the hot
spots.”
In order to understand these fires, one should
first know Punjab’s crop patterns. The state grows
rice on 2.85 million hectares (ha), wheat on about
3.5 million ha and a third crop like short-duration
60-day green gram (moong bean). Punjab’s Eco-
nomic Survey says 10,000 ha was under gram
(chana) cultivation and 38,000 ha under other
pulses, including green gram.
In the case of wheat, it has to be sown within a
window of two-three weeks after cutting paddy so
that it can make the most of the winter to bulk up
and avoid terminal heat. The straw from the wheat
is chopped and fed to animals. Though not very
nutritious, it acts as a filler and gives them a feeling
of satiety. The fodder is also sold to neighboring
Jammu, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan.
However, ordinary rice is combine-harvested.
The machines leave trails of raked hay about 12 ft
A
IntheLine
ofFire
BURNING ISSUE
A farmer burning the
straw on his field
after harvest
INCREASING HAZE
North India reels
under haze as a
result of burning of
straw on the fields
of Punjab
wide and a foot high, called windrows. Unlike
wheat straw, ordinary rice straw is high in silica and
is not preferred fodder in north-western parts of
India and that is why it is burnt. Incidentally, in cen-
tral, eastern, western and southern parts of India,
it is used as fodder.
Straw from both wheat and rice can be used to
fire boilers in power plants and Punjab has set up
about half a dozen of them. It can be used in brick
kilns as well. Some of it goes into making of paper
and board, packaging for sanitary ware and for cul-
tivation of mushrooms.
However, most farmers do not find the price
justifiable enough to bear the cost of collection and
transportation. So they end up burning it. And this
is what has been picked up by satellites.
India produces 500-650 million tons of crop
waste every year, says Raj Gupta, a scientist at Bor-
laug Institute for South Asia (BISA). This is a joint
venture of the Indian Council of Agricultural Re-
search (ICAR) and CIMMYT, the Mexico-based
International Maize and Wheat Improvement Cen-
ter, which played a seminal role in India’s Green
Revolution. Forty-eight percent of crop waste is rice
straw. Most of it is produced in Punjab, Haryana
and western Uttar Pradesh, where the use of com-
bines is most prevalent.
According to Gupta, a ton of rice straw emits
three kg of particulate matter, 60 kg of carbon
monoxide, 1,460 kg of carbon dioxide, nearly 200
kg of ash and two kg of sulphur dioxide. While
quoting a study by researchers at the National Phys-
ical Laboratory, he says that when North Indian
farmers burn 63 million tons of straw, it releases
0.14 million tons of nitrous oxides, close to one lakh
tons of particulate matter, 3.4 million tons of carbon
monoxide and greenhouse gases equivalent to 4.8
million tons of carbon dioxide.
FIELDS DAMAGED
The numbers are hard to register. Those breathing
the smoggy air will suffer from stinging eyes, sore
throats and impaired lungs. These are telltale signs
of the damage being done to fields. They lose nu-
trients when crop waste is repeatedly burned in
them. A Punjab government note says a ton of
Punjab, with the highest rice productivity
in the country, uses double the quantity
of water to produce one unit, compared
to West Bengal. Rice cultivation has
depleted groundwater in the state.

tration has become lax because of
the problems the state government
is in. It is on the defensive following
the outbreak of whitefly which has
destroyed the state’s cotton crop, the
fall in prices of basmati below that
of ordinary rice, the potato price
crash at the beginning of the year
and discontent over the desecration
of the Granth Sahib, the holy book
of the Sikhs. “More people are
burning straw,” he says.
MANY HURDLES
Balwant Singh, 50, of Kaljharani,
which is next to Chief Minister Par-
kash Singh’s Badal village in Bha-
tinda district, acknowledges that
those who grow paddy in his village
are burning it. One incentive, ac-
cording to him, is that straw sells for
`150 a quintal and there is a power plant in nearby
Channo which buys it. But the village’s cooperative
society does not have a baler, a machine which
makes compressed bundles of straw. “Sarkar saath
nahin de rahi hai (the government does not give
support),” he adds. “The government must punish
those who burn straw,” he says. As for Singh, he did
not grow paddy this year.
However, farmers could take a lesson out of
Pawanjot Singh’s book. This Jalandhar-based far-
mer has been a farmer since 17 years. Singh is an
innovative farmer, keen on adopting new technol-
ogy and scientific practices. He has about 180 acres,
both owned and leased. He grows certified seed po-
tatoes for the governments of Odisha, West Bengal
and Assam, besides cereals and vegetables. He
chops up the straw and ploughs it into soil. This, he
says, has had a “positive” impact on the potato out-
put. According to him, most potato farmers in the
area have adopted this practice.
One of them is Jugraj Singh Bansi of Jalandhar’s
Madar village. A young non-resident Indian, who
paddy straw burnt means the loss of 5.5 kg of ni-
trogen, 2.3 kg of phosphorus, 25 kg of potassium,
1.2 kg of sulphur, besides organic carbon. Soil loses
moisture and useful microbes are killed.
“I burnt the straw,” admits 52-year-old Ajit
Singh Mann of Bheen village in Punjab’s Nawan-
shahr tehsil. “I did it out of necessity,” he says. He
had to get the fields ready for potatoes. Mann grows
a variety of crops on 70 acres, much of which is
leased. An environmentally-aware farmer, Mann
has reduced the area under paddy cultivation be-
cause of its impact on ground water.
Straw burning is banned in Punjab but the law
is not being enforced. Mann believes the adminis-
MAPPING DISASTER
A map showing extensive
heat generated by fire on
the fields in the state, and
a smoke screen over Delhi
and adjoining areas
A ton of rice straw emits three kg of
particulate matter, 60 kg of carbon
monoxide, 1,460 kg of carbon dioxide,
nearly 200 kg of ash and two kg of
sulphur dioxide.
Punjab
Agriculture
overnanceG
quit a post office job in San Jose, California, to pur-
sue farming with his father, Bansi has deployed a
shredder with a reversible plough, both operated by
tractors. He hires one for `1,200 and the other for
`1,000 an acre. “There is no burning of straws in
my area,” he says.
However, there are lacunae here too. A shredder
costs about `2.5 lakh, but government subsidy is
not available through the year. Bansi’s cooperative
society, which hires out agricultural machinery and
equipment, could not buy it for this reason, he says.
CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE
BISA, which has research stations in Ludhiana, Ja-
balpur and Samastipur, prescribes conservation
agriculture as a neat way out of the current situa-
tion. For the plains of North-west India, this means
laser-levelling the fields for quick and even spread
of irrigation water. The pores formed by roots that
keep the soil soft are not destroyed and straw is put
on the surface to conserve moisture, increase or-
ganic carbon and suppress weeds. Leguminous
crops like moong bean are also grown to enrich the
soil with atmospheric nitrogen.
However, conservation agriculture is not possi-
ble without special machines. Combines have to be
CONSERVATION IS KEY
(Below) Use of shredders
can help spread the straw
on fields, which would also
provide moisture to soil and
prevent growth of weeds
(Bottom) Farmers in Punjab
are open to innovation,
provided the government
lends a helping hand
fitted with a device that spreads rice straw evenly
in the fields. The sowing is done by parting the
straw with a ‘Happy’ seeder. This kind of agriculture
requires herbicides. The molecules/herbicides cur-
rently available are surgical in operation and do not
linger. These have to be applied before sowing to
prevent growth of weeds, and some days after ger-
mination to knock off those that still do.
Harminder Singh Sidhu, who is in charge of
BISA’s Ludhiana station, says that what attracts
farmers to conservation agriculture is the costs
saved in ploughing and weed removal. This year,
his team is demonstrating the technique in 400

the quantity of water to produce one unit, com-
pared to West Bengal. Rice cultivation has depleted
groundwater in many blocks of the state. It has a
plan to shift half of the rice acreage to maize, which
needs much less water. Progress has been slow be-
cause maize is not as remunerative and there is no
assured government buyback as with rice.
On the basis of his travels across the state,
Dhillon sees a decline in straw burning, but not to
the point of comfort. He says the government is en-
couraging straw- and stalk-fired power plants and
incentivizing people about the purchase of seeders,
shredders and balers.
BISA’s Gupta says farmers should be rewarded
with credits for practising conservation agriculture
and sequestering carbon. They could trade these
credits with polluting industries. .
Incentives are necessary to encourage good be-
haviour, but the polluter-pays principle must be
enforced. Smoke from Punjab’s fields has raised
pollution to dangerous levels in Delhi. But urgency
in government action is missing.
—Vivian Fernandes is consulting editor to
www.smartindianagriculture.in
acres of fields —four times more than last year.
Punjab Agricultural University is also propagat-
ing this technique, says Baldev Singh Dhillon, its
vice-chancellor. He admits to challenges. The seeder
is slow; it sows about eight acres a day. It needs high
horsepower tractors for traction. Optically, crop
growing through paddy stubble and straw does not
initially look good. In the first year, there may also
be a decline in yield. Farmers need to be disciplined
in the application of herbicides. Urea fertilizer must
be drilled into the soil and not scattered on the
straw-covered fields.
MAIZE CULTIVATION
Getting farmers to grow maize instead of rice will
also reduce straw burning. Punjab, which has the
highest rice productivity in the country, uses double
Wheat and rice straw can be used to fire
boilers in power plants, and in brick
kilns as well. But most farmers do not
find the price justifiable enough to bear
the cost of collection and transportation.
FODDER FOR DISCONTENT
Congress leaders in
Punjab with a
memorandum on
farmers’ plight to
Governor Shivraj Patil
at Raj Bhawan in
Chandigarh
Punjab
Agriculture
overnanceG
SMARTEN YOUR TALK15 WAYS TO SAY‘NO’
Bump that
Go jump in the lake
Like hell
N.O.
Negative
No dice
No go
Noway
Nope
Not a chance
Not on your Nellie
Not on your life
Nothing doing
Over my dead body
DID YOU KNOW?
Good at, NOT good in
Full of, NOT full with
Congratulate on, NOT con-
gratulate for
Anxious about, NOT anxious
for
Fail in, NOT fail at
Popular with, NOT popular
among
Benefit from, NOT benefit by
SAY IT RIGHT
WORDY EXPRESSIONS COMPARISONS FOR EVERYDAY USE
English is one of modern India’s 22 official languages, and is widely learned as the second language in
most countries. Enjoy it and avoid falling into some common error traps. BY MAHESHTRIVEDI
Absolutely essential
Cooperate together
Audible to the ear
Descend down
Each and every one
Bisect in two
Choose up
Combine together
Final end
Completely unanimous
Four-cornered square
Connect up with
Consensus of opinions
Individual person
Loquacious talker
Meet up with
Revert back to
Rise up
Small in size
Round in form
Most unkindest
Talented genius
Drink like a fish (hey, you are drinking like a fish!)
Eat like a horse
Fight like cat and dog
Fit like a glove
Work like the devil
Sing like a bird
Sleep like a log/top
Smoke like a chimney
Spend money like water
Run like the wind
Swim like a fish
Multiply like rabbits
Has memory like a sieve
Suite
Subtle
Spinach
Dengue
Dessert
Bowl
Monk
Police
Gauge
Genre
Hyperbole
Cache
Related to, NOT related with
Deprived of, NOT deprived
from
Opposite to, NOT opposite
from
Conform to, NOT conform
with
Die of, NOT die for
Different from, NOT different
to or than
About time, too!...........It’s almost too late!
Hell’s bells!..........(said when you are surprised/annoyed)
Get a wiggle on!.............Hurry up!
Bite your tongue!...........Take back what you said!
How ya living?.............How you are doing?
Do I have to draw a picture?............You don’t understand yet?
It’s been a slice!............It’s been good!
Guard against these repetitive, wordy expressions with
redundant words:
Grab a good dictionary and check
whether you have been correctly
pronouncing these words:

The Badal government is under
siege as swirling protests take a
hold of Punjab over this family’s
misgovernance and police
atrocities.What started as a row
over desecration of the Guru
Granth Sahib has now gone
beyond control
BY VIPIN PUBBY
HE border state of Punjab,
which remained peaceful for
over two decades after going
through some 15 years of
bloodshed, is on the boil
again. What started as a pro-
test against some motivated instances of desecra-
tion of the Sikh holy book, Guru Granth Sahib,
has snowballed into a major agitation, with Sikhs
venting their anger against the government of
Parkash Singh Badal.
The tense situation has led to road blockades,
rail roko agitation, state-wide bandh and clashes
between the protesting Sikhs and the police. It
even led to police firing, causing the death of two
and injuries to many others.
Though the movement is largely headless,
there are over a dozen Sikh organizations work-
ing in tandem. A call given to observe Black Di-
wali and continuation of protests across the state
received good response from a large section of
Sikhs even though a sizeable number later cold-
shouldered attempts by radicals to hijack the
agenda at a Sarbat Khalsa (congregation of Sikh
community) on November 10 (see box).
SPREADING LIKE WILDFIRE
While in the initial days, there was clear support
for the government from radical groups and the
Sikh diaspora, misgovernance and the actions of
the state police have fuelled the fire. The agita-
tion, which was restricted to a few areas, later
spread all across Punjab and transformed into a
popular upsurge against the government and par-
ticularly the Badal family, which had established
hegemony over Akali politics and the religious
affairs of Sikhs in the recent past.
Thus, while Parkash Singh Badal is the chief
T
Bungling
Punjab Clashes
overnanceG
Badals
STOKING FIRE
(Left) Members of
the SGPC take out a
protest march
against desecration
of the Guru Granth
Sahib in Faridkot
(Below) Is Chief
Minister Parkash
Singh Badal
responsible for the
present mess?
Aconglomerate of Sikh organizations, including radicals, called for
aSarbatKhalsa(atraditionalcongregationoftheSikhcommunity
to discuss and decide on important issues facing the community) on
November 10. It was primarily called to protest the incidents of sacri-
lege and to condemn the decision taken by the Sikh clergy to pardon
theDeraSachaSaudachief.However,theradicals,backedbyasection
of Sikh diaspora, clearly dictated the resolutions.This included the re-
moval of three of the five high priests, striping the honour of“Fakhar-
e-quam” (pride of community) title given to CM Badal and
ex-communicating former DGP KPS Gill and Lt Gen KS Brar (retd).
What shocked many, including those who had volunteered to be
part of protest, was the“appointment”of a convict and mastermind of
the Beant Singh assassination case, Jagtar Singh Hawara, as the head
priest of the highest temporal authority of the Sikhs, the Akal Takht.
The calling of the Sarbat Khalsa is itself under question as the SGPC
says it can be called only by the head priest of AkalTakht. Even though
itmaynothavesanctity,ithasitsramificationsastheradicalsaretrying
to hijack the popular upsurge against the ruling Badal clan.
Radicalshijackagenda

views on news 07 december 2015

views on news 07 december 2015

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Viewers also liked

Viewers also liked (20)

Similar to views on news 07 december 2015

Similar to views on news 07 december 2015 (20)

More from ENC

More from ENC (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

views on news 07 december 2015