Why N.Ravi provides a semblance of balanced views

This blog among several others have argued for Chindu presenting a balanced approach towards presenting the issues contributing to the whole Nuclear brouhaha. It has followed the piper's (Left) tune since the beginning and has disavowed listening to the thought process of the other side. During this process of transformation, Chindu has decided to bury the hatchet (at least temporarily) with its mortal enemies the BJP and tried to find some common ground with their grouses against the UPA.
Finally probably with a lot of pressure from its readers, probably with some political impetus from Madame S' minions, N. Ravi the former Editor of Chindu presents the flip side with rare objectivity that has been missing for a while. The article titled 'Missing the wood for the trees' is presented here.
The article dissects the issues clouding the entire N-deal and presents some of the important facets for the consideration of the reader.The tone shifts from the usual patronizing tone of LiC to a more toned down approach seeking to build consensus with the reader. This is likely an exception to the rule, but to long time readers it does bring some thoughts of what might have been.

Chindu's covert distortion of news coverage

This news link was provided by an anonymous reader.
Madame Sonia on her yatra across the native heathens of WB to drum up support for the panchayat elections hit the nail on the head when she said,

It is easy to criticise the Centre, but it is imperative that the State governments fulfil their responsibilities

The article can be read here,
http://www.hindu.com/2008/04/29/stories/2008042962210100.htm
This is a known truth that the CPM government in its quest for Marxist utopia has recreated Dante's hell on earth in West Bengal and Kerala. Now when Madame Sonia of all people decides to stick the fork, Chindu decides to report the news with a twist.
Sonia questions why the state of minorities in WB was not improved?

introspect why after 30 years [of the Left being] in power the State is lagging behind when it comes to improving the condition of the minorities.

This is where Chindu cheats and Marcus Dam decides to covertly distort the news by not reporting it but referencing the Sachar Committee report just to cover the CPM.

The Sachar Committee presented the true picture of Muslims and their lot “is not the handiwork of any political party.”

Sonia's important statement which was edited out maliciously by Chindu was

“It’s unfortunate that the condition of the minorities has not improved even though the CPI(M) been in power for the past 30 years,” Sonia said.

The responsibility of the newspaper is to report the facts as is. India being a democractic country Madame Sonia as a leader can make a statement. If the CPM were confident of their achievements they would brush it off. However like vampires who are scared of the light, Chindu decides to quote the Sachar Committee report which by itself was created simply to cater to the minority votebanks.
Thanks to our readers these cheap tricks by Chindu cannot fool all readers.

Fudging the numbers as see fit

Analyzing democratic elections become very complicated when there are more than two parties involved. Coalition politics makes it difficult for any person with average mathematical skills to predict the winner of an election.
Thus, the CPM led left front can claim victory despite having won a bit more than 10% of the total seats. However the same rules do not apply to neighboring countries like say, Nepal. Sure the Maoists have passed in flying colors, learning how to rig democratic elections from their friends from the country bordering the north and comrades from a southern state. However the Chindu decides to not apply the same rules here. Read this article,
http://www.hindu.com/2008/04/26/stories/2008042660061700.htm
The Chindu's hatchet man in this case Siddharth Varadarajan, rants that the US is preventing the Maoists from forming the government. But in the article the evidence given is,

According to political and diplomatic sources, the U.S. ambassador in Kathmandu, Nancy Powell, is “actively pushing” the idea that Girija Prasad Koirala should continue as Prime Minister.

Then the article meanders to rant at how the Nepali Congress with a 100 seats is preventing the Maoists(who do not have a majority) from forming the Government.
How is it that the CPM which does the exact same political blocking in India is lauded as fighting for the common man and NC's action's seems as anti-democratic? Let us know of your thoughts on this incident of double standards by The Chindu.

Marching to their own beat.

Its been many years since I've read the Frontline. Its better to find more productive ways to idle time. A friend mentioned that there were some good articles in the recent article, so I checked the online version. (you can download the pdf version here)
http://thehindu.com/ebooks/ebfl20080425_download.htm
There were some good articles on the river water dispute, an incredible article on the temples in Kashmir and an article on womens rights group in Tamil Nadu. Just when I was about to give the benefit of doubt hoping the editors had turned a new leaf, the next article hit an unexpected brick, a veritable sucker punch. It was a verbose trumpeting of the CPIM party national meeting with blurbs from the usual chumps like Karat, Yechury, Jyoti Basu etc.
And of course a picture of the red monkeys marching and the leaders cheering them on. The disinterest in the people marching makes it hilarious. The level of self importance shown by the CPM makes it a parody, kind of like a Monty Python film.
Check this out

Divorced from realities

The price rise in agricultural commodities is a world wide phenomenon and with the lack of proactive steps the situation promises to get worse. There are many causes which have added up but still the world's leading economists have struggled to pinpoint the root cause of this issue. However our beloved comrades have found the cause of the issue in India...its the Manmohan Singh led UPA government.
The article is on the Chindu getting front page, (with a snapshot of the magnificent dirty dozen :))
http://www.hindu.com/2008/04/20/stories/2008042057630100.htm
The photo of the protesters is shown here,

The causes of the issue as identified by the CPM and its pals are nowhere close to what the real experts in the field state. Mr.Karat in his infinite wisdom states,

the government should ban futures trading in all essential commodities, withdraw all Bills allowing foreign direct investment in the commodities market, universalise the Public Distribution System, roll back the oil price hike, strengthen the essential commodities law and change the taxation structure of petroleum products.

Surprisingly there were a couple of the saner minds to be found joining these chumps. I was surprised to see N.Chandrababu Naidu with the CPM ( isn't the CPM supporting the Congress which has formed the govt. both in the Center and AP) and columnist M.J.Akbar one of the more rational writers from papers like TOI.
I guess desperate times bring in strange pairings together.

Charging against windmills

The CPM takes a look an important issue facing India, does a deep analysis and comes up with quixotic solutions which will in all probability do nothing to resolve the issue. However the media will not question the party about the plan or the rationale of the intended tactics. The Chindu however proclaims this as the next launch of the Freedom movement. The article is listed here,
http://www.hindu.com/2008/03/31/stories/2008033157900100.htm
Inflation has caused price increase in food commodities. CPM would not address the problem at its source but would rather have the Government bear the expenses for the cost of the increase and banning futures trading in agricultural products.

the cut in foodgrain allocations to States under the PDS be done away with; 15 essential commodities such as pulses, edible oil and sugar be included in the PDS; futures trading in 25 agricultural commodities be banned as proposed by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution; customs and excise duties on oil be cut and restructured; retail prices of petrol and diesel be reduced;

The common man should be able to afford basic essentials, but not by bartering the country's future. The various parties have made their plans to spend amount raised by increasing oil prices. Comrades Yechury and Bardhan state,

“The Central government has collected over Rs. 40,000 crore more in 2007-08 in import duties on oil than what it had budgeted due to the ad valorem structure of customs and excise duties, whereby the government’s revenues also increase along with the price of oil,”

The Chindu does not follow this quote with a reasonable analysis.
More on the fun at the CPM annual carnival soon.
About a year back there was a great blog post on the same topic by Ashok Dhamija, a lawyer where he ridicules the actions taken by the UPA Government and its Communist partners on the tactics to manage inflation.
http://ashokdhamija.blogspot.com/2007/02/futures-trading-in-farm-commodities-and.html

Finally someone speaks out against the atrocities.

The atrocities against the civilians in Lhasa has been covered by the media from the outside with the PRC doing its best to make light of a serious situation. Most world leaders have chosen to keep quiet and monitor, given the ominous threats from the Chinese who are sensing the impacts to the Olympics. But Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the US Congress decided to take action into her own hands and met with the Dalai Lama.
The article is reported here in the Chindu.
http://www.hindu.com/2008/03/22/stories/2008032259661200.htm
Ms.Pelosi demanded an outside investigation. Calling the Chinese action in Tibet a

challenge to the world’s conscience

Of course the Chindu not hampered by any statement by a US politician decided to publish not one but two counter statements by different Chinese officials here,
http://www.hindu.com/2008/03/22/stories/2008032258120100.htm
and here,
http://www.hindu.com/2008/03/22/stories/2008032259651200.htm
The funny part is the use of quotation marks in the second article. While the intent of Chindu is to make light of the Tibetian accusations, it actually blows up on their face. Read this line for instance,

China also showed a documentary about the violence in Lhasa, capital of the Tibetan Autonomous Region, which “clearly” showed that the incidents were “masterminded and organised by the Dalai [Lama] clique.”

Please employ some proof readers with some skill Chindu, please!

And here's a biscuit. Good boy.

The nature of the relationship between India and China is quite an interesting one. On one hand you have a country which has attacked you without cause, still claims a huge chunk of your land as its own and supplies nuclear weapons to your biggest threat. On the other hand an opportunity comes where there is internal strife within China. Rather than jumping at the opportunity and using moral superiority to trump the Chinese at an international stage, the Indian Government decides to pussyfoot around the issue and claims its an internal issue. Beyond political opportunism, there is the human side over 100 lives have been lost, yet the Chindu does not display any humanity towards the innocent.
The article is published in Chindu right here,
http://www.hindu.com/2008/03/19/stories/2008031958160100.htm
As the straight shooting Ms. Pallavi Aiyar notes in her headlines,

Appreciates stance of the Indian government

The Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, beacon of truthfulness, throws a bone at his counterparts across the southern border by appreciating their tacit silence at the brutality in Lhasa. He goes on to state,

appreciated the “position and stance of the Indian government in handling the activities of the Dalai Lama clique,

The article on Chindu which reads as though it was edited by a Xinhua editor, oh wait a second, of course.
The highlight though is the magnanimity of the Communist Government to allow the press into Lhasa, of course it would be considered, discussed and approved sometime in the near future (2009?).

he would consider organising a trip for foreign journalists to Lhasa so that they could survey the situation firsthand.

It meanders with the usual blackballing of any Dalai Lama claim, portraying him as the second coming of
Che Guevara. It was interesting to read Chindu giving the Dalai Lama a few lines and then as a good "unbiased" judge delivers the verdict to the Commies. Bravo Ms. Aiyar your vigilant articles are deserving of a Pulitzer.
The wait for an editorial continues...

Faithful dog barks for its master

Even after the blood bath at Nandigram, Chindu says only "a section of the people" opposed the governments plans. Such "journalistic ethics" are reserved exclusively for Bengal and definitely not for Gujarat.

The West Bengal government had to abandon the plan to set up a chemical hub in Nandigram owing to opposition from a section of the local people but that will not affect flow of investments for the industry, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said here on Thursday.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/12/07/stories/2007120759441700.htm

Communist lies exposed

These are the super-secular communists. And they call Waste Bengal the communist peace paradise.

The Hindu : Front Page : Taslima blames it on Kolkata police

On the remark by police authorities that she had left Kolkata of her own volition, Ms. Nasreen said: “I deny that flatly. I have been driven out of the State after withstanding three months of mental pressure from certain police officials. Finally I was advised to go to Jaipur at the instance of someone trusted to them [the police] and much against my wishes.”