Thursday, June 01, 2006
Something to think about
The Hindu Saturday, Apr 01, 2006
Where India shining meets great depression
P. Sainath
In the village, we demolish their lives, in the city their homes. The smug
indifference of the elite is matched by the governments they do not vote in,
but control.
FARM SUICIDES in Vidharbha crossed 400 this week. The Sensex crossed the 11,000
mark. And Lakme Fashion Week issued over 500 media passes to journalists. All
three are firsts. All happened the same week. And each captures in a brilliant
if bizarre way a sense of where India's Brave New World is headed. A powerful
measure of a massive disconnect. Of the gap between the haves and the
have-mores on the one hand, and the dispossessed and desperate, on the other.
Of the three events, the suicide toll in Vidharbha found no mention in many
newspapers and television channels. Even though these have occurred since just
June 2 last year. Even though the most conservative figure (of Sakaal
newspaper) places the deaths at above 372. (The count since 2000-01 would run
to thousands.) Sure, there were rare exceptions in the media. But they were
just that -- rare. It is hard to describe what those fighting this incredible
human tragedy on the ground feel about it. More so when faced with the silence
of a national media given to moralising on almost everything else.
...
Read the entire article here
Where India shining meets great depression
P. Sainath
In the village, we demolish their lives, in the city their homes. The smug
indifference of the elite is matched by the governments they do not vote in,
but control.
FARM SUICIDES in Vidharbha crossed 400 this week. The Sensex crossed the 11,000
mark. And Lakme Fashion Week issued over 500 media passes to journalists. All
three are firsts. All happened the same week. And each captures in a brilliant
if bizarre way a sense of where India's Brave New World is headed. A powerful
measure of a massive disconnect. Of the gap between the haves and the
have-mores on the one hand, and the dispossessed and desperate, on the other.
Of the three events, the suicide toll in Vidharbha found no mention in many
newspapers and television channels. Even though these have occurred since just
June 2 last year. Even though the most conservative figure (of Sakaal
newspaper) places the deaths at above 372. (The count since 2000-01 would run
to thousands.) Sure, there were rare exceptions in the media. But they were
just that -- rare. It is hard to describe what those fighting this incredible
human tragedy on the ground feel about it. More so when faced with the silence
of a national media given to moralising on almost everything else.
...
Read the entire article here
Comments:
Post a Comment
