Hafta 522: Stampede at Kumbh, The Reporters’ Collective loses non-profit status

This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, Raman Kirpal and Shardool Katyayan are joined by senior advocate Indira Jaising and independent journalist Saurabh Sharma. 

The discussion starts with tax authorities axing The Reporters’ Collective’s non-profit status. Indira says the I-T department’s action against the investigative news outlet is part of a “strategic and calculated crackdown by the government on independent media and journalism”. She says everyone should stand up for the fundamental right of freedom of speech and expression and ensure it is not eroded.

The panel also talks about the tragic stampede at the Mahakumbh in Prayagraj. Saurabh breaks down all that went wrong leading up to the tragedy. “There was absolute radio silence from the government for nearly 19 hours about how many people died,” he says. 

Saurabh adds that he believes the death toll is higher than the official government figure: “I went to the morgue and counted at least 59 bodies.” Raman blames Uttar Pradesh’s VIP culture for the chaos at Kumbh. 

Abhinandan and Manisha take note of how legacy media attempted to drown out the news of the stampede. On the government’s PR push, Manisha says, “All you are trying to do is show the good news, but that is not going to get you good global coverage.” 

This and a lot more. Tune in!

Watch the full video: https://youtu.be/5o8WY9UVKGk

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Timecodes

00:00:00 - Introductions and announcements

00:03:35 - Headlines

00:13:55 - The Reporters’ Collective loses non-profit status

00:43:16 - Indira’s recommendations

00:44:32 - Kumbh stampede

01:01:38 - Saurabh’s recommendations

01:02:25 - Mismanagement at Kumbh, VIP culture in UP

01:25:43 - Letters

01:43:08 - Recommendations

Check out previous Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters 

Produced and recorded by Priyali Dhingra, Tista Roy Chowdhury, and Anil Kumar.

Production assistance by Hanshul Mohan. 

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