Dheeraj Kalgutkar

16 मज़दूर औरंगाबाद में ट्रैन की पटरी के नीचे कुचल के मर गए है। शायद आप तक यह खबर पहुंच भी गई है। आपको शायद बताया जा रहा है कि यह हादसा था। हादसा क्या होता है? हादसा वह होता है जहां किसीको पता नहीं रहता कि वह होनेवाला है। रवीश कुमार अपने चैनल पर हफ्तों से बता रहे थे/है कि पुलिस अपने गंतव्य की तरफ चलनेवाले मज़दूर वर्ग के लोगों को रास्तो से कैसे हटा रही है और पुलिस से बचने के लिए मज़दूर कैसे रेल्वे की पटरियों पर चल रहे है। वे कह रहे थे कि यह कितना भयावह और ख़तरनाक है। वे पुछ रहे थे कि जैसे हमने भारत के बाहर से भारतीयों को फ़्लाइट पर लाया वैसे मजदूरों की घर जाने की व्यवस्था क्यों नहीं की जा रही है... आप शायद रवीश को सुन नहीं रहे थे, आप शायद व्यस्त थे सुधीर चौधरी जैसे गोदी मीडिया को सुनने में जो पैदल चलते मज़दूर और शराब के लिए लाइन लगाने वाले लोगों में फर्क़ तक नहीं कर पाते - कैसे करेंगे वो भी - उनके ऐसी स्टुडियों से सब कीड़े-मकोड़े बाहर उनको एक ही तरह के दिखते है। और आप उनकी बातों में मस्त है। आपने अपने विवेक और बुद्धि का त्याग तो सरकार के चरण कमलों में कब का कर दिया है... मुबारक हो आप...

Politicians may believe, people may believe but journalists should never take anyone on face value, not even army. Their only ally is truth and truth alone. We seem to have forgotten the basic principles of journalism all along and have comfortably turned ourselves into the extension of government in power. Would you believe if someone tomorrow came to you and claimed he slapped another guy? If this supposed event occurred inside closed doors, probably one will seek proof now that the guy you claim you’ve slapped is denying it. Second, if there is no proof, then you may pass the information as hearsay that he claims he “slapped” the other guy which is perfectly legitimate statement. But nowhere you are supposed to claim the authenticity of the “slap” by yourself if you are a neutral authority whose sole aim is to bring out the truth and call people’s bluff; that is if you are a journalist. If you are a politician, a friend of the party who “slapped” then that’s an altogether ...

“ Now the time has come when we have to tell the new generation to chant ' Bharat Mata Ki Jai' . It should be real, spontaneous and part of all-round development of the youth,” said RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat earlier this month. And as if there was some understanding between the two, Owaisi, the MP from Hyderabad and leader of MIM responded by saying “You can hold a knife to my throat but I will not say ' Bharat Mata Ki Jai' ...it is not written in the constitution.” Thus born another meaningless discussion on nationalism. Then came responses of others. Javed Akhtar in his farewell speech in Rajya Sabha took jibe at Owaisi calling him only a  mohalla  leader from Hyderabad and chanting ' Bharat Mata Ki Jai'  several times calling it his right to say so. Did anyone told Javed Saab that it wasn't? Nobody knows. Then jumped the Shiv Sena with its editorial in party mouthpiece Saamna saying, it is not a right but a duty which must be made mandatory; further, a...

“72 year old nun gang raped in WB & Mamata Banerjee cries foul over Gharvaapasi! Are you a woman? And what kind of a nation are we? ‪ #‎ Shameless” was my post on Facebook, to which a friend replies that I’m blind to atrocities happening to Hindus…” He could have been right if I had said, a Christian nun is gang raped and no Hindu is outraging enough, which I didn’t. And why should I? It surprises me, in fact makes me feel pathetic to even think of saying something as such. If only one goes through a week’s news, he or she will know at what disastrous stage India has reached. Rape is the fourth most crime in India. If 2013 figures of National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB )   are any indicator then 92 women were raped daily in India. And yes, it comprises of all religion, class, creed and other ethnicities. Rapist as such doesn’t ask the girl if she belongs to this or that particular religion. He is a beast who commits crime without giving damn to the land of the law or an...