Prime Time
Kashmir made only an honorable appearance on TV news channels Monday as Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman took to the skies in a MIG-21 alongside the Indian Air Force (IAF) chief and the focus shifted towards Pakistan. Sikh “fury” against discrimination (India Today) and the reduction in the number of minorities, including Hindus, across the border (News X) received more traction during the day.
At prime time, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s statement that his country will not make the first move to use nuclear weapons saw heated debates (Republic TV), whereas India Today looked at the final NRC list.
NDTV 24×7 interviewed Srinagar mayor Junaid Mattu who said the situation in the valley “was not normal” although he could not “validate” specific claims of violence.
Ayodhya and the lynching case of Pehlu Khan also came up for debate.
CNN News 18: Anchor Bhupendra Chaubey asked if the investigation into the Pehlu Khan case had been “fixed” as the mobile phone which filmed Khan’s lynching was not submitted as evidence.
Former IPS officer Yashovardhan Azad said, “It is not just a botched investigation — it is actually a subversion of the criminal justice system by one of the strongest pillars.”
“After two and a half months of filing the chargesheet, police actually submitted the FSL report of the mobile phone but still the mobile phone was not submitted to the court,” said lawyer Akhil Chaudhary.
“The larger problem is that the police should be completely distanced from the political party which is in power,” said former additional solicitor general Vikas Singh.
Times Now: Chairman of Uttar Pradesh Central Sunni Waqf Board Zafar Ahmad Farooqui “admitted” the existence of a temple in Ayodhya in a sting operation by Times Now. Anchor Navika Kumar read meaning into this: “Are the Muslims deliberately stalling the Ram Mandir?”
“Sunni Waqf Board’s chief is not an Islamic scholar — none of what he said will affect the proceedings inside the court,” said Dr T.A. Rehmani, president, Muslim Political Council of India, referring to the Supreme Court hearing on Ayodhya.
Mohammad Sajid Rashidi, Islamic scholar?, was annoyed by the debate: “When the case is ongoing in court, why will we decide where to build the mandir, on TV?
Ratan Sharda, author said, “The stand taken by Muslim leaders is political and not ethical. In their heart they know that there was a mandir before there was a masjid.”
India TV: On “Kurukshetra”, Sushant Sinha hailed Varthaman’s sortie with the IAF chief.
BJP’s Gaurav Bhatia was proud, boastful and a little alarming: “Our chest swelled with pride when we saw the visuals of the sortie today. When Rafale will be delivered and Abhinandan will fly it — that will be the day when the tricolor will be hoisted in Lahore.”
Defence expert Major General Bishamber Dayal (Retd) said the sortie had several messages: it was a morale booster for the forces and a warning to Pakistan that, “we will not tolerate anything”.
Kashmiri activist Waqar Bhatti was less impressed: “This should not have been publicised. All parties are merely politicising on the name of Abhinandan.”
Front Page
The Times of India, The Indian Express and Hindustan Times agree on their choice of lead Tuesday — Kulbhushan Jadhav’s meeting with India’s acting high commissioner after Islamabad offered him consular access. The Supreme Court granting partial relief to former Union minister P. Chidambaram is the other big news development.
Meanwhile, The Hindu enjoys a day off on account of Ganesh Chaturthi.
Kulbhushan Jadhav: Newspapers emphasise the “extreme pressure” faced by Jadhav: Express headlines “Jadhav under pressure to back Pak narrative: India after first meeting”; HT writes, “Jadhav under extreme pressure to toe Pak line”; TOI is provocative as usual, “Pak officials by side, Jadhav mouths Islamabad’s claims”.
In the “first instance of consular access granted” to Jadhav in three years, “India’s Acting High Commissioner in Islamabad Gaurav Ahluwalia met detained Indian national in the presence of Pakistani officials”, writes Express. Pakistan’s foreign ministry “said the meeting was recorded, but there was no restriction on the language of communication between Jadhav and Ahluwalia”, reports Express.
TOI , alone explains the nature of the “extreme pressure” — Jadhav “repeated a tutored narrative under extreme stress” intended to “support Pakistan’s claim that he was allegedly plotting terror attacks”.
Kashmir: Almost a month after the lockdown in the Valley, newspapers shift their focus to softer stories underlining the impact on daily lives of Kashmiris. Express’s headline says, “Investor summit on cards, Valley business leaders in detention”. The daily notes that “it’s not just politicians, at least eight business leaders from the Kashmir Valley have been placed under detention by the J&K administration”. It adds, “ironically”, their detention “comes when the administration is preparing to host a Global Investment Summit in the state”.
TOI’s story on Kashmir features the vegetable market: “Forced to shut by day, Srinagar’s veggie market buzzes at night”. It writes in a colorful narrative: “in the dead of the night, when the world sleeps, the Valley’s largest vegetable wholesale market wakes up to the hurly-burly of the business hours it is denied at daytime”. It calls the Batamaloo subzi mandi a “pretence of normalcy that has been played out” every night “endorsed by terrorist groups” and “undisturbed by security forces”.
Alongside reports on Jadhav, Express and HT feature photographs of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who flew a MiG-21 trainer in Pathankot with the Air Force chief.
Chandrayaan-2 and others: TOI and Express also feature the the lander module of Chandrayaan-2 “which has detached itself from the main spacecraft and started orbiting the moon independently, preparing itself for the descent to the lunar surface” (Express). Its ‘Explained’ says, “the separation of the lander module starts the most critical phase. While making the final descent, the speed of the lander will have to be brought down from a few thousand kilometres per hour”.
This news finds no mention in HT.
P Chidambaram: “Granting partial relief” to “arrested Congress leader” and former Union Minister P. Chidambaram, the Supreme Court “directed the trial court, which has been hearing the INX Media case against him to extend his CBI custody for three more days in case it rejects his plea for bail”, says Express.
Express and TOI also cover news of the UP Police which “registered a case of criminal conspiracy against Mirzapur-based journalist Pawan Jaiswal”, reports TOI. It says this happened eight days after “a video filmed by him showing students at a state-run school having roti with salt as their midday meal went viral on social media platforms”. Again, HT does not feature this story either.
Opinion
Express: In “Undue Process”, mocks the administration of Jawaharlal Nehru University for historian Romila Thapar’s CV in an exercise to reevaluate if she is competent to retain the honour of professor emerita. JNU claims it is following due process as per a 2018 ordinance, but Express views the move as a “stunted understanding of academics”. The newspaper defends Thapar as a professor “emeritus”, which denotes the conferment of an honour for past achievements. Thapar, who has been “vocally critical” of the university, maintains that the exercise won’t affect her standing. Rather, it brings more dishonour on the institution, writes Express.
TOI: In “Manmohan Speaks”, TOI refers to former prime minister Manmohan Singh’s remarks that India’s economic growth is a “jobless” one at the moment due to mismanagement and ill-advised monetary schemes like demonetisation. A “demographic nightmare” looms over India’s job market, writes TOI. As per the Period Labour Force Survey, the working age population is declining and there is a need for an environment where “quality jobs” are created. TOI suggests making India more globally competitive, fixing the financial sector and approaching growth bottlenecks more holistically would ease the crisis instead of a “Band- Aid approach to sectoral issues”.