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The Newsroom Mafia
The Press in Independent India has come a long way from its idealistic/nationalistic beginnings. Now, it has become an active player in the quotidian not-so-clean politics and promotion of partisan interests. Pereira’s novel takes a look at the nexus among politicians, policemen, press and the underworld. Avid readers of newspapers would be able to recognise the real life institutions and characters featured in this narrative (Julio Ribeiro, Varadrajan Mudaliar etc), which looks too realistic to be a work of fiction with some of its portions resembling newspaper reports – not surprising, since Pereira is a journalist. The Valley of
Shadows
There was a time when Kashmir used to figure as an idyllic retreat in works of fiction and cinema in India. However, ever since trouble began in the paradise circa 1980s, the valley has become a backdrop for violent thrillers. Sapru’s novel, too, dwells upon Kashmir’s terrorist problem while giving an Indian soldier’s perspective, since Sapru himself is an ex-Indian Army officer. The interaction among this novel’s dramatis personae, viz., soldiers, terrorists and the locals happens at multiple levels.
When James Augustus Hickey produced The Bengal (not Bengali) Gazette, India’s first newspaper, in 1780, he had unwittingly let loose a powerful nationalist impulse multiplier. The British had expected the print media to promote their commercial interests in the subcontinent. But there was an unanticipated byproduct, viz., the rise of nationalist media. Newspapers, apart from chronicling the unfolding history, are extremely powerful tools in the hands of public opinion makers. The Bengal Gazette did not last even a year, but was followed by various other newspapers like The India Gazette, The Madras Courier, The Bombay Herald etc. Newspapers representing different shades of Indian public opinion cropped up. With the passage of time these became powerful allies of India’s Independence Movement. Soma Dutta’s well researched tome takes a look at the history of India’s English language newspapers and their contribution to the country’s freedom movement, even as it takes a look at various landmark events including the factors that had contributed to India’s Partition.
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