Madhavan Narayanan

@ShashiTharoor Pragmatism without principles is for those cannot afford to be vague..I thought you had a tremendous capacity to be nebulous. 😊.Am I missing something here?

My latest #TharoorThink column in the @IndianExpress explains why I have not joined the widespread liberal critique of the Indian government’s “moral failure” to condemn the US-Israeli attack on Iran. India has too much at stake to indulge in the morally gratifying grandstanding that could have placed vital national interests at risk. As the late Kofi Annan advised me, citing a Ghanaian proverb: “never hit a man on the head when you have your fingers between his teeth!”

Netflix released two documentaries on journalism late last year- Cover Up and The New Yorker at 100. The former is an account of the life and times of legendary journalist Seymour Hersh by Laura Poitras, who also made the terrific Oscar nominated All The Beauty And The Bloodshed. The latter is a celebration of The New Yorker magazine in its 100th year by Oscar winning filmmaker Marshall Curry. Both films make for excellent viewing and I highly recommend you see them if you haven’t yet. I have been thinking of them in the light of the news cycle because both in part document what it took for journalists back in the day to investigate war crimes by the USA. In particular about what it took for Seymour Hersh to uncover the horrific massacre in My Lai and Harold Ross’s imaginative decision to dedicate an entire issue of the New Yorker to John Hersey’s reportage of the devastation caused in Hiroshima. Cutting through thickets of propaganda and censorship to get to the heart of these stories before the age of internet and mobile devices was extremely arduous but the documentaries also bring to light the payoffs. Both articles had seismic impacts. Hersh’s piece cemented public opinion against the Vietnam war, leading to a groundswell in protests against it. Hersey’s piece had a profound impact not just on public opinion on atomic warfare but also on public policy. Even Einstein bought several copies and distributed them. One cannot help but register that this is in sharp contrast to the times we live in. Images of murdered children have flooded our timelines, first from Gaza then from Iran. We have witnessed online the funeral procession of over 100 young school children but we cannot quite seem to muster up a response commensurate with the horrors. There are, of course, lone brave voices and pockets of resistance but it is impossible to imagine real change coming out of journalism anymore. What has changed? Your guess is as good as mine. PS - Hiroshima is available to read online without subscription. Hiroshima newyorker.com/magazine/1946/…

It’s today! Be there to catch The Media Foundation Journalism Awards and the BG Verghese Memorial Lecture to be delivered by P Sainath on ‘Freedom of the Purse and the AI of the Affluent’ 6PM, CD Deshmukh Hall, IIC Delhi

@amol_kop I went by early media reports that did not mention what you say. I have since clarified.

@madversity Well.. this guy in question literally made fun of Indian Army and also posted anti India. So how’s that decisions of his country govt affecting him. People were offended by his mockery.. so pls do not preach on half baked facts ..

#SunilGavaskar doesn't get it. You cannot equate individual civilians with their countries or governments. #AbrarAhmad being hired for #TheHundred in UK by #IPL's Sunrisers is a private business decision. You cannot deny a Pakistani cricketer opportunity for what his government does anymore than you can stop watching a Hollywood movie because of what the Trump Administration does in Iran or Venezuela.

@VakilNikunj South Africa's national team was banned. Not individual players. Russia was unfairly treated by the West in 1980 and got it back in 1984.

@madversity Okay, so why aren’t Russian sportspersons being allowed to to participate in events in western countries? Why was South Africa’s cricket team not allowed to play during the apartheid?

@kumudha_sr Good idea. Very good idea @DrSJaishankar

@madversity Matthew van dyke can be used as a bargaining chip? for Nikhil Gupta !?

Looks like America's #MatthewVanDyke is a real-life #Dhurandhar

@mediacrooks Not all Indians are the same..not you and me ;-). Every individual has her own right. Everything is not about states and governments. Blocked anew.

This @madversity has been a dodo for such a long time.. I forget when he dodo'd.. Dhakkan.. Sentiments matter in deals.. Pak govt kills Hindus thru terrorism & wants Kashmir. Whatever else Trump has done, US doesnt kill Hindus or want their real estate.. x.com/madversity/sta…

It is kinda funny when Shruti Gupta Chandra introduces me to her friends as a senior journalist. She is a seasoned #painter and an accomplished #kathak dancer besides being a super mom of two sons but I call her the first editor I worked for -- when I was a columnist for Flair, the well-produced college tabloid at @SRCCOfficial which was her brainchild. Evidently she chose more elegant career options😉😉🙂. It was delightful attending her new #art show on at Triveni Kala Sangam. Over the decades her work has evolved from darker, chiselled human forms and lugubrious oil-on-canvas ouvres to the current brighter mixed media abstracts that have a 3D feel in addition to a sense of space that accompany a nuanced display of her incredible micro level skills. #arttwitter

@somnath1978 Sure. They are within their rights as Indians to disagree.

@madversity Whether to reward or made to suffer is the agency of the principal. In this case, an Indian company is the principal, and as Indians we are absolutely within our rights to demand collective punishment of Pakis. Just as Europe has done w/Russians en masse..

US action in Vz is no skin off our teeth. Pakis draw Indian blood, regularly. Abrar A may or may not be an islamist (most Paki cricketers are), but no reason for Indian $ to be spent on citizens of a virulent enemy cntry...

@Cumar Good question. The players were not banned. Only the national team was. Barry Richards and Mike Procter used to play in English county cricket

@madversity But by that yardstick was it wrong to ban South African players during the apartheid period?

@lucid_madhu So am I 🙂

@madversity Is he allowed to express an opinion?

@DcruzThomson Not okay. Details matter.

@madversity What if that Pakistan player is involved in humiliating an Indian Air Force officer? Then also it’s okay?

@A000Devils I oppose and support things on principles. Banning Sri Lankans or Afghans involve same general rules.

@madversity Nice joke Maddy . I am sure u shut shot when Sri Lankan players were banned or abused by Tamilnadu people and board to the extent that Sri Lankan players were not picked by IPL teams

@indira_hyd Most people are animals. They are tamed, not taught 🙂

@madversity Agree sir. But people also need grooming, right from the school days, not only in cleanliness but in civil behaviour. They should be taught not to raise a hand on anyone. That will stop wife-beating, rage-killings etc.

If there's one thing that needs a Rs 100,000 crore budget, it is the #SwachhBharat Abhiyan

@virsanghvi Delhi metro is even more 😊

That should be made a rule. Nobody should be allowed to walk into an aircraft wearing a backpack

@indira_hyd Budgets are not allotted. Plans are implemented. Do you see the difference?

@madversity Even if the budget is allotted, if the people have no civic sense, it will be the same old story.

@sayanroy If he did then not worth it

@madversity What if said player continously taunts Indians with war incident signalling. Do you get it???