How would some of India's top columnists cover the Olympics? A hilarious sneak peek at Newslaundry that starts with:
P Sainath
In the last week of July 2012, four hundred farmers killed themselves in just three small villages of Vidarbha. No journalists recorded their story. No government minister visited their homes. No message of condolence came from the Prime Minister or the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission. For, that same week the Olympics had begun with 7000 Indian journalists in attendance. The Prime Minister sent his well-wishes, as did Montek. They were fed the finest foods at government expense, while those who grew that food suffered and died; their very existence denied by the multinationals who drove them into debt. The airfare for the contingent could have wiped out farmer debt in three districts of Maharashtra…
and goes on to cover the likes of Shekhar Gupta, Tavleen Singh, Arundhati Roy, Ramachandra Guha, Manu Joseph, Aakar Patel, Swapan Dasgupta et al. Read on at the Newslaundry
Anil Arora, Mr. Bookworm, R.I.P.
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