churumuri Profile picture
Jul 10, 2022 8 tweets 7 min read Read on X
“When nation is being divided, between Hindus and Muslims by forces of political opportunism, and our unity is being destroyed, a powerful voice is needed”

‘Anandabazar Patrika’ marks its 100th anniversary with a reality check from a real icon, Prof Amartya Sen. @MyAnandaBazar Image
2️⃣ Either because ABP did not want to, or because @PMOIndia did not bite, there is no @narendramodi at the centenary fete to bloviate on the role of free media in a democracy.

In craven media houses, Modi is default option despite his advertised contempt for it. @MyAnandaBazar ImageImage
3️⃣ ABP, as ‘Anandabazar Patrika’ is known, was first published as a 4-page eveninger on 12 March 1912 (cover price 2 paise).

It was named after Anandamoyee, the sister of Amritamoyee whose name adorned ‘Amrita Bazar Patrika’.

As it was Holi, the first issue of ABP had red ink. Image
4️⃣ Four generations of the Sarkar family have captained ‘Anandabazar Patrika’ since birth: Prafulla Sarkar, Asoke Sarkar, Aveek Sarkar, and Atideb Sarkar.

It was under the visionary Aveek Sarkar that #ABP broke out of its linguistic and geographical comfort zones. #AveekSarkar ImageImageImageImage
5️⃣ Under #AveekSarkar, ABP launched The Telegraph and Business Standard; Sunday and New Delhi; BusinessWorld and SportsWorld; Ravivar, Desh and Sananda; Penguin; @ABPNews—and the Sarkar Bengali font

#ABP spread its wings wider and better than any other Indian language group. Image
6️⃣ As the bastion of the Bengali ‘bhadralok’, ABP has contributed at least 3 vice-chancellors, and one High Court chief justice.

‘The Telegraph’ coverage of the centenary features the felicitation of Bulu Banduri, the security guard who saved lives during a major fire. Image
7️⃣ As the natural home of Bengali letters, ABP marked the death of Rabindranath Tagore and Satyajit Ray with stellar special issues without the clutter of advertisements.

For the 100th anniversary, it has brought out a book of 100 writers who made their name through its pages. ImageImage
8️⃣ “May your words be just to all, whether friend or foe. Raise high the throne that is the nation. But remember: truth is higher still. If you desire your Nation rise still higher, belittle not Humanity before Country”

—Rabindranath Tagore’s advice to ABP, in 1933. @SankarshanT Image

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More from @churumuri

Feb 27, 2023
90 years ago, today—27 February 1933—the German Parliament (Reichstag) was burnt down. Adolf Hitler had been appointed as Chancellor three months earlier; national elections were due in six days. The arson was blamed on communists, but it was an inside job by the Nazis.
A 24-year-old Dutch communist was held responsible and sentenced to death for the #ReichstagFire. But in reality Nazi storm troopers—guided by Joseph Goebbels—had used a tunnel connecting Parliament with the President’s residence to scatter gasoline and self-igniting chemicals.
Hitler’s dictatorship began the day after #ReichstagFire, He got the President to sign a decree for the “Protection of the People and the State”. It dispensed with constitutional protection of all political, personal, and property rights. Opposition was jailed. Media was stifled.
Read 4 tweets
Feb 3, 2023
Jo Johnson, the brother of former UK prime minister @BorisJohnson, has resigned from the board of Elara Capital—a London-based investment firm 99% of whose holdings are Adani stocks.

About time @JoJohnsonUK revealed more on how he ended up at a company linked to Ketan Parekh.
Boris Johnson visited Adani headquarters in April 2022.

Jo Johnson joined Elara in June 2022.

The timing could just be a coincidence. But what kind of background checks did Jo Johnson—a former India correspondent of ‘Financial Times—do before lending his name to the firm?
@FT reports that when Jo Johnson joined Elara last June, the firm intended to tap his expertise on investing in technology and education.

In his statement, Jo Johnson says he hoped to make a contribution to UK-India trade and investment ties.

OK, but…
Read 9 tweets
Aug 24, 2022
🪡 The “hostile” bid by Gautam Adani to take over #NDTV has resulted in shock, sadness, and schadenfreude.

But who offered the channel, the baby of @PrannoyRoyNDTV and his wife Radhika Roy—to Adani behind their backs?

Could it be Mukesh Ambani, who saved it 13 years ago?

Why?
2️⃣ The way @timesofindia puts it, @gautam_adani’s acquisition route was simple.

Adani bought the Roys’ stake in @ndtv by buying up Vishvapradhan Commercial Pvt Ltd (VCPL), from two shareholders: Nextwave Televentures and Eminent Networks, for Rs 114 crore.

This gave him 29%.
3️⃣ VCPL, Nextwave and Eminent share the same 4th floor address in Gurgaon.

The common director in all three companies with the same director identification number (00548276) is a Anil Kumar Jain.

Is he an Ambani man or a front? Jain sits on more than boards.
Read 10 tweets
Aug 23, 2022
“Vishvapradhan”

Does India’s “most gifted businessman” @gautam_adani have a sense of humour? He has acquired 99.5% of the 29% stake of @ndtv founders Prannoy and Radhika Roy through a subsidiary called “Vishvapradhan”. Hopefully not a portmanteau of Vishwaguru and Pradhan Sevak.
Adani Media Networks Ltd CEO @sanjaypugalia is quoted as saying “AMNL seeks to empower Indian citizens, consumers and those interested in India, with information and knowledge” by acquiring #NDTV.

As a media watcher who reads ‘Manufacturing Consent’ every night, do you think?
“This is a baseless rumour. Radhika and Prannoy Roy are not in discussions, nor have been, with any entity for a change in ownership or a divestment of their stake in NDTV”

@ndtv clarification to BSE. So, has Adani made the open offer after a deal with Mukesh Ambani?
Read 4 tweets
Jul 12, 2022
“Uber sought ‘strategic investors’ in foreign media to win government favour’

@JeffBezos-owned ‘Washington Post’ goes where ‘Indian Express’ understandably cannot in its reporting of #UberFiles—7, Lok Kalyan Marg—and the Times Group’s role as navigator.
washingtonpost.com/media/2022/07/…
2️⃣ When Uber was trying to “get Delhi back live” after the Dec 2014 rape ban, an Uber general manager in Asia wrote that “he planned to set up meetings for co-founder Trevor Kalanick “with prime minister @narendramodi and cabinet officials”. @washingtonpost @PMOIndia #UberFiles
3️⃣ Sivakumar Sundaram, the chairman of the executive committee of Bennett Coleman & Co Ltd, denies Times Group facilitated Uber “with any form of political access”.

But the @EconomicTimes editor’s email to Kalanick suggests much.

@washingtonpost @timesofindia #UberFiles
Read 5 tweets
Jul 12, 2022
Times Group actively courted Uber after it was banned; urged its founder Travis Kalanick to present his “insights [to] set the agenda for policy formulation” at ET summit, in Jan 2015. Two months later, Uber invested Rs 150 crore in @TimesInternet.

Read: tinyurl.com/yuvyxbup
“Let’s be sensitive to keeping a strong relationship with TOI… if there’s something we can do for them that makes sense, we should do it”

Travis Kalanick wrote to staff the same day he received Times Group overture. #UberFiles @IndianExpress @RTIExpress techcrunch.com/2015/03/22/ube…
5 Dec 2014: Delhi woman raped by driver in Uber car

18 Dec 2014: Uber chief Travis Kalanick is “guest editor” of TOI

31 Dec 2014: @EconomicTimes editor invites him to ET Summit

23 March 2015: @TimesInternet makes “strategic investment” in Uber

Read: tinyurl.com/mryuw4j8
Read 6 tweets

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