Hardnews Magazine - June 2013

In this issue

Like the death of Badrish Dutt of the Delhi
Police Special Cell, and Geeta Sharma,
his partner, many of the dark stories will
remain buried. But the fact remains,
when it comes to the obscenely lucrative
IPL , the cupboard is bursting with shady
skeletons. And, fixers,Money to Liv e
The proponents of a basic minimum
income — rather than a wage — think
that its time may have come, now that
technological progress means paid
work is available to fewer people. Get
over the initial absurdity of the idea, and
it makes a novel sense,face to face
Interview: Union Cabinet Minister for Tribal Affairs &
Panchayati Raj Kishore Chand Deo,bjp
Following the massive drubbing in Karnataka, the
gloves are clearly off for yet another round of infighting
in the principal opposition party,KarnaTaKa
Once a cattle-grazer on the margins, untrained in
the Congress culture of sycophancy, the new chief
minister of Karnataka has unleashed new dynamics of
power and grassroots politics,follow-up: cheat fund
Not only ordinary investors, scores of journalists
were brazenly cheated by millionaire chit fund
swindlers closely linked to Mamata Banerjee’s
ruling apparatus,food
Eating relatives in non-human forms sets into motion
serious thinking about the absence of choice that
characterizes the life of an animal,Problems
stem from the
projection of
Angie as a
female messiah
who gave up
her only breasts
for the sake of
womankind. This
is a cross whose
burden she must
not carry,follow-up: cheat fund
Not only ordinary investors, scores of journalists
were brazenly cheated by millionaire chit fund
swindlers closely linked to Mamata Banerjee’s
ruling apparatus.

Hardnews Magazine Description:

Eight years ago, Hardnews was conceived as a reaction to the dumbing down that was taking place in the mainstream media. Newspapers, magazines and television were celebrating trivia and giving precedence to lifestyle and fluff. It was (and continues to be) a phase of terrible political and social decline, with stunning mediocrity and celebrity success replacing aesthetic refinements, deeper intellectual pursuits and cultural high points. The big picture had become shallow and metro-centric. Hence the urge and need for hard news.

Hardnews had no pretensions to compete with what was called the “jute press” of the yore or the new money that is showing up in scores of TV channels or media outlets, since it does not have the funds to match their reach. Unmindful of its obvious limitations, it has, however, tried to give expression to old-fashioned public-spirited journalism that is angry, adversarial and irreverent. Search of truth is the lodestar for us, even if at times it is seen as unpopular and controversial.

Hardnews believes that tough, unsparing oversight of the government and other political and economic power centres is critical for the deepening of democracy. It believes fervently in giving ‘mainstream’ space and voice to those people who are shouted down, who constitute the silent scaffolding of the pluralist, secular Indian ethos at the vast margins.

Hardnews is entirely owned and run by media professionals and has no support of a corporate house or a political party. Central to its existence is the search to find ways and means to sustain an independent media in these difficult times.

Hardnews magazine and its new website are put together by media professionals who are conscious of smart design elements, responsible, original and quality writing. Many reckon it is one of the best-designed magazines in the country.

We have had a galaxy of eminent writers, including Indian, South Asian and western academics, policy-experts and seasoned journalists. In the coming days, we hope to network with a global network of veteran and new, old and young writers, journalists, thinkers, academics,artists and activists and others who are fighting injustice at different levels. It will explore new, in-depth intellectual limits, and push the threshold beyond the comfort zones of political, social and cultural conformity — stuff that no one wants to touch.

Hardnews is the South Asian partner of Le Monde Diplomatique, Paris and Newsline Magazine, Pakistan