By Ranjona Banerji
One of the biggest stories of the week was about how the National Stock Exchange, a prime market regulator, was “managed” by a “guru” in the Himalayas, because the CEO and MD Chitra Ramkrishna, was enthralled by him.
If that fact is not absurd enough, the story, details broken by redoubtable business and financial journalist Sucheta Dalal, co-owner and editor of MoneyLife.in, reveals what was really happening. Ramkrishna colluded with Anand Subramanian, a consultant she hired against all norms, and allowed him to run the NSE, sharing all manner of confidential information with him.
The Securities and Exchanges Board of India, our market watchdog, allowed this continue for years, asking the NSE to investigate itself. Ramkrishna resigned in December 2016. The details of the subsequent investigation have just been released by SEBI.
https://www.moneylife.in/article/nse-mismanagement-chitras-weird-himalayan-yogi-and-sebis-weak-order-push-indias-image-back-to-snake-charmers-and-holy-men/66406.html
Dalal’s investigation and analysis reveal that the NSE’s functioning continues to be irrational and it continues to be given a long rope by SEBI.
You know what I’m going to say, but even if I’m predictable, I’m not wrong. In any other time and place there would be massive media activity and public anger. After all, the media is full of glee every time the stockmarket goes berserk. It also links market activity with political greatness.
And yet, when we discover that one of our premium institutions has been not just mis-run but run by fraud and this fraud has been covered up by our prime regulatory body, reactions are limited to the pink papers, to financial publications and to the smaller money world.
Journalists in a normal world absolutely thrive on allegations of fraud, financial wrongdoing, sexual hanky-panky, lies, mismanagement. But when it comes to the last almost eight years, we are oh-so selective in our glee and anger.
There are after all, several election rallies, Narendra Modi’s wardrobe changes, and plenty of opportunities to increase hatred against Muslims. Why should the NSE supposedly being run by some Himalayan yogi matter, eh?
https://www.bloombergquint.com/business/chitra-ramkrishna-sebi-order-if-only-a-yogi-ran-the-nse
**
Increasing hatred against Muslims is a full-time occupation not just for the RSS-BJP but also for a number of media houses.
The assault on students wearing hijabs has continued, even as the sudden ban on head scarves is being argued in the Karnataka High Court. And now the town of Shivamogga is engulfed in sectarian tension, after violence broke out during the funeral procession of a young member of Bajrang Dal, Harsha, 28, a tailor, who was beaten up and died from his injuries.
The BJP immediately claimed Muslims were responsible and Shivamogga district minister KS Eshwarappa blamed Congress leader DK Shivakumar, while home minister Araga Jnanendra denied any link between Harsha and the hijab issue. The police arrested people with Muslim names, as one would expect, but also pointed to “old rivalries”.
Despite curbs on large gatherings, a huge mob of Bajrang Dal members accompanied Harsha’s funeral procession, stoning shops and setting fire to vehicles along the way. The police were forced to use teargas and lathicharges to disperse the crowds.
I repeat all these facts just to underline the patterns which we see around us over and over again.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/karnataka-violence-mars-activists-funeral-procession-curfew-in-shivamogga/articleshow/89737133.cms
The escalation of Hindu violence against Muslims is a direct result of the RSS-BJP’s own policies, nothing new there. But the almost total collusion of the Indian media remains a shock, even if we should be used to it by now. TV channels owned by India’s biggest business houses, and some with foreign collaborators like News 18 and CNN, apparently find it acceptable to pit one section of Indian society against another for political gain of the most nefarious sort.
Sadly, we are trapped in this cycle. As long as the BJP wants to keep the hijab issue alive, as one more way to crush Muslims, the Indian media will continue to play ball. Death and destruction are a small price for them to pay when journalists and media owners remain enamoured of the fascist ideal.
Ranjona Banerji is a senior journalist and commentator. She writes on MxMIndia on Tuesdays and Fridays. Her views here are personal