Dogistan

Hindustan has become Scamistan. The country has gone to the dogs. Even its awards go to power brokers

Barkha Dutt receives Padma Shri award

Everyone who is anyone seems to be on the racket.
Politicians venal and corrupt.
Police venal and corrupt.
Anti-corruption officers venal and corrupt.
Bureaucrats venal and corrupt.
And now, as we long suspected, journalists, well you know, venal and corrupt.



Looters and scamsters have made us Dogistan.

Think that is harsh.
I agree, it is harsh.
On the dogs, I mean.

Apropos which, Vidya Subrahmaniam has an article on the Radia affair in The Hindu that is worth catching-

With the Radia debate into its third week, it has become more than apparent that a new kind of journalism has completely rewritten the rules of engagement in the profession. For those working with television, the glamour and fame can be overpowering, with the high visibility translating into throbbing, pulsating fan clubs, enormous following on social media networks and celebrity status on the party circuit. For the likes of Ms Radia, the “celeb journo” is a sitting duck, a vulnerable target both for passing on and acquiring information. News gathered this way slowly and inevitably acquires a legitimacy that eventually allows all lines to be crossed. From this to concluding that news cannot be got any other way is a small step. The trappings of power work similarly for politicians and journalists. Cut off from the rude realities of the normal world, both begin to live in a bubble of their own making. But whereas the politician, used to voter mood swings, will quickly learn his lesson when the truth hits home, the journalist, not tutored in this art, will react in anger and shock and go into spasms of denial.

Do read it all, as they say.