Open magazine ran an Independence Day special on “Radical Indians†this week. Particularly interesting is a dissection of the work of Arundhati Roy, the writer and activist, whom the magazine labels “the Queen of Exaggeration.â€
Disputing a claim by Ms. Roy that “tens of millions†of Indians have been displaced by developmental projects, the writer of the piece, Hartosh Singh Bal, argues:
This is the problem with her radicalism. The realistic figure of 8 million or so is large enough on its own to stand up to critical scrutiny, and makes a strong case against large developmental projects in India. Certainly the Narmada dam projects, as is clear today, were a colossal mistake. But through her exaggeration, she damages the very causes she takes up, alienating a number of people who would happily trade her rhetoric for the truth.
The piece, titled â €œArundhati Roy's Magic Journalism,†is not currently online. Mr. Bal does not indicate whether any attempt was made to speak to Ms. Roy. Pity. We would have loved to hear her side of the story.
Tehelka magazine profiles Sunny Leone in a story titled “The Friendly Neighbourhood Porn Star.†Ms. Leone, an adult film actress, director and producer in the United States, broke into the Indian mainstream as a participant in a popular reality television show last year and is now starring in a Bollywood movie, “Jism 2.â€
Pooja Bhatt, who directed “Jism 2,†makes no bones about the fact that she cast Leone to “grab maximum eyeballs.†Not straying too far from life, Leone plays a porn star named Izna, who is hired as a honey trap. “What is defining about Sunny is that she chose her profession,†says Bhatt, “there is no tragedy in her past. It is exactly what I wanted for the character, someone who strips for profit and is not hypocr itical about it. I have not put an item number in my film or objectified the actress like everyone does. All one sees is reality.â€
The story says that Ms. Leone's transition from adult films to Bollywood fare probably worked because of pornography's relatively low profile in India.
Perhaps her biggest advantage has been that pornography remains unacknowledged in our country. Her husband Weber says that, unlike in India, in the US and Canada most people would be able to name Leone's films. “This is the only place,†he admits, “where she could have gone mainstream.â€
Outlook magazine ran a cover story on the ongoing crisis in the northeastern state of Assam. Calling it “India's Biggest Human Tragedy,†the story notes that the recent violence there between Muslims and members of the Bodo tribe has left 400,000 homeless.
This is not the first time the two groups have clashed. A lot of the anim osity between Bodos, the original inhabitants, and Muslims, is traced to the former's real and perceived loss of land. Primarily agriculturists, Bodos leased out portions of their land to Muslim farm labour, but there have been reports of late of illegal, forceful occupation of land. It doesn't help either that there are no land ownership records.
