What they dont teach you in Journalism Schools ~ Sameer C Mohindru

 One of our own member have brought out this amazing book. Those interested in knowing how earth shaking news are reported by  journalists, this book is for you.

Three interesting facts, this book covers wide range of subjects on domestic and international events, science, environment,  sports, legal, politics and finance our Prime Ministers, Journalism in general and The technology behind journalism.

The book has writings of various journalists.  Walter Alfred contributes two anthologies to this at the agebof 102 and Srinivasa Sethuram who was writing until he breathed his last in 2023 has his contribution to this book.

The font, structure, volume and lay out is reader friendly with 550 + pages, this book would be a treasure trove for book lovers.

Jinnah & Dina

 The Daughter Who Refused to Follow the Divide

The founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, is often remembered as the central figure behind the Partition of the Indian subcontinent. Yet, few remember his only daughter, Dina Wadia, who passed away quietly in New York on November 2, 2017, at the age of 98.

In many ways, her life echoed a familiar story of love and defiance. Much like Indira Gandhi, she chose her partner against her father’s wishes. In 1938, she married Neville Wadia, a Parsi industrialist, despite Jinnah’s strong disapproval. That decision created a deep personal rift, one that was never fully repaired.

Jinnah himself came from a Gujarati-speaking trading family of Kathiawar, with roots often associated with the Khoja community. Though his family had embraced Islam, he remained personally secular, shaped by law, politics, and pragmatism. Over time, he emerged as the most prominent political voice advocating for Muslim political identity in British India, ultimately leading to the creation of Pakistan during the Partition of India.

History, however, is rarely without irony.

While Jinnah mobilized religious identity in politics, his opposition to his daughter’s marriage reflected a more personal and social conflict than a purely theological one. For Dina, the choice was clear, she chose autonomy over obedience.

Contrary to popular belief, she did visit Pakistan on a few occasions, including during the time of her father’s death in 1948. Yet, her life remained largely rooted in India, particularly in Mumbai, before she later spent her final years in New York.

She lived at a quiet distance from the nation her father created, and from the politics that defined him belonging, in a way, to both sides, yet fully to neither.

Her story is not just a historical footnote. It is a reminder of the deeply human tensions behind political legacies of love, distance, identity, and choice.

We remember Muhammad Ali Jinnah the statesman. Perhaps it is also worth remembering Dina Wadia, the daughter who chose her own path, even when history itself seemed to pull her in another direction.

Trump Vs. Pope Leo XIV

 BREAKING: Trump attacks Pope Leo XIV — and gets a FIERY sermon in response that he won’t forget

Donald Trump thought he could score cheap political points by calling Pope Leo XIV an “insult to Jesus” because the Holy Father is “beyond woke” and believes that God does not discriminate on the basis of gender. Unfortunately for "Dementia Don," he picked the wrong person. Standing in a historic venue, Pope Leo XIV didn’t just clap back — he delivered a moral reckoning.

“The president of the United States just said that I insulted Jesus,” Pope Leo XIV began. “You want to know what insults Jesus? Kicking the sick off their health care while cutting taxes for billionaires.”

And that was only just the start.

“You know what insults Jesus?” he continued. “Deporting the stranger and separating babies from their mothers.”

Then he went even further — taking aim at war, corruption, and hypocrisy.

“You know what insults Jesus? Bombing innocent school children in Iran and sending our brave men and women off to die in another forever war… Covering up the Epstein files and then refusing to prosecute a single person in them.”

This wasn’t politics as usual. This was a full-on moral indictment. Pope Leo XIV — who has been attacked by Trump for supporting transgender individuals and saying “trans children are God’s children” — flipped the script entirely. Instead of backing down, he grounded his message in the very teachings Trump tried to weaponize.

“I am not a perfect Christian,” he said. “There’s only been one perfect Christian and he was crucified on a cross 2,000 years ago.”

And then came the line that hit hardest: “Jesus told us to love our neighbors as ourselves… Can we imagine war in heaven? Can we imagine bigotry in heaven? Can we imagine poverty in heaven? Then why do we tolerate these things on earth?”

That’s how you respond. Not with insults. Not with fear. But with clarity — and conviction. Trump tried to smear him. Instead, Pope Leo XIV delivered a sermon that’s now echoing far beyond that room.

Dr..Prannoy Roy

 

Dr. Prannoy Roy graceful as ever. He doesn’t need the money. At 76, the doyen of Indian news media, Prannoy Roy, is still driven by something rarer…pure passion for the craft.

What does it really mean to stay committed to your craft… when everything around you is designed to break you?

There is something deeply inspiring about watching Prannoy Roy today. A man who helped shape modern Indian television news, who co founded NDTV, who brought credibility, data driven election analysis, and intellectual depth into our living rooms, now travelling across Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, recording interviews on his own mobile phone for his digital channel Dekoder.

No studio lights. No prime time debates. No corporate backing.

Just a man, a phone, and an undying commitment to journalism.

If passion ever needed a face, it would look like Prannoy Roy.

But his legacy is not just what he built. It is also, who he built.

NDTV, at its peak, was not just a news channel. It was a school. A culture. A standard. He mentored a generation of journalists and introduced them to a simple but powerful idea, journalism without fear or favour. Many carried that torch forward. Some did not. But the ecosystem he created shaped Indian media in ways we often forget.

And let us be honest, Prannoy Roy did not lose NDTV. India lost Prannoy Roy’s NDTV.

At a time when narratives were convenient and pressures were real, he and his organisation faced investigations, raids, and relentless scrutiny. Yet, through all of it, there was one thing they did not do.

They did not bend.

Not once did they turn into cheerleaders for power. Not once did they barter credibility for comfort. Not once did they dilute their editorial spine to survive.

That is not just journalism. That is character.

… And maybe that is exactly what journalism still needs.

Bhagavathi Attai...

 Bhagavathi Attai...am Sorry, please 🙏 forgive me. Thank you. I love you. 

Your repeated signs were a lesson.

Grief, Guilt and Gross negligence in the delay in meeting you has no excuses.

You will be fondly remembered.  

What is destined to be, will be. What is not destined to be will never be.

Will remember you say where ever you had been to, Bahrain,  Mumbai, Canada you were meant to be in Kitchen.

On my birthday,  I had the desire to you, so also on Easter. Sunday I felt like you telling me, I have given you two opportunities,  will not give you any more.

Don't keep waiting. Just do.