Sue the Messenger: How legal arm-twisting by corporates is shackling reportage and undermining democracy in India
About this ebook
Overlay this with the socio-political climate that has been prevailing in India since the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government was re-elected in 2009. Plagued by a number of scams and hamstrung by unbridled inflation, the UPA’s last days were marked by political turbulence. The anti-graft agitation of the India Against Corruption movement led to the formation of the Aam Aadmi Party, but the political capital of the public discontent against corruption was reaped by the Bharatiya Janata Party which, with its partners, went on to form the government in New Delhi in May 2014. The crackdown on dissent that was practised by the UPA in fits and starts, was institutionalised by the NDA.
Sue the Messenger is a collection of stories about stories—stories that run foul of corporate entities and conglomerates, which result in SLAPPs (strategic litigation against public participation). By their very nature, SLAPPs are meant to undermine democracy. This is the concern that journalists Subir Ghosh and Paranjoy Guha Thakurta through 'Sue the Messenger' wish to address.
About the author
Subir Ghosh is a Bengaluru-based independent journalist-researcher who writes about the environment, corruption, crony capitalism, conflict, wildlife and cinema. He started his career as a sales professional, before switching over to journalism in October 1991. His first job as a journalist was with the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency in Kolkata. He joined the Telegraph in January 1995, where he developed a keen interest in Northeast affairs and reported extensively from the region, besides being a prolific op-ed writer on the subject. He shifted base to New Delhi in mid-1998, and handled publications and communications for a number of organisations. Subir’s last stint in the mainstream media was with the Bengaluru edition of DNA newspaper.
His last non-fiction work was Sue the Messenger: How legal harassment by corporates is shackling reportage and undermining democracy in India, published in May 2016. Subir was the lead author of the book, and senior journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta its co-author. In 2014, they had collaborated on Gas Wars: Crony Capitalism and the Ambanis, with Paranjoy as lead author and Subir and Jyotirmoy Chaudhuri the co-authors. His collection of poems, On the Face of it: Chronicle of a Self-Imposed Exile was published in February 2017.
At present, Subir writes more about sustainable fashion and policy issues related to the textiles and apparel industry. Besides his writing interests, he works as a political and environmental risk analyst and editorial consultant.
He can be found on www.subirghosh.in.
