Just A Little Newsense

Does the news make sense to our kids? A parent wonders, and worries

GroanUp
GroanUp
Aug 26, 2017 · 2 min read

Any resemblance to persons living or dead is probably coincidental but far from unintentional

What is a government’s duty to its citizens? The rioting in Punjab, Haryana and Delhi following a CBI court’s conviction of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, self-appointed spiritual leader of the Dera Sacha Sauda, in a 2002 rape case in which he is the prime accused, probably answers this question. But it makes it harder for us, as parents who don’t want to infect our children with our politics, to explain the news.

Where does one begin? Are Rape, Religion and Rioting the new 3Rs?

Better to tell them to go watch TV. No, wait, that won’t be of any help.

Go play outside. Or sharpen their shooting skills on the XBox (because it will come in handy in the future).

Anything but read the papers.

Because it can confuse a kid. Or maybe not.


Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Twitter silence on #RighttoPrivacy is deafening. After the Supreme Court’s verdict on August 24, which declared privacy a fundamental right, was hailed across Twitter, many of Modi’s ministers made weak noises of agreement, although most were trolled for it. Modi, however, who had just the previous day lauded the apex court’s judgement banning instant triple talaq, trended in silence.

As a Right Wing-despising citizen, I chuckle sardonically. As a parent, though, I am thrown. Without politically colouring my answer, how am I to explain the prime minister’s silence to my child, or any child? Where should I begin?

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