Rally For Rivers - Issues Raised - 3

I think the only genuine concern some people had raised regarding Rally For Rivers, if you can even call it a concern, is about the choice of vehicle for Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev's drive.

It is a Mercedes-AMG G63 SUV.

Here again, there was a dichotomy in the type of concerns coming out. 

(1) Some people were popping their eye-balls out at the cost of the vehicle. These people were raising noise about how Isha Foundation is splurging money unnecessarily on this vehicle and is showing off its money clout. Most of these concerns seemed to be jealous but when someone first hears that it costs over 2 Crore Indian Rupees to buy, it does seem to be shocking.

(2) The fuel efficiency of the vehicle was quoted by some 'popular' car magazines and online news channels, apart from the usual bunch of detractors of Isha Foundation (as I have come to call them over time) to be too less. Some even mocked the whole effort just on the basis that this vehicle has a low mileage per gallon of Petrol. 

Now that we have the facts in hand, let me attempt to address both the concerns.

(Concern #1) Isha splurged money buying this G63 SUV

The basic fact is that Isha 'did not buy' the G63 SUV for this rally. It has been 'loaned' by Sundaram motors for only the period of this Rally to Isha Foundation.

Refer this letter given by Sundaram Motors to Isha Foundation officially:

https://twitter.com/ishafoundation/status/905716831792410624

Now that we have got over the fact that no money is wasted on the vehicle, the question remains if it is justified of Isha Foundation to use this vehicle for the rally.

I am asking 'why not'? Isha Foundation is a non-profit organization and cannot use funds received for social projects through volunteers for its whims and fancies. When an organization like Sundaram Motors is making such an extraordinary contribution to showcase their support to the 'Rally For Rivers' cause, it would be silly in my opinion to reject that offer.

I will address the concern regarding fuel efficiency of G63 in my next blog .. 

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Did Isha really cause problems for Noyyal river or Villagers?

I have earlier covered in one of my articles about this .. but I saw a silly article today on Vikatan magazine making a ridiculous allegation:

http://www.vikatan.com/news/india/101411-rally-for-rivers-by-isha-and-the-story-of-ikkarai-boluvampatti.html

In my opinion, it is nothing but low-stooping-attack in the garb of journalism.

Man behind the mask - Kalayarasu:

(1) Kalayarasu has always been against Isha Foundation and has been defeated in multiple cases he filed against Isha earlier. So, it is easily understandable why he has posted another baseless allegation against Isha Foundation.

(2) For the first time, he has accepted that the Isha Foundation buildings are beside the forest lands in beginning of this post. Earlier, he used to spread false news that Isha foundation buildings 'were' in forest lands. This itself proves how he shuffles around facts and his credibility.

(3) Kalayarasu does not produce any proofs but just makes baseless claims. For example, his claim of Isha buildings being on 800 Acres is a lie thrown around casually! His earlier claims in Facebook were 400 acres which he has suddenly doubled. Anyway, just like the earlier claims, the new ones are also baseless!

(4) The case that this lawyer apparently claims to have put in HC has never really come from the people of Ikkarai Booluvampatti village. 

Facts regarding this baseless allegation:

(1) If indeed there was a problem to the Ikkarai Booluvampatti villagers, then they would not be welcoming Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev's rally for rivers like this. Look at these images. 

Whole of the village is actually celebrating the cause of Rally For Rivers, as if they are worshipping a deity! 

Strike 1 right there!

(2) Isha Foundation's buildings are not on agricultural lands. Even the lands acquired to build AdiYogi statue were earlier declassified as wet lands since no agriculture happened there for over 10 years. It has been comprehensively proved time and again, in the High Court as well.

Strike 2!

(3) It is a baseless claim that Isha Foundation closed the 'Raja Vaykaal'. There is no proof shown but just a baseless allegation stated as if it is a fact.

(4) First, let us understand how a river forms. High school science stream kids also know that hundreds of acres of forest & tree cover is required to create a single water stream. Several such water streams usually combine to form a tributary, many of which further combine to form a river. 

Just because one 'Vaaykal' is closed by someone (anyone for that matter), it does not make the river die. It is like saying I closed 1/1000th of one of my nostrils and died of asphyxiation! 😀 This is the basic science which the lawyer is obviously missing.

Strike 3!

(5) What many people do not know is that the natural flow of Noyyal is seasonal. It occurs only during the north-east monsoon months. Noyyal has been having lot of problems in the last 3-4 years because of irregular water supply. When rain water supply has been fine, the river water flow has been fine too. But now that rain water supply is not enough, it is going dry.

(6) Truth of matter is that less than 1% of Noyyal river basin is in forest area. Refer page 10 of this document: http://www.atree.org/sites/default/files/Wm_Noyyal_SA.pdf

Given all these facts, the argument that Isha Foundation is causing problems for Noyyal river water does not even make sense, let alone the other baseless allegations in that article.


Is Isha causing any problems to the Tribals?

I have earlier posted my observations along with video proofs here.

http://kazhugupaarvai.blogspot.in/2017/03/is-isha-exploiting-or-supporting-tribals.html

Bottom line, Isha Foundation and the tribals are happy bunch co-existing. It is these so-called activists paid by missionaries to cause trouble that keep spreading false information. Here are the videos taken while speaking to few tribal villagers.

They are saying that the Isha Foundation has been doing a world of good to them including teaching them yoga, giving free medical facilities, educational support, vocational training and livelihood support to many of the Tribals.

This itself clearly shows that the allegations are absolutely baseless and that Isha Foundation enjoys enormous support with local villagers.


Is there a crooked attempt to fudge facts?

I trust so! In the Vikatan article, the map image has following title "ஈஷா அரசின் ஒப்புதலுடன் ஆக்கிரமித்துள்ள விவசாய இடம்" which means "Lands OCCUPIED by Isha with Government consent".

However, if you really Zoom the map and see .. almost the whole area highlighted in Yellow is that of Karunya university!! 

Either there is a sleight of hand by Karunya in this whole episode or Vikatan magazine went ballistic in throwing granades against Isha, accidentally dropping some on its own foot!


References:

(1) https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DIzYiusVwAE43Lx.jpg

(2) https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DIzYeMbVwAEQ6KQ.jpg

(3) http://www.atree.org/sites/default/files/Wm_Noyyal_SA.pdf

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Rally For Rivers - Is 8000980009 BJP's number?

Let's quickly get this out of our way first - This number 8000980009 was used by BJP in 2014 for a specific campaign but no longer!

This number is being used by the 'Rally For Rivers' campaign team only - since 2017. 

People go to such absurdities to malign a good cause by spreading news like this and gullible masses fall for it! 

I would even say that people spreading such rumours are against restoration of rivers and are really criminals working against India itself.

Rally For Rivers endorsed by Congress party 

For everyone's information, the cause of Rally For Rivers has been endorsed by the INC President, Ms Sonia Gandhi openly:

https://twitter.com/INCIndia/status/902188087886757889

Now, shouldn't people think why the Congress party would support this cause if the number is still being used by BJP?

And this endorsement came 45 days after the campaign was launched and support shown by several other celebrities / political parties. They have had plenty of time to verify all this before such a public endorsement!

Who else had used this 8000980009 number?

80009-80009 number was used earlier in:

2012 - Gutka Mukti Abhiyan
2013 - Statue of Unity
2014 - BJP

From 2015 to 2017, the 8000980009 number was with Horlicks company. Check this link: http://www.somuchthingstotell.com/2016/05/the-horlicks-immunity4growth-indiblogger-meet/

Even Coca Cola had used this number in the past! 

Am I leaking my information out by missed call?

This question is as ridiculous as it could get!

Suppose I call you and you do not know me, all you have about me is the phone number. Can I trace back that number and find out who called? May be through TrueCaller app .. possibly. But imagine if 1000 people give you missed call. Would you care to do lookup all of them? May be, if I am determined hacker .. barely possibly. 

Now scale it up. Already several lakhs of people have given their missed calls to this number. What about the scale when 10,000,000 people do it or even better 100,000,000 people? 

Do you even think it is possible to do a reverse number lookup in that large scale? There is absolutely no way to do it! Please rest assured that such things do not happen. These are all unnecessary fears spread by vested interests working against this campaign.

Can I also get such a fancy number in India?

Sure! Anybody can have or get a fancy phone number in India. It just costs a few more rupees. A simple Google search on fancy numbers brings up this:

Now, after this campaign is over and you as an individual want to take the 8000980009 number, you could apply to the service provider and get it! 

I want to take the 8000980009 number

I would say it is a bad idea to do it immediately. Typically once a phone number is used for a campaign, it will not be used by individuals or even for another campaign for a few years because many people would then call that number still inquiring about the campaign, etc. 

If you still want to go ahead with it, please do!

Conclusion

People cannot and should not take their privacy easy. But at the same time they should not fall prey to such silly rumours. 

In this case, odds are that it is a sheer coincidence for 8000980009 number used in an earlier campaign by BJP to be used for the 'Rally For Rivers' campaign now. 

If it was used by a Congress party campaign earlier, the anti-campaign elements would simply have been in a different way. Such detractors have no other jobs than coming up non-existent ghosts like this ..

If you are still not convinced, you need this!

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Rally For Rivers - Who is Supporting - 1

This is a kind of continuation of my previous post on Rally For Rivers related issues being raised & what the truth is.

Let's see which other eminent environmentalists are supporting the Rally For Rivers initiative and providing inputs to come up with the draft recommendations:

(1) Waterman of India - Sri Rajendra Singh (https://www.facebook.com/watermanrajendrasingh/)

One of the foremost Independent authorities on Water Management in India, Rajendra Singh has openly published in a video that the Rally For Rivers is an excellent plan and that he  endorses it fully.

Dr Singh who won the Stockholm Water Prize, an award known as the Nobel Prize for water, in 2015, transformed Rajasthan villages with his water conservation efforts. His own posts also reflect his thoughts well:

http://www.indiawaterportal.org/articles/every-state-needs-river-rejuvenation-policy

Here is his endorsement picture for Rally For Rivers campaign.

(2) Dr K Ramasamy - Vice Chancellor of Tamilnadu Agricultural University

He hails from a farming community of Nilaiyoor, Aranthangi Taluk, Pudukottai district in Tamil Nadu. So, his roots in the agricultural sector have been pretty deep. He has a M.Sc. in Agricultural Microbiology and M.S. in Fermentation Technology. He joined TNAU in 1970 and has served over 36 years at the University.

Besides, he served as a Member in National Policy Planning of Agricultural Biotechnology, Ferti-irrigation and Biogas Development, serving as a Member of Backward Classes Commission, Member of Tamil Nadu State Planning Commission (Agriculture and Irrigation) from 2011 onwards. He is also a Board member of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).

(3) Bittu Sahgal - Environmentalist

Mr Bittu Sahgal is the Editor of Sanctuary Asia magazine since 1981 and an eminent environmentalist working to save Wilderness habitats.

He has authored numerous book on wildlife including, most recently: India Naturally, The Bandhavgarh Inheritance, The Sundarbans Inheritance, The Bharatpur Inheritance, The Kaziranga Inheritance, The Corbett Inheritance and The Periyar Inheritance. He has also produced over 30 conservation-related documentaries. 

His endorsement has been emphatic.

(4) Late Dr G Nammazhwar

Dr G Nammazhwar had been a pioneer in the field of organic farming, especially in South India. Sri Nammazhwar travelled widely across the world, observed the agricultural practices in various different ecological systems and based on his findings, trained several farmers and NGO workers. 

He has written several books and articles in the Tamil language. He had a wide readership across different sections of society. His works may soon be translated to the English language, making his writings easily accessible.

Here he is seen talking about his association with Isha Foundation & Trees. Though this is not his direct endorsement to the Rally, he in fact talks about some of those concepts in this video.

The above list is not comprehensive by any means since I have had limited time to research about people who have shown clear support to Rally For Rivers project and choose the prominent among them.

Some of the popular people, who are usually well-researched and are with social consciousness, have also supported the cause of Rally For Rivers. 

(1) Kirstin Bauer

She is an actress and also an environmentalist supporting wild life habitats. She has the favorite eco-celeb of 'Eco News Network' in 2012.

http://econewsnetwork.org/2012/08/eco-celeb-of-the-week-kristin-bauer-van-straten/

She has endorsed the RFR project clearly with her tweet:

(2) Actor Vivek and Actor Parthiban

I would consider them as very socially conscious people almost like environmentalists. 

Especially, Actor Vivek has been very actively involved in tree plantation activities in an inspiration drawn from Dr Abdul Kalam, over the last several years. An enormous segment of Tamilnadu Youth is following in his footsteps.

(3) Ed Begley Jr - American Actor and Environmentalist

Since 1970, he has been an environmentalist, beginning with his first electric vehicle, recycling, and becoming a vegan. Arguing that the suburban lawn is environmentally unsustainable, especially in Southern California, owing to water shortage, he has converted his own to a drought-tolerant garden composed of native California plants.

Here is his endorsement to this project:

More to come soon ... Mean while, just know that these people are not some ignorant folk to support a cause just like that. They are well read, researched and can think on their own about the positive and negative effects before endorsing something!

EDIT 1:

Here is a bigger list of who-is-who of India's environmentalists & river restoration scientists supporting the cause of 'Rally For Rivers'

(1) Anandi Iyer, Fraunhofer Gesellschaft

(2) P. V. S. Surya Kumar, National Bank For Agriculture And Rural Development

(3) Deepak Srivatsava, Indian Forest Service

(4) Shri Vishwanath Giriraj IAS

(5) Dr. Thambidurai, Amrita University

(6) Dr. Lakshmi Lingam, Tata Institute of Social Sciences

(7) Narendra Babu, Natural Resource Governance Consultant

(8) Dr. Sunesh Sharma, Himmotthan

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Rally For Rivers - Issues Raised - 2

I have answered some of the basic questions regarding the publicity surrounding Rally For Rivers in my earlier post (http://kazhugupaarvai.blogspot.in/2017/09/rally-for-rivers-issues-raised-1.html). This is the 2nd part of that series. Let me try to address some more issues raised against this rally.

(Concern #2) Plantation of trees as suggested by the RFR posters is not correct.

First of all, let's remind ourselves again that the Rally For Rivers will culminate with submitting a bunch of draft recommendations to the Central & State Governments. The Government will then need to come up with a policy to implement the recommendations.

The various steps will usually go like this for creating any government policy:

- Government receives draft recommendations
- Govt creates an agency to push this policy first
- A law has to be passed to establish the policy
- Draft will be open to people for commenting and providing feedback
- Once the feedback window is closed, final regulation will be drafted
- Policies/Procedures/Rules/Forms, etc. will be finalized

So, there is ample opportunity for everyone to provide their feedback when required. 

The environment ministry is supporting the overall cause. They have promised to move all through the policy-creation steps quickly.

Academics versus ... Academics!

I have not in my entire life of over 3 decades, seen any two academics agreeing with each other on what is the 'right' solution! 😀

I too had my own doubts initially about the afforestation recommendations leading to water body rejuvenation. But after doing further research, it was found to be valid. I have already given some of my inputs in an earlier blog article (http://kazhugupaarvai.blogspot.in/2017/08/what-is-rally-for-rivers.html).

Some explanations of how it works in simple terms here ...

Is planting trees the only solution? Definitely not, but it is proven to be one of the most effective solutions, not just in increasing ground water levels but also to reduce flooding. So, it is a multi-faceted solution. 

Agroforestry techniques are now being used in many countries to increase food production, check soil erosion and reduce flooding. Computational models show that if reforesting is done in 20-35% of the river’s catchment, a 10-15% reduction is seen in flood peak heights over time with forest growth.

It also helps bring some life-style changes and farming changes. Just take a look at how much water our commercial crops require versus horticultural farming.

And what one needs to remember clearly is that trees does not necessarily mean big trees. It includes a health mix of herbs, shrubs and trees as can be found in a typical tropical forest! 

Watch this video to understand the role of trees / plants in the water cycle (from a different NGO):

The Tamilnadu Agricultural University has signed a Memorandum Of Understanding to come up with plantation planning for this Rally. They are experts in providing recommendations considering the native species of the land before going ahead with the plantation. TNAU seems to be just one of the expert entities involved in this project. Several environmentalists have already shown solidarity to the cause as well as the basic idea suggested.

Nowhere in the RFR page is it said that only tree plantation is the solution. So, all those cribbing about it can rest for now!


How do we even know this works?

• This is not the first time someone is proposing such a solution. On a smaller scale, it has been implemented successfully in multiple states in the USA. Look up online regarding the River Revitalization Foundation and their work. You will be wondering why it is not being adapted all over the world!

• Such recommendations have been successfully implemented in Russia as well. 

• Our own State of Kerala has begun implementing this in a small scale, since 2014 itself to rejuvenate its rivers.

• The municipal authorities of Pickering in North Yorkshire have used tree planting to reduce flooding. This is in stark contrast to other areas where heavy rainfall caused devastating flooding. Their initiative is called “Slowing the Flow”. 

• In fact, the twelfth five year plan by Indian Government has a lot of emphasis on Watershed development. 

• The idea has already been successfully implemented to help rejuvenate a struggling village into a model one in Maharashtra!
  
  
  http://indiatogether.org/pawar-society
  
  

Do check out the other case studies mentioned in the references section!


References:

1. https://www.quora.com/How-is-a-new-government-policy-implemented
2. http://isha.sadhguru.org/rally-for-rivers/how-planting-trees-works/
3. http://www.alevelgeography.com/rejuventation/
4. http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/river-rejuvenation-policy-a-must-for-every-state/article19398034.ece
5. http://www.indiawaterportal.org/news/approach-restore-depleting-river-flow
6. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022169412008190
7. https://www.nature.com/articles/srep21930
8. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959378017300134
9. http://isha.sadhguru.org/rally-for-rivers/case-studies-initiatives/
10. http://wgbis.ces.iisc.ernet.in/energy/water/paper/Modelling-Hydrologic/Cauvery_GHTC.pdf
11. http://wgbis.ces.iisc.ernet.in/energy/water/paper/Hydrological-Responses/JBD-5-1,2-011-14-38-Ramachandra-T-V-Tx[2].pdf
12. http://serialsjournals.com/serialjournalmanager/pdf/1345722010.pdf

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Rally For Rivers - Issues Raised - 1

When people cannot fight the cause, they start Ad-Hominem attacks on the person initiating it. That is exactly what seems to be happening with 'Rally For Rivers' initiated by Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev from Isha Foundation.

I thought as an outsider and someone who takes pride in researching topics in-depth, why not attempt to address the issues one by one? So, here we are ..


(Concern #1) Why are movie stars required to endorse 'Rally For Rivers'?

First of all the premise is incorrect that only Film stars were roped in to endorse 'Rally For Rivers'. Many celebrities from all walks of life had been invited, most of the time personally by Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev. A few had not responded but majority did! 

Am only listing a few here from many walks of life..

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw - MD of Biocon and One of the most successful women entrepreneurs of all time in India - has about 1.25 Million followers on Twitter

Kajol, one of the most charming Bollywood actresses - has about 1.1 Million followers on Twitter

Rana Daggubati - A popular Tollywood actor has over 3.5 Million followers on Twitter

Virender Sehwag - Former Indian Cricket Team captain with over 12 Million followers on Twitter

Anand Mahindra - Executive Chariman of Mahindra Group and one of India's foremost entrepreneurs is one of the primary sponsors of the Rally - has a little over 5 Million followers on Twitter

Sonia Gandhi - Supported the cause of this Rally through their INC handle on Twitter with around 2.4 Million followers

Yogi Adiyanath - Chief Minister of UP, with around 1 Million followers

Now that the premise of the question is removed, the basic question still remains about why so many celebrities are required. The answer lies in the numbers I just quoted above.

Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev has in multiple TV interviews with popular channels has reiterated that the 'Rally For Rivers' is not a mere rally for publicity. And that it is to bring about a permanent policy binding both Central and State Governments to take concrete actions for rejuvenation of India's dying rivers.

Any such government action would yield results over a period of at least 5 to 10 years only since active afforestation & management thereof takes that much time! Trees don't grow to our whims and fancies unfortunately.

If a Government has to take some step with such a long-term commitment, they would need massive public support in numbers behind them. That, my dear friends, is the key!

Rally For Rivers requests for public support through a missed call to this number - 8000980009.

When such popular public figures endorse this cause openly on Twitter, there is a hope that at least 10% their followers might follow suit. Even that can happen only when the celebrities repeatedly post about it. So, this is about gathering as much public support as possible to force governments that refuse to take action towards our dying rivers. 

Isn't that a good thing!? I mean, come to think about when national parties like Congress and BJP have openly endorsed any single cause and joined hands to work towards the nation's well-being!?

As of the time of writing this blog, this is no more a campaign from Isha Foundation. Common Public has taken it up in their own hands and are standing by this in a big way.

'Rally For Rivers' has seen many firsts and will definitely be a trend-setter in other areas too. Will continue answering other questions in remaining parts of this series.

References:

https://twitter.com/kiranshaw
https://twitter.com/RanaDaggubati
https://twitter.com/KajolAtUN
https://twitter.com/virendersehwag
https://twitter.com/anandmahindra
https://twitter.com/myogiadityanath
https://twitter.com/INCIndia

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The Art of Lo(i)ving and Rally For Rivers

I was going through Quora and found an interesting question - "what is the difference between Art of Living and Isha Foundation?"

I too had been thinking about it. One person I know who has attended yoga programs by both Sri Sri Ravishankar and Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev is 'My dad'. He vouches for both of them in the same tone though!

Both organizations have been doing tremendous service on the spiritual plane as well as social sectors. I have already covered extensively on the social work done by Isha Foundation. For those who do not about AOL (Art of Living) doing social projects, they have been active on:

- Women empowerment
- Rural Health management
- Training unskilled youth
- Tree plantations
- River & Lake cleaning activities, etc.

Quite a bucketful of things but they have been successfully doing this involving millions of people. There was one thing that stood as odd-man-out in my research though!

That AOL seemed to be jealous of the visibility Isha Foundation was getting!

I had heard rumours about it earlier but dismissed them off since they were just that - rumours. And I had not seen any visible proof of that, till recently.

The recent incidents with launch of 'Rally For Rivers' by Isha Foundation and it going viral with national media, celebrities and public alike seems to have irked a feather or two in AOL. Two of AOL's most prominent teachers took to Twitter trying to bully Isha Foundation and were promptly thrashed by Twitterati.

A similar attempt earlier had met the same fate, but that did not deter 'Bawa' who teaches 'World Unity' from taking a dig again!

This is a clear sign of desperation from AOL!!

The fate of such posts on Facebook was no different ..

To their credit, Isha Foundation has not gotten back at AOL with neither any official response nor unofficial to such pokes & digs.

One of the main reasons why India was conquered by Muslim invaders and the British was lack of unity internally. Phenomenal empires have succumbed to external armies simply because of this factor.

We Indians conveniently forget our history too soon .. or have been trained to be so under our Left-masters. When are these lost lessons from history going to be ingrained?

The cause of 'Rally For Rivers' is a great one and is in fact something that AOL has been working on, at a low key probably. The fact that Isha Foundation has given amplification to this cause does not demean AOL's work in that area. Whoever gets the job done most will be naturally recognized by the public. If AOL truly stands by the cause, it is best they join hands with Isha Foundation to make it even bigger and ensure action for public welfare bringing in all their influence too.

The vultures (Christian Missionaries and Separatist forces) are just waiting outside the camp to see the Hindu forces fall so they can feast on their carcasses.  I hope AOL is listening and stop quibbing about such things. It makes them unpopular, unnecessarily in the online world and does not help the cause of Hindu culture.

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Secret sauce of TN Politics - Part 1

Given the current state of shambles the Tamilnadu politics is in, I was wondering about the secret sauce that will tilt public opinion towards one party or the other.

My research has led me to the conclusion that next elections in Tamilnadu will be decided by 'TV Media' influence!

Not surprisingly, I started looking into all possible information about the news Media in Tamilnadu and their political & religious orientations.

Here is Part 1 of the findings:

Captain TV News - Launched in 2010 & Owned by LK Sudhish, brother in law of Mr Vijayakanth of DMDK - Quite naturally supports DMDK and Vijayakanth

Captain TV - Launched in 2010 & Owned by LK Sudhish, brother in law of Mr Vijayakanth of DMDK - Quite naturally supports DMDK and Vijayakanth

Jaya Plus - Part of Jaya TV group and supports AIADMK party

Jaya Max - Part of Jaya TV group and supports AIADMK party

Jaya Movies - Part of Jaya TV group and supports AIADMK party

Jaya TV - Launched in 1999 and owned by Late Ms J Jayalalitha of AIADMK party. After her demise, the channel is confused as to who the owner is and swings wildly at times within AIADMK of course.

Pudhiya Thalaimurai - Launched in 2011 and owned by SRM group. Wikipedia says the channel instigates problems under 'Tamil' garb. Supports IJK party in Tamilnadu.

Pudhuyugam TV - Sister channel of Puthiya Thalamurai launched in 2013. Owned by SRM group.

Vendhar TV - Launched by SRM group in 2014.

Angel TV - Launched in 2005 and an out-and-out Christian religious channel.

Seithigal TV - Launched around 2010 & Owned by Mr M Karunanidhi. Quite naturally supportive of the DMK party of TamilNadu spreading 'Dravidian party' ideals. Religiously against anything Hindu.

Sri Sankara TV Tamil - Launched in 2008 and is a channel completely airing spiritual / Hindu religious programs. This is probably the only pro-Hindu channel now in Tamilnadu.

Thanthi TV News - Owned by Dina Thanthi magazine group and launched in 2012. It was earlier NDTV Hindu. A big conglomerate with initially separate political aspirations which then merged with DMK in 1967 and then moved to ADMK after the parties split.

SCV - Sumangali Cable Vision - cable distribution company owned by Sun TV.

Sirippoli TV - Part of the Kalaignar TV network which is also owned by the family of Mr K Karunanidhi. Supposedly a channel airing comedy .. Pro-DMK party.

Kalaignar TV  - Kalaignar TV network is also owned by the family of Mr K Karunanidhi. Oriented with DMK party in Tamilnadu.

Chithiram TV - Supposedly a Kids TV channel and part of the Kalaignar TV network which is also owned by the family of Mr K Karunanidhi. Pro-DMK party.

Isai Aruvi - Part of the Kalaignar TV network which is also owned by the family of Mr K Karunanidhi. Pro-DMK party.

Murasu - Part of Kalaignar TV network. Owned by family of Mr K Karunanidhi. Pro-DMK party.

Sun Music - Part of Sun Network. Owned by the family of Mr K Karunanidhi. Pro DMK party.

Sun TV - Part of Sun Network. Owned by the family of Mr K Karunanidhi. Pro DMK party.

Aditya TV - Part of Sun TV network in TN which is politically inclined with the DMK party. The Sun TV network was founded by Kalanidhi Maran in 1993 who is grand nephew of Mr K Karunanidhi. Supposedly a channel airing comedy ..

K TV - Part of Sun Network. Owned by the family of Mr K Karunanidhi. Pro DMK party.

Chutti TV - Kids channel. Part of Sun Network. Owned by the family of Mr K Karunanidhi. Pro DMK party.

Makkal TV - Launched in 2006 by MTTK. Owned by Pattali Makkal Katchi leader Ramadoss.

Raj News 24x7 - Part of Raj Television Network established in 1993. Aligned with BJP in 2004 but moved under DMK party patronage since 2007.

Raj Digital Plus - Part of Raj Television Network established in 1993. Aligned with BJP in 2004 but moved under DMK party patronage since 2007.

Raj Musix - Part of Raj Television Network established in 1993. Aligned with BJP in 2004 but moved under DMK party patronage since 2007.

Raj TV Tamil - Part of Raj Television Network established in 1993. Aligned with BJP in 2004 but moved under DMK party patronage since 2007.

TET HD Tamil - Part of Raj TV Network

Vijay TV - Part of STAR network since 2001, a subsidiary of 21st Century Fox which is owned by Rupert Murdoch who is very close with the Church. Still the channel tries to stay neutral but jumps on any news sensational.

News 7 - Promoted by VV Group and is very closely associated with the Church. Launched in 2014 to drive separatist movements in Tamilnadu.

Vannathirai TV - Launched in 2008 as part of the STARHub Cable in Singapore. Merged with SCV - has become Pro DMK after this merger.

DAN TV - Dish Asia Network launched from Sri Lanka.

DAN Music - Dish Asia Network launched from Sri Lanka.

DAN News - Dish Asia Network launched from Sri Lanka.

Holy Mary TV - Tamil Catholic TV Channel that is part of the DAN network.

Ohm TV - Tamil Spiritual channel

Pirai TV - First Islamic TV Channel from Sri Lanka. Produced by ASK Media Pvt Company Ltd. Earlier known as 'Serendib TV' till 2015.

Vasantham TV - TV channel broadcast from Sri Lanka since 2009. Owned by ITN group.

Vasanth TV - Launched by ex MLA Mr Vasanth in 2014. Pro Congress TV channel.

Polimer News - Part of Polimer TV

Polimer TV - Established by PV Kalyana Sundaram. Partnered with Sony. PVKS was formerly with DMK and resigned in 2014. Probably against DMK since PVKS was thrown out of DMK. But PVKS is a staunch loyalist to M K Stalin of DMK party.

Zee Tamil - Owned by Zee Enterprise and launched in 2004. Zee is part of ESSAI group owned by Subhash Chandra. He is a MP from Haryana in 2016. Oriented with BJP.

Mega TV - Owned by former Congress party minister K V Thangabalu. Supports Congress party.

[Will continue the analysis in part 2 of the series..]

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