Blog: 'Source' Isn't A Dirty Word, It's How They're Handled
Sunetra Choudhury | Wednesday March 06, 2019If we didn't have unnamed sources, would we have discovered scandals like Watergate, and the Adarsh and Coalgate scams closer home? I learnt my lesson early on in my career and then built more reliable sources in CBI and other parts of the government that I reported on. Question is, will everyone else?
Blog: In 5-Hour Roadshow, Priyanka Was Silent - Not A Bad Move
Sunetra Choudhury | Tuesday February 12, 2019And so no one in the Congress is quite sure what to make of Priyanka Gandhi's silence during her much-hyped launch in Uttar Pradesh politics. Just like her Twitter account which stayed tweet-less although verified right from the start and gaining 116,000 followers in its first 24 hours, Ms Vadra wasn't heard at all through the UP roadshow on Monday.
Blog: Uri's 5 Big Political Highlights Including Superhero Ajit Doval
Sunetra Choudhury | Friday January 18, 2019When top ministers of the land use national platforms to promote a movie, well, it becomes part of my beat. In the last week or so, "Uri", starring Bollywood heartthrob Vicky Kaushal has become a chant for cabinet members.
Blog: How The CBI Big Fight Started: The Inside Story
Sunetra Choudhury | Friday October 26, 20182018 could be the year of the Supreme Court clean-up. It banished antiquated laws that criminalised homosexuality and adultery, but to really seal its position this year, our top court has a really dirty job in its yard - the mess that is the CBI or Central Bureau of Investigation.
Blog: There Was Another First For Rahul Gandhi, Besides The Hug
Sunetra Choudhury | Friday July 20, 2018For the first time, he looked comfortable in his skin as a politician. They kept booing him, they kept criticising him, and shouting him down, but the "reluctant" politician was on a roll.
Blog: Hi Ministers, My Response To Your #FitnessChallenge
Sunetra Choudhury | Thursday May 24, 2018As my timeline explodes with the adrenaline from all the weights that are being lifted and push-ups being thrust by the bold and the beautiful, I think back to the time when the first International Yoga Day was marked in 2015. At that time, I'd reported on all the government excitement and build-up; afterwards, I was in Istanbul for a break when I turned the corner in...
Blog: No, Minister, You Don't Get To Call Me Fat
Sunetra Choudhury | Friday April 20, 2018You know that story this week where the Tamil Nadu governor Banwari Lal Purohit touched a reporter's cheek and was then publicly shamed for it till he apologised? I can't get that out of my head because it's the first instance of its kind where journalists got together and demanded an apology in a public letter.
Blog: From Indira To Rajiv, 10 Defining Moments Of Election Seasons
Sunetra Choudhury | Sunday April 01, 2018Whether it's this one or the late night drama and tug-of-war between the two A's- Amit Shah and Ahmed Patel - or the victory due to faulty pens in the Haryana elections, there's always a hook if you look for it in the polling ring.
Blog: Here's Winking At You, Priya Varrier, More Power to Your Swag
Sunetra Choudhury | Wednesday February 21, 2018Thanks to the good fight led by young actor Priya Varrier and the filmmakers, I also learnt that the winking song actually has some very religions connotations.
Blog: I Covered The Gujarat Election. My Top 10 Takeaways
Sunetra Choudhury | Monday December 18, 2017Modi magic, Amit Shah grit, and other takeaways from Gujarat
Blog: Has Gujarat Really Transformed RG? Here Are A Few Clues
Sunetra Choudhury | Wednesday December 13, 2017It isn't just Rahul's evolution that we are looking at, it is also RG's new-found brothers-in-arms- Hardik, Jignesh and Alpesh.
Blog: Ex-Principal Thampu Reveals 5 Big Scandals About St. Stephen's
Sunetra Choudhury | Tuesday November 07, 2017From increasing the quota for Christian students to being a stickler for attendance even if it meant holding back a cricketing hero, Valson Thampu commissioned many controversies.
Blog: I Covered Aarushi Case For Years. So Who Killed Her?
Sunetra Choudhury | Saturday October 14, 2017There's one aspect of reporting on the CBI which haunts me forever. It was around the time that the CBI had just taken over the Aarushi case and they were doing their strange and totally unscientific test to check if having the air conditioning on in the Talwars' room meant that the parents could hear what had happened within her room.
Blog: Fab Things I Learnt From The Privacy Judgement
Sunetra Choudhury | Saturday August 26, 2017Over the next few days you are going to hear a lot about the landmark privacy judgement delivered by nine top judges of the Supreme Court. There will be analysis and even more analysis by lawyers, ex-judges, and egg-heads about why this 500-odd page document is pathbreaking or where it falls short. I'm certainly not even half qualified as any one of them. However, as ...
Blog: The Difficulty Of Covering PM Modi At G-20
Sunetra Choudhury | Monday July 10, 2017Apparently, right where we were at the G20 centre, PM Modi shook hands, got waved at and then held forth on some enthralling subject while POTUS Donald Trump just listened. Apparently, it was very interesting because not just POTUS, but other leaders gathered to listen to him too. If you're wondering why I say "apparently", it's because five other reporters and me who...