Join us for Editors' Roundtable on Oneindia as we delve into the latest on the Olympics, the complexities of 'Quota in Quota' reservations, and the volatile dynamics in the Middle East. Oneindia's panel of Editors offers deep insights and engaging discussions on these pivotal topics shaping today's world.
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00:00Hello and welcome to this brand new episode of Editors Roundtable.
00:04This is the place where the editors of One India come and talk to you, express their
00:09opinion and also bring you the lowdown of the whole week.
00:12What transpired through the week?
00:14What dominated the week?
00:16And what are the stories, what are the developments that are likely to dominate the proceedings
00:22next week?
00:23And as I said, next week, that means the second week of the all-important Olympic Games that
00:28is happening in France.
00:29Avinash Sharma is the editor of MyKale.
00:33Avinash, well, the Olympics opening ceremony, that was something that people thought it
00:40might be a flash in the pan, but with the controversy surrounding the Algerian boxer
00:45Khalif, a very recent one, it's making headlines for all the wrong reasons.
00:53Yeah, and I mean, initially, Pankaj, even I didn't give that much of attention to that
00:59news.
01:00I just saw it flashing and we carried a story and we thought that, OK, we are done with
01:06it.
01:07But a couple of hours later, who's who of social media, the likes of Elon Musk, JK Rowling
01:14of all people, started a very pertinent debate as to the gender parity and the gender test.
01:23Although it is not a surprise, it should not come as a surprise that to even to the Italian
01:29boxer that she knew beforehand against whom is she going to compete with?
01:35Because it was quite clear from the IOC side that these are the ties or the bouts that
01:42are going to happen in due course of time.
01:45And it was quite evident that the Algerian boxer is going to be pitted against her.
01:49And had there been concerns, she could have raised the issue before the match had even
01:54begun.
01:55She could have pulled out.
01:56But yes, coming into the ring and getting punched and withdrawing within 45, 46 odd
02:03seconds.
02:04Actually, I mean, I think it was a well-planned move from the Italian side as well, because
02:11in a way it gave them the an opportunity to showcase it to the wider audience.
02:19It just struck at the right time.
02:21The hammer was struck at the right point and the right time, all I can say, because IOC
02:28and IOC again came out a very lengthy clarification that they have done nothing wrong in bringing
02:35that athlete into the pool.
02:39And that's how the entire draw just pans out.
02:44So, yes, a lot is happening.
02:47But we have, as sports journalists have seen this, these things happening quite a lot.
02:53The testosterone levels are generally high in some very prominent athletes as well.
03:01If you talk about India, Dutee Chand has been at the forefront of it and she has had faced
03:06the bans.
03:09And Castor Semenya, let's not just forget about the legendary South African athlete.
03:13She has been one of the biggest proponents of gender parity.
03:18And what if she had slightly higher testosterone levels than the rest of the female athletes?
03:25That doesn't deny her all the rights of a female athlete that she has.
03:32And eventually the IOC had to just bow down to her plea and rule out in her favor.
03:40And then she went on competing at the highest level, even at the Olympics.
03:44So things like this definitely happen.
03:47And because it's a big stage like an Olympic, I think it has been gone out of proportion
03:52as well.
03:55And it just gave some people fodder to just latch onto it and get some coverage as well.
04:03So Avinash, correct me if I'm wrong, there are, there is obviously the International
04:08Olympics Committee, the IOC, and then you have other countries own Olympic committees
04:17that are there who obviously go through all the procedures and then send.
04:21What options is the IOC left with, or what options is the Olympics Committee, I mean,
04:26on general, the organizers are left with, when a situation like this happens, I mean,
04:30this is completely media circus going on out there, social media is also rambling on.
04:37How does one handle this situation?
04:39We'll have to wait and see whether or not IOC takes any special attention, gives any
04:45special attention to this particular case, because they've made their stance pretty clear
04:50that whatever grounds they had granted the said athlete the right to compete at the tournament,
04:57they will not deny her the right to compete or forfeit herself or withdraw from the tournament.
05:04She has already qualified for the next stages, she might compete in the next round as well.
05:09So that's pretty clear from IOC's side.
05:12Now it's up to the country's associations to take it to some other level, go to some
05:18other court, raise it there, create some more publicity and hype about it.
05:24But I doubt this IOC is going to play or give in to the social media barrage or demand that
05:33is happening.
05:34They must have known it from day one that if we are doing something like this, it might
05:42backfire or something like that might happen when athletes will compete in the ring.
05:49So I doubt IOC is going to pay much attention to this or whatever is happening.
05:55Absolutely.
05:56Social media czars, by the way, have responded to it, but not, I don't think if I've seen
06:01any sports person reacting.
06:03No, they won't.
06:04And they know because I mean, it's a very fine line as well.
06:09If you draw a line saying the testosterone levels have to be this much, then the likes
06:16of Kester Semenya, the Duty Churns or even others, they will also get offended.
06:22And what wrong have they done if there is a slightly higher testosterone level?
06:27The set athlete that we are talking about, it's being said, I mean, the way people are
06:33talking on social media, the social media czars that you just mentioned about, they've
06:37been telling her as male that a year back, a couple of years back, she was a male.
06:43I don't have any information whether she had gone through a gender or sex conversion or
06:51not.
06:52But we should just because she has a heightened level of testosterone, although if you look
06:58at her, generally, you get a sense that yes, she looks like, I mean, her overall appearance
07:06is looks slightly on the male side, but so have been several other athletes as well.
07:12If an athlete grows a moustache, are we going to label her as a male?
07:17Yes, you're right.
07:18I mean, I'm sure that all these checks and balances and rigorous tests are being done,
07:24and everything before the bout and also before just to stop, I saw one of the videos where
07:34it was a female athletes competition.
07:36I think it was a volleyball where one of the athletes, I think she was from late in America.
07:42She just lifted her, her teammate up above her head and to just catch the ball.
07:50And that shows the amount of strength an athlete, a female athlete has.
07:54So what difference does it make?
07:56I mean, she's in the same weight categories are defined, everything else is defined.
08:01And yes, the muscle strength of a body can differ from person to person as well.
08:09Checks and balances are always being placed.
08:11Also one of the biggest reasons for this, if it at all, it is a lapse on the IOC's end
08:18is that the International Boxing Federation, the IBA is suspended, the IOC does not recognize
08:26because it has some financial irregularities charges from the IOC side.
08:32A lot of the IBA members and the president and the entire governing body is being ruled
08:38by the Ukrainians, the Russians and the Belarusians.
08:43That is one of the reasons for it to get banned or suspended by the IOC as well.
08:52So it's not just a very simple thing that is happening.
08:57It's a very complicated thing and it has been going as long as the war between Ukraine and
09:05Russia started.
09:06Absolutely.
09:07I mean, I should say with us that there is something that is also growing up alongside
09:12the Olympics, the war of gender here, there is another war brewing in the Middle East
09:18and Nagin Singh, head of Foreign Content joins us.
09:22Nagin, we have heard and we have seen how Iran is preparing for a retaliatory attack
09:28on Israel given in the backdrop of Ismail Haniyeh's death.
09:33What are you picking up and where does this leave the rest of the world?
09:37Thank you for having me, Pankaj.
09:39Well, the latest as we speak, Ismail Haniyeh's last rites are being conducted in Doha and
09:48millions of people have joined in on the streets.
09:51And it talks about the kind of intensity that we are going to see from Iran.
09:56Yesterday, there was a procession that was, the procession was in Iran.
10:02And in that we didn't see even a single IRGC commando or commander or the top officials.
10:09So what we have been hearing from our sources is that there is going to be an attack that
10:15is going to be there on Israel.
10:17What happened in April, we do know when Operation True Promise was launched by Iran.
10:24This time, what is serious is that is Iran is still going to use their three-edged sword?
10:32Are they going to still use Houthis, Hamas and Hezbollah?
10:37Or are they directly going to attack?
10:40So this will be the biggest question that if they're going to attack directly, how much
10:44will be the impact?
10:45If it is something like the last time that they are attacking it for the sake of it,
10:51and there is no harm.
10:53Then again, of course, Israel will attack and it is going to continue.
10:57However, if Iran takes a bigger action, then things might change.
11:02And we are still waiting, I think, after the entire procession and the last rites are completed,
11:09the funerals are done, because we already know that Mohammad Daif, he has also been
11:14killed.
11:15Now we are getting a very latest update that the Al Qasem Brigade, which is the violent
11:19wing of the military wing of Hamas, and the commander who was taking care of all the equipment
11:27and arms and ammunitions, IDF is saying that they have killed him as well.
11:32So IDF is on an assassination spree at the moment.
11:37They have been killing top military commanders of Hezbollah as well, they attacked in Beirut.
11:44And even US started attacking in Baghdad, saying that these were defense measures.
11:50However, we do know that US forces are there, at least 2,000 to 3,000 US forces are there.
11:58Troops are there in Middle East.
12:00How they are being activated, we have to see.
12:02We do know that India has cancelled their flights for Israel.
12:08So there are no flights from Israel for now.
12:12And of course, all these cautions have been taken by different countries, all countries
12:17are saying that we have to be cautious about it.
12:20They have been telling their citizens to please leave Lebanon and Israel.
12:24And Iran's action is something that we are waiting for.
12:27It can be any moment, it can be tomorrow.
12:31And as we know that we have been speaking about one of the predictions that August 4th
12:36might be World War Three.
12:40However, what I believe that we are already in World War Three, it is just that the extent
12:46of it might increase.
12:48We know that more than 3 lakh people have already been killed in Russia-Ukraine war.
12:53In this war in Middle East, we have already lost more than 40,000 people, that too only
12:58in Gaza and Palestine.
13:00We know that we have many civilians who have died in Israel as well.
13:05Many IDF soldiers have died.
13:07But IDF never comes out with the report which tells the real number of IDF forces that have
13:17been killed.
13:19But the biggest fear that we have that if Iran takes a bigger action than just asking
13:28Hezbollah and Houthis and Hamas to fight the war, then there could be something much bigger
13:36than what we are seeing.
13:37And it can be very, very dangerous.
13:38Because if Russia and China, they stand for Iran, and the US has already said, Biden already
13:45made the comment that we are ready for the all-out war, we will support, we will defend
13:50Israel, whatever happens.
13:53It's a big statement.
13:54It means that they won't stop Israel to attack Iran.
14:00So now we are waiting how Iran reacts to these killings of Hamas members and Hezbollah members,
14:07the top commanders.
14:08Absolutely.
14:09And I mean, all this, just before the attack, when even Netanyahu's trip to the United States,
14:15people are pinning this attack to a tacit backing by the United States.
14:20So let's see.
14:21Let's see how things happen and how things transpire here.
14:25Stay with us.
14:26Again, Keshav Karni is also there with us, editor of One India Hindi.
14:31Keshav, another sort of storm is brewing up in India as we speak, quota within quota.
14:36All these morning headlines today, newspapers had the same headline about, you know, the
14:43provision of a quota within the quota.
14:45What, where does it leave the schedule cards, CSTs, and how do you think it's panning out
14:50across India?
14:51Thank you, Pankaj.
14:52See, let us think in a different sphere.
15:01Any time when a legislation is passed or a rule is explained, it is always done with
15:09good intention.
15:10But how it is going to be implemented and what are going to be the implication of it
15:16is completely different from the, you know, the idea of legislation.
15:21Okay.
15:22This verdict from Supreme Court is not equivocal.
15:27Okay.
15:28The constitutional bench of seven judges, they passed this verdict with 6-1.
15:38The only judge on the bench, Justice Bela Trivedi, what she has written is, you know,
15:48very noteworthy.
15:49Okay.
15:50She is saying that first, this quota within quota is a kind of, you know, encroachment
15:57in the presidential list of, you know, the scheduled cast, which is actually and practically
16:07signed off by the President of India.
16:10So the state governments have no right to encroach into that.
16:17And based on this very thing, very point only, in 2004, Chennaiya versus Andhra Pradesh government,
16:27the verdict was made in the Supreme Court itself.
16:30Now the Supreme Court has turned its own, you know, old verdict.
16:34What does that mean?
16:37She clearly underlines that this quota within quota is going to give a tool to the political
16:46party to appease their vote bank.
16:49Okay.
16:50Okay.
16:51So the states can use it in a different light altogether.
16:54Yes.
16:55And I'll give you an example also.
16:56Way back in 2010, the government in Bihar led by Nitish Kumar has created, you know,
17:06a different sect among the Dalits or so-called Dalit or SC, they named it Mahadalit.
17:19So previously in the Dalit community, the SC list in Bihar, there used to be 22 castes
17:27in community.
17:29Just to create a separate vote bank or divide or snatch Ram Vilas Paswan's vote bank, Nitish
17:36Kumar left the Dusabh community out from Mahadalit and rest of it, 21 communities, with 21 communities,
17:45he created a Mahadalit community, not only Mahadalit community, he formed a Mahadalit
17:53commission also.
17:54Okay.
17:55And that impacted, that factified in Nitish Kumar pet vote bank and in 2010 victory, this
18:05Mahadalit community had played a huge role.
18:10So the intention of this verdict is to, you know, pass on the benefit of the reservations
18:17to the lowest level might be hampered.
18:20Okay.
18:21Because the political class, you know, how clever they are in interpreting things or,
18:27you know, manipulating things in their favor, it can happen.
18:32And on that particular, that very ground, you see none of the mainstream political party
18:39has come out and spoke anything about it, be it BJP, Congress, RJD or anyone.
18:47The only person who is very vocal about it is Chandrasekhar of the Bheem Army.
18:54Okay.
18:55Okay.
18:56Keshav, you have, you come from Bihar, you have spent a lot of time, you have lived for
19:02a long time in Karnataka.
19:05How if you may very quickly tell our viewers how this could be a different case altogether
19:10in Karnataka politics?
19:12Actually, this is, this verdict can pave a way everywhere, not only in Karnataka, Karnataka,
19:20Karnataka.
19:21The Harlewind driven by Siddharth Amaya is now, you know, taking places.
19:27So this thing will open an avenue and Siddharth Amaya's stand will, you know, be even more
19:34aggressive, I see.
19:38So there, in coming time, we are going to see a lot, many fractions are being created.
19:43And as I said in my previous comment, this is going to be, you know, used as more as
19:53a political tool than, than as an intention to help the down-throated.
20:01It is completely a political tool, political decision, it can be.
20:09I think on this note, we should say goodbye to each other, but only to meet next week.
20:16And as I have this feeling, as Nageen just mentioned, the premonitions, the forecast
20:23made by Nostradamus.
20:24Nageen, if I'm not wrong, the 4th of August is the time when World War III would begin.
20:31We are just two days short of it.
20:33We'll have to see what happens.
20:34Well, I'm just having goosebumps thinking that there is going to be a bigger war.
20:40But Nageen, I also have a question.
20:43People have died, people are dying, but, you know, it is more like people just want to
20:51see what is happening and, but we have forgotten the number of people who are dying every day.
20:59And you also, we should understand that the media also hasn't been able to show what exactly
21:06is happening in the war, because these visuals are so heart-wrenching that even YouTube would
21:12not allow you to show the blood everywhere or the way the children are dying.
21:18So it's a much bigger concern.
21:20Keshav, I know you wanted to make a point, but Nageen, more than that, you know, any
21:27story has three sides, your side, my side, and the real side, the real story.
21:32So whether media is able to show all three sides or not, that is also important because
21:37wars don't happen overnight.
21:39There is always something that is happening in each other's backyard.
21:43Keshav, you wanted to make a point.
21:44Yeah, yeah, of course.
21:45So Nageen actually is following external affairs very closely.
21:49I just wanted to know his take on particularly India-Israel ties amid the tension raking up in the Middle East.
22:00I think it is more about the opportunity to sell your weapons.
22:05US is the biggest player in this.
22:08They have elections going on.
22:10It is one of the biggest issues for USA and for the citizens.
22:15They are not liking this war.
22:16They are tired of it and the US has been spending so much of money.
22:20They have been giving so much of money.
22:22So it will all clear, I think, after November, after the elections.
22:27But for now, there could be some strikes, but not the bigger war that we are talking of.
22:35Let's see if Donald Trump becomes the president in USA.
22:40We have been criticizing, being the journalists, we have been criticizing Donald Trump for many actions.
22:46But we should also see how he brought the Abraham Accord, which could not be possible even in the time of Obama.
22:56So he is someone who can show us a completely different picture if he becomes the president.
23:03There is a saying, shot in the arm.
23:05Then there is a saying, ear shot also.
23:09Israelis are having a lot of security in and around the Olympic village.
23:15I mean, they have been given special security apparatus.
23:19When there was Olympics in Germany, they went there and you know what, Mossad.
23:28Unique.
23:29Yeah.
23:30So I hope nothing like that happens because we know the kind of tension Israelis are seeing in Paris.
23:39Of course, the Palestinians as well and the Muslim communities as well.
23:43So tough times if any matches between Israeli or Palestinian players or even from any of
23:49the Middle Eastern country or like Syria or Iran.
23:54And there is Israeli player, it must be, you know, a delight to watch only on the ground.
24:00We don't want to see the whole right.
24:03I mean, Ash and on Olympics, I think Manu Barker is heading for her third game to the title.
24:12Yes.
24:13Yeah.
24:14Twenty five meter pistol event.
24:16She is.
24:17She has.
24:18I think she must have qualified by now because when we started this communication, she was
24:23she has.
24:24She has.
24:25She has.
24:26So one more medal we can expect from her.
24:28In fact, one of the worst days for Indian athletics, Indian athletes was yesterday when
24:35some of our medal hopefuls like Nikhat Zarin, the boxer, the two time world champion, P.V.
24:41Sindhu, two time medalist at the Olympics.
24:45She suffered a defeat and the world number one men's doubles badminton duo of Satvik
24:50Saira, Janki Reddy and Chirag Shetty, they also crashed out.
24:54So it was a mixed bag day for India, but it was a more of a hard breaks than the good
25:01news that came from Paris yesterday as Swapnil Kausalya won India's third bronze medal.
25:07And all three have come in shooting.
25:10Right.
25:11Absolutely.
25:12You're shooting the bullseye there.
25:13Thank you so much, gentlemen, for taking time out this Friday evening.
25:16I wish you very best for the weekend.
25:19And also we look forward to see you analyzing the events that unfold in the coming weeks.
25:26Thank you so much for joining us.
25:27Thank you.
25:28Thank you.
25:29Thank you so much.
25:30Don't miss out.
25:31Follow One India for real time updates.