India's truly national newspapers

With the launch of Mumbai edition, HT has now staked claim for a national newspaper. It is published from Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata apart from Lucknow, Bhopal, Patna, Ranchi, Jaipur and some smaller locations thereby covering the entire northern India.

Though it has no edition in South India yet but three metros and visibility up to the Vindhyas have given it a national character that was missing until a few years back.

In sharp contrast, the Times of India (TOI) has editions in bigger cities. Compared to Bhopal, Ranchi and Jaipur where HT has editions, TOI has editions in bigger cities like Pune, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Bangalore.

Indian Express has always been a national newspaper. Almost two years ago it launched Lucknow edition. The New Indian Express has a good presence in Southern India.

Despite being widely circulated, The Hindu is not a national newspaper in this sense. Though it has a readership spread across a vast area and is a bigger paper in this sense than either the Telegraph or the Asian Age and Statesman. Still the number of national newspapers is too less, just 3, with Express declining for the last several years despite attempts of revamp.

Sallekahana in Ganj Basoda ignored

It is sad that the news of another 'Sallekhana'--a Jain fasting to death--was largely ignored. The Jain woman decided to go for sallekhana and despite knowing that it would end end in her death, this form of suicide was ignored.
The media either chose to keep silent or put it as a small item in the bizarre/weird news. There were no editorials written on Sallekahana. Perhaps, no one wants to take on the prosperous Jain community. Ratan Bai, a Jain nun, took her own life. Thousands came from Bhopal, Vidisha and neighbouring districts to see her last days. The grandiose fucntion glorifying death was observed.
Recently there was a sallekhana in Agra. Before that in Himachal Pradesh. The nuns or the asetic give up food and even water leading to their death--which is consdiered the most pious of deaths. Had such a custom been associated with any other religion, Hindu, Muslim, Chrisitian or Buddhist, it would have received flak from all quarters. Such retrogressive customs that need to be castigated are ignored by all media.