A few days ago, when President Trump tweeted that he will no longer allow members of the Transgender community to serve in the U.S.  military, the response from the military was swift and unambiguous in that they were not obliged to implement this morally and constitutionally indefensible order until he clarifies what exactly he means.  Also, we have seen in the past, various media outlets have refused to be cowed down by the heavy hand of the Federal administration.  On the other hand, the exact opposite is happening in India.  Here, a news report appears on two prominent web portal, where it's been mentioned how there has been a 300 % increase in the personal assets of the president of the ruling BJP Mr. Amit Shah in the last few years.  There was also an item about how the Union Minister Ms. Smriti Irani is in the habit of giving confusing signals about her educational qualification, and basically, lying under oath.
   I am not suggesting that either Prime Minister Modi or Amit Shah put a gun on the heads of the editorial staff to drop the story.  In India, things don't get this brazen, but rather more subtle and insidious methods are employed to silence the dissent.  I can't say what exactly transpired, but within a few hours of being put up, both of the critical reports were taken down from the web sites of Times of India and DNA of the Zee group respectively.  Not only is this spineless behavior most unfortunate, it is a damning indictment of large sections Indian media, who don't have the guts to stand by their stories.  This is the utterly craven mentality to be always looking for approval of the powers that be.  They should learn from their plucky American counterparts.