South Central Ep 6 | Atul Subhash’s Suicide: Systemic failures and troubling narratives

In episode six, hosts Dhanya Rajendran and Pooja Prasanna are joined by journalist Geeta Seshu, independent activist-writer Madhu Bhushan, and public health expert Dr. Swathi SB. 

Dhanya highlights the troubling narratives emerging from Atul Subhash’s case, “deliberately a confusion is being created that men are dying by suicide because of marriage related issues, fake dowry harassment cases or the 498 A law.”

Geeta says, “the misuse of laws exists, but dismantling them is not the answer. These laws were designed to protect against misogyny, and systemic misuse should be the focus.”

On the misuse of laws like 498A and the challenges women face when seeking justice, Madhu says, “Society is still not willing to accept that violence against women continues despite the existence of all these laws.” She adds, “If Atul had reached out to an organization, I’m glad that he reached out to an organization. The question is, how does that organization then support him?”

The conversation delves into the media’s sensationalistic portrayal of the case, with Dhanya pointing out how channels circulated Atul’s video without context, violating ethical guidelines. “This kind of coverage is irresponsible and could lead to more harm, including copycat suicides,” says Pooja.

This and more. Dive into South Central for an engaging and insightful discussion—you won’t want to miss it!

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Audio Timecodes 

00:00:00:00 - Introductions 

00:01:24:00 - Announcements

00:02:20:00- Headlines

00:06:34:00 - Atul Subhash Case

00:52:30:00 -Karnataka Maternal Deaths 

01:08:03:02 - Recommendations

Check out the recommendations and references form this episode.

Produced by Bhuvan Malik, edited by Jaseem Ali.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.