With this story, we begin a new series of interviews in which we map independent media in India. We begin our conversations with Gertrude Lamare and Tarun Bhartiya, members of the editorial collective of Raiot, a Shillong based bilingual webzine. In the first part of the interview, we discuss the beginnings: their association with the Thma U Rangli Juki (TUR), and the initial ideas behind the design of the website.
In the second part of the interview, we talk of the discussions which take place behind the scenes: the process of finding an editorial line, for instance. We also discuss phrases such as ‘alternative media’ or ‘independent media’. Bhartiya, in the course of the interview, says, “What if we call ourselves mainstream media? We don’t want to be a footnote to history.”