Janadas Devan
Encyclopedia
Janadas Devan is a Singaporean journalist
. He currently works as the Review Editor of The Straits Times
, the flagship English-language daily newspaper of the Singapore Press Holdings
. He is the son of C.V. Devan Nair, the third President of Singapore. Devan studied at the National University of Singapore
and Cornell University
in New York. He has residences in both Austin, Texas and Singapore.
. His work at RSI was mainly focused on international politics, with a special emphasis on US politics. His weekly show was called Call from America, ranging from topics such as Barack Obama
's presidential campaign to the War in Iraq. Devan also wrote a column for The Straits Times. At one point, his contract with The Straits Times was terminated without any official explanation. He has stated that, "For reasons that remain unexplained, but which were clearly not journalistic, the column was halted." However, as of 2008, he is a regular contributor to the Straits Times.
. NMP Thio had argued that Singapore, being a conservative society, cannot tolerate homosexuals, also stating that a secular society needs to listen to the religious authorities. She had also said that the minorities in a plural society must listen to the views of the majority. Devan wrote:
and
, wrote a letter to the Straits Times Forum as a reply to Devan's article. Devan has maintained that "Critical analyses surface with difficulty in Singapore, but the fact is they frequently do surface."
s in Singapore. He cited a personal anecdote of a female friend in the United States
who had married another woman, with two healthy children and living an otherwise normal life. He wrote:
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
. He currently works as the Review Editor of The Straits Times
The Straits Times
The Straits Times is an English language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore currently owned by Singapore Press Holdings . It is the country's highest-selling paper, with a current daily circulation of nearly 400,000...
, the flagship English-language daily newspaper of the Singapore Press Holdings
Singapore Press Holdings
Singapore Press Holdings Limited is a media organisation in Singapore with businesses in print, Internet and new media, television and radio, outdoor media, and property. SPH has over 4,000 employees, including a team of approximately 1,000 journalists, including correspondents operating around...
. He is the son of C.V. Devan Nair, the third President of Singapore. Devan studied at the National University of Singapore
National University of Singapore
The National University of Singapore is Singapore's oldest university. It is the largest university in the country in terms of student enrollment and curriculum offered....
and Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
in New York. He has residences in both Austin, Texas and Singapore.
Career
Before becoming a journalist, Devan taught in universities in both Singapore and the United States. Subsequently, Devan began working for The Straits Times and Radio Singapore InternationalRadio Singapore International
Radio Singapore International was the official international broadcasting station of Singapore and the largest radio international broadcasting company in Singapore existing from 1 January 1994 to 31 December 2001...
. His work at RSI was mainly focused on international politics, with a special emphasis on US politics. His weekly show was called Call from America, ranging from topics such as Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
's presidential campaign to the War in Iraq. Devan also wrote a column for The Straits Times. At one point, his contract with The Straits Times was terminated without any official explanation. He has stated that, "For reasons that remain unexplained, but which were clearly not journalistic, the column was halted." However, as of 2008, he is a regular contributor to the Straits Times.
"377A debate and the rewriting of pluralism"
On 27 October 2007, Devan wrote an article in The Straits Times entitled "377A debate and the rewriting of pluralism". In the article, Devan rebutted the parliamentary speech of Singapore Nominated Member of Parliament Thio Li-annThio Li-ann
Thio Li-ann is a Singaporean law professor at the National University of Singapore. She was educated at the University of Oxford, Harvard Law School and the University of Cambridge. In January 2007, she was appointed a Nominated Member of Parliament in Singapore's 11th Parliament.-Early life and...
. NMP Thio had argued that Singapore, being a conservative society, cannot tolerate homosexuals, also stating that a secular society needs to listen to the religious authorities. She had also said that the minorities in a plural society must listen to the views of the majority. Devan wrote:
Consider how she tore to shreds so many of our cherished beliefs. The idiots that we are, we had believed ‘pluralism’ meant, among other things, ‘autonomy and retention of identity for individual bodies’, a ’society in which the members of minority groups maintain their independent cultural traditions’, ‘a system that recognises more than one ultimate principle or kind of being’, as the Oxford English Dictionary puts it."
and
Oh, I cried when I read that. Imagine that: The moral conservative majority makes better vulgar jokes than the immoral liberal minority - and in Parliament too. If the immoral minority cannot beat the moral majority even in this department, we are really and truly kaput.
Impact
Following his article, dozens of blogs proceeded with a point-by-point rebuttal of NMP Thio's address. Ms Yvonne Lee Ching Ling, an Assistant Professor of Law at NUSNUS
NUS may refer to:* Nu Skin Enterprises* Neglected and Underutilized Species, or Neglected and Underutilized Crops* National Union of Students * National Union of Students * National Union of Students...
, wrote a letter to the Straits Times Forum as a reply to Devan's article. Devan has maintained that "Critical analyses surface with difficulty in Singapore, but the fact is they frequently do surface."
"Can mum, mum and kids make a family?"
On 7 July 2007, Janadas Devan wrote an article in The Straits Times entitled "Can mum, mum and kids make a family?" where he advocated the formation of same-sex marriageSame-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality....
s in Singapore. He cited a personal anecdote of a female friend in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
who had married another woman, with two healthy children and living an otherwise normal life. He wrote:
What will those who hold that homosexuality is against the laws of God say when it is definitively established that homosexuality has a genetic basis? That God deliberately made a mistake with the DNA of gays — and wishes us to persecute them for his mistake?