Critics are like eunuchs in a harem: they know how it’s done, they’ve seen it done everyday, but they’re unable to do it themselves. Journalists too are now in such a situation, thanks to the Modi- era in Indian politics.This scenario has never been so acute as it is today, more so in the country’s capital. Delhi’s boastfully bloated population of cats' whiskers know-alls, who possessed the legendary reputation of worming their way into prized woodworks and spilling out the gore and the gooey along with the gut, find themselves barred access from all sides. The invisible, Laxman rekha carefully etched by Prime Minister Modi is holding firm, keeping the ‘creepy- crawlies’ out. Like it or not, that’s how most in the political power structure look at journalists—an unavoidable nuisance.