VOLUME 11 ISSUE 1&2 NEW DELHI SATURDAY 11 JANUARY 2014 THE IDEA OF. What it means for India & journalism... And why it must continue

Transcription

1 VOLUME 11 1&2 NEW DELHI SATURDAY 11 JANUARY 2014 THE IDEA OF FREE. FAIR. FEARLESS What it means for India & journalism... And why it must continue PREM SHANKAR JHA BG VERGHESE SHIV VISVANATHAN SHOHINI GHOSH ASHIS NANDY MAHMOOD MADANI PAUL ZACHARIA SANTOSH DESAI HARSH MANDER SHEKHAR KAPUR DEVINDER SHARMA USHA RAMANATHAN SANDEEP PANDEY MUKUL SINHA ANURAG BATRA HIMANSHU KUMAR FACEBOOK.COM/TEHELKA TWITTER.COM/TEHELKA

2 VOLUME 11, 1&2; 29 DECEMBER JANUARY 2014, RELEASED ON 27 DECEMBER 2013; NO OF PAGES INCLUDING COVER: 70 FOR ENQUIRIES & COMPLAINTS CALL - NEW DELHI MUMBAI BENGALURU OR - RESPONSE@TEHELKA.COM COVER DESIGN: ANAND NAOREM C O N T E N T S BG VERGHESE P8 MAHMOOD MADANI P10 PAUL ZACHARIA P12 SANTOSH DESAI P16 SHOHINI GHOSH P22 SHEKHAR KAPUR P24 SANDEEP PANDEY P26 SHIV VISVANATHAN P30 DEVINDER SHARMA P32 ASHIS NANDY P36 HARSH MANDER P40 ANURAG BATRA P42 RAJEEV DHAVAN P44 USHA RAMANATHAN P46 NITYANAND JAYARAMAN P50 BABLOO LOITONGBAM P52 GLADSON DUNGDUNG P54 STALIN K P58 MUKUL SINHA P60 HIMANSHU KUMAR P62 PREM SHANKAR JHA P66 ALYQUE PADAMSEE P68 ANAND PATWARDHAN P68 EXECUTIVE EDITOR Ramesh Sharma EDITOR-AT-LARGE Ajit Sahi EDITOR, BUSINESS Shaili Chopra COPY EDITOR Srikanth S DESIGN EDITOR Anand Naorem CHIEF OF BUREAU Brijesh Pandey ASSISTANT EDITOR (WEB) Kunal Majumder ASSISTANT EDITOR Kaushik Kashyap SPECIAL CORRESPONDENTS Ashhar Khan, Riyaz Wani (SRINAGAR), Virendra Nath Bhatt (LUCKNOW) PRINCIPAL CORRESPONDENTS Ushinor Majumdar, Ratnadip Choudhury (GUWAHATI) CHIEF OF BUREAU Jeemon Jacob (SOUTH) SENIOR CORRESPONDENTS Imran Khan (BENGALURU), Avalok Langer, Deevakar Anand CORRESPONDENTS G Vishnu, Ajachi Chakrabarti, Nupur Sonar DY COPY EDITOR, FEATURES Anamika Chatterjee ASST COPY EDITORS Satyadeep, Cyril Sam, Sujay Chakraborty, Saif Ullah Khan, Shraddha Panicker SUB-EDITOR Aradhna Wal ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR Vikram Nongmaithem ILLUSTRATOR Mayanglambam Dinesh DESIGN TEAM Ajoy Sen, Raju Kohli, Mahesh Singh Bhandari PHOTOGRAPHERS Vijay Pandey, Ankit Agrawal, Arun Sehrawat SENIOR PHOTO COORDINATOR Deepak Jha PHOTO RESEARCHER Ashutosh Vig MNGR-PRODUCTION Piyush Srivastava SYSTEMS HEAD Prawal Srivastava TEAM SYSTEMS Manoj Kumar, Pankaj Kumar, Nihar Ranjan, Bhumesh Kshetrimayum PUBLISHER Neena Tejpal Sharma CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER Neena Tejpal VP-CIRCULATION Bharat Bhushan FINANCE MANAGER Brij Kishore Sharma ACCOUNTS Subodh Mishra, Rahul Varma ADVERTISING Satheesh Kumar ( ) adsales@tehelka.com OWNER Anant Media Pvt Ltd, M-76 (M-Block Market), Greater Kailash II, New Delhi PRINTER & PUBLISHER Neena Tejpal Sharma PUBLISHED FROM Anant Media Pvt Ltd, M-76 (M-Block Market), Greater Kailash II, New Delhi PRINTED AT M.P. Printers, B-220, Phase-II, Noida, UP HEAD OFFICE M-76 (M-Block Market), Greater Kailash II, New Delhi TEL FAX editor@tehelka.com FOUNDER GROUP Tarun J Tejpal, Neena Tejpal, Shoma Chaudhury, Brij K Sharma, Prawal Srivastava

3 BY PREM SHANKAR JHA TEHELKA 28 DECEMBER 2013 PHOTO: AP 28 DECEMBER 2013 TEHELKA EXCLUSIVE RAMAN SINGH INTERVIEW CONGRESS THE RAHUL GANDHI FORMULA HAS NO TAKERS FACEBOOK.COM/TEHELKA TWITTER.COM/TEHELKA P14 SECTION 377 WHY LGBT RIGHTS IS A MINUSCULE PROBLEM ANTI-CORRUPTION MOVEMENT The Lokpal Bill is only a beginning. The real battle lies ahead By Prem ShankarJha P30 FREE. FAIR. FEARLESS P48 VOLUME 10 SUE P22 NEW DELHI SATURDAY 28 DECEMBER EMBER 2013 MUZAFFARNAGAR NO CLOSURE FOR THE RIOT-DISPLACED P8 FACEBOOK.COM/TEHELKA TWITTER.COM/TEHELKA EDIBLE OIL IMPORTS READING THE PALM RIGHT FREE. FAIR. FEARLESS P22 VOLUME 10 IRAN DEAL IS WEST ASIA RESHAPING TOO FAST FOR INDIA? P46 RELIGION THE MANY AVATARS OF THE BUDDHA IN BIHAR P50 FACEBOOK.COM/TEHELKA TWITTER.COM/TEHELKA FREE. FAIR. FEARLESS VOLUME 10 SHIKHAR DHAWAN INDIAN CRICKET By Ajachi Chakrabarti P34 S PLEASE SEND IN YOUR FEEDBACK TO LETTERS@TEHELKA.COM FACEBOOK.COM/TEHELKA TWITTER.COM/TEHELKA AAP WAS THE TRAILER. CHANGE BEGINS NOW COVER STORY STILL A LONG WAY TO CLEAN GOVERNANCE The Lokpal Bill is only the first step towards greater transparency. As the writer has rightly pointed out, India requires democratic reforms before corruption is eradicated because, unfortunately, only corruption seems to grease the rusty cogs of Indian democracy. SUKUMAR WARRIER, ON BJP WILL REPLICATE OUR SUCCESS AT THE CENTRE FAST FORWARD? 52 KEJRIWAL S LOKPAL REFER TO ARVIND KEJRIWAL S STAND ON THE LOKPAL BILL IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL BY IMRAN KHAN, 28 DECEMBER. I fail to understand why Justice (retd) Santosh Hegde calls Arvind Kejriwal s stand on the Lokpal Bill unconstitutional? Unlike the Congress and the bjp, he has taken a principled stand on a certain version of the Bill, much like Justice Hegde. Is demanding autonomy for the Central Bureau of Investigation unconstitutional, considering the inadequacies of the current Lokpal? Moreover, the Constitution requires amendments because its loopholes are being misused by political parties across the board. MOHAMMED ASIFUDDIN, ON FACEBOOK Because Arvind Kejriwal doesn t agree, it is unconstitutional impeccable logic indeed! ASHISH BAIDYANATHAN, ON FACEBOOK Arvind Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party are right in demanding Jan Lokpal. Anna Hazare, Kiran Bedi and the likes of Justice Santosh Hegde, who think that something is better than nothing, are dead wrong. Take a look at the ground realities: the Congress has been decimated in New Delhi, and despite leading the upa, it is now irrelevant in the capital. On the other hand, even with a clear majority, the bjp has chosen not to form the government; it shows the party is scared out of its wits. And this explains the incestuous bonhomie between the two national parties in passing a watered down version of the Lokpal Bill, when otherwise they would SECTION 377 IT IS NOT JUST ABOUT GAYS ANYMORE P46 AAPTITUDE TEST A CLEAN SWEEP. A GOOGLY. AND A BOUNCY PITCH FOR THE 2014 POLLS P30 SU 51 NEW DELHI SAT ATURDAY 21 DECEMBER EMBE 2013 KERALA Congress and Church on a Collision Course P8 DREAM TEAM CAUGHT IN A ECONOMY NIGHTMARE OF ITS MAKING P30 PLUCKY SOUTHPAW A LATE BLOOMER, THE DELHI BATSMAN HAS PATIENTLY CLAWED HIS WAY TO THE PEAK OF 50 NEW DELHI SATURDAY 14 DECEMBER 2013 be at loggerheads with each other. They believe that passing this Bill will give them the muchneeded fig leaf to hide their sins from the public. RAJ, ON TEHELKA.COM If sensible people reach a compromise, then there is nothing left to argue. But the fact remains that the Lokpal Bill introduced by the Congress in Parliament is an eyewash designed to deceive the citizens. Unfortunately, politicians of all hues will come together and oppose any new law that questions the existing status quo and threatens their immunity. SURENDRA OAK, ON FACEBOOK Stop twisting words for sensational headlines! What Justice Santosh Hegde said is: Before Anna, I had endorsed the legislation being offered by Parliament. We need time to see how it functions. If there are any flaws, we can demand for amendments. But to say that only our version of the Bill is strong and what is being offered is not, I think that is unconstitutional. And I don t agree with Kejriwal on that. Anna s endorsement of the Lokpal Bill is a good move. The headline incriminates Arvind Kejriwal and ends up conveying a different meaning altogether. SWAPAN, ON TEHELKA.COM THE MANGO-MAN ARMY REFER TO THE AAM ARMY BY AVALOK LANGER AND DEEVAKAR ANAND, 28 DECEMBER. One does not need money but enticing promises to win votes. This has been happening in India for ages. IQBAL GASHI, ON FACEBOOK 6

4 THE IDEA OF TEHELKA TEHELKA HAS GIVEN VOICE TO THE VOICELESS, A SPACE NO ONE WAS WILLING TO FILL Mahmood Madani ISLAMIC SCHOLAR WE ARE going through a very disturbing period of distrust among nations, races and communities. In our own country, there are problems abound of terrorism, communal hatred, Maoism, etc, to name a few. Unfortunately, the issues are being interpreted in ways suitable to vested interests and there have been no notable attempts by people who matter to include the voices of the marginalised. In the past seven to eight years that I have been following its work, Tehelka, as an institution of journalism, has significantly tried to fill this void. It has given voice to the voiceless. It has given a platform to those who had no representation. Several people who were stifled got an opportunity to raise their legitimate causes because Tehelka gave them a chance to do so. The magazine came as a window to fresh perspective among the cluttered press, and thanks to its brand of courageous journalism, it soon attained respect and credibility. It called a spade a spade and never followed the easy path. There are several stories that come to mind when one thinks of issues that Tehelka has pursued with integrity. In the process, it did not stop short of questioning other reports on the same issues if the need arose. I have myself seen the kind of impact that Tehelka s journalism has, its power to bring positive change. This happened during the time when I was discussing the Muzaffarnagar riots with social activist Many among the marginalised will lose their voice if the magazine is not able to carry on Swami Agnivesh. I was disappointed to hear that he had a certain perception as to the reasons that had caused the riots. But, when we met again a few days later, I was in for a pleasant surprise. He told me that he was mistaken in thinking that the riots had been caused by one community alone. And what had caused this change of heart? A report published in Tehelka. He told me that when he read it, he realised that faultlines ran deeper, that sections of both communities and their leaders were instrumental in fuelling the clashes. This is the kind of journalism I m talking about, and Tehelka has never disappointed. However, I must admit that I was shocked when I learnt of the recent allegations of sexual harassment levelled against Tehelka s editor-in-chief Tarun Tejpal by a female colleague. I do not know the truth behind the incident, but I hope that the law takes the right course and does justice to the aggrieved party in this incident. Personally, it would pain me to see this incident bring down Tehelka, the institution. Many among the marginalised and victims of votebank politics will lose their voice if the magazine is not able to carry on. I reiterate that law should be allowed to take its own course in the sexual harassment matter, but until then, the magazine shouldn t become a victim of a media trial, which a section of the press is surely trying to do. Whatever the outcome of the sexual harassment case, the journalists associated with Tehelka continue to do unbiased and fearless reporting. I wish them strength. As told to Deevakar Anand 10

5 THE IDEA OF TEHELKA Civil society must repay Tehelka s gift to it by understanding its vulnerability and sustaining its strength Shiv Visvanathan SOCIAL SCIENCES NOMAD IDEAS AND institutions in India often get inextricably tied to particular individuals, especially if they are charismatic founders. Succession and continuity are difficult to unravel because the founder literally patents the institution as a piece of intellectual property. At one level, it is a tribute to the pioneer but at the same time, it freezes history, refuses a discontinuity of individual and institution. The most pathological form of such rhetoric is PC Baruah s sycophantic statement that India is Indira and Indira is India. As a loyalty oath, it is formidable; as an understanding of institutions, it is both lethal and illiterate. Such a perspective is also unfair to others within an institution or organisation as it reduces institutional history to individual biography. The tragedy that has befallen Tehelka and our attitudes to the magazine are tied up to the presence of Tarun Tejpal. Tejpal s arrest virtually spells the end of Tehelka. First, this is narratively unfair, since both the perpetrator and the victim were from Tehelka. Second, many of the other professionals in the journal took independent stands. Third, Tehelka is more than its current cast of characters. Its list should also include a number of journalists who have left the journal recently. These individuals also exemplified the character and spirit of Tehelka as a concern for the travails of democracy. One thinks of Hartosh Singh Bal and Anumeha Yadav and at a certain point Gaurav Jain. I m emphasising this because I want to invoke Tehelka as a tradition, an investigative style, a collectivity that eventually survived the idiosyncrasies or even the arrogance of an individual. Let us be fair to Tarun Tejpal. This is a talented entrepreneur who vitalised an investigative form of journalism, created a virtual folklore around the sting, virtually putting an end to the career of George Fernandes. Tehelka created a wider set of innovations. It explored the political dynamics of civil society; it chronicled the arrogance and cultures of power and it also provided some of the best cultural evaluations of masculinity and violence in Indian society. The sad, almost ironic, part is that the analyst became the case study. Tejpal virtually mimicked the powerful he reported about. His body language virtually suggested that even he alone was the law. Yet ironically, the other side of media investigations also caught up with Tejpal. Tarun Tejpal was subject to a trial by media. Trial by media is degrading. Yet it is a double-edged weapon because the media is one of the few sources of critique left in the country. The danger is that in hunting down Tejpal, it might actually destroy Tehelka. The tragedy of Tehelka becomes twofold. It is the tragedy of a talented man seduced by his own myths of power. But more permanently, it is the tragedy of an innocent organisation, a team of reporters and collective interpreters who might have to suffer because of the man. Justice demands that we separate the guilty from the innocent, the individual from the organisation. I have doubts whether at this moment of crisis, when his old critics gloat at having brought the hunter down, civil society can see the distinction. Yet it is the civil society that thrived and sustained Tejpal that must now sustain Tehelka s professionals. A mauled organisation can be a self-reflective one, initiating stronger codes of ethics, pursuing other corruptions in a fluid way. The timing is right for such a decision. Elections are virtually around the corner. The necessity for reforms is even more urgent. Civil society cannot do without the right information provided in depth. Civil society must repay Tehelka s gift to it by understanding its vulnerability and sustaining its strength. This much we owe the tradition called Tehelka. 30

6 THE IDEA OF TEHELKA DEVINDER SHARMA FOOD POLICY ANALYST I AM A STRONG VOTARY OF WHAT TEHELKA STOOD FOR, AND I M NOT THE ONLY ONE SOME YEARS back, a newspaper editor (who happened to be a colleague when I was working with the Indian Express some 20 years ago) was talking to me on the phone one fine morning. After a few exchanges of pleasantries and the usual journalist gossip, he came to the point: Devinder, he said politely, why do you always write about the plight and misery of the poor and the disadvantaged, or end up questioning the dominant economic thinking? Unable to understand the context and the purpose, I asked him why he was saying that. His answer: Because it spoils the breakfast of my readers. I never wrote for that paper again. Over the years, this has become more or less a national trend. The English-language media, and increasingly the major Hindi- and regional-language newspapers, have adopted what as young journalists we used to call Punjab Kesari culture. In the early 1980s, Punjab Kesari was perhaps the only newspaper that would have a front-page jacket every day In the midst of a rapidly changing media, Tehelka s emergence was like an iceberg in the middle of a rough sea on films, film stars, sports, women, religion etc. The real front page, with its loud headlines, would begin from page 3. Ironically, the same newspapers that despised the Punjab Kesari format have not only copied it but gone much far ahead. With newspapers gradually turning into a marketable commodity, not only did celebrities begin to adorn the front pages, but what constitutes news also underwent a sea change. When I was a young reporter, news beats like ficci and cii were assigned to the beginners. Senior journalists would feel offended if they were allocated ficci and cii to report and follow. Now, of course, it is fashionable to cover the business lobby groups. Tightening of corporate control over the media ensured the marginalisation of voices questioning the veracity of claims being flaunted. In many mainline newspapers, any critical analysis of subjects like special economic zones, fdi in retail, genetically modified crops, land acquisitions, tax concessions to the industries, environmental protection etc is a taboo. Many of those who attempted it were either shown the door or sternly warned. With the advent of TV journalism, the definition of news itself has undergone a complete shift. You rarely watch news and analysis of anything concerning poor and hungry, or get a peep into the other hidden India, and even hear of farmers who constitute the majority of India s population. These are downmarket subjects. The common belief is that these subjects don t get trp ratings, and therefore fail to attract ad revenues. The real issues the country faces invariably get drowned in the midst of all the screaming and shouting. What brings advertisements is news. Such is the trivialisation of primetime news that we have come to a stage wherein the Friday release of a 32