It is always distressing to
hear that a person, who you used to hold in very high regard, has gotten
himself embroiled in an immoral or an illegal act of perversion. If he is a
famous person, for the world, it’s a fall from grace, a carnal sin committed by
a person who stood high moral, ethical and professional ideals. For me, it’s
the annihilation of the embodiment of my principles, a crumbling of my faith in
goodness, a faith built over a long period of time. Tarun Tejpal’s sexual
misconduct with a female colleague has left me feeling cheated, to say the
least.
I became a huge fan of
Tehelka’s style of journalism as it appealed to me tremendously. Not that I had
not tasted the journalistic flavours of other media groups out there – The Week,
Outlook, India Today – I have read each one of them over a period of time. But
I found them insipid, unable to inspire anything in me. I looked for other
options and one fine day stumbled across Tehelka magazine. Their incisive
criticisms of the political oversights which affected the poor and the
downtrodden immediately arrested my attention. The kind of articles I found on
Tehelka – supporting the cause of adivasis
who were affected when a big corporate house acquired land for a nuclear power
or a hydel-power project without proper rehabilitation, the poor plight of the
farmers in famine affected areas, features upholding the rights of workers in
factories – coverage of this kind of topics I could not find elsewhere. No
other media group seemed to speak so much for the voiceless. This is what
hooked me on and made me buy almost every single edition for the next 50 weeks.
This religious routine had to be broken when I went for an MBA and became busy
with the curriculum, but Tehelka was always a part of me. This unflinching
belief came shattering down when I read about how Tarun Tejpal, the man whose
brainchild Tehelka was, molested a fellow journalist almost the age of his
daughter (not to mention, his daughter’s best friend too).
There is not much to speak on
the topic, as enough is being said online by the incisive criticisms of the
high-handed way in which the duo of Tarun Tejpal and Shoma Chaudhury, his
second in command, have handled the issue. Hordes of netizens have risen in
criticism of the situation not just because of the crime itself, but because of
the smug and self-righteous way in which Tarun Tejpal has reacted in what was
supposed to be his letter of apology, where he claims to “atone” this “awful
misreading of the situation”, this “bad judgement” which has led to “an
unfortunate incident”. Shoma took out some salt from her pocket and rubbed it
mercilessly on the wound when she claimed to the press that it’s an “internal
matter”. Sheer hypocrisy is on display by the harbingers of truth who have
always been the first to ask for the strictest punishment for perpetrators of
sexual harassment and molestation. Moreover, what Tarun Tejpal did to this
young girl, despite her repeated entreaties to not do it, reminding him that
she is of his daughter’s age, borders on rape. The email which Tarun sent to
Shoma, which was then forwarded by Shoma to the staff of Tehelka, along with an
email of her own appended to it, had the sacrosanct language announcing it as
an “unfortunate” incident. Had these emails not been pasted on pastebin (http://pastebin.com/nNaWCu3e) online by
some insider from Tehelka, the matter would have been suppressed. Apparently,
Tarun Tejpal was expecting things to go back to normal when we would return
from his 6-month paid sabbatical in some foreign country.
Things are turning hot as Goa
police have ordered a preliminary enquiry into the incident which does not
require an FIR. (Update: The police have booked an FIR for rape against Tejpal). They are going to question the authorities of the hotel where
the incident took place twice in the elevator. CCTV footage should be available
with the hotel, and the rumour has it that the footage might get broadcast by
some of the news channels. Also, under pressure from the outpouring of
opprobrium from all sections of the society, an investigative committee of
National Commission for Women has been formed to look into the matter, a little
late in the scheme of things. The smug Mr Tejpal may well be shitting in his
pants right now.
What good it does? It will
crack open the oppressive system of sexual harassment at the workplace,
especially in the media industry where apparently it is deeply entrenched. If
someone like Tarun Tejpal can go down, it will surely make the earth move under
the feet of other such predators who, for the rest of the world, roam around in
the guise of a lamb. This will lead to recognition to women rights and
empowerment of women in workplaces, something which is urgently required in our
still deeply male-centric society. It will give the courage to the victims of
such acts to speak out and not keep mum for the fear of losing their jobs. Sadly,
it will also undoubtedly lead to the end of the journey of Tehelka as a publication.
I can already see an absolute loss of faith in the organization even among avid
readers like me. Complete loss of credibility will lead to a bad name for
everyone who were involved in the organization and who actually did good work.
Tarun Tejpal’s name was among
the two persons, the other being Nelson Mandela, I highlighted under the
question “Someone you would chose to travel with in a cross-country trip” in the annexure
that I filled while applying for admission to SIBM Pune. His literature inspired me, as did his purported ideals. Thus
for me personally, it means something much deeper. It stands for a complete
disappearance of faith in a person I believed in so much. It stands for a lie
which infests every nook and cranny of our society today, rotting the insides
and will lead to a complete implosion one of these days.
It has happened before. Lance
Armstrong stood for not just someone who excelled in his profession, but
someone who won a fight with a debilitating strain of cancer, and came back to
win the Tour de France, the highest honour that there can be for a cyclist and
one of the greatest across all sports. His autobiographies inspired many
millions to believe in their dreams and pursue them unflinchingly. Sadly, as it
turned out, he followed his dreams literally “at any cost”, indulging in doping
over a period of many years, and cheating each one of those who believed in
him.
Education is something I
believe is something which can lift our poor nation out of the cesspit that we
are in. A book inspired me to march on the path of educating the poor. “Three
Cups of Tea” is a description of the experiences, hardships and successes
of Greg Mortensen, who after getting lost in a snowstorm while climbing K2,
found himself in a very poor village in an isolated region in northern
Pakistan, got inspired and built many schools in the next few years. As it
turned out, there were allegations of many inaccuracies in the book regarding
the number of schools he built, his inspiring experiences with the villagers
and his overall effort. This blanks out all that was said in the book and I
felt like an untethered boat without a sail lost in a sea storm. It was
heart-breaking to say the least.
I held Tarun Tejpal very
highly. But these allegations have shaken my faith in humanity, and in its
unbound ability for goodness. Is there any goodness left out there unblemished
by lust, unscarred by greed, unsullied by envy and untainted by corruption? Is
it so difficult to be good, without a hidden motive, without a hand below the
desk receiving some form of reciprocation? Is it no more possible to do good
with all your heart, without expecting anything back? Is there no hope for a
better world? I know there is. But for now, I’m just gathering my splintered
pieces, and will start rebuilding my faith in goodness, piece by piece, brick
by brick.