Two breaking news headlines grabbed my attention yesterday, one was a sting operation against the newly formed political party AAP by some website called Media Sarkar, and the other was sexual misconduct or rape charges against Tehlka's editor in chief Mr. Tarun Tejpal. In both cases, the integrity and actions of the entire organization or party were questioned because of the misconduct of a few individuals. No doubt the questions raised in both the cases are serious and they need to be addressed but that should not be the reason to target the entire organization and try to bring it down.
No doubt that Tarun was an integral part of Tehelka (I understand that he resigned from his position so he is no more with Tehelka) but Tarun is not Tehelka and Tehelka is not Tarun. People should learn to differentiate the organization from the individual, the magazine has done a lot of good work in the past and all that work is the result of many creative and courageous journalists. Whatever Tarun did is wrong, it's his own responsibility and he should face the law and whatever punishment comes his way. It is also true that in a way this whole issue was handled by Shoma Choudhary, managing editor of Tehelka raised eyebrows, people expected somewhat better and strict action from them rather than something that looked like an attempt to downplay the incident. I hope they don't intend to intimidate the victim otherwise it will be sad to see the entire organization going down because of the actions of a few people. Sexual harassment in the workplace is a very serious issue. The Indian government as well as private organizations need to do a lot of work in this area so that these types of crimes are promptly reported and investigated to punish the culprits, no matter who they are. The victims of these crimes need all the support and encouragement they need. Tarun Tejpal's case looks pretty black and white as per media reports, it seems he accepted
his mistake, and now law enforcement agencies need to take proper action and deliver justice. Many times such crimes go unreported for several reasons, there has to be a proper system and mechanism to detect and monitor such crimes.
Another news was about a sting operation against AAP, a newly formed party that is creating big waves in Delhi assembly elections. Both Congress and BJP (the two biggest national political parties in India, with huge backing and money power) are facing tough competition from AAP. actually, no one (including me) expected AAP to get so much popularity and to create such an impact in their first election. Sting operations are an integral part of investigative journalism, this technique is used to expose crimes that are difficult to prove otherwise. By definition, a sting operation is a deceptive operation used to catch a person committing a crime. This method has been used successfully to expose many bribery scandals, and corrupt practices in politics and bureaucracy. At the same time edited versions of video footage of these operations, by using the technique of selective editing or cut-paste technique, can be used to project a certain image of a person or party (positive or negative). Therefore, any inquiry panel investigating allegations based on these types of operations likes to see raw (or unedited) footage of any such sting operations, this is very common practice. AAP is demanding the same and I think they are within their rights with this demand. They also promised strict action against anyone who is found guilty after examination by their own panel or any independent constitutional agency (like the election commission). The timing of this sting operation is also questionable and looks very motivated to malign the image of AAP just before the election. I think their response was fairly positive and they are willing to accept that there might be something that needs immediate attention. This party entered the political arena not only with the intention to win but with an intention to change the rules of the game, to make it more transparent and fair for everyone. Today in India politics is considered a dirty game. Politicians are assumed to be corrupt and greedy by common people, maybe if more good people enter this profession they can change its image and this is what I want AAP to do. They should force other parties to field good, honest candidates with clean records, at least make them not give tickets to people with a serious criminal record, or people who are facing serious cases against them in court. If they can do this, this itself will be a huge improvement according to me.
Time will tell what will be the result of both investigations, but in both cases, the entire organization should not be blamed for the misconduct of a few people involved with that organization. I still don't think that it's correct to label all leaders from the BJP or Congress as corrupt because many of them are corrupt. There are many sincere and honest people in all these parties but as these parties are huge the percentage of corrupt people is also more, I am against gross generalization. But at the same time, I am not happy in general with the double standards used by these parties and also with their very complacent attitude towards corruption. They are directly or indirectly responsible for institutionalizing corruption. I hope this situation will change in the near future and people of India will get a more accountable and clean government which they desperately need. I hope parties like AAP act as a catalyst to initiate this reaction of cleaning the system on a larger scale. The question is not only about AAP or the dreams of Arvind Kejriwal, the question is about the expectations and hopes of millions of Indians who are waiting for the day when they get a clean and accountable government. Their hopes deserve a chance, and their dreams deserve consideration.
Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.
1. Mission Lokpal by Media Sarkar
2. Tehelka's Tarun Tejpal: Sex scandal batters India's top investigative title
3. http://www.tehelka.com/statement/
4. Tehelka case: Tarun Tejpal had totally different version, says Shoma Chaudhury
5. Why Sting Operation on AAP came just before Assembly Elections?
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