There Is No Other Way

A JOURNAL OF THE PRESS INSTITUTE OF INDIA ISSN 0042-5303 October-December 2018 SEXUAL HARASSMENT Volume 10 Issue 4 Rs 60 Watch, report, complain, get justice — there is no other way Politician and once journalist M.J. Akbar is in the centre of the #MeToo Movement in the Indian media. He isn’t the only man accused of misusing his power and position to sexually harass CONTENTS • More than having committees, and assault young female journalists in his employ, but he is the teach boys to respect girls / most well-known. He also has the highest number of complaints Sakuntala Narasimhan against him and a large number of former employees ready • Campaign against wrongdoers to stand witness. And after NPR editor Pallavi Gogoi’s heart- gathers steam / Suvobrata Ganguly wrenching account of what she went through at Akbar’s hands, • Please lend your child your ear / published in the Washington Post, rape is now added to the list Aditi Panda of accusations. Ranjona Banerji on newsrooms being tainted • Is journalism in India facing a crisis with scandals of credibility? / N.S. Venkatraman .J. Akbar is only the most glaring example of everything that is • ‘Compassion and communication skill are vital’ / Dr. V. Shanta wrong with newsrooms when it comes to gender and male privilege. Across India, across various media, we see horror stories emerging. • It is the will to use innovation that is M lacking / Ammu Joseph All India Radio, advertising, newspapers, magazines, the film and television industries have all been affected. • Media neglect adds to woes of rural landless workers / Bharat Dogra As women recount their experiences, one sees a formation of lines and a sense of fear developing. Both are counter-productive reactions. If we remember the • A nationalist and an editor who influenced public opinion / Mrinal details of the Tarun Tejpal case, he first admitted to his actions, wrote a florid Chatterjee note of apology to his victim and his organisation and dramatically announced a sabbatical from his own newsroom. But as lawyers entered the picture, since • Of treasured memories and a deep longing for home / Sashi Nair his victim wanted justice and not large words, his desire for penance vanished and he suddenly proclaimed his innocence. • The ravages of Partition continue to haunt / Sarita Bose Tejpal’s friends then jumped into the act and wrote long articles on how the victim did not look distressed enough for them to believe her when she exited • Indian cricket’s other Fab Four / Partab Ramchand an elevator and, indeed, we got long poetic discourses on the possibilities of what the elevator itself may or may not have seen. Did you ever have to write • Can’t we live in harmony with these dialogues in school, between inanimate objects? Yes, they all read like Class VI giants? / Rina Mukherji essays by the cleverest kid in class. But Class VI nonetheless. • Book Reviews Similarly, with Akbar, his friends and even his wife have jumped in to make • Remembering N.S.Ramaswami / liars out of 30 women at last count and some men as well. A former male Shoebullah Khan / Ramapada colleague from Akbar’s first job finds it hard to believe that a boring dour young Chowdhury / Kuldip Nayar (Continued on page 3) October-December 2018 VIDURA 1 FROM THE EDITOR Yes, treat women with dignity, respect, but where are the honourable men? e are all born with journalism. Soon, I came to know justice are vital, committees must vulnerabilities, aren’t we? of Akbar, editor first of The Sunday be formed within the guidelines WMen are probably born and then The Telegraph. I was quite of the law, and people need safe with more. They say a woman is in awe of a person I had never places where their problems will man’s greatest weakness. Such met – an extraordinary editor who be heard. After all, the newsroom is weakness has led to the fall made a success of his publications, not a playground for middle-aged of many men; they have been someone who was suave and men to play out their fantasies! knocked off their pedestals. Quite spoke well. In recent times, my However, proving sexual shockingly, M.J. Akbar now falls impressions of Akbar changed harassment is not easy. As veteran into such a league. He eventually after he joined the BJP and became writer Sakuntala Narasimhan quit as Union minister after several the party spokesman… wasn’t he says, the truth is that in cases of women (journalists) levelled the Congress spokesman several molestation and unacceptable allegations of sexual harassment years ago before he decided to quit behaviour towards a woman, the against him. All his hard work politics? Flash forward to today… perpetrators never resort to their to acquire a reputation as a first- you have one ‘sexual harassment tricks in the presence of witnesses, class editor now amounts to little. survivor’ after another speak up so there is never any ‘evidence’. The revelations that have come against him. What a fall! She strongly feels that what we thick and fast have blown his How did the revelations surface? need is ethics, but few schools repute to smithereens. He claims How did the horror stories begin? teach that now. I remember having he is innocent though, which most Perhaps, it was the Harvey Weinstein a subject called Moral Science in find hard to believe. At the time effect (Weinstein is an American class. Consigned to the bin now, I of this issue going to press, there film producer who fell into disgrace guess. So, how do we teach boys are reports of a senior journalist after dozens of women accused him good behaviour? defending him in court, saying "he of rape, sexual abuse and assault). It is disgusting and sad that is a thorough gentleman". There is But did it really require a Weinstein people (editors and journalists also the aspect of accusations made moment for women to speak up? included) in powerful positions on the Internet being admissable in As Ranjona Banerji says in the can do such horrendous things. the court. lead piece here, sexual harassment High time news organisations took During my younger days in and worse have been rampant in a far stronger stance than they have Calcutta, The Sunday was a weekly newsrooms forever and journalists so far against sexual harassment of magazine I’d hardly ever miss, who are happy to report on the any kind (a few organisations did much like The Illustrated Weekly. I misdoings of others have carefully act swiftly after accusations against remember walking half a kilometre ignored their own transgressions. various journalists surfaced). High or so from home to the newspaper She makes a pertinent point: women time they also taught editors and / magazine kiosk to buy a copy. In have internalised harassment to journalists (some of them who the early 1980s when I was in college such an extent that some are unable think they own the world) to treat in St Xavier’s, with the legendary to understand what they are actually women with dignity and respect. Father Paul Jorris still around, The complaining about. Telegraph made its appearance – As Ranjona says, there has the newspaper seemed like a whiff been a generational change in the Sashi Nair of fresh air after The Statesman behaviour, attitudes and tolerance- [email protected] (although I now really miss The levels in women today. What Statesman as it was then, with its seemed like normal, run-of-the-mill classifieds and personals). It was transgressions by men to women of probably during those years, after a generation gone by have become getting hooked to The Illustrated unacceptable to today’s far more Weekly of India, The Sunday and The independent and bolder women. Telegraph, that I got driven towards She says processes and paths to 2 VIDURA October-December 2018 (Continued from page 1) an extent that some are unable existent at all, now find ourselves to understand what women are feeling almost guilty. Were we man turned into such a predator, actually complaining about. Senior unaware? Did we ignore the signs? although he claims to be shocked at female journalists are asking Did we discourage those who the seriousness of the allegations. questions like, “Why did you visit came to us with their discomfort? Within the journalistic community, a hotel room when a man was in Do we need to relook at all our we hear that Akbar’s lawyers are his underwear”; little realising that present and former colleagues with contacting all his friends to try and none of the women knew this in suspicious eyes? Is the trust of the get character certificates for him. advance. And more importantly, past broken? Underlying all this drama is underwear is not the appropriate In these questions, there are some the problem itself: that sexual choice of attire when you’re value judgments as well. Trust harassment and worse have been conducting job interviews. Why is is clearly not enough. Processes rampant in newsrooms forever. the burden of good behaviour on and paths to justice are vital. That journalists who are happy to the women and not the men who Committees must be formed within report on the misdoings of others have crossed the line? the guidelines of the law. But more have carefully ignored their own Those of us who worked than that, people need safe places transgressions. That women have in newsrooms where sexual where their problems will be internalised harassment to such harassment was not overt or heard. We hear of instances where Illustration: Arun Ramkumar Illustration: October-December 2018 VIDURA 3 the predator himself was on the newsroom is not a playground for our focus was on some other ‘bigger complaints committee.

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