Free, fair and fearless: Why it will be difficult for Tehelka to survive

Former editor of The Hindu N Ram today said that Tehelka will find it very difficult to recover from the setback caused by the alleged sexual assault charges against its founder Tarun Tejpal. “Tehelka is not finished. But Tehelka as it was, an organisation that held high ground is finished,” Ram told CNN-IBN during a debate. He said, “Shoma Chaudhury has behaved disgracefully in this case. It will be difficult for brand Tehelka to recover from the body blow from this incident.” [caption id=“attachment_1253989” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Tarun Tejpal. AFP[/caption] Other panelists on the debate mostly agreed to Ram’s statement. Activist Mallika Sarabhai said, “Unfortunately it is not the sexual assault alone, but other information on the funding for the THiNK fest and Tehelka itself is dicey and in contradiction to the free, fair and fearless statement it makes.” “Brand Tehelka is destroyed also because of everything else that is tumbling out,” Sarabhai said. Hartosh Singh Bal, who was also once worked for Tejpal, said that questions about funding for Tehelka by Trinamool Congress MP KD Singh should have been asked earlier. “Real dangers are when journalists over step boundaries to look after the business part of the venture. From the inception of Tehelka it has been a private limited company. The questions on its funding become much more important because Tehelka claims to be fair and fearless,” Bal said, adding “When scrutiny comes your way you have to pass that scrutiny.” Questions were also raised on whether the genre of journalism practiced by Tehelka will now be trusted. Journalist Anna MM Vetticad was of the opinion that Chaudhury’s actions towards the issue were particularly disgraceful because of the high feminist principles she had always claimed she has. “Shoma was perceived as a crusader for women’s rights and for her to have failed the complainant so miserably and the cover up of the issue is disappointing,” Vetticad said. Ram on similar lines said, “The fall back player Shoma Chaudhury is also disgraced by her actions. I hope media houses welcome journalists from Tehelka if the organisation shuts down.” Meanwhile, Sarabhai who has always held Tehelka in high esteem said, “Tehelka is a very important part of my life for the hundreds of things they have laid bare. Personally I feel deceived.” However lawyer Mahesh Jethmalani, son of Ram Jethmalani who owns one percent stake in Tehelka, criticised Tejpal saying, “When I first met Tarun he was a young man full of idealism. But somewhere down the line little a bit of cynicism crept in about him. Beneath all the idealism he had a desire to leap frog into limelight. Disillusionment towards him set in a long time ago.” But, brand advisor Harish Bijoor said that there are chances, however slim, of brand Tehelka bouncing back. “A brand is a thought in a persons mind, and when that person is involved in a case like this it is sullied. It is like a cancer. But, brands are resilient entities. If a relaunch is planned Tehelka may survive, but probably not in the honest to god avatar that it had.” Bijoor also said, “Public memory is truly short. Tehelka can make a comeback if it brings out a white paper, provided it acts as a person that is aggrieved for this incident and provides a platform for the aggrieved to speak out and provided that it is married to integrity.” The panelist, in the backdrop of funding skeletons falling out of Tehelka’s closet, were of the opinion that media houses should be clean on where their money comes from. “Before KD Singh there were series of investors. Why was THiNK separated from Tehelka? Why would someone want to invest in a loss making venture? These questions should have been asked earlier,” said Bal. Agreeing to Bal’s remarks, Ram said, “We need transparency and disclosure on funding arrangements of media houses. Like Hartosh said why would anyone invest in a loss making venture unless there is a political motivation.” On the politicisation of the issue, Vetticad came down heavily on polticians who have gotten involved blaming Tejpal of having Congress connections. “Can all the politics please stop? This issue is not about them. It is about a girl who has been sexually assaulted. It is unfortunate that attention is being diverted from the real issue of crime against women,” said Vetticad. As a conclusion she added that after this incident all the impeccable stories done by Tehelka would now seem nothing but hollow.