A column titled ‘Time for a
RE-THINK?’, by Malavika Sanghvi in the Mumbai tabloid, ‘Mid-Day’,
was recently criticised for its positive spin on an attempt at the
revival of the issue surrounding journalist Tarun Tejpal,
who still faces a rape charge and is currently out on bail, following
events at the Tehelka-founded event, THINK.
The 174-word-long
column also promoted the revival of THINK, which was Tejpal’s
brainchild. ‘THINK could be revived early 2017’, the column went
on to state, adding that Tejpal had “committed
a grave error” but was undeserving of
having been “dragged through the coals”
in the manner that he was.
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Tejpal was not in a position “to
fight the good fight”, the column said, adding that as such,
“liberal voices” had to intervene at a time when “regressive
thoughts and actions seem to rule”. While
it may be true that strong liberal voices may need to be heard, the
question that perhaps needs to be put forth is whether they also need
to be heard to defend a person, commoner or celebrity, who has been
charged with a crime.
There can be no doubt that Tarun Tejpal
still evokes strong emotions. Reactions of every conceivable nature
to this column from across the country have certainly proven that
much. In Goa, there are many mixed reactions to the entire debacle.
Café speaks with people from the
state and gets their take on the issue:
Tarun Tejpal is just out on bail, his
name has not yet been cleared by the court. He has been accused of a
very serious matter – sexual harassment
of someone working under him. I feel that before
anybody passes any judgement
on the issue, all the evidence must be exhibited in the court and a
verdict has to come from the judge. Let Tarun Tejpal defend himself;
why are others trying to do that for him? All said and done, I still
have faith in our judicial system and I know that even if it takes
time, the court will certainly bring about justice.
Meenacshi Martins,
Actress
I feel that whenever a woman complains
of a crime like rape, a particular procedure has to be followed as
per the law. The right procedure must be followed for the victim as
well as accused, no matter how powerful
they are. In the Tejpal case, we saw that the action taken was much
quicker as compared to many other cases in our country. This shows
that the reaction to crime from the administrators of law changes
according to who is involved in the case.
Sabina Martins,
Activist
Rape is a very serious crime. So before
commenting on this, or defending anybody, it’s necessary that we know
whether it’s real or planted. Today, it’s so difficult to say
anything about such issues without knowing the truth as there have
been cases where people have been falsely accused. I fight for women,
and I would vouch for a woman if I know that she is truthful. But
unless the truth comes out, it’s not right to comment or point
fingers at anybody. For once the truth is
out, even if the person clears his name, his reputation will already
be spoiled. So, it’s necessary that we find out the facts first and
then give our opinion.
Cecille Rodrigues,
Dance Education Specialist
The Tarun Tejpal incident has been
sensationalised to an extent which blurs the fine line between what’s
true and what lies behind the curtain. We’ve seen enough of the blame
games in the recent past and it’s time to leave it up
to our judicial system to let the facts out in the open. Media
being the Fifth Estate of Democracy must assist them in doing so.
Shreeya Kamat Ghanekar,
Media Professional
My views about this issue are very
extreme. I think Tarun Tejpal shouldn’t even have gained bail. I
don’t believe in rehabilitation. It’s possible to change the
behaviour or thinking of a child, not an adult. It would have been
better if he had remained in jail until the court’s verdict was out.
Gaurish Paranjape,
Student
