Delhi Diary

Seedy Players

Yesterday’s heroes, today’s villains. Today’s villains, tomorrow’s heroes. What an ulta-pulta country we live in. To describe what is happening all around as murky would be an understatement. As a paid-up jholawala votary, editing an allegedly jholawala magazine, we are naturally on the side of the jholawalas. But when jholawalas start quarrelling among themselves, it is best to run for cover. However, before I run, the Shanti-Prashant Bhushan CD matter needs to be addressed. Of course, all things are possible and as we journalists learn, nothing should be discounted in public affairs. Be that as it may, without having sent the CD to any Indian or foreign forensic lab, I am confident the father and son duo will come out clean. The vilification campaign against them seems so crude, so clumsy, its timing so suspect that I can hardly believe the stitch-up is a professional job.

For the record, whoever sent the anonymous envelope containing the ‘dynamite’ did not consider this magazine worthy of the honour. Meanwhile, the jury is still out on who did the dirty deed. One suspect is the party many of you think is my real employer. Anna Hazare and his team have hurt the Congress grievously, so they must remain the prime suspects. The only thing which raises a doubt in my mind is the shoddy, amateurish nature of the framing. Other conspirators, notably Shri Amar Singh, also had compelling motives to discredit Prashant and his dad. So, they also are in the identification parade.

Anna Hazare and his Movement Against Corruption (MAC) have several chinks in their armour, both ethical and technical. Those should have been the target of his assorted critics. Unfortunately, they have chosen the vilest tactic to take on the MAC. I hope they get a bloody nose.

Praying for Rein

The proposed Lokpal draft promises to superintend politicians, bureaucrats and judges. Can I suggest one other estate fit for inclusion: the media? As long as the Lokpal is truly independent of the government, I have no problem in answering to the new ombudsman. As things stand currently, the Press Council is toothless and its moral strictures generally ignored by the guilty. The courts take too long and, as we at Outlook know by experience, can be used as instruments of harassing the media. Thus, for those truly aggrieved, there is no agency to provide fair and speedy redressal. Numerous attempts have been made to set up an effective industry body to promote self-regulation. They have come to nought.

As the Radia tapes have regrettably shown, editors and senior journalists are being increasingly dragged into taking sides in intra-corporate and intra-party disputes. Alarmingly, some journalists are not being dragged, they go willingly. The role of editor/editors, when such issues arise, should no longer be protected by the all-embracing “freedom of the press” alibi. If politicians, bureaucrats and judges can be brought to book and punished, why not editors?

Let He Who Hasn’t Sinned...

Sheela Reddy’s article last week on middle-class corruption has evoked enormous response from readers. As a result, I began pondering over the corruption I have indulged in over the past 12 months. Jumping the reservation queue on the Nizamuddin-Dehradun Express via the Railway PRO, and sometimes the minister’s office, comes immediately to mind. On the train, I tip the attendant in advance—something I am not supposed to do. He makes our beds first and properly, gets us a cup of tea early in the morning and provides regular updates on train arrival/delay.

I forget how many letters I’ve given to my staff in the office, my driver, my Jeeves, my dhobi to help getting their kids admission into school. Occasionally, I’ve made phone calls to the principal. You might be pleased to know that till date not a single letter bearing my signature has borne fruit. In one instance, the principal told me he reads Outlook regularly but can’t help. Some months ago, my car was caught in a traffic offence. A week later, I got a summons from the court to personally appear and pay the fine by a certain date. My driver forgot, so did I. Now, I am trying to find out how to pay a late fine. You can be sure I will not go myself but send someone from the office with the money.

Do I have any moral right to shout and scream about corruption? Or am I complicit?

A Privileged Editor

In case you have been wondering, Editor is fine, if a trifle preoccupied. Hardly a week passes by without some dog magazine—I didn’t realise there were so many—coming to interview him and take his picture. He has become quite adept at posing in front of the camera, preferring to present his left side profile. Which, alas, is not his best side. My wife and I are invariably excluded from the shoot and the interview. The magazines want an Editor exclusive!