Sex crime allegations against Tehelka’s
editor-in-chief and proprietor Tarun Tejpal, a media celebrity in India have
been made.
It's somewhat of an irony for a magazine that has
run hard-hitting exposes of high-profile figures involved in sex crimes, but
finds itself accused of double standards in the way it's treating its own
famous founder, now he is an alleged perpetrator.
In the process, the scandal is reviving the debate
about how India treats sex crimes in particular and women in general.
Many are astonished though that of all
organizations, it should be Tehelka - which means "sensation" -
sparking this firestorm.
The magazine is synonymous in India with campaigning
investigative journalism, with a string of high-profile scalps going back 13
years.
It led the way in coverage of the Delhi gang rape
case, with its managing editor Shoma Choudhury writing an in-depth piece on male
attitudes to sex crimes.
Now she finds herself in the uncomfortable position
of being accused of glossing over such views, after her email to staff
described Tejpal's actions as "an untoward incident".
And the magazine's same exacting standards are now
being applied to Tehelka.
Under pressure, it has set
up a committee to look into the allegations - a body
it was already supposed to have in place under laws to prevent sexual
harassment.
But that's unlikely to appease critics who have
called its initial response of allowing Tejpal to apologise to the employee and
then step aside for six months as a "whitewash".
Ms Choudhury released
a statement saying she condemns sexual
harassment and that she acted in accordance with the wishes of the colleague
who made the accusation.
But she has also said that she will not co-operate
with any investigation by police in Goa - where the assaults are alleged to
have taken place in early November - unless the alleged victim launches a
formal complaint.
But what made things even worse is the conditional tone of Tarun Tejpal's
supposedly unconditional apology - in which he
talks about "a bad lapse of judgment" and critically "an awful
misreading of the situation".
It left the impression in many eyes that he was
suggesting the woman bore some of the blame - echoing a mindset that Tehelka is
usually the first to condemn.
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