A forward from Prof. Om Damani:
We are writing this open letter to the editorial
board of "The Hindu" to express our dismay at your
coverage of recent events at Nandigram.
Most of us are regular readers of your paper. We have
appreciated your balanced coverage of topics such as
the Narmada Dam, Gujarat or the Agrarian Crisis. At
least in our eyes, your principled reportage of these
issues (and numerous others) has lent your newspaper
an unusual degree of credibility. We believe that your
paper's articles carry enormous weight in moulding
public opinion and policy.
It is therefore a cause of collective concern when
this credibility gets damaged. We are particularly
disturbed by the editorial titled "The Challenge of
Nandigram" (12th Nov. 2007) which displayed a marked
slant. Even granting merit to the editorial's
contention that the state government had to take steps
to restore governance in the area, it seems beyond
dispute that the methods adopted to do so were
inherently incompatible with the rule of law in a
democracy. We cannot comprehend how a full length
editorial could completely fail to take note of the
unchecked violence by the CPM cadres, the curbs that
were placed on independent reporting, the attacks on
reputed activists like Medha Patkar, all of which seem
to have been facilitated – or at least condoned - by
the state. None of these well documented events have
any place in a society governed by law, and should
have occasioned strong comment. We failed to see any
critical editorial acknowledgement of these events,
even after the chief minister had practically admitted
having operated outside the law through remarks such
as being "paid back in their own coin". This stands in
marked contrast to the way the governor has been
singled out for supposedly impolitic remarks. This
selective silence opens the Hindu to the charge of
being partisan in its outlook.
We also notice that, unlike many other issues of
similar gravity, there has been a marked absence of
centrepage articles on this topic. One would have
expected The Hindu to flesh out the differing points
of view on this issue as well as the dimensions of the
human tragedy. By choosing not to do so, The Hindu
abdicates its responsibility to its readers for fair
and balanced reporting.
We would hate to see The Hindu be identified as a
newspaper purveying party propaganda. It is important
that the integrity of the newspaper be above all
question. An erosion of The Hindu's credibility would
be an immeasurable loss for journalism and for
society.
Your Sincerely,
Academics from Harish-Chandra Research Institute
Allahabad, Indian Institute of Technology
Bombay/Kanpur/Madras, Institute of Mathematical
Sciences Chennai, Jawaharlal Nehru University Delhi,
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research Mumbai. (A
complete list of signatories is given below.)
CC:
1. N. Ram, Editor-in-chief
2. N. Ravi, Editor
3. K. Narayanan, Readers' Editor
4. N Murali, Managing Director
5. Board of Directors
List of Signatories:
1. Prof. M Suresh Babu, IITM
2. Prof. Rahul Basu, IMSc
3. Prof. Enakshi Bhattacharya, IITM
4. Prof. Milind Brahme, IITM
5. Prof. Dhiman Chatterjee, IITM
6. Prof. Supratik Chakraborty, IITB
7. Prof. Om Damani, IITB
8. Prof. Rukmini Dey, HRI
9. Prof. Avinash Dhar, TIFR
10. Prof. Raj Gandhi, HRI
11. Prof. Debashis Ghoshal, JNU
12. Prof. Rajesh Gopakumar, HRI
13. Prof. Purushottam Kulkarni, IITB
14. Prof. P B Sunil Kumar, IITM
15. Prof. Arul Lakshminarayan, IITM
16. Prof. Shiraz Minwalla, TIFR
17. Prof. Sunil Mukhi, TIFR
18. Prof. Ram Puniyani, retired, IITB
19. Prof. Sudhir Chella Rajan, IITM
20. Prof. Mahendra Verma, IITK
21. Prof. Spenta Wadia, TIFR
Contacts:
1. Prof. Om Damani, ompdamani@gmail.com, 9323003401
2. Prof. Rajesh Gopakumar, gopakumr@gmail.com ,
532-2567732
3. Prof. Shiraz Minwalla, shiraz.minwalla@gmail.com
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