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After sexual harassment allegations, Calcutta Times Editor gets a transfer but survivors say, not enough

ScribeShah
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After sexual harassment allegations, Calcutta Times Editor gets a transfer but survivors say, not enough

Kolkata: Editor of Calcutta Times, Satadru Ojha, who has been in the limelight for all the wrong reason, has been relieved of his current responsibility and has been relocated to a different city with a new role. Ojha, has been accused by at least three former Times of India employee for sexual harassment. The decision came not after the victims filed their complaints with the HR but after Nasreen Khan, also one of the co-founders of eNewsroom highlighted her turmoil, when the #MeToo India movement was hitting its peak. However, the company has not mentioned where Satadru Ojha has been relocated and what new responsibility he has been assigned.

The official note shared with eNewsroom by Anshul Chaturvedi, National Editor, Times of India’s Metro Supplements stated, “A highly empowered and accessible committee to investigate and address all allegations of sexual harassment. The committee is chaired by a senior woman executive and majority of its members are accomplished women, in addition to NGO representatives and legal professionals with relative experience at social work.”

Ojha has been charged of sexual harassment by three women journalists who worked under him. The survivours– Nasreen Khan, Amita Ghosh and Deblina Chakravorty also took on to social media to highlight the ordeal that they had to endure at Calcutta Times. Khan led the way, as she was the first to narrate her plight. She was soon followed by the other two, Ghosh and Chakravorty. Their horrific tales were published in eNewsroom first. The trio mentioned that sexual harassment along with prolonged mental harassment took a toll on their physical as well as mental health. Amita also pointed out how few women journalists close to Ojha joined hands with him to add on to the plight of survivors.

Ghosh who is currently working for a news channel stated that she was happy with this move of Times of India. She said, “This is a step taken towards unbiased investigation of the matter.  I am not hopeless as TOI taking a step like this is definitely a big deal as it is never been done before. He has been shielded in the past and now he being relocated to a different city with a new role is a big thing.” But she added, “We want justice and want him to step down so that this should act as a deterrent for everyone.”

On October 11, Amita had filed a police complaint against Satadru, for sexually harassing her and the discrimination that she faced in office, which ultimately forced her to leave the organization.

Nasreen who has been battling a lone battle against the serial offender, felt that the transfer was farce in the name of an internal investigation. “I am fighting a mindset, so am not at all vindictive.  Relocating won’t help. It will give him a fresh territory. It’s like a predator let loose to fend for fresh meat in a new territory.” She added, “TOI has been forced to take this step to combat the negative publicity that it has been getting. The fact that TOI didn’t suspend him or asked him to leave clearly shows that the company is still backing him. Under the pressure of #MeToo movement and social media TOI was bound to take action just to save their face.”

When asked to comment on the official note of TOI that stated: “The complaint was dismissed after a detailed investigation by the ICC due to absence of corroborating evidence”, Nasreen said that official statement issued by TOI reflect their bias. She said, “I have nothing to gain from it. My consciousness couldn’t allow me to run away from the crime being committed. I had to fight back.”

And Once The Storm Is Over – Yes Me Too

Saira Shah Halim
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And Once The Storm Is Over – Yes Me Too

They say time is a great healer, how long does it take one to heal? 5 years? 10 years? Or 20? Lets just say perhaps the scars remain forever, time passes us by, memories and trauma remains, some pleasant, some angst ridden tearing one’s heart asunder. As the ongoing campaign on #MeTooIndia gains momentum, rages on and various skeletons tumble out of the closet, we need to applaud a lot of women for coming out with their stories, a few of the stories have devastated me, shaken me to the core.

While sporadic calling out to men has begun with veracity and a lot of ‘celebrity predators’ are being named in the hall of shame.

Perhaps its time to call out everything that broke us as women, and not just the men who have broken us.

While I do acknowledge the pain and the angst of the women who survived horrific accounts of sexual assault, rape and misdemeanour at the hands of their colleagues, bosses, lovers among others and I too have faced many #MeToo moments at my workplace and otherwise, perhaps I will pen about it, perhaps I won’t, we all weigh our choices in life and at the end of the day be at peace with our lives.

I also need to reiterate that my life has been shaped by the good men in my life much more than women. My heroes.

My Father- the officer and the gentleman the one who lowers his gaze in the presence of Women even till this day, perhaps it is his tarbiyat or an old world thing, it still gives me hope.

My father in law – the man of few words, the dignified stance on anything and everything.

My husband – whom I have never found looking at other women, not even when one’s guard was down, one who’s always encouraged me to soar.

It doesn’t matter whether these men are public persons or not, what truly matters is how men behave with a woman in private space, social media and public life can be a different reality altogether.

My two brothers who have been a source of strength and light to me and last but not the least of all my male friends who have always supported my decisions in life, celebrated my small  and big victories by sending  meaningful gifts home like books or even flowers and for always having my back.

I have in fact been scarred by a whole lot of vicious and manipulative women, some of whom I regarded as friends, bent over backwards for them, who in turn treated me as a social ladder, mission accomplished discarded me the opportune moment they gelled with someone more important, more powerful and the list goes on, the fact that I happened to make these ‘happening’ ladies meet most of these ‘‘important’’ folks around town in purely incidental.

The fact that Women cannot be bullies or harassers is a pure myth.

Way back at boarding school I was bullied by  some girls when I had just taken admission, no one wanted to sit with me in class as I wasn’t considered cool to hang around with, singled out, disenfranchised I decided to become ‘better’ if not ‘bitter’.

I started reflecting on myself and what I needed to do to get accepted in the ‘cool cat’ gang.

Do I need to get better grades, do I need to polish myself up so that I am not the butt of jokes each and every time, I buried my pain, cried myself to sleep to wake up to a new resolute and determined me.

In turn I fared better, looked better, a transformation had begun, not in anyway saying that the bullying helped, just emphasising on how I made my past circumstances work in my favour.

As a result I became sharper, smarter, focused all the while working on my mental and physical resilience of serial bullying and shaming.

In college during my periods I remember suffering from dysmenorrhea, the pain was so bad, I would writhe in pain for hours, and at college hostels where sports are compulsory, I was subjected to harsher penalty if I didn’t turn up for the sports hour, there was no way the female PT instructor would excuse my attendance.

In comparison excusing myself from a male PT instructor was far easier.

At the workplace I had a far more challenging time with a female boss a firm who wallowed in ‘group politics’, nepotism than perhaps a male boss.

Promotions were solely reserved for those who could ‘butter’ her better, not based on who could do one’s work better.

The male friends that I have don’t indulge in petty politics, are not there to steal anyone’s thunder or to plot someones downfall.

Some women that I know are famous for hunting in packs, they attend parties together, leave parties together, check each others guest list, strike people off guest lists based on whom they don’t like and vice versa.

Moral of the story is– the more popular and famous you are, the more one has to deal with jealousies, insecurities, women plotting against women and the list goes on.

Today as I address the #MeToo battle, I insist it doesn’t become a Women Vs Men slugfest and frivolous conversation and personal vendetta should not take over the real battle women are fighting against misogyny and patriarchy.

I decided to walk away from the muck once and for all as life does not depend on how many fleet of stairs one climbed in a social circus, what matters is what you are today and what you made of your life with whatever opportunities that came your way. As Haruki Murakami famously said:

And once the storm is over, you wont remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive, You wont even be sure whether the storm is really over, but one thing is certain, When you come out of the storm you wont be the same person who walked in, that’s what this storm is all about.

Calcutta Times and its serial sexual offender use same modus operandi

Amita Ghose
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Calcutta Times and its serial sexual offender use same modus operandi

[dropcap]W[/dropcap]rote, deleted, rewrote, backspaced and finally could gather the emotions together to be able to write it down. “Sexually harassed, troubled and compelled to resign from my position (Amita Ghose, Correspondent, Calcutta Times)” read my complaint letter. Several communications to the authority was made by me and I still can’t find the answer to WHY AND HOW a repeat offender continues to enjoy his status and power?

I think can go on for about 4 lakhs words to explain how I felt, what I actually went through, how horrid it was to face abuse, attempt to physical assault by the other women in the presence of the so-called editor in his cabin itself, how it felt to be treated like a furniture in office for long six months, how hard it was to remain unemployed for 8 months, how terrible it was to face the passionate journalist just turned into a sleeping pill addict every morning in the mirror – but I think I should not. Rather, ‘Mudde pe aatein hain’.

As I mentioned earlier I was severely harassed and bullied by Editor Calcutta Times Satadru Ojha and his female clan which had (still have maybe) three women actively and others passively. Before I get into any detail I must mention, who this Ojha and his girls are. Ojha is a repeat offender of “alleged” sexual abuse and workplace harassment. Quite a confident man by talks because obviously, he has a team of women to support and hide all his sins.

Many mistakes of mine at Cal Times: I could not ‘please Ojha’. I could not be below average to please his female clan as well. Ojha’s late night calls were addressed with only professionalism. His lame sexist, lewd jokes were hardly entertained by me. Also, I could not be cool enough to entertain Ojha by accompanying him to various places.

And the biggest mistake that I committed at Calcutta Times was to fall in love with a freelance photographer. Yes, it was my biggest mistake. Afterall Ojha is used to having all the women at his service how could I ignore his calls and mushy talks and fall for a mere temporary employee? So, not only my career and life was crushed but also this innocent man who happened to like me. Situations were created in a way so that either of us was forced to quit and exactly what happened. My boyfriend had to quit. Ojha might not be very happy to know that we are still together and plan to be together FOREVER.

As I may fall short of words to explain the despair and agony. The torture that I went through. To enlighten you with what had actually happened in a very crisp manner I, here, am sharing my complaint letter to the sexual harassment cell of BCCL.

**Letter Starts**

Dear Seniors/Supervisors/Managers,

Here I wish to tell you all that happened to me and how I was forced to put in my papers. After several sleepless nights, bottles of finished sleeping pills and a lot of anger and pain, here I decide, I should write this. Though I am leaving I don’t want another girl to go through this hell again. I was not only harassed but was pushed into the shallowness of depression.  I was publicly abused, humiliated and assaulted causing me unbearable mental agony that affected my health. This is a vicious cycle of sexual harassment at the workplace by the boss aided and abetted by the women who form a part of his coterie. Thanks to Manager, Calcutta Times, Satadru Ojha and his female brigade including Z**** **n, S*******a M*********r, R**** G***** and others (who played active roles on and off).

I had been working as a correspondent with Calcutta Times (Joined Delhi Times as a Trainee reporter in Early 2015 and had taken a transfer later in the same year in December due to my father’s prolonged illness). I hereby seek your little attention and request you to give this letter a 7/8 minutes read to know how a group of bullies have been bullying new comers in Calcutta Times and making their lives difficult and leaves scratches in their hearts forever. These culprits and their deeds should be known all across the bosses and editions.

The initial three months:

My initial days in CT were not bad at all. I was given many opportunities by Mr Ojha and was allowed to explore work opportunities in any and every possible fields. Things were all right, until I started getting midnight calls from Mr Ojha asking “Kono chaap nei toh? Kono Osubidhe hochche na to? Life e sob kichu thik ache? Tumi amake bolte paro’ (Asking me if there’s anything wrong in my personal life and seeking some inside news as well as extending a hand of help). I was surprised as my manager calling me up in the midnight did not seem a normal thing. I did tell about this to a few friends and colleagues in DT. None here, as I was just a few days old and didn’t know how should I react and to whom. So, I decided to avoid.

That day onwards I would often be complimented on my dress, red lipstick, hair cut and looks. I again avoided him (here and further him would mean Mr Ojha only) and kept on doing that. But even that didn’t help. The next thing I was asked by my manager in his cabin on a working day during working hours was ‘So, mod tod khao to?’ (Do you drink alcohol?) I replied saying, “I have given up on it. Don’t wish to continue” and left. Then comes another day when he wishes to take me out on a drink! I said I had work and avoided again. He understood that everything in life is not that available, as others were.

Later in 2016

Then things got even worse. Reason? He heard that I have become good friends with a freelance photographer from the team itself. So, he blatantly called me in his cabin and with a straight face he said, “You know initially I thought it wasn’t for real. But then let me tell you, you should not go around with him. You and he (the freelance photographer friend) are poles apart -financially as well as socially.” I replied saying, “It is my personal life and I don’t wish to discuss this here”. This had done enough damage as I expected.

My stories started getting rejected. I was stopped being called in meetings. But what happened with my friend was the worst. There were directives from him to not send me and him on the same assignment. Also Mr Ojha stopped giving my friend assignments. My friend who was once the most favoured photographer in the team, was suddenly not getting a single assignment. My friend eventually gave up and left the team. For Mr Ojha it was definitely a winning stroke.

He started creating several miscommunications between team-mates

I was called in a meeting and told by Mr Ojha that I being a reporter should not work on pages unless and until there is huge staff crunch. I followed the instruction religiously. On a Sunday (Otherwise a lighter day, workwise), I was asked by XXXX XXX and XXXX XXXXXX (Desk people, team heads on a Sunday) , I with no objection followed their instruction.  The next day, Ojha calls me up and thrashes me left and right for working on a page. As I told I was asked to work on it he learnt that and hung up. The next morning I hear, XXXX and XXXX have been rebuked and told that I have complained against them. And another similar situation was created after a month between XXXX and I. that time I approached him, like the previous time and wanted the matters to get resolved. But he denied. It was clear by then that he wanted to tamper my position as a team player in the team. And he successfully did so.

Mr Ojha and his female brigade

I fail to understand the functioning of this team. So, before getting into further detail I would like to introduce the core trouble making bullies’ group in the department consisting XXXX, XXXXXXX, XXXXXX – these three have been working together for more than 10 years now. I was in no time the biggest threat to this group because I could not please Satadru Ojha. Thus they started chasing me in a herd.

Also, I was not so cool to be a part of the team I guess.  I could not understand how they functioned. There are women who would walk into boss’s cabin, spending hours after hours in chit chatting and what we heard was loud laughter, FOR HOURS! Or another colleague of mine would dance in boss’s cabin to show the signature pose of a recently released item number. Or another would do burpees and Zumba in the office work floor. And all of it during the work hours. Before firing the edition. No wonder why CT fires the edition latest.

My appraisal clearly reflected that I could not impress my Boss!

I was stopped being called into meetings (Would be called in story meetings very rarely) by Boss. Most of the story idea meetings would take place on days when I am not there. Even after giving the most number of page 1 stories through out, my appraisal letter’s numbers and bonus amount was the least in the team and was something that I myself was ashamed of.  Anyone would.

WHAT WAS MY FAULT? Is the only way a woman can survive in this organisation if she ‘pleases’ her boss? I am writing this mail to you because I don’t want anyone else to go through it again. If no one can answer, then take a suggestion from me, IF YOU HAVE DAUGHTERS, SISTERS, WIVES AT HOME, WHO WISH TO JOIN JOURNALISM, WHO SPEAK THEIR MINDS, ARE HONEST AND DIGNIFIED, THEN DON’T SEND THEM HERE. NEVER. THEY WILL ALSO END UP HAVING SEVERAL SLEEPING PILLS EVERY NIGHT.

Yours truly and faithfully,

A reporter who has worked through her day offs only to earn humiliation, depression and mental illness, Amita Ghose, ph- XXXXXXXXXX

**Letter Ends**

(Please note: I was asked for various proofs, records and then was discarded. The AMAZING HR who was also a female flew down from Mumbai to Kolkata and left without even releasing a single statement of lightest rebuke to those who abused and assaulted me. Oh, she was rather busy going out with Ojha and his female clan over lunch. However, seeing the absolute reluctance I felt even more vulnerable and had to leave for good).

 

eNewsroom has carried the unedited version of the author, to keep the essence of her agony intact. If TOI wishes to share its version, we will carry it too.

How I was sexually harassed by TOI editor and my fight against it

ScribeShah
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How I was sexually harassed by TOI editor and my fight against it

[dropcap]I[/dropcap] faced repeated sexual harassment from my former boss Satadru Ojha at Calcutta Times. And after all his failed attempts to make me fall for his smooth words of fake appreciation in public (causing unwanted jealousy and office politics) followed by arm twisting tactics he had the gall to finally tell me on my face that I can’t work (in Calcutta Times) unless I keep him “happy” and “please” him. This was just before the assessment in 2014.

Things had started right after I joined in 2013 and I fought on alone despite being boycotted (clearly under instructions of the culprit) by everyone in the team and outside till 2015.

Mr Ojha had earlier called me up several times while I was home to say how I could enjoy extra days off to spend time with my kid if only I knew “how to play my cards well”. On one particular occasion when I was home nursing my sick child he called again with the same sweet temptation. I lost my cool and shouted at him to never call me and to communicate with me either via SMS or emails only. My kid, despite being ravaged by high fever, understood something was wrong. The effect it had on her came out recently. Last week someone from TOI had visited her school to promote the newspaper and my little one kept glaring at her because she was praising the editor. It intrigued the lady and she asked my daughter why she was not showing any interest in subscribing to the newspaper since it came with a host of other offers and gifts. My daughter asked her if the editor is still “Shatoduru something” (she couldn’t pronounce the name correctly). The journalist was surprised to know she knew about him and asked what her name was. My little one replied, “Just tell him I’m Nasreen Khan’s daughter”.

Coming back to my ‘story’ I later came to know that the editor had ganged up with others in the team who were feeling threatened by my presence and had made every effort to sabotage my work and to malign me. For example despite an exclusive interview with Akshay Kumar they deliberately delayed publishing the story and then took it on page 5! They had even twisted my exclusive interview with Shahrukh Khan to make it seem he’s anti Indian. Those in the entertainment media will understand that all this is done to sabotage whatever contacts you build.

Coming back to the sexual harassment part, this man then stopped taking all my stories and assigned my ideas to others. Multiple page one stories of mine were done by other journalists. I had written proof of all this. But I didn’t protest. I was living in denial and trying to shut my mind to the united assault on my entity and capability by stuffing my face with sweets. I later came to know that it was a psychological reaction to all that was happening to me. In the meanwhile others from different departments within TOI, Kolkata started sharing their ordeal with me. I was caught between finding an alternate job to be able to follow my passion for writing and raising my kid independently or complaining against a man who I knew was a repeat offender. It was the HR and the Branch Manager in Kolkata who finally pushed me to speak up. But I was not prepared for what was to come next.

The all India HR head Siddhartha Ganguly who flew down to Kolkata to meet me not only admitted that he’s aware of what’s happening and that the errant editor was under therapy to stop such behaviour, he asked me to withdraw my complaint. He said it would serve no purpose to bang my head against the wall. He then went ahead to subtly hint at my marital status with a clear intention to shame me. Next, the then head of the TIMS group, Priya Gupta flew down to meet everyone and much to my shock and bewilderment told me that “The boss is like a husband and I must learn to adjust”. I had shared this with a close friend in the media who had even tweeted this without taking names. Till then I still was being cautious because I did not want to sabotage my career. I was this close to becoming the editor of Femina East. But the entire BCCL machinery was put into action and they used all their artillery to muffle my voice because I refused to take back my complaint and was insisting on an independent inquiry.

I was not going to run away from my demons. I was prepared to face them. But the evil forces got more evil. While I was caught up between the meetings with the big bosses flying in from Delhi/Mumbai and unknown to me a ‘package story’ was published under my name. It was titled “Hot Babes With Ugly Legs” and it had some of the most respected names in Hollywood in the list including Angelina Jolie and Lindsay Lohan. The article body shamed them and I was shamed internationally for the article. Incidentally among the first to speak up and shame me was Cosmopolitan, UK and Huffington Post. BCCL is the partner company of Cosmopolitan in India and Huffington Post entered India soon after in collaboration with BCCL.

Around the same time a journalist from Australia also found me on Twitter to tag me to her “first attempt at opinion piece”. It goes without saying that it was on the same article purportedly written by me. But till date I’m not sure how she located me on Twitter where my bio never ever mentioned that I’m a journalist or that I’m even from Kolkata. (My bio remains the same as it was then. I added my location and my online news portal’s name only recently and that too after I got tagged in multiple posts related to some other Nasreen Khan in UK).

What followed next was even more bizarre. In the middle of the night I got a call that threatened me with abduction and rape! I recognised the voice but did not name the person because I was confident Kolkata Police would be able to trace the caller and action would be taken. The caller was a gay makeup artist I knew professionally and I knew he was made to make the call so that even if the call was traced to him his being gay would put a question mark on my “claims”. After that I was not surprised to see that the makeup artist got featured regularly on Calcutta Times. The morning after that call I went to my local police station but they kept coming up with excuses to delay filing my complaint and after a few days informed me that the number belonged to someone in Murshidabad and that his call records don’t show any calls made to me. Nevertheless, I also recorded my statement with a judicial magistrate and it was she who told me about spoof calling.

When I went back to work the day after that phone call I witnessed a change in Mr Ojha. After my complaint earlier he had stopped coming over and hovering around my seat. He again started walking to and fro around me and had a smirk on his face and an ugly glint in his eyes that I’ll never forget for the rest of my life. It creeped me out and I immediately applied for leave which I knew was my legitimate right under the given circumstances.

In the meanwhile I had also noticed weird activities on my personal email IDs and Facebook even when I was not logging on to it from my office computer. I looked up the IP address and found it was the same as that of TOI, Kolkata. I wrote to the IT department in Kolkata informing them about the matter and requesting them to look into it. They replied denying that the IP address belonged to TOI, which was clearly not true. So far I had been continuously writing mails from my official mail ID and marking a copy to every official I could manage to get the IDs of including Vineet Jain, Samir Jain and Indu Jain. In an agitated state of mind I again wrote to the senior officers including Mr Jain asking him if the company was not at fault what need did it have to deny its own IP address. Action was almost immediate. My computer was taken away and the local IT guys admitted, off the record of course, that the hacking was indeed being done by someone within TOI.

My harassment didn’t end there. I discovered I was part of group chats and video calls on Gmail with people I don’t even know professionally. I was/still am quite a bit technologically challenged and discovered it while fiddling with my new tablet. It was a friend from my university who alerted me that from what I was describing I was the admin of those groups! But when I went to the cyber crime cell at Lal Bazar they tried to mislead me at first. Luckily I was accompanied by a friend who intervened and then the OC accepted a written complaint but told me not to count on any positive outcome because oGoogle does not comply with their requests for information. Maybe it’s irrelevant to mention here that the business card of a colleague from TOI was lying on the OC’s table, a mere co-incidence probably.

In the meanwhile TOI blocked my access to my official email where all my correspondence and my proofs were. Luckily I still have quite a few that I had forwarded to myself and shared with friends I trusted. I was “dismissed from service since I had brought a bad name to the company because of the article I wrote which was in bad taste”. When I questioned why the editor and others in the team were not answerable since no ‘story’ can be done unless the editor gives the go ahead to the idea and after the copy is submitted it undergoes checking by the entire team and sometimes the articles are rewritten and come out reading completely different from what the copy submitted read like. And not to forget the fact that it gets published only after everyone, including the editor has passed it. The new HR person wrote back saying “do not politicise the issue”.

The earlier HR person too had to suffer because of me and he told me that he’s learned his lesson and that henceforth he’ll only toe the line of the big bosses. I felt bad and responsible for what he had to face because he spoke up what was in public knowledge and was going in my favour. After that I did not want to go on being part of an organisation that not only harboured an offender/s but protected and encouraged him/them as well. All this while I had only insisted that the company spread the message that sexual harassment will not be tolerated in the company, given that they have such lofty social awareness campaigns. I wanted them to live up to what they promoted on paper. My intention was never to punish anyone or cause him to lose his job. I saw it as a social evil and I chose to fight it.

The thought that prompted me on was that, if I did not fight now, tomorrow my daughter might join this profession and I did not want her to face anything like this. I had hoped that TOI would live up to its brand building activities that played with emotions connected to social issues by pretending to promote social change. Instead they put the entire BCCL machinery in place to fight an ordinary woman!

Yes, I do come from a privileged background but I opted to fight it out alone primarily because I knew my family would immediately ask me to leave media, they anyway thought I was wasting my time and talent writing for entertainment and lifestyle whereas I loved my work and was passionate about it. And secondly, I felt if a woman like me did not speak up then who will? I had seen how a previous victim almost ran out of the place and refused to speak up, due to personal problems I assume. And I purposely did not seek help anywhere else including my family (that housed a former district judge, secretary of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly and two time member of West Bengal Human Rights Commission; a political leader and former Member Mayor in Council, Kolkata Corporation; and the then Chief Judge Kolkata Sessions Court now Justice at Calcutta High Court) because firstly, I had/have the faith in our police and secondly, I didn’t want other women to think I could dare because of my family background. I wanted every woman out there facing such torment to have the strength and courage to stand up and protest against sexual harassment. I wanted my colleagues to know that we women maybe soft at heart, but we are never weak.

Sadly, I realised being idealistic doesn’t always work and I lost interest in writing or pursuing the matter further. I wanted to focus on raising my child and all that is positive in my life. (I must thank Gautam Bhattacharya and ABP for cajoling me back to media and giving me another opportunity to get back to doing what I loved. But I just could not get over the trauma and was questioning my choices in life). After fighting a lonely battle with the Times of India (Calcutta Times in particular) nothing happened despite all the proofs I submitted to the concerned authorities, marking a copy to the owners as well, including Indu Jain. All I managed to do is force them to set up a sexual harassment committee. After my dismissal I wasn’t surprised to find the committee’s report which stated I could not give them “substantial proof so the matter ends there”. When I enquired where I can apply against the committee’s findings, there was complete silence. I then went to my local police station to file a formal complaint against sexual harassment at workplace as per the law.

The local PS who knew us for the last 40 plus years refused to even jot down the name of the person I was complaining against. I had made the mistake of going there alone. To me it was my residential area and I saw it as a simple act of filing my complaint. But I was in for a shock. The cops present not only refused to register my complaint I was made to sit there from 6.30 pm to 10.30 pm! The cops were huddling up in groups and whispering among themselves, avoiding coming to where I was sitting and waiting for someone to accept my complaint letter. Finally I banged my can of pepper spray that I had started carrying after that threatening phone call and called them out for not protecting women and the rise in the crime rate against women under their jurisdiction. After that drama they reluctantly accepted my complaint letter. But I knew no action would be taken. I was told later that the then RE of TOI Kolkata had sent his senior crime reporter to meet the concerned cops and officers to ensure no action was taken on my complaint. I wrote to the Commissioner of Police narrating to him my experience at Hastings PS and he too came out in support of his men.

Anyway, they at least took the matter further so that I could record my statement with a judicial magistrate. Much to my embarrassment I broke down before her and decided to stop my efforts there. I did all I could to protect my self respect and dignity. Now it was taking a toll on me. I could not afford my aged parents or my young child to see me like this. I had to move on. I did and switched careers.

I now fight for the rights of other women and feel much more empowered as a lawyer. I write occasionally because it’s difficult to let go of a passion. But much to my dismay the offender, Satadru Ojha, continues with his ways, aided and abetted by some of the women in the team. His last victim had got in touch with me seeking guidance. Speaking from my experience I told her to move on and focus on her career. But yes, if she or anyone chose to take it forward legally, I’ll be more than happy to help.

For now I’m walking with my head held high and with a smile on my face. A single woman dared to challenge an organisation like The Times of India and it took the mighty BCCL to bring out all their artilleries to ‘fight’ me. Not bad! I pat my back. And I am aware that they are still monitoring all my activities, looking for ways to muffle my voice again. And I’m prepared for the challenge. Bring it on!

 

This is the author’s personal experience. If TOI or it’s editor shares their version, we shall carry the same.

Doesn’t Maa Durga bleed? Asks Bengal-origin artist, faces FIR, threats and gets trolled

ScribeShah
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Doesn’t Maa Durga bleed? Asks Bengal-origin artist, faces FIR, threats and gets trolled

Kolkata: Visual artist Aniket Mitra, who happens to be a gold medallist from Kolkata’s prestigious Art College, was in for a rude shock when he uploaded his latest artwork on his Facebook wall– Goddess Durga bleeds. Aniket got ruthlessly trolled and abused online, the artist who dared to question a social dichotomy was forced to remove his artwork.

 

What Ankit dared…

When the artist took the liberty of decorating a sanitary napkin with a chalachitra – the decorative halo that is used to adorn Goddess Durga during the most revered Bengali festival Durga Puja, Ankit had not anticipated this kind of a furore. The red lotus with some splatters in the visual perhaps was meant to artistically depict a menstruating Durga.

Speaking to eNewsroom, the artist, who didn’t want to share his work details or other information, which could help him get identified, said, “People have strongly reacted to my artwork. Some are referring me as ‘anti-Hindu’ while some are calling me an ‘anti-national’. My day starts with people verbally abusing me on social media and ends with it. It is creating havoc in my personal life. Somehow, I have become an easy target. Women are also trolling me. Many have asked me to go to Pakistan.”

Aim was to start a dialogue

The artist revealed that the idea behind his visual art was to raise a simple question – Goddess Durga is a woman, who homecoming is celebrated with great enthusiasm in Bengal. But even today hundreds of women are barred from participating in the rituals when then they are menstruating. Aniket said, “My first brush with such patriarchal practices was at my ancestral home in Midnapur. We have a 300-year-old Durga Puja celebration and I have grown up seeing how women from my family were barred from participating in any rituals when they were menstruating.” The artist was pained by this ‘cruel practice’ where women who had been eagerly waiting for the Puja festivity were not allowed to participate in any of the rituals. “Imagine their plight. I have watched my sisters, friends and now my wife being banned from participating in the Puja rituals when they were menstruating. Each time that they were barred, I felt angered. I feel infuriated that even today; we are willingly giving in to these age-old beliefs,” he said.

He then went on to add, “I can enlist a number of time when we all had planned to go pandal hopping or participate in ‘Sidur Khela’ only to witness a couple of the girls backing out, just because they were bleeding for some biological reason.”

Society or government to be blamed

Apart the prevalence of such archaic practices in present society, Aniket feels that the society and the government taken together do very little for menstruating women in general. “Both state government and puja committees spend exorbitant amount of money for these larger than life pandals to worship a woman. They all are aware of the fact that a huge number of women would be out on the streets, as they go pandal hopping. Yet not even once has one witnessed them install a sanitary pad vending machine to dispense even those cheap napkins, which can bail out the ladies if they start menstruating,” vented a rather agitated Aniket.

Protesting through art

The artist perhaps wanted to highlight this issue through his art. “I am an artist and perhaps this was the only way in which I could have protested against this social dichotomy that I abhor,” he said. But instead of winning support, it was incessant trolling that he received in abundance.

Even family being targeted

The artist claimed that the trolls have even traced his wife, brother and other family members who are also being constantly harassed. The trolling reached to such fervour that a visibly threatened Aniket had to remove the post from his Facebool page. A visibly shaken Aniket said, “I hear that people are going to lodge a complaint against me. But I have faith in Kolkata Police. Don’t think they will respond to such baseless complaints.” Reacting to BJP leader Tathagata Roy’s Tweet that asked people to lodge an FIR against him he said, “I don’t know how to react to his insulation.”

Biggest shocker – women trolled the most

However, what surprised him was the opposition he had to face from women themselves, many of whom told him that such things should not be posted publically.  “The so-called ‘empowered women’ many of whom are progressive writers and artists have voiced their dissent. But yes along with negativity there is some positivity. Indologist and specialist of Indian epics and Puranas Nrisingha Prasad Bhaduri have stood for me. It’s an honour,” he said.

Standing in support of Aniket, Mritunjay Kumar Yadavendu, assistant professor of sociology and social anthropology at Mahatma Gandhi Central University feels that it is a tool to subjugate women. “The lifeline of Hinduism is inequality and particularly patriarchal inequality. It gets reflected in notion of purity and pollution. Impurity has always to do with women. Menstruation is a natural process. To treat women abnormal is a fascist patriarchal idea. To restrict their mobility, biologically the sexual urge is high so it is a tool to control women sexuality.  By barring her from public places she will not be able to express herself. She will not treat herself normally so it is easy to subjugate her. Menstruation blood is responsible for fertility so how can this blood be impure. This is the contradiction. There are numerous instances where women have been isolated, treated unequally. And this poster is challenging the very notion of Brahminical purity. It’s a welcome move,” said Yadavendu.

In Madhya Pradesh, ABVP’s ‘rowdies’ have Chouhan’s protection

N D Sharma
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In Madhya Pradesh, ABVP’s ‘rowdies’ have Chouhan’s protection

At Rajiv Gandhi Government College in Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh, some Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) activists went to submit a memorandum to the principal. They were shouting slogans in the corridor. Professor Dinesh Gupta, who was taking the class in one of the rooms there, came out and asked the activists not to shout slogans as it was disturbing the teaching. Enraged at the audacity of the professor to ask them not to raise patriotic slogans, the activists almost pounced on him and called him ‘anti-national’.

A video that went viral soon after the incident on September 28 shows the Professor, a heart patient, apologising profusely and touching the feet of the ABVP activists. He is heard mumbling “Maine padhane ka apraadh kiya hai. Maafi maangta hun” (I have committed the crime of teaching. I apologise).

ABVP had become a menace to the society soon after Shivraj Singh Chouhan became Chief Minister at the end of November 2005. Chouhan, who was once himself an ABVP activist is providing full protection to the Parishad’s criminal activities.

Chouhan’s police personnel, including top IPS officers, are behaving most abominably where ABVP is involved. The State police chief was holding a meeting of police officers of the region in Indore. Activists of ABVP and Bajrang Dal went to submit a memorandum to the DGP and were prevented by the Havaldar on guard duty with the observation that the meeting was on. The havaldar was manhandled by the goons. The DGP dare not take action against ABVP or Bajrang Dal activists.

Governor Ram Naresh Yadav once wrote to Chouhan to check rowdyism by the ABVP activists at educational institutions. Chouhan did not do anything. The most glaring example of Chouhan’s surrender of his constitutional authority before the ABVP mafia was witnessed after the murder of Prof Sabharwal.

Prof H S Sabharwal of Madhav College (Ujjain) was asked to conduct the College Union elections in August 2006. Finding irregularities, he decided to cancel the elections for which he was attacked by a group of students, belonging to the ABVP. The police personnel on duty did not act. Prof M L Nath, a colleague of Prof Sabharwal, was manhandled by a group led by ABVP State President Shashi Ranjan Singh Akela and Organising Secretary Vimal Tomar when he tried to intervene.

As Prof Sabharwal was taken to the hospital by his colleagues and declared dead there, Chief Minister Chauhan went public with the statement that Prof Sabharwal had died in an accident and that the ABVP had nothing to do with his death.

However, the visuals of the ABVP activists’ role in the crime repeatedly shown on the TV channels and the countrywide outrage over the murder of the Professor forced Chauhan to ask the police to ‘investigate’. (Ironically, Prof Sabharwal was a founder member of the Vidyarthi Parishad which was later renamed Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad).

Initially, the police had arrested 22 persons, mostly belonging to the Congress, in connection with the rowdyism on the Madhav College campus. However, under public pressure (the attack on Prof Sabharwal had made the national headlines), 12 students owing allegiance to ABVP were named accused in the murder.

Ultimately, the challan under Sections 302 and 147 IPC was put up against six of them. They were: Shashi Ranjan Akela (State President of ABVP); Vimal Tomar (Divisional Organising Secretary, ABVP); Vishal Rajoria (member of State Executive, ABVP); Hemant Dube (District Convener, ABVP); Sudhir Yadav and Pankaj Mishra (activists of ABVP).

While the police “investigation” in the murder was going on, the Chief Minister had a 20-minute one-to-one talk with Vimal Tomar, one of the six accused. Tomar, then in custody in Ujjain, was admitted to the State-run M Y Hospital at Indore purportedly for treatment. Chouhan met him there. Tomar was “cured” immediately after meeting the Chief Minister and he was sent back to the custody at Ujjain.

As the witnesses (even the policemen who were eye-witnesses) started turning hostile, the murdered Professor’s son Himanshu knocked on the doors of the Supreme Court. A division bench comprising Arijit Payasat and D K Jain stayed the proceedings in the Ujjain court and asked the BJP government of the State, through its counsel: “What action have you taken against those police officers who resiled from their earlier statements? Would not the trial be a mockery if your police officers turned hostile? Our anxiety is that every police officer will be given a clean chit. We have seen what has happened in the Best Bakery case.”

In the March 12, 2008 order, eventually transferring the trial of the case from Ujjain to Nagpur, the bench observed: “Late Prof H S Sabharwal was a professor in Government College, Ujjain, MP. He was brutally beaten up by certain persons, for taking a rigid stand in the college union elections. Though the assaults were made in the presence of several police officials, media persons and members of public, attempt has been made to project as if his death was a result of an accident.

Initially, First Information Report (FIR) was lodged and after investigation charge sheet was filed and charges have been framed against several persons who are respondents 2 to 7 in the Transfer Petition. The trial commenced in the Court of Sessions Judge, Ujjain, being Sessions Case No. 291 of 2006. During examination of several witnesses who were stated to be eyewitnesses, such witnesses resiled from the statements made during investigation. There were even three police witnesses who also resiled from their earlier statements. They are Dhara Singh (PW-32), Sukhnandan (PW-33) and Dilip Tripathi (PW-34)”.

The bench added: “Grievance of the petitioner is that the witnesses have been coerced, threatened and ultimately justice is a casualty. Role of the investigating officer gives ample scope to doubt impartiality and the sincerity of the investigating agency. Similar is the position of the public prosecutor. It is also highlighted that the trial Court also did not make a serious effort to see that justice is done. In this connection it is pointed out that public prosecutor did not cross-examine the persons who had resiled from their statements made during investigation….”

The trial culminated exactly as Justices Arijit Payasat and D K Jain of the Supreme Court had visualised and the partiality and lack of sincerity on the part of the investigating agency as well as the public prosecutor were much too evident till the last. Justice has been denied to late Prof Sabharwal.

All the six ABVP activists, accused in the murder of Prof H S Sabharwal, were acquitted by Additional District and Sessions Judge Nitin Dalvi, at Nagpur, on the ground that “the prosecution has failed to put up evidence to prove its case and hence the court acquits all six accused.”

Coming Soon: A Golden Period in Indian Athletics

Leslie Xavier
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Coming Soon: A Golden Period in Indian Athletics

The eight metre barrier of Indian athletics, which has vexed many great champion long jumpers of yore, doesn’t exist any more as far as M Sreeshankar is concerned. At the National Open Athletics Championship in Bhubaneswar on September 27, when Sreeshankar leaped to a distance of 8.20m in the long jump final to erase the national record of Ankit Sharma by a centimetre, the 19-year-old from Kerala was proving a point to himself as much as to the rest of the world.

Eight metres was a mythical “mental block” for at least four generations of Indian long jumpers who tried and failed to beat the great TC Yohannan’s mark of 8.07m set in the 1974 Asian Games in Tehran — a record that stood for 30 years till it was broken in 2004. Yohannan was the first Indian to cross eight metres, Sreeshankar is the latest and the youngest to do so. Besides the two, there are only six Indians who have crossed the mark.

Sreeshankar’s record, in fact, is the best in the world by an Under-20 athlete this season. What’s more heartening is the ease with which he jumped eight-plus metres in Bhubaneswar, not once, but twice in the final.

Sreeshankar, who missed out on the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast due to appendicitis, finished out of the medals in the IAAF Under-20 World Championships in Finland and the Asian Games in Jakarta-Palembang as he struggled to get back into the kind of form that took him to a personal best of 7.99m earlier in the year. He touched 7.95 in Jakarta to finish fifth, and was disappointed not at missing out on a medal, but at not achieving a benchmark he had set for himself on the continent’s grandest stage. The eight remained untouched, by the minutest of margins. Now that barrier has been breached.

Sreeshankar’s attitude exudes confidence and a desire to break out and become a global athlete, going beyond the trappings of continental medals, job promotions, presidential citations and awards. He represents the very special next generation of Indian athletes — joining the ranks of Neeraj Chopra and Hima Das — world beaters in their age group, striving to make a mark on the grandest arena of them all, the Olympic Games.

But what connects the three, beyond attitudes, is the sheer talent they possess, and the willingness to work hard on cashing in on their innate gifts.

For Sreeshankar, that would mean refining his technique. Long jump, after all, is not just about brute strength. It is about rhythm, smooth transitions and a leap that should exude a balletic grace.

The son of former triple-jump international S Murali and 800m runner KS Bijimol is a work-in-progress as of now — the father, his first coach, chipping the rough edges, and the national team coaches chiselling the finer details, taking him towards perfection. Sreeshankar changed his technique last season to include kicks after takeoff, and is already considering stints abroad to further refine his craft. Tokyo 2020 is on his mind.

The great Yohannan believes the younster is capable of touching 8.5 metres in the coming years. Anything around that distance could earn Sreeshankar a medal on the world stage. For the record, the gold in Rio Olympics was won by Jeff Henderson of the US with a leap of 8.38m.

“He is special,” Yohannan said. “He needs to build strength to increase his approach speed and so he needs to work hard on that.”

Similar words were spoken of javelin champion Neeraj Chopra a couple of seasons back when he burst onto the global scene with a gold in the Under-20 World Championships. Chopra has, since then, grown in stature with the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games gold in his kitty, and more importantly, touching 85 metres consistently in all the events he takes part in now. His gold in Jakarta came after a national record throw of 88.06m which would have earned him bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Neeraj is one of the top five leading javelin throwers in the world now, and at 21, is looking at a career with infinite possibilities.

Infinite possibilities may well be the title of Hima Das’ autobiography, in the not too distant future. Till a couple of years back, Das was playing football with boys in her village.

On the athletics track she has been a revelation this season. With her gold in the junior World Championships, and subsequent performances, bettering personal bests and breaking records, the 18-year-old seems to be in the kind of hurry quarter-milers are notorious for. Indian athletics won’t complain if she keeps adding to her already unmatchable pace.

While there are many athletes coming up through the ranks in India, as of now, Neeraj, Das and Sreeshankar represent the cream that could take Indian athletics to unprecedented heights. The promise is there, the performances have laid the foundations. With barriers broken, records shattered, the future is theirs for the taking, provided the sports ecosystem in the country — the ministry, the federation and private agencies which support athletes — is ready to put forth a concerted effort and create the right channels for these athletes to grow.

Sreeshankar would have grown up wearing jerseys with the the Kerala Sports Council logo that reads, Citius, Altius, Fortius’. Words borrowed from the Olympic ideal. He embodies those Latin words today, striding alongside Chopra and Das. The ‘Faster, Higher, Stronger’ era is up ahead, ushering what could be a golden period in Indian athletics!

UP Police Shoots Apple India Executive in Lucknow

ScribeShah
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UP Police Shoots Apple India Executive in Lucknow

New Delhi: The Uttar Pradesh Police, which has been on an encounter killing spree, seems to be now training its guns on civilians in the state. In a gruesome incident on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday, an Apple executive was gunned down by two constable rank police officials in the posh Gomti Nagar extension area of Lucknow.

As per reports, 38 year old Vivek Tiwari, area manager of Apple, along with his colleague, Sana Khan, were returning home after a mobile phone launch event when the two policemen on patrol flagged his SUV, asking them to stop. Tiwari first hit the police patrol bike and then rammed a wall while allegedly trying to escape, the police said.

“Constable Prashant Chaudhary opened fire at the car on noticing “suspicious activity” and the bullet pierced through the windscreen,” Lucknow police chief Kalanidhi Naithani was quoted as saying by ANI.

The two policemen in their defence said that the shot was fired in self-defence. The constable and his colleague have been arrested, and a murder case has been registered against them.

Terming the incident as shameful for the police force, UP Additional District General (ADG) Law & Order, Anand Kumar said, “The post mortem report establishes a firearm injury from a bullet on the left side of the chin, and viscera of the victim was preserved. Thorough investigation is being conducted to establish the sequence of events. Law has been violated in this case. If the situation demanded firing of a bullet, it could have been fired at the car tyre, even then it was not right to do so. This is a shameful incident for us.”

Meanwhile, Tiwari’s wife Kalpana has written to Chief Minister Adityanath demanding a CBI inquiry into the incident. She has also demanded a compensation of Rs 1 crore and a job in the police department.

‘We had voted for BJP’

“We had voted for the BJP with a lot of trust. When Yogi Adityanath became our Chief Minister, we were so happy and this is what happens to us? Which law gave Uttar Pradesh police a right to shoot him? The cops are framing him saying he was in an inappropriate position when he was shot, but if this was so, they should have arrested him from his residence,” Kalpana told media persons.

The victim’s uncle, Tilakraj Tiwari, a former police inspector, alleged that it was a clear case of murder. “I have served as a police inspector, I know a person is never shot in the neck. Such an incident never occurred the way it has under the Yogi government,” Tiwari said.

Speaking with Newsclick, senior police officer Amitabh Thakur, said, “Whatever has happened is very wrong. There is a dire need for a basic change in the police system and police thinking. This incident is very embarrassing and directs us to learn many lessons from it.”

The UP Police has been facing a lot of flak for the rise in number of ‘encounter’ killings after the Adityanath-led BJP government came to power. According to a report in The Hindu, Since March 2017, 49 persons have been killed in over 1,100 encounters, more than 370 have been injured and over 3,300 arrested across the State.

The most recent incident that invited a lot of criticism was the state police inviting the media to witness a ‘live encounter’ in Aligarh, in which two persons were shot dead.

Bengal’s share of shame: Beggar died from hunger and not illness, claim activists

ScribeShah
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Bengal’s share of shame: Beggar died from hunger and not illness, claim activists

Kolkata: West Bengal registered its second starvation death in 2018, when 68-year-old Bimla Pandey, breathed her last in her small one-room mud hut in Tola-Lagam area of Panrua village of Purulia district, claimed a fact-finding team of social activists.

Bimla, who used to share the hut with her 43-year-old unmarried son Abir Pandey, earned their living by begging. But the duo had been unable to go out to beg for food due to incessant rain, and had starved to death on August 9.

Soon after news was highlighted, Bengal government officials claimed that Bimla had died of dysentery and not starved to death.

Contrary to the government version, a fact-finding report filed by the Right to Food (RTF) and Work Campaign, Bimla, had died of starvation and not dysentery.

Sharing the details of the case, Anuradha, a member of RTF informed, “In Bimla’s case, sadly, her caste went against her. Being from the upper caste she was unable to avail many of the government aid. This case is, thus a classic case, which asserts the need for the universality of the National Food Security Act.”

On being asked, what now? She added, “We will be adding this case to the on-going case at the Supreme Court of India, with regards to the 56 other hunger deaths that have occurred across India.”

The fact-finding report also maintained that there was a dearth of information as far as availing the benefits of the government schemes in the region is concerned. “Illiteracy and lack of awareness with regards to existing government policies, which could have easily helped Bimla’s son Abir to get a job, is also one of the reasons which actually led to her starvation death,” said Anuradha.

But government officials are firm on their stand, even after fact finding team report. Speaking to eNewsroom over the phone, Ujjwal Kumar Biswas, the newly recruited BDO of Jhalda, said, “The death had occurred much before I took on the charges of Jhalda. But from the official records that we have with us, it is very evident that the lady had died because of her ill health and not hunger.”

However the fact finding report clearly stated, “The deceased is a victim of negligence and improper implementation of NFSA, NREGA and pensions schemes. She was eating once or twice a day for a long time and was starving for a month or more. If surveys and Gram Sabhas had been done regularly and properly, then how did this family be deprived of its rights? The outreach of the administration to reach out to people who are in dire need of help seems totally inadequate.”

However, Biswas maintained, “It was dysentery and not hunger, which is responsible for her death. This lady was having dysentery and had been referred to be admitted at some other hospital in Purulia. But the family took her back to their home. Following which her condition got worse and she died. Things have changed over the years in Purulia. Now, we distribute enough food and have enough work under MNREGA for the poor. People are not starving in our state.”

Sunil Mahto, Nirman Sahayak of the Panchayat, speaking about Bimla’s death said, “We were not aware of their condition till the media reported their plight. Had we known about the same, we would have definitely helped the family.” On being asked if she had died of dysentery, he said, “The panchayat has no record stating that she died of dysentery.”

Bimla’s death is the second hunger death in the state in the year 2018. It registered its hunger death on March 24, when 63-year-old Surath Kumar Gayen of Bhatpara municipality committed suicide, stating that his disputed ration card was responsible for his death.

“We will send people to assist villagers to get their documentation and papers in place to avail the welfare scheme benefits,” added Anuradha.

On Santoshi’s death anniversary, elders narrate how Aadhaar linkage has stopped their pension

ScribeShah
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On Santoshi’s death anniversary, elders narrate how Aadhaar linkage has stopped their pension

Ranchi: “My physically-challenged wife has not got her pension for the last four years. When we go to the bank to find out the reason, they always tell us that the money has not been credited to her account,” rued Manmase Tikri from Nagri block, Ranchi.

Duryodan Oran from Chatarpur has his own litany of complaints. “Despite filling the form for at least ten times, I didn’t get any pension. Finally, I had to submit it online twice. On top of that though I did some job for a year, still someone else took the pension.”

People like Manmase Tikri, Duryodan Oran and hundreds of senior citizens, widows, single women and differently-abled persons from different districts of Jharkhand gathered at Raj Bhavan for a public hearing organized by the Jharkhand Right to Food Campaign and Pension Parishad. They presented their testimonies before the panelists and their main demand is the right to universal social security pensions ahead of World Elderly Day on October 1.

As many as 17 lakh senior citizens, widows and differently-abled persons in Jharkhand who qualify for social security pensions, do not receive their entitlements. One important reason is that pension coverage in Jharkhand is not universal. Even those who do receive pensions face chronic selection errors and administrative glitches. In 2016-17, 3 lakh pensioners were identified as “fake”, even though many genuine and eligible persons, whose pension accounts were not linked with Aadhaar, were also excluded from the list.

The oral and written testimonies presented by the participants threw light on the havoc created by pensions. They highlighted that people who do not come under below-the-poverty line (BPL) or earn more than a measly Rs 875 a month in rural areas are not eligible for most state social pensions. Further, at least 5 cases of starvation deaths in the last one year alone in Jharkhand can be attributed to the mandatory imposition of aadhaar. In some cases, the pension amount was credited to the wrong account while in others there were aadhaar authentication failures. Further, the cumbersome application procedures, irregular and chronically delayed payments and inconvenient collection methods for measly amounts have eroded the efficacy of this lifeline.

With the rallying call of “APL BPL Band Karo, Sabko Pension, Ration Do”, the main demands were – implementation of universal pensions, removal of mandatory imposition of Aadhaar, timely payment without delays, an inflation-indexed increase in the pension amount to at least Rs 2,000 per month and reducing the eligibility age. They exhorted all political parties to include these demands in their election manifestos.

Jean Dreze, the Development Economist, who was present there as a panelist mentioned, “Pensioners have been badly let down by the central government. The central contribution to old-age pensions has stagnated at Rs 200 per month for many years. Even that measly amount is not paid regularly, despite Supreme Court orders calling for payment by the 7th of each month. A series of Aadhaar-related problems have made pension payments even more erratic.”

“Based on the Supreme court orders money should be paid on time. Due to Aadhaar there are many problems. The online process is excluding people from their rightful service. There should be an auto inclusion process as per which as soon as people attain the age of 60 years they should be given pension automatically without applications and any exclusions should be considered a serious violation of human rights,” said Balram of Right To Food.

September 28 also marks the first death anniversary of Simdega’s 11-year-old school girl Santoshi Kumari, who died of hunger. Her family’s ration-card was cancelled as it was not linked to Aadhaar. She breathed her last crying for “bhaat, bhaat”.

The occasion is particularly poignant after the Supreme Court verdict has not struck down Section 7 of the Act and therefore offers virtually no relief to the vulnerable millions who will need to provide the 12-digit biometric number to avail of government subsidies.

The campaign coincides with the National Action Day on Starvation Deaths with protests nationwide and on social media on the theme #BhookhKiBaat.

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