Going cuckoo over a coup
Gupta claims he was defamed by Mehta, who said in an interview to the OPEN Magazine that an Express report published earlier this year was “the mother of all mistakes” and specifically written to damage India’s army chief VK Singh.
The report carried Gupta’s own byline, which was unusual. It claimed the Indian government was “spooked” when it learnt on January 16 that certain army units were moving towards Delhi on the same night as the Supreme Court was hearing a petition by the army chief on his age.
The government had no prior information of this troop movement and was alarmed enough to take defensive measures.
One measure deployed was to get the police to slow down traffic entering the city, delaying the army trucks till the government could get a grip on what was going on (note to Pakistani PMs: Here’s your solution to the 111 Brigade). The defence secretary ran home from a visit to Malaysia, and ordered the army units to return, which they did. End of episode.
The army chief, who is not reticent, called the report “absolutely stupid”. Parliament took up the report and dismissed it.
Shekhar Gupta went hoarse shouting that he had reported the government’s sense of alarm rather than speculate on the possibility of a coup.
But this was brushed off and the Indian Express was attacked as being irresponsible. I don’t think that charge is true, and I rate the Express under Gupta as one of India’s three best newspapers. This is the background to Vinod Mehta’s comments.
While Gupta’s report was taken apart, another story, a few months ago, went unnoticed. It was by India’s best writer on defence, Ajai Shukla of Business Standard, and I was struck by one particular line he had slipped in. His piece (“All the chief’s men”) was published on January 14, only two days before the troop movement. Shukla’s report was a long and complicated one on reservations in the army. It contained information that was not later denied so far as I know by the army.
Shukla, who has himself served in the army, wrote that General VK Singh has posted officers from his Rajput regiment “to practically every crucial appointment: the deputy chief of army staff, the director-general of military operations, the adjutant general, the military secretary who posts and promotes officers, and the additional director-general of administration and coordination.”
And then this tantalising line, which made me sit up: “In addition, Rajput officers were placed at the head of key formations around Delhi: the Delhi Area which controls military installations around the capital, and the Meerut-based 22 Infantry Division.”
The bureaucrats in the defence ministry will obviously have known all this and discussed it with the politicians. Given this background, is it easy to dismiss the idea that the government would be “spooked” by the troop movement? I don’t accept that it can. It must be greatly frustrating for Shekhar Gupta to not be able to get people to see that.
What puzzles me is why he is also suing the magazine which carried Vinod Mehta’s interview. There a reporter and editor did their job fairly and accurately. The reporter Hartosh Singh Bal doesn’t egg Mehta on, he is balanced and questions whether it’s fair to say what he does.
Also, quite funnily, Gupta sent his legal notice in the same week his newspaper lectured parliamentarians on being more tolerant about what was written and drawn about them.
I think Gupta was hurt by the collective accusation against him and his paper and reacted angrily to Mehta’s comments, which I accept were unfair and extreme. Gupta, who is a Baniya, should see this with the fabled pragmatism of his caste, and not with emotion.
I hope Gupta takes no further action on the notice and does what he excels at: editing India’s only reporter-run newspaper.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 20th, 2012.
COMMENTS (13)
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The author Aakar Patel is a clever guy: he knows how to fawn to Pakistani readers by bringing in (unnecessarily, I must add) the "baniya" element in his piece. Could he not have been straightfoward in his narration rather than resorting to something so downright unfair and ridiculous in order to appeal to prejudices of Pakistanis who apparently feel consoled to hear any negative connotation associated with India's successful business community? It's as wrong as saying that all Pakistanis are butchers ("kasais") and terrorists ("atankwadis") to pander to Indian prejudices, resentment and contempt of Pakistanis.. .
Not sure why this article was published in a Pakistani paper. Most of us have no idea who the involved people are, or what it has to do with world news or what its relevance is to us. Tribune: Are you planning already to become an Indian paper and is there something you know and the rest of us don't ?
The Indian Express story was unnecessarily alarmist , sensationalist and full of innuendoes and suggestions not fully backed by facts. It was tabloid journalism not worthy of a reputed newspaper and a well respected editor. I agree with VInod Mehta on this.
Whether the Government was spooked or not, the Government was/is certainly interested in undermining Gen Singh by whatever means possible. Mr Gupta seems to have become an easy tool in hands of those trying to cast doubts about professional integrity of Gen Singh. Meanwhile, there was a PIL in the SC about manipulation of the succession saga. Interestingly no one from the Government has refuted the facts as narrated in this PIL. One of the facts mentioned there in asserts that all promotion committees that decided on Gen Singh's promotion acted on 1951 as the date of birth, till Gen J J Singh raked up the 1950 issue. All said and done, in India apart from birth certificate the only document accepted as proof of date of birth is the Matriculation certificate. Has this been done in the case of Gen Singh? And thereby hangs a tale.
Even if Indians try to forget about caste (baniya or otherwise) some Pakistani media reminds them of it.
On any given day Vinod Mehta is a better chap then Sheker gupta, Indian express has drifted away from the model established by Ramnath goenka. By filing a case they are making a mockery of themselves.
I think shekar was right about GOI being spooked, I doubt the story of cops and traffic, I think some section of the babus in Delhi must have been spooked who then must have tried to raise this alarm, it all bungling by the babus in Delhi may be they were some green horns
@Rangacharya Kulakarni. I rate Shekhar Gupta much much higher than Vinod Mehta. Vinod Mehta tries to hog the lime light. As an example in the Musharraf editors meet in Agra he butted in blandly claiming that he was echoing the views of all the Indian journalists present which he was not. You should have looked at the faces of other journalists. Just because it was a Pakistani leaders meet others did not protest. If I am not mistaken Parliament ordered a probe and is still going on. The final verdict on the attempt is yet to come out. "If Vinod has an opinion, he never minces his words. He expresses it come may whatever." Thats the problem. Opinion should be backed up by facts As per wikipedia "Under his leadership, The Indian Express has won the Vienna-based International Press Institute’s Award for Outstanding Journalism in the Public Interest thrice- the first time for its coverage of the Gujarat riots of 2002, the second time for uncovering the Bihar flood relief scam in 2005 and the third time for its sustained investigation into the Malegaon and Modasa blasts of 2008 and the alleged role of Hindu extremists and organisations" That is why I rate Shekhar Gupta much higher. Vinod Mehta has no such claims. Shekhar should continue with the claim. The coup attempt which was dusted under the carpet by the army and the bureaucracy will now come out in the courts.
I believe more in Vinod Mehta than Shekhar Gupta. If Vinod has an opinion, he never minces his words. He expresses it come may whatever. He is very courageous and resigned several times from editors od many magazines and newspapers due his unpopular stand on issues. Few years back, he was very sharp in criticism on Barkha Dutt's role in Radia tapes case. He is now banned from NDTV. Honestly, nobody takes the coup story seriously. It is quite stupid to think of a coup in India given the system in place. Troop movements should not have been interpreted as a coup.
It is quite surprising that Shekhar only singled out Vinod. It looks more like professional rivalry rather than any other issue. We know Vinod that he will take it a pinch of salt.
MM Singh should have called a YR Gillani for FC unit to deployed ariund Delhi. but its funny its happend in india too unlike we used to it in pakistan haha.