As information about the business ventures and associations of former Tehelka editor Tarun Tejpal surface in the public domain over the past week, the question legitimately arises if he was merely a fast-track entrepreneur dedicated to making a fortune with journalism his chosen vehicle of upward mobility, and whether the selective sting operations whereby he caught the attention of those who could assist his material ascent were ‘gifted’ (read planted) rather than ‘investigated’.
The question is relevant as most Tehelka scoops were essentially ‘entrapment’ ploys against one political constellation and one community (read Hindu). It had no hand in revealing a single scandal of the scam-tainted UPA coalition in the past nine years. Now, as the wholly cooked up murder case against the Kanchi Sankaracharya and Bal Sankaracharya collapsed on Wednesday – with even the wife and son of the victim refusing to testify against the holy men – it bears stating that Tehelka was one of organisations used for smear campaigns against the seers. At one point, it even alleged judicial collusion with the seers. Now, having felled the false case, the wheels of Karma have turned on Tehelka ex-editor Tarun Tejpal, who is busy dodging the police in the alleged rape case of a young intern in Goa.
As for the THiNK Fest where it happened, the sponsors thought this was a Tehelka enterprise because that is indeed how the show began. According to the Anant Media director’s report of 2011 (revealed by Sucheta Dalal’s Moneylife), the Tehelka publisher took the credit for the great success of the event: “The company organised a mega event at Goa THiNK Fest 2011, which was a mega hit in the year 2011.”
But in 2012, this highly profitable venture was quietly transferred to a private firm, ThinkWorks, completely owned by Tarun Tejpal, his sister Neena Sharma (who signed as Neena Tejpal) and Shoma Chaudhary, who resigned as Tehelka managing editor early this morning. The fate of the magazine is now unclear as she has not handed over charge to anyone; perhaps there is no one left with the requisite seniority. What is pertinent is that ThinkWorks paid no remuneration to Anant Media which had launched the enterprise and could thus be regarded as the owner of the brand. Nor was there any cost or revenue-sharing with Anant Media.
When the rape controversy broke out and questions began to be asked about ownership issues, ThinkWorks claimed that its only association with Tehelka publisher Anant Media Pvt Ltd was that it “buys advertisement space from the magazine”. But the sponsors told the Indian Express that it was their understanding was THiNK Fest was organised by Tehelka magazine. According to the report, in 2012, ThinkWorks was a shell company previously known as Babbler Brooks Pvt Ltd. But in 2012-13, ThinkWorks earned Rs14.26 crore as revenues from the event and just under Rs2 crore as profit. This year’s event was even bigger and much more profitable.
But while the THiNK Fest takeover was a clever sleight of hand, Tarun Tejpal’s ability to network with and execute a business partnership with the late liquor and real estate baron Ponty Chadha to set up exclusive private club, Prufrock, was truly startling. Since Chadha could hardly be considered the natural choice for a normal entrepreneur, much less an investigative, sting-oriented journalist cum moral crusader, the real story is likely to be something else.
However, questions legitimately arise about the kind of activity this exclusive private club for “select urban Indians” was to engage in. Tejpal’s own words – “a vibrant cultural space, where a highly accomplished, eclectic community of select urban Indians can meet and engage in an atmosphere of great intimacy with eminent people who make and shape the world” – suggest a discreet setting for crony capitalism, if not worse.
His select invite states, “Membership to the club would mean an invaluable opportunity to listen to those who sit in the country’s hot seats, wielding great power and influence, politicians and businessmen, social activists and spiritual leaders, and engage with the complex mechanics and politics of building India, through conversations held in an atmosphere of rare intimacy.” It sounds like a fixer’s paradise and certainly casts a shadow of doubt upon all of Tarun Tejpal’s work from the time he decided to be an independent journalist-entrepreneur.
The story of how then Goa Chief Minister Digambar Kamat was forced to sponsor the THiNK event by Neena Tejpal has already been cited (Deccan Herald, November 12, 2011, and Niticentral.com, November 27, 2013).
Finally, as reports come in of Tarun Tejpal seeking more time to appear before the Goa Police (possibly so he can get bail), it may be pertinent to examine his long-standing connection with Congress president Sonia Gandhi, which could explain the roller coaster ride he seems to have enjoyed these long years.
As reported in the media, BJP leader Subramanian Swamy on November 27 released a letter from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (dated June 18, 2004) to Sonia Gandhi, assuring her that Tehelka editor Tarun Tejpal’s representation (to her) regarding cases against the magazine would be examined by relevant ministries. This makes it clear that Sonia Gandhi in 2004, when the UPA first came to power, either spoke to, or wrote to, the Prime Minister seeking help for Tejpal, who claimed that the NDA regime had foisted cases against Tehelka as vengeance for sting operations against then BJP chief Bangaru Laxman and defence minister George Fernandes.
The intercession must have been satisfactory from Tejpal’s point of view, because he continued his sickening obsequiousness towards the Congress president. In a lengthy, largely unreadable, open letter published in the magazine (Vol 6, Issue 21, May 30, 2009) on the occasion of the UPA’s return to power, he wrote, “Let me then offer some praise… you have done a fine job of bringing up your son. He has humility, decorum, diligence, and he takes the long and inclusive view… Mercifully, your boy seems more in touch with the soul of India than those who try and barter deities for votes…
“And yes, as I bid you speed and strength, with the extra god (Christian) by your side, may I make a final plea. You have given us of yourself, and of your son. Now will you kindly also give unto us your luminous daughter”.
Even by Congress’s exalted standards of sycophancy, this takes the cake.
Niticentral.com, 28 November 2013
http://www.niticentral.com/2013/11/28/tarun-tejpals-fast-track-opportunism-162527.html