[Reader-list] On Repeated Defamatory Postings on this List

[Shuddhabrata Sengupta]

Dear All,

This is the third time since the 17th of November that Aditya Raj  
Kaul has dished out unverified untruths on this list regarding the  
alleged matter of Arundhati Roy having grabbed tribal land. While one  
could ignore it the first time, even the second time, I think when it  
comes to the third time, it needs to be taken cognizance of  
seriously. We all need to reflect on this, and think about how we can  
get beyond this.

Aditya Raj Kaul's statements to this effect are carried in his  
response to Ana Valdes to the Reader List - Re: [Reader-list] the  
latest stupidity of arundhati roy - comparing her utterances on  
kashmir with those of nehru  Date:9 November 2010 11:51:07 PM GMT+05:30
The posting can be seen online at -
http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/2010-November/027581.html

Additiionally, he has once again abused this list to utter again in  
this posting the utter falsity (echoing the Pioneer Newspaper) that  
Arundhati Roy articulated a slogan saying  Kashmir wanted freedom  
(Azaadi) from 'Bhookha Nanga Hindustan' ('Hungry, Naked India) when  
in fact she had categorically criticized this slogan. This will be  
borne out by any examination of any recordings of what was said on  
the 21st of October by Ms. Roy at the LTG Auditorium in Delhi. As  
will the baselessness of the charge of sedition brought by some  
vested interests against Arundhati Roy and others, including myself.

I have myself posted a clarification to this effect (whether or not  
Ms. Roy endorsed the 'Bhookha, Nanga Hindustan' slogan on the list,  
(see - http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/2010-October/ 
027043.html ) in response to a previous posting made by Aditya Raj  
Kaul, and I find it shocking that despite this, he should choose to  
repeat this lie, here, yet again. This has also been pointed out in a  
posting made shortly recently s, by Baruk Feddabonn at - http:// 
mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/2010-November/027582.html

I am also referring here to the canard forwarded by Aditya Raj Kaul,  
emanating recently from media entities like the Pioneer Newspaper,  
that Arundhati Roy, or her husband Pradip Krishen, have 'illegally  
occupied tribal land' in Pachmarhi in the state of Madhya Pradesh.

The origins of this story lie in the late nineties, when vested  
interests in the real estate and hotel business began harassing  
Pradip Krishen in Pachmarhi in the late 90s for his work as a  
campaigner on environmental issues . The matter was reported then in  
India Today, and in the Indian Express (which seem, in general,  to  
have been different entities then,  from what they are now). The  
links are below, and can be easily accessed online by anybody. I am  
offering these links for consideration so that there is some  
perspective on this episode, and so that we can begin to see clearly  
how this untruth is being manufactured,  by newspapers and media  
concerns like The Pioneer, and on this list by the likes of Aditya  
Raj Kaul.

----------------------
First, the India Today Report from 1999.

1. God of Small Towns
N.K. SIngh, India Today, July 12, 1999
http://www.india-today.com/itoday/12071999/mp.html

You can read the whole story by following the link, but for those who  
do not have patience to do so, here is a substantial excerpt :

"...The SADA (The Pachmarhi Special Area Development Authority)  
notice smacks of Kafkaesque dispensation of justice. If land-use at  
Bariaam was frozen by a legislation dating back to 1973, how could  
Krishen and two others -- both of them government officials -- who  
purchased the land get the transfer registered in 1992 at a land- 
records office of the state government? Besides, Krishen claims that  
hundreds of houses built in the areas under SADA have gone unnoticed.
Roy and Krishen feel that the state offensive against them was caused  
by their opposition to the TCPO's Draft Development Plan for  
Pachmarhi published in September last year which, they allege, was a  
"sell-out" to the hotel lobby. The state Government subsequently  
appointed Krishen a member of the committee to hear public objections  
to the Draft Plan. He submitted a number of objections, including one  
by his wife that condemned the plan's authors for conspiring to  
"convert Pachmarhi into the Las Vegas of Madhya Pradesh". Says Roy:  
"This infuriated both the hoteliers' lobby as well as its acolytes in  
the Planning Department. The notice to Pradip (Krishen) of March 12  
is a direct outcome of their animosity and vested interests."

The report continues -

" ...The alleged violation of the law in Bariaam, even if technical,  
by the landowners pales into insignificance when compared with  
illegal developments on the other side of the Bariaam Lake. Many  
senior government officials have purchased land in areas falling  
within the Pachmarhi wildlife sanctuary. "It is highly damaging to  
the environment of the area," says Subharanjan Sen, director of the  
Satpura National Park. A Jabalpur businessman, Ashish Agrawal, even  
started construction on the site last month by clearing a patch of  
jungle "for agricultural activities".
Last month Agrawal's half-built construction was demolished by the  
Hoshangabad district administration after Satyanand Mishra, principal  
secretary of the Housing and Environment Department, visited the site  
following the controversy over the notice served on Krishen.  
Obviously there were red faces in Bhopal after protests by an  
internationally famous literary figure, and the state Government  
needed to absolve itself of the charge of selectively punishing wrong- 
doers. Acting upon Mishra's subsequent report, the state Government  
is planning to crack down on all encroachers. At Bariaam, notices  
have been served -- though belatedly -- on the Krishens' neighbours,  
who include novelist Vikram Seth's sister Aradhana Seth.
Roy has said that "whatever our faults, land grabbing and  
acquisitiveness are not among them". Their house, like Roy's novel,  
is a finely crafted token of aesthetic values. Perhaps their trouble  
began when they sought to preserve the environment by opposing the  
commercialisation of Pachmarhi. But Roy shouldn't lose heart because  
her battle with the local authorities may witness the genesis of her  
next novel..."

And here is the Indian Express story, four years after 1999

2. MP govt spares rod for minister, spoils Pachmarhi
Hartosh Singh Bal, Indian Express, August 20, 2003
http://www.india-today.com/itoday/12071999/mp.html

Here, is an extract from the Indian Express story

"Conservator of Forest and Park Director B.D. Sankhwar says he does  
not blame people like Pradip Kishen and Aradhana Seth for the illegal  
constructions. ‘‘In most cases, I don’t blame the individuals  
concerned. They obtained the necessary revenue documents, including  
registries and mutations."

-------------------

Recently, after eight years, since this sordid episode last saw the  
light of day, The Pioneer (see - http://www.dailypioneer.com/297320/ 
Arundhati-Roy--Pradip-Krishen-grab-tribal-land-in-MP.html) has  
brought up, once again, the sludge that the above two stories (indian  
Express and India Today) successfully countered, in 1999 and 2003.

No doubt this was done as part of the concerted campaign to harass  
Ms. Roy and those close to her. In one specific instance, no effort  
was taken to publish accurate counter-points, even when they were  
offered, after being solicited, as will be evident  further below.  
Aditya Raj Kaul's posting of this material on this list needs to be  
seen in this same murky light.

A major news channel, in a query sent to Ms. Roy on the 19th of  
November, 2010 (see below) detailed the charges that they had made in  
a story prepared for broadcast on their channel, and asked her for a  
response.

Ms Roy,  responded to this query on the same day, by forwarding a  
mail to them containing a reply from Pradip Krishen. As far as I  
know, no media platform has chosen to make Mr. Krishen's response to  
this slander public so far. Perhaps because it totally takes the wind  
out of the sails of the allegations. In the interests of  
clarification on this matter, and to ensure that this list is not  
repeatedly abused by these attempts at slander. I am reproducing  
below, Mr. Krishen's (and Ms. Roy's) response.

--------------

1. Arundhati Roy's Response to the queries about alleged grabbing of  
Tribal Land


Dear ______,
Clearly while the rest of the world is riveted to what some of your  
notable colleagues in the media have been up to with the 2G business,  
you have something different on your mind! I hope you are having fun  
with this story about my "adivasi land grab". Thanks for taking the  
trouble to check the facts, all of which are not only false but also  
defamatory. I am attaching Pradip's response which he has already  
sent to you. Better luck next time!

All best
Arundhati

2. Pradip Krishen's response (forwarded in the body of the above email)

This is in response to a message that Arundhati Roy forwarded to me  
just now:

I'm afraid you have got your facts VERY wrong.

Here are the main facts pertaining to the points you mention:

I bought the land in question, approx 1,300 sq meters of land in  
1992. The land in question was not Adivasi land. The previous owners  
were Shareef Ahmed, Shabra Begum and 11 others, all residents of  
Pachmarhi. A sale deed was executed in the Sub-registrar's office in  
Piparia, and the land was demarcated by the Patwari. I built my house  
the following year.

It is true that Vijay Singh accused me and 2 others of encroaching on  
his land in 2003. The land in question was measured by the Tehsil  
officers after the complaint was filed, and it was found that no  
encroachment had in fact taken place, and Vijay Singh signed a  
statement retracting his complaint. The Case was closed as will be  
borne out in the Tehsil records

The third point about the Forest Deptt is as follows: I was served  
with a notice in 1999, 6 years after I registered the purchase of my  
land, to say that no sale or transfer of land was permitted in the  
area  because the entire area was notified as an intended Sanctuary  
in 1977.
I replied that I had bought the land by due legal process and that if  
no sale was permitted then the Revenue authorities should not have  
registered the sale. Besides, since 1977, thousands of sales had  
taken place within the notified area, and why was I being singled out?
This case is now in the High Court of MP.

Further to all these facts regarding the land in Pachmarhi, I want  
you to know that Arundhati has absolutely nothing to do with my  
Pachmarhi land. We were not married when I bought the land in 1992,  
and she is not registered as the owner. She has not visited the house  
for over 12 years. I'm afraid that the Press is trying to drag her  
name in only to try and defame her unecessarily.

Pradip Krishen

3. The Media Channel's query to Arundhati Roy

On Fri, Nov 19, 2010 at 3:07 PM, The media channel wrote to Ms. Roy :

Re: Request for a Byte/Statement

Ma'am,

We are forwarding you one of the story on which we would like to have  
a reaction of you in form of a sound byte or perhaps a statement.


Details:

STD: Writer-activist Arundhati Roy is embroiled in fresh controversy  
over encroachment in Panchmarhi, a hill resort in Madhya Pradesh… The  
Shivraj Singh government is contemplating action against Arundhati`s  
husband for building his house in protected wildlife area…. The Times  
Now investigation finds out that though the State government has  
booked the case for violating the forest act, it is also a case of  
encroaching upon a poor tribals land.

V/O1: This is the bungalow owned by Arundhatis husband, filmmaker  
Pradeep Krishan in Bariaam village of Panchmari, a hill resort in  
Madhya Pradesh… now at the centre of controversy… The controversy  
erupted in 2003 after the local Pipariya Sub Divisional Magistrate,  
SDM had served notice to Roys husband and three others including  
Aradhana Seth, sister of writer Vikram Seth, for violating wild life  
act 1972 section 18 (1). The Forest Act of 1972 bans the sale of land  
in notified forest areas. Section 18 of the law bars buying and  
selling of notified forest land... This village falls within the  
Special Area Development Authoritys jurisdiction SADA. The SADA had  
also served a order of stop building order on Roys husband.. The  
notice says that under section 16 of of the State Town and country  
planning act, 1973 the land use of Panchmarhi and its neighbouring  
areas had been frozen… Arundhatis husband had then moved to the State  
High court against the SDM notice.. However the MP High Court in  
March 2010, has asked Arundhatis husband, Pradeep Kishan, to appear  
before a sub-divisional magistrate…

BITE ONE: HOSHANGABAD COMMISSIONER MANOJ SHRIVASTAV (transcript does  
not detail what is said in this byte)

V/O2: But your channel in Barriaam village finds out that Arundhati  
also invites the charge for encroaching on tribal land… In fact, the  
whole controversy came in picture in 2003 after a local Gond tribal  
Vijay Singh filed a complaint with the SDM, against Roys husband and  
others for encroaching on his land… In his affidavit, Vijay had  
accused them of constructing this cemented road to their bungalows  
without bothering to obtain permission or pay adequate compensation…  
Vijay passed away last year…Now his wife says that there is no  
justice in this case and Arundhati has not paid any compensation for  
encroaching on her land.

BITE TWO:       SUKHWATI WIFE OF VIJAY SINGH ranscript does not  
detail what is said in this byte)

V/O3:  The land record officer - Patwari confirms that in 2003 after  
the tribal Vijays complaint he had measured the land and found that  
Arundhatis husband had encroached upon the tribals land.

BITE THREE: LAND RECORD OFFICER JITENDRA SINGH (transcript does not  
detail what is said in this byte)

PTC: The big question is how Arundhati Roy managed to get land in  
this protected wild life sanctuary while throwing a all the rules to  
the air. Even a bigger question would be how will Arundhati, who is  
better know for her fight for downtrodden class, justify encroaching  
upon the land of poorest of the poor tribals…

(Query ends here)

A Brief Glossary: STD stands for Studio, V/O for Voice Over, PTC for  
'Piece to Camera', a 'Byte' is a term used to describe the airing of  
an excerpted statement made by an interviewee - all these are  
standard terms used while scripting and planning a television news  
story, or in transcripts of television news stories.

-----------------------------

I hope that all this sheds some light on the matter. I apologize for  
the length and elaboration of this mail, but I think these facts  
needs to be placed on record, so as to ensure that this list does not  
become the dumping ground of the garbage of lies and rumours.

Finally, I think we need to think seriously about what means this  
list might need to take to safeguard its integrity from this kind of  
repeated defamatory mischief and malicious slander.

best

Shuddha


Shuddhabrata Sengupta