(The writer is a political columnist, a lapsed historian and a committed conservative.)
The media has for long acquired the reputation of flaunting its power without often being mindful of its larger consequences. To that extent, the brief statement by the Directors of the Times Literary Festival blaming the kerfuffle over its guest list to "extraneous noises" is almost certainly going to be viewed by the wider world as yet another example of arrogance.
The belief is not without some basis. In a fractious democracy such as India, the media has nurtured the self-image that it is accountable to no one but itself-and, in a loose sense, the laws of the land. This self-fulfilling state of affairs has suffered a setback with the advent of the social media.
The social media is in a state of evolution. Its critics have highlighted many of its crude excesses. I have heard established journalists comparing Twitter to a "public sewage system." To my mind, many of these unfortunate distortions stem from passive consumers who were hitherto voiceless demanding a voice and disregarding traditional norms of deference. Indeed, when it comes to engaging with the organised media, insolence and profanities are often the defining hallmarks of the social media. Once the novelty of these new platforms wears off, a greater of sobriety may also become evident.
However, there is little doubt that even the mainstream media is now mindful of the importance of the social media in creating a multiplier effect and securing a feedback. The howls of outrage that greeted the TLF invitation to Tarun Tejpal who is on trial for alleged rape may have irritated the organisers who felt that the sanctity of their lofty decision-making process was being questioned with unwarranted insolence. Yet, it speaks volumes for the collective clout of the online rabble that the validity of the protest was quickly acknowledged. Indeed, it took less than 24 hours between the public awareness that Tejpal would be a speaker and the TLF's grudging "withdrawal" of the invitation.
That no one of any consequence has protested against an imaginary witch-hunt or a stifling of dissent suggests quite clearly that the original TLF invite displayed an amazing lack of judgment. This was more so because Tejpal's self-confessed misbehaviour took place at a similar Tehelka-organised "think" festival in Goa a year ago. Clearly, the TLF organisers seemed completely impervious to the likelihood that in the public perception the "literary community" would have become identified with lascivious behaviour. The damage that this in turn would have caused to other literary festivals, including the annual event in Jaipur that draws mass audiences, is incalculable.
The short-lived furore over the invitation to Tejpal will, hopefully, be forgotten by the time the TLF gets underway in December. What may, however, continue to haunt the English-language media and the minuscule "lit" community is the feeling that they exist in an ethical void and an intellectual bubble. The English-language media's detachment from the impulses that drive Middle India is an accepted feature of Indian existence. It can even be justified in the name of pluralism.
What is less prone to charitable interpretation is the feeling that when it comes to protecting one of their own tribe, the guardians of the "idea of India" demonstrate a wilful disregard of common decencies. The idea of entitlement is not reserved for political dynasties; it has also seeped into the blood stream of Mumbai's beautiful people.
Thank God for the "extraneous noises" that are a corrective to those who feel they are the ultimate arbiters of good taste and enlightenment.
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