Manhandled in Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, woman journo blames "response" from Dalit activists, leftists, editors

Damayanti Dhar with Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani

In a gruesome incident, which took place at the Civil Hospital, Ahmedabad, a young woman journalist, who writes for well-known news portal "The Wire", was manhandled On January 7 when she, accompanied another colleague from the daily, "Ahmedabad Mirror" (AM), were on their duty. They were seeking to ascertain facts related to M Mariraj, a third year Dalit resident doctor, who had attempted suicide claiming caste-based discrimination.
While the incident was reported (January 8) by AM as part of a story around the Dalit fury at the hospital following the suicide, Damayanti Dhar, who writes for the news portal, has said in a Facebook post that she and AM reporter Brendan-Anton Dabhi "were attacked by a mob of about 15-20 Dalit men".
"I was manhandled, heckled, my press card and our mobiles snatched away and recording deleted. All this while about 7-8 men kept recording what they did to me while abusing me verbally", writes Dhar, adding, "It has taken some time for me to be in the right state of mind to pen this down."
Dhar says, without naming anyone, "I haven’t been as much disturbed by the attack on me as much by the response I got from leftists, activists and editors, all of whom I have seen standing up for freedom of press and free speech always earlier. I was advised to let this go, take it was professional hazard, not write about this, not file complaint against Dalits."
Pointing out the reason given to her asking her for not to file a complaint was, "it would go against the movement", with some even scaring her by saying that if she filed a complaint "there might be counter complaints", Dhar says, "When no one stood by me, I decided to write to the Commissioner of Police of Ahmedabad. I am thankful that the police acted so promptly." "

Dr Mariraj

As for me, this attack made the hypocrisy of the leftists journalists-activists-editors quite clear", alleges Dhar, adding, "In past one week or so, four reporters have been either attacked or heckled by leftists, activists/Dalit activists-protestors and it is not acceptable. I wonder if these incidents were of right-wing elements heckling reporters what would the same people say."
She continues, "I have seen many taking pleasure in attack on some reporters just because they were from certain channels. As I was being attacked, in my fear, anger and disappointment of being not supported, I can feel what each of those reporters go through being attacked."
AM, reporting on the incident (January 8), said, it took place when the two journalists reached out to Mariraj. As they were interviewing him, the miscreants heckled them, forcing them to delete recordings from their phone and pushing them around while shouting obscenities in the hospital.
AM continued, things turned ugly soon after the journalists asked Mariraj about the allegation being made against him -- of overreacting. Before further questions could be asked to him, the goons led by a person identifying himself as high court lawyer and Dalit activist, locked the reporters out of the room.
When the door opened after several minutes, said AM, the mob pushed the two around, accusing them 'of being Brahminical and Manuvadi', while demanding that the interview recording be deleted. They could have been physically attacked but for the intervention of cops present there.
Dhar continues in her Facebook post, particularly referring to the manner in which the Dalit advocate behaved, he kept shouting "Brahmanwadi Manuwadi media" and "threatened me of atrocity case." She adds, "He snatched my press card from the cop who came to rescue and threatened, Dhar ho, Brahman ho, dekhta hu mein etc.", adding, "aap koi akhbar ya channel se nahi ho, zyada bade reporter nahi ho" (you are a Dhar, a Brahmin, will see you... you are not from any big reporter from newspaper or channel).

Comments

When Pakistanis whispered: ‘end military rule’ — A Moscow memoir

During the recent anti-terror operation inside Pakistan by the Government of India, called Operation Sindoor — a name some feminists consider patently patriarchal, even though it’s officially described as a tribute to the wives of the 26 husbands killed in the terrorist strike — I was reminded of my Moscow stint, which lasted for seven long years, from 1986 to 1993.

Ahmedabad's civic chaos: Drainage woes, waterlogging, and the illusion of Olympic dreams

In response to my blog on overflowing gutter lines at several spots in Ahmedabad's Vejalpur, a heavily populated area, a close acquaintance informed me that it's not just the middle-class housing societies that are affected by the nuisance. Preeti Das, who lives in a posh locality in what is fashionably called the SoBo area, tells me, "Things are worse in our society, Applewood."

Tracking a lost link: Soviet-era legacy of Gujarati translator Atul Sawani

The other day, I received a message from a well-known activist, Raju Dipti, who runs an NGO called Jeevan Teerth in Koba village, near Gujarat’s capital, Gandhinagar. He was seeking the contact information of Atul Sawani, a translator of Russian books—mainly political and economic—into Gujarati for Progress Publishers during the Soviet era. He wanted to collect and hand over scanned soft copies, or if possible, hard copies, of Soviet books translated into Gujarati to Arvind Gupta, who currently lives in Pune and is undertaking the herculean task of collecting and making public soft copies of Soviet books that are no longer available in the market, both in English and Indian languages.

RP Gupta a scapegoat to help Govt of India manage fallout of Adani case in US court?

RP Gupta, a retired 1987-batch IAS officer from the Gujarat cadre, has found himself at the center of a growing controversy. During my tenure as the Times of India correspondent in Gandhinagar (1997–2012), I often interacted with him. He struck me as a straightforward officer, though I never quite understood why he was never appointed to what are supposed to be top-tier departments like industries, energy and petrochemicals, finance, or revenue.

Environmental report raises alarm: Sabarmati one of four rivers with nonylphenol contamination

A new report by Toxics Link , an Indian environmental research and advocacy organisation based in New Delhi, in collaboration with the Environmental Defense Fund , a global non-profit headquartered in New York, has raised the alarm that Sabarmati is one of five rivers across India found to contain unacceptable levels of nonylphenol (NP), a chemical linked to "exposure to carcinogenic outcomes, including prostate cancer in men and breast cancer in women."

PharmEasy: The only online medical store which revises prices upwards after confirming the order

For senior citizens — especially those without a family support system — ordering medicines online can be a great relief. Shruti and I have been doing this for the last couple of years, and with considerable success. We upload a prescription, receive a verification call from a doctor, and within two or three days, the medicines are delivered to our doorstep.

A conman, a demolition man: How 'prominent' scribes are defending Pritish Nandy

How to defend Pritish Nandy? That’s the big question some of his so-called fans seem to ponder, especially amidst sharp criticism of his alleged insensitivity during his journalistic career. One such incident involved the theft and publication of the birth certificate of Masaba Gupta, daughter of actor Neena Gupta, in the Illustrated Weekly of India, which Nandy was editing at the time. He reportedly did this to uncover the identity of Masaba’s father.

Revisiting Gijubhai: Pioneer of child-centric education and the caste debate

It was Krishna Kumar, the well-known educationist, who I believe first introduced me to the name — Gijubhai Badheka (1885–1939). Hailing from Bhavnagar, known as the cultural capital of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat, Gijubhai, Kumar told me during my student days, made significant contributions to the field of pedagogy — something that hasn't received much attention from India's education mandarins. At that time, Kumar was my tutorial teacher at Kirorimal College, Delhi University.

A sector under siege? War and real estate: Navigating uncertainty in India's expanding market

I was a little surprised when I received an email alert from a top real estate consultant, Anarock Group , titled "Exploring War’s Effects on Indian Real Estate—When Conflict Meets Concrete," authored by its regional director and head of research, Dr. Prashant Thakur. I had thought that the business would wholeheartedly support what is considered a strong response to the dastardly terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Operation Sindoor.

Search This Blog