An apology: Rape of a minor by security officers

Introspection is essential. It is of utmost importance especially in the case of the contemporary media industry which is forever chasing news. Online, print or television, no medium can claim to be free from errors. The intrinsic nature of online and television journalism is such that it thrives on delivering news instantly, 24x7, always. The print media with all the additional hours it possesses too hasn’t been free from factual inaccuracies

One of my professors used to argue that the media expects morally upright and ethical behaviour from public figures but doesn’t subject itself to the same guidelines. Big scoops, often derived from inaccurate sources, are given print and broadcast prominence. But the resultant mistakes are acknowledged in single column corrigendums published somewhere in the corner of inside pages or flashed on the ticker running underneath the breaking news band.

It would serve the media better if it became more open to admitting inadequacies. What better way for this writer to initiate the process than by pointing out to two incidents of incorrect information which he is himself guilty of furthering.

My opinion piece titled "Tale of Indian Army officers: Those who make us proud and those who don’t" attracted a bit of controversy on social media. One of the decent comments said, "Mr Khan please check your facts before writing. Your story is factually incorrect." Others accused me of deliberately fudging with facts and portraying the Indian army in wrong light at a time when the combined security forces were busy flushing out terrorists in Pathankot.

The rape of a minor girl onboard the Howrah-Amritsar Express was initially reported in the media as one carried out by army jawans. Later on it came to light that out of the three culprits, two were Border Security Force (BSF) personnel. The third accused, though is said to have not raped the girl himself but allegedly forced her to consume liquor, happens to be an army jawan.

Based on the preliminary information, this writer’s piece had incorrectly described all the three accused as army jawans. It’s an error which is regretted and wouldn’t have occurred had the research been meticulous enough. However, it must also be mentioned that abuse on social media is at times very upsetting. Mistakes occur inadvertently but to dub a journalist/writer as anti-national merely because of an innocent factual lapse simply lowers the level of discourse on social media.     

Some of the comments raised important questions which I addressed through a status update on Facebook just a day after the piece was published. I’d like to quote the same:

"Many have asked as to why the piece was written at such a critical time when the forces required support more than anything else. Here I would like to make three points. Firstly, if one reads my piece then he will clearly find that I have expressed pride in our soldiers who have laid down their lives for us including the Pathankot bravehearts. Secondly, I have also mentioned that at times even the death of a martyr is under-reported in the media. Therefore, it is preposterous to accuse me of anti-national bias.

Thirdly and most importantly, the reason why I chose to talk about the rape of a minor girl at the hands of security personnel was because the terror strike in Pathankot and the other incident were separated only by a matter of few days. While Pathankot received first page coverage, the rape story was buried in the inside pages as I have mentioned in the piece. As a result of that I decided to raise the issue and draw parallels between those uniformed men who made us proud and those who didn’t.”

The second mistake, which this writer admits to have inadvertently committed, pertains to a piece (Both madrasas and RSS shakhas should fly Indian flag) written as recently as yesterday. A colleague brought to my notice this piece published on Newlaundry concerning the story on Kazi Masum Akhtar and the alleged insult to the national anthem.

Newslaundry has correctly pointed out that Kazi Masum Akhtar wasn’t attacked recently (as some media reports claimed) nor was he assaulted simply because he taught the national anthem. There were a host of other issues at play which Akhtar claims included his opposition to madrasas which foster terrorists, ending early marriages of girls, etc.

Newslaundry has tried to bring in the madrasa’s side of the story which indeed makes for an interesting read. Based on the media reports I had accessed on the issue, I had incorrectly mentioned in my piece that Akhtar was attacked recently. As Newslaundry has reported, Akhtar was attacked only once in March 2015.

However, at this stage, I would firmly reiterate my stand on both the issues.

The BSF gentlemen (along with the army jawan) who allegedly raped the girl should be tried and brought to justice. The response to the piece was cynical but we must realise that no institution of the government, including the Army, is above criticism. If an Army jawan helps in the rape of a minor girl by forcing her to consume liquor then he too is a party to the crime. That’s the reason why the jawan in question has also been booked.

Secondly, the fact remains that Kazi Masum Akhtar was indeed physically assaulted for his views which he claims included the singing of the national anthem in the Kolkata madrasa. Neither the State Minority Commission nor West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee is coming to his rescue as he continues to be barred from entering the school. Therefore, Akhtar can be said to be a victim of both violence and state apathy.

However, what one needs to question are media reports which incorrectly mentioned that Akhtar was assaulted the second time for teaching his pupils how to sing the national anthem or that he was assaulted (once) but solely for teaching the national anthem or suggesting that he was attacked recently.

The claims aren’t true as indicated by the facts at hand. The point of probe should be whether the media spin pertaining to the singing of the national anthem was deliberate or unintentional. Is it a case of old wine being served in a new bottle to readers/viewers? This writer regrets having unknowingly mentioned incorrect facts concerning the controversy around Kazi Masum Akhtar. It is high time that the media stopped lagging behind when it comes to acknowledging factual errors, blunders and deliberate distortions.

Post script: Never build an opinion without ascertaining the complete story.