#MeToo | Is There A Need To Draw A Line?

Some questions are of a general nat­ure that involves us all. Beyond the open-and-shut cases of outright predation from positions of power, does it confuse flirtation with harassment? Where바카라�s the line to be drawn when everyone has a different line? Does it victimise men for playing initiator? Is this Men vs Women? (It is not; for one, there are men and women on both sides of the argument). Some questions flow from the very limitations of the format of revolt. Doesn바카라�t it leave too much room for fake allegations? (Yes, it probably does. One case of a senior journalist, Siddharth Bhatia, seems riddled with genuine doubts. One from the world of entertainment, Varun Grover바카라�s case, awaits a final word). And, as an extension, can바카라�t it become a tool for the play of agendas? Can바카라�t it become a form of 바카라�exemplary바카라� and showpiece justice, and thus be selective?

Two incidents from the media바카라�which has been buffeted by a flood of 바카라�outings바카라�바카라�would suffice to nail that last one. Two cases, in fact, from the same media organisation.

Prashant Jha stepped down as political editor and bureau chief of Hindustan Times on Monday, October 8, after being accused of sexual harassment on Twitter by his former colleague, Avantika Mehta. Mehta posted screenshots of the incriminating WhatsApp conversation with Jha, which seems to have taken place after she stepped down as senior correspondent from the organisation in 2016. (The screenshots see Jha trying persistently to 바카라�hit on바카라� Mehta, despite her objections.)

However, Dhrubajyoti Purkait, ano­ther journalist with Hindustan Times who has been accused of sexual ass­ault on Twitter, continues to work with the organisation without even a wrap on knuckles. 바카라�I found out that, within some overlapping circles of Delhi gay men who date each other, this person had a reputation for not respecting people바카라�s personal, physical and sexual boundaries. Wrongdoing had happened often, and persistently,바카라� wrote activist Amba Azaad on September 25. Two days later, a publicly contrite Purkait took to Twitter: 바카라�Since yesterday, I had several conversations and suggestions with friends, former friends and people I was intimate with to rectify conduct. Have also spoken to people I dated...taking responsibility, unconditionally apologising. Seeking community and professional help to ensure it never happens again,바카라� he wrote.

In an e-mail response, HT mentioned taking cognisance of the allegations brought against Jha and another staff. 바카라�We have our core values that guide us in everything that we do.... At HT we have a very clear policy on sexual harassment, as mandated by the Supreme Court in earlier days and now by the Law. All complaints rep­orted to the committee are taken very seriously. POSH committee at HT is chaired by an external female member.... We are ascertaining full facts in both cases....바카라� wrote Dinesh Mittal, HT바카라�s general counsel and company secretary, in the reply dated October 8, only a few hours bef­ore Jha stepped down.

But Outlook still awaits a response to a second e-mail on Purkait. Despite his public acceptance of being in the wrong, the company has maintained absolute silence on the case. As for Purkait himself, he refused to res­p­ond to questions, stating he needs to 바카라�seek clearance from the organisation바카라� before doing so. The disparity in the way even one media giant has cho­sen to res­pond in two cases shows how바카라�after everyone voyeuristically consumes the lurid stuff on Twitter바카라�the ends of justice may not be uniformly served.

Thus, on the brink of what seems a historic moment where women victims have been enabled to break through layers and layers of stifling institutional power, we are also presented with a rich lode of ironies. Those from the entertainment world who made careers out of their 바카라�wokeness바카라� being named. Lobbies pouncing on exposes against rivals. Even the stray woman 바카라�predator바카라� being named. The threat of the discourse getting lost in a cloud of 바카라�he-said, she-said바카라� shouting matches is looming large just a week after the floodgates opened on entrenched misogyny in Indian institutions.

The flame-throwing nature of the #MeToo phenomenon was deemed necessary. But will the attempt to make workspaces safe for women alter even 바카라�normal behaviour바카라�? 바카라�The workplace is contextual. Harassment can happen outside one바카라�s workplace too. For us as Indians, this is a different kind of moment. You can give it whatever name you want, it doesn바카라�t matter. We바카라�re not saying men should never make the first move; in that case, many of us would never have been in a relationship. But the smallest offence that is non-consensual is problematic,바카라� says senior advocate Rebecca John.

The outrage over the gangrape of Rajasthan health worker Bhanwari Devi had finally led to the Supreme Court바카라�s Vishakha guidelines back in 1997. #MeToo shows nothing changed in offices. Will this wave in turn prompt any relook? 바카라�What바카라�s striking is, despite all the evidence and naming, the reluctance of organisations to come forward and acknowledge this as a major problem. The organisations would ideally have to step up and say we knew about this, but we didn바카라�t do anything, now we바카라�ll have to find ways to address the issue. Instead, the debate is about false accusations, and 바카라�why talk about it after so many years바카라�, all of which deflect from the main issue,바카라� says social activist and publisher Urvashi Butalia.

The inbred resistance of organisations to cleaning up is rather blatant in the case of comedy collective All India Bakchod (AIB). On October 4, writer Mahima Kukreja tweeted her experience with comedian Utsav Chakraborty on Twitter. The thread had details of allegations made by others who had come out to Kukreja about Chakraborty바카라�s misdemeanours. As the kitchen got progressively hotter, AIB duly put out two contrite statements over the next two days, saying they 바카라�condemned바카라� Chakaborty바카라�s behaviour. The man, meanwhile, quit and was back in a 바카라�freelance capacity바카라�. (바카라�That바카라�s on us. We made a big mistake.바카라�) It took ano­ther wave of exposes on October 8바카라�this time with allegations surfacing against Bhat and fellow co-fou­nder Gursimran Khamba바카라�for the bell to toll with more ominous finality for the four-man-band that was 바카라�Making cool shit for young India바카라�. A similar trajectory바카라�silence, denial, reluctant movement and finally ack­nowledgement only after the waters rose above the head바카라�was seen in the more famous case involving Phantom Films.

But social media was getting roiled more by the questions that were tough and slippery to negotiate for everyone. Journalist Nidhi Razdan was lambasted for a tweet (refer to main story) that had people asking her what, to her mind, qualified as harassment. In an int­eraction with Outlook, the NDTV exe­cutive editor clarified she was 바카라�not justifying lewd behaviour; NOT justifying a boss hitting on a junior. I am just saying a bad date or relationship gone wrong isn바카라�t #MeToo; a guy asking you out isn바카라�t a predator. We don바카라�t have rules that forbid dating in the office like many companies do abroad. The lines get blurred sometimes. It바카라�s totally a woman바카라�s call, if she바카라�s uncomfortable or not. If someone isn바카라�t backing off or you feel uncomfortable, that바카라�s harassment.바카라�

Sandhya Mridul and Swara Bhaskar, Bollywood actresses, joined the debate, encouraging people to refrain from bringing in their personal agendas and tainting an emancipatory moment. 바카라�Dear women. I바카라�m requesting you all바카라�please do not make false allegations and derail what is an extre­mely crucial movement. Please. Just the truth. No personal agendas. No lies that disempower the truthful. Thank you. Much love,바카라� Mridul tweeted. In two tweets on the Varun Grover case, Swara Bhaskar too voiced some of these anxieties: 바카라�It is imperative that anonymous accounts be discouraged. Brave women are sharing their names and stories.... I바카라�m not disbelieving anyone, I don바카라�t want to dilute anyone바카라�s story. (But) we need thorough investigative journalism that questions both alleged perpetrators & victims....바카라� Actor Siddharth, very pro-MeToo in his tweets, also implored men to not 바카라�become collateral damage바카라� and to come out if being unfairly 바카라�targeted by vested interests piggy-backing on the #MeToo movement바카라�.

Not naming oneself, of course, can come from a place of powerlessness, and mostly does. An interesting variation is where even powerful women choose to adopt the safety of anonymity바카라�not for themselves, but by leaving the perpetrator in a 바카라�guess who바카라� haze. As for those named on social media, many either issued apologies, left their Twitter accounts behind or waited for their organisation to issue statements; some came out swinging with vehement denials. Lyricist Varun Grover joined the latter list, with an elaborate denial about an alleged incident from 2001 in BHU, while acknowledging: 바카라�I know it is hard to reconcile the two바카라�바카라�Believe women바카라� and 바카라�Don바카라�t put any allegations on me바카라�.바카라�

Bhatia, co-founder of The Wire, too spoke of 바카라�wild allegations바카라�바카라�no person with the accuser바카라�s name seems to have been employed in DNA at the time the incident was alleged to have taken place바카라�and expressed readiness to face 바카라�any independent enquiry바카라�. (Meanwhile, #MolesterAtWire was made to trend by known right-wing accounts overnight.)

바카라�All of this does lie within defamation,바카라� says advocate Prosenjeet Banerjee, and the accused 바카라�has the right to haul the accuser to civil and criminal courts바카라�. Senior advocate Anand Grover says, 바카라�Frankly, it바카라�s not possible to decide on the basis of tweets. It바카라�s one word against the other.바카라�

On the basis of evidence till date, the case of Kunal Pradhan, HT executive editor, is similar. He was accused by an anonymous complainant of telling her: 바카라�You be my Chinese doll. Waise bhi, you have chinky eyes바카라� (and a whole lot else). Pradhan filed a complaint with the Delhi Police cyber cell, reporting that the Twitter handle was created the previous day, and tweeted about how 바카라�MeToo can get hijacked and derailed by malicious people who want to settle personal scores바카라�.

It바카라�s these exact doubts that had dogged the famous Raya Sarkar list on sexual harassers in academia last year바카라�India바카라�s first #MeToo moment. The core team that handled it insisted they had doubly confirming layers of verification and authentication, but that could not save the project from buckling under its own contradictions.

Ironically, #MeToo바카라�s enabling features바카라�anonymity, naming and shaming, accusatory justice바카라�may also be its liabilities. If organisations must be made to behave responsibly, #MeToo may also need a touch of redemptive institutional process. It바카라�s badly needed for sure, for the oppressive structures are very intact. Take only the case of journalist Nasreen Khan, who spoke of how the BCCL management 바카라�scuttled바카라� her demand for a probe against her former boss at Calcutta Times, Satadru Ojha. The crowning indignity, she says, came when higher-ups told her, 바카라�The boss is like a husband and I must learn to adjust바카라�.