A day after social media exploded with condemnation at rape-accused Tarun Tejpal being invited to speak at Times of India’s literature festival in Mumbai, the organisers have been compelled to retreat.
Late on Saturday, Twitter began to circulate the Times Lit Fest’s schedule for the first week of December, which listed former Tehelka editor Tejpal as a panellist for a talk on the "Tyranny of Power". The panel also included journalist and scriptwriter Basharat Peer, Congress politician Mani Shankar Aiyar and journalist Manu Joseph. The talk was supposed to include a discussion on Tejpal’s book, Masques, but was not going to broach the subject of the rape case at all.
On Monday, however, Tejpal’s name had disappeared from the festival schedule, after the organisers came under fire for offering a formal social platform to a man who is out on bail and still under trial for sexually assaulting a junior colleague during a festival organised by his Tehelka magazine in Goa last year.
Festival director Bachi Karkaria tweeted.
She and her co-director Namita Devidayal later put out this statement:
Earlier, journalist Swapan Dasgupta had withdrawn from the festival to protest the decision to include Tejpal.
In addition, several other guests sent private messages to the organisers expressing their dismay at the decision to have Tejpal among the panelists.
Updated on November 24 at 1.52pm to add Times of India statement.
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Late on Saturday, Twitter began to circulate the Times Lit Fest’s schedule for the first week of December, which listed former Tehelka editor Tejpal as a panellist for a talk on the "Tyranny of Power". The panel also included journalist and scriptwriter Basharat Peer, Congress politician Mani Shankar Aiyar and journalist Manu Joseph. The talk was supposed to include a discussion on Tejpal’s book, Masques, but was not going to broach the subject of the rape case at all.
On Monday, however, Tejpal’s name had disappeared from the festival schedule, after the organisers came under fire for offering a formal social platform to a man who is out on bail and still under trial for sexually assaulting a junior colleague during a festival organised by his Tehelka magazine in Goa last year.
Festival director Bachi Karkaria tweeted.
We have asked Tarun Tejpal to drop out of the TOI Litfest. We've got a great program & we don't want it hijacked by extraneous noise.
— bachi karkaria (@bachikarkaria) November 24, 2014She and her co-director Namita Devidayal later put out this statement:
"We have regretfully withdrawn our invitation to Tarun Tejpal to participate in The Times Of India Litfest, Dec 5-7,2014, While there was never a question of a subjudice case being discussed at any of its forums, the reaction to his inclusion suggests that our litfest was in danger of being overwhelmed by an extraneous issue. A great deal of thought and effort went into putting together intellectually stimulating topics and panelists, and we did not want any distractions from either. All these years we have managed to be about discussion not noise, and we'd like to keep it that way for the sake of our acclaimed participants and engaged audiences."
Earlier, journalist Swapan Dasgupta had withdrawn from the festival to protest the decision to include Tejpal.
TimesLitFest has a right to draw up its own guest list. I have the right to stay away on grounds I'll be a misfit. Have communicated this.
— Swapan Dasgupta (@swapan55) November 23, 2014In addition, several other guests sent private messages to the organisers expressing their dismay at the decision to have Tejpal among the panelists.
Updated on November 24 at 1.52pm to add Times of India statement.