One of my favorite journalists :

       Tarun Tejpal

• 

  A dark horse

  Born on 15th March 1963
• Nationality: Indian 
• Occupation: Journalist
• 1980:worked with The Indian Express
• 1984: joined India Today
• 1994: joined the Financial Express ; worked with Outlook
• He left Outlook to launch an online independent magazine called tehelka.com
• After the online magazine, came the relaunch of a National weekly magazine                                                                                                            called Tehelka, in January                                                                                                            2007.

He was adored as an amazing public figure until he became so ridiculously infamous after a horrible incident that took place on the 7th and 8th of November, 2013; within  the premises of the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Goa that would change this man's life forever. 

On November 20th 2013, Tarun Tejpal stepped down as Editor-in-Chief of Tehelka for six months and he was soon after arrested on 30th November 2013; having accused of raping a young colleague( who  worked under him for Tehelka )during the Annual Think festival in Goa hosted by Tehelka.

The morning I read on the newspaper about this, I could not help but just put the paper down with such a heavy sigh; collapsing as if lifeless on my couch. I was filled with anguish, a little bit of shame( I do not know why !) and disappointment! He was my icon ! I used to steal my spare time in high school reading The Alchemy of Desire- which I absolutely loved ! Tarun Tejpal writes like a magician. And I would always never fail to purchase a copy of Tehelka magazine. The punch line of Tehelka is, "Breakthrough journalism" which i believe in. Tehelka publishes some of the most daring, heart-wrenching, earth shattering, ice-melting stories. And this man, who I have admired for so many years for his dedication to the field of journalism, for taking "pangas" with all the political parties, for making me want to be part of such an open industry of a medium where one could truly express themselves-where they did not have to be bowed down by Politicians and other Political parties; where that kind of journalism would have not applied to  Noam Chomsky's  theory of Manufacturing Consent-was behind bars for sexually assaulting a girl! I was shocked,disgusted and confused.

 Under Tarun Tejpal's brilliant team, Tehelka bloomed into a blazing enterprise.

Is Tarun Tejpal just a very ,very  good journalist and a writer ? Or is he a morally loose character who sexually assaulted a girl who was as old as his daughter? I have not been able to come to a definite conclusion even after having followed all updates. The Tarun Tejpal who I thought I knew, through his tremendous contribution to journalism and Indian Literature is such a striking contrast to the image that is becoming him now or rather destroying who he ever was, a man whose soul is shown as stark as a bottomless well. This only aggravates my anger. I reckoned he was a man of honor, respectful, who believed in a new India and who respected women, above all- he has two daughters ! Can a man who is so intelligent, bright, who fought for  hard TRUTH at all times and who lives on the edge to make sure adequate information be provided to the public -who did his job well as a fantastic journalist commit such a heinous crime ?! I am just baffled. The information, so stubbornly clings to my mind and my love for Tarun Tejpal's writings are embedded in my Long-Term-Memory, forever. Now, it seems hard to be rational with such a conflict erupting in my mind with no satisfying answers. 

Some things about Tehelka :

Tehelka's February 2013, cover illustration.

• Tehelka as a website (2000-2003)
• Tehelka as a tabloid(2004-2007)
• Tehelka as a magazine(2007-present day)
• Brought about a REVOLUTION in Indian Journalism through their daring ways. They started the 'STING OPERATIONS'
• OPERATION WEST END started in 2001
• Their first one was on the match-fixing scene in India (cricket), 2000
• In 2007, Tehelka published a sting operation on "Bajrang Dal"
• The sting operation was called, " The Truth : Gujarat 2002"
• Narendra Modi (the P.M of India now) was the then C.M of Gujarat during that time.
• The July 2003 chaos that happened in Manipur, 2009-
• Tehelka shot 12 photographs that proved that the police were killing innocent civilians under the pretense of 'fake encounters'-which led to massive protests for the removal of the  Armed Forces(Special Powers) Act,1958 (AFSPA) from Manipur.
• Tehelka reporters, staff and Tarun Tejpal received a lot of death threats and faced legal charges against them. 

India awarded Tehelka excellence in Journalism in 2010 & 2011. It is hugely supported by prominent people of India such as the fierce political writer-Arundhati Roy(God of Small Things), Nobel Laureate-V.S Naipaul and it is widely read and appreciated for its bravery even while being criticized for violating the traditional ethics of journalism.