Teesta Setalvad
Encyclopedia
Teesta Setalvad is a journalist and educationist. She is granddaughter of India's first Attorney General M. C. Setalvad
from Bombay University in 1983 and started work as a journalist. She reported for the Mumbai editions of The Daily (India) and The Indian Express
newspapers, and then for Business India
magazine. Appalled by the communal violence during the Bombay Riots
, she, along with activist husband Javed Anand, quit full-time journalism in 1993 to start a monthly magazine Communalism Combat.
Teesta is an ethnic Gujarati
and the daughter of Atul Setalvad, a Mumbai based lawyer, and Sita Setalvad, a rural crafts exponent. She and husband Javed have two children, Tamara and Jibran.
In 2007, she was awarded the Padma Shri
by the Government of India for her role in "Public Affairs in Maharashatra".
Despite being a Muslim she hides her identity as Teesta Javed under a Hindu name Teesta Setelvad.
, the key witness in the Best Bakery case, to make certain statements, leading to the unprecedented transferral of the case outside Gujarat. In August 2005, a Supreme Court of India committee absolved her of the charges of inducement levelled against her by Zaheera.
to investigate and expedite the Gujarat riot cases had submitted before the Court that Teesta Setalvad had cooked up cases of violence to spice up the incidents. The SIT which is headed by former CBI director, R K Raghavan has said that false witnesses were tutored to give evidence about imaginary incidents by Teesta Setalvad and other NGOs. The SIT charged her of “cooking up macabre tales of killings”.
The court was told that 22 witnesses, who had submitted identical affidavits before various courts relating to riot incidents, were questioned by SIT and it was found that the witnesses had not actually witnessed the incidents and they were tutored and the affidavits were handed over to them by Setalvad.
The report which was brought to the notice of the bench consisting of Justices Arijit Pasayat, P Sathasivam and Aftab Alam, noted that the much publicised case of a pregnant Muslim woman Kausar Banu being gangraped by a mob and foetus being removed with sharp weapons, was also fabricated, and false.
A day later, the Times of India published a letter from Citizens for Justice and Peace claiming that the report in question was not SIT report but a report by the Gujarat Government. The author of the Times article responded saying "My report was based on the SIT report and not any document circulated by the Gujarat government, as suggested by CJP. Whether any section of the media has the report or not is irrelevant as TOI has access to the report.
Dilip D'Souza has attempted to pick loopholes in the initial story carried by "Times of India". D'Souza notes that in his rebuttal to the letter by Citizens for Justice and Peace, the reporter does not even refer to the three “widely publicised” incidents he originally claimed the SIT had found “no truth” in.
R.K.Raghavan, the chairman of the SIT criticised the report leakage, saying, "The alleged reported leaks appear to be inspired by dubious motives. I cannot confirm such claims. The act is highly condemnable". However, he refused to deny or confirm the report itself.
The Supreme Court itself condemned the leaking of the SIT report as a 'betrayal of trust' but did not deny the report itself.
The CBI director, who heads the SIT noted that "many incidents were cooked up, false witnesses were tutored to give evidence about imaginary incidents, and false charges levelled against the then Ahmedabad police chief P C Pandey".
, President of the Center for Policy Research in New Delhi and the former member of National Knowledge Commission
has criticized Teesta Setalvad, saying that if the charges against her were true then she had done the cause of justice irreparable harm. He observed that her actions, as described, will undermine the capability of civil society to have any imprimatur of impartiality in investigating riot cases. However, subsequently Mehta backtracked on his earlier article, stating that, "My intention was not to expose Teesta. I have no competence and desire to do so. I was just stuck by the fact that this seemed to be an important story, carried by a "credible" newspaper, the Economic Times, followed by TOI and a slightly different version by IBN."
Others have said that her grandstanding has undermined the foundations of the beliefs of the Indian republic
Now itturns out that the man friday of teesta Javed has filed affidavits in the Supreme Court exposing the shenangians of Teesta Javed. See http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Teesta-doctored-evidence-Ex-aide-to-SC/articleshow/10936983.cms#write
, Teesta Setalvad received the following awards:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Teesta-doctored-evidence-Ex-aide-to-SC/articleshow/10936983.cms#write
M. C. Setalvad
M. C. Setalvad was an eminent Indian jurist, who became the first and longest serving Attorney General of India . He also remained the Chairman of the First Law Commission of India , which is mandated for legal reform in the country by Government of India...
Personal life
She graduated with a degree in PhilosophyPhilosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
from Bombay University in 1983 and started work as a journalist. She reported for the Mumbai editions of The Daily (India) and The Indian Express
The Indian Express
The Indian Express is an Indian English-language daily newspaper. It is published in Mumbai by Indian Express Group. After Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split in 1999 among his family members into two with the southern editions taking the name The New Indian Express, while the old...
newspapers, and then for Business India
Business India
Business India is a fortnightly business news magazine founded by Ashok Hotchand Advani. It was founded in 1978 and is published out of Mumbai, India. , the magazine had a circulation of 88,100 copies....
magazine. Appalled by the communal violence during the Bombay Riots
Bombay Riots
The Bombay Riots usually refers to the riots in Mumbai, in December 1992 and January 1993, in which around 900 people died. An estimated 575 Muslims and 275 Hindus died, and 2,000 people were injured in the riots. . An investigative commission was formed under Justice B.N. Srikrishna, but the...
, she, along with activist husband Javed Anand, quit full-time journalism in 1993 to start a monthly magazine Communalism Combat.
Teesta is an ethnic Gujarati
Gujarati people
Gujarati people , or Gujaratis are an ethnic group that is traditionally Gujarati-speaking and can trace their ancestry to the state of Gujarat in western India...
and the daughter of Atul Setalvad, a Mumbai based lawyer, and Sita Setalvad, a rural crafts exponent. She and husband Javed have two children, Tamara and Jibran.
In 2007, she was awarded the Padma Shri
Padma Shri
Padma Shri is the fourth highest civilian award in the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan...
by the Government of India for her role in "Public Affairs in Maharashatra".
Despite being a Muslim she hides her identity as Teesta Javed under a Hindu name Teesta Setelvad.
Political views and affiliations
- Teesta has been described as 'pro-left', and she and husband Javed Anand have described themselves as "very proud of being part of the Left tradition". She has, however, criticised the Communist party government in West BengalWest BengalWest Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
for the police firing that killed civilians in NandigramNandigramNandigram is a rural area with two commuunity development blocks in Haldia subdivision of Purba Medinipur district of the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located about 70 km south-west of Kolkata, on the south bank of the Haldi River, opposite the industrial city of Haldia...
village on March 14 2007, by calling the tragedy "unanticipated, unjustified and unfortunate". - Teesta and Javed's publication, Communalism Combat, requested and received funds from the Congress PartyIndian National CongressThe Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
, the Communist Party of India (Marxist)Communist Party of India (Marxist)The Communist Party of India is a political party in India. It has a strong presence in the states of Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura. As of 2011, CPI is leading the state government in Tripura. It leads the Left Front coalition of leftist parties in various states and the national parliament of...
and the Communist Party of IndiaCommunist Party of IndiaThe Communist Party of India is a national political party in India. In the Indian communist movement, there are different views on exactly when the Indian communist party was founded. The date maintained as the foundation day by CPI is 26 December 1925...
and ten individuals to run advertisements in national dailies attacking the Sangh ParivarSangh ParivarThe Sangh Parivar refers to the family of organisations of Hindu nationalists which have been started by members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or are inspired by its ideas. The Sangh Parivar represents the Hindu nationalist movement. It includes the RSS and several dozen smaller...
, including the Bharatiya Janata PartyBharatiya Janata PartyThe Bharatiya Janata Party ,; translation: Indian People's Party) is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Indian National Congress. Established in 1980, it is India's second largest political party in terms of representation in the parliament...
, before the 1999 Lok SabhaLok SabhaThe Lok Sabha or House of the People is the lower house of the Parliament of India. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by direct election under universal adult suffrage. As of 2009, there have been fifteen Lok Sabhas elected by the people of India...
elections. One of these advertisements was endorsed by 13 women's NGOs; the total budget for this campaign was 15 million rupeeRupeeThe rupee is the common name for the monetary unit of account in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan, Mauritius, Seychelles, Maldives, and formerly in Burma, and Afghanistan. Historically, the first currency called "rupee" was introduced in the 16th century...
s. They have, however, elsewhere criticised the Congress Party for issues arising from the 1984 Anti-Sikh riots1984 anti-Sikh riotsThe 1984 Anti-Sikh pogroms / riots or the 1984 Sikh Massacre was a sikh genocide there was four days of violence in northern India, particularly Delhi, during which armed mobs killed Sikhs, looted and set fire to Sikh homes, businesses and schools, and attacked gurdwaras, in response to the...
and the Srikrishna Commission report. - Teesta has been felicitated by the Communist Party of India (Marxist)Communist Party of India (Marxist)The Communist Party of India is a political party in India. It has a strong presence in the states of Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura. As of 2011, CPI is leading the state government in Tripura. It leads the Left Front coalition of leftist parties in various states and the national parliament of...
for her work done on the Best Bakery caseBest Bakery caseThe Best Bakery case was a legal case involving the burning down of the Best Bakery in Vadodara, India, on March 1, 2002...
.
Activism
- Teesta's magazine Communalism Combat claims to foster communal harmony, and attack entities allegedly propounding communal violence.
- Teesta testified at the United States Commission on International Religious FreedomUnited States Commission on International Religious FreedomThe United States Commission on International Religious Freedom is an independent, bipartisan U.S. federal government commission created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998. USCIRF Commissioners are appointed by the President and the leadership of both political parties in the Senate...
on June 10, 2002 against the BJP led Gujarat government's role in the post-Godhra communal violence2002 Gujarat violenceThe 2002 Gujarat violence describes the Godhra train burning and resulting communal riots between Hindus and Muslims. On 27 February 2002 at Godhra City in the state of Gujarat, the Sabarmati Express train was attacked by a large Muslim mob in a conspiracy. But some authentic sources deny the claim...
.
- In 1997, Teesta started work on a project, Khoj (Quest), which aims to rewrite sections of Indian school History and Social Studies textbooks to remove "anti-minority prejudices".
- She claims to be a staunch feminist, campaigns for rights and privileges of Dalits, Muslims and women.
Allegations of judicial miscounduct
In November 2004, Setalvad was accused of pressuring Zaheera SheikhZaheera Sheikh
Zaheera Sheikh , aka Zahira Sheikh, is the key witness in India's Best Bakery case. She is the daughter of the owner of the bakery involved in the Best Bakery case....
, the key witness in the Best Bakery case, to make certain statements, leading to the unprecedented transferral of the case outside Gujarat. In August 2005, a Supreme Court of India committee absolved her of the charges of inducement levelled against her by Zaheera.
manipulation of evidence
Teesta Setalvad's former aide Rais Khan Pathan has filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court alleging manipulation of evidence, which were in the form of statements of witnesses, by her in five sensitive post-Godhra riot cases.http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Teesta-doctored-evidence-Ex-aide-to-SC/articleshow/10936983.cmsImaginary incidents by Teesta
In April 2009, the Times of India ran a story claiming that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) setup by the Supreme Court of IndiaSupreme Court of India
The Supreme Court of India is the highest judicial forum and final court of appeal as established by Part V, Chapter IV of the Constitution of India...
to investigate and expedite the Gujarat riot cases had submitted before the Court that Teesta Setalvad had cooked up cases of violence to spice up the incidents. The SIT which is headed by former CBI director, R K Raghavan has said that false witnesses were tutored to give evidence about imaginary incidents by Teesta Setalvad and other NGOs. The SIT charged her of “cooking up macabre tales of killings”.
The court was told that 22 witnesses, who had submitted identical affidavits before various courts relating to riot incidents, were questioned by SIT and it was found that the witnesses had not actually witnessed the incidents and they were tutored and the affidavits were handed over to them by Setalvad.
The report which was brought to the notice of the bench consisting of Justices Arijit Pasayat, P Sathasivam and Aftab Alam, noted that the much publicised case of a pregnant Muslim woman Kausar Banu being gangraped by a mob and foetus being removed with sharp weapons, was also fabricated, and false.
A day later, the Times of India published a letter from Citizens for Justice and Peace claiming that the report in question was not SIT report but a report by the Gujarat Government. The author of the Times article responded saying "My report was based on the SIT report and not any document circulated by the Gujarat government, as suggested by CJP. Whether any section of the media has the report or not is irrelevant as TOI has access to the report.
Dilip D'Souza has attempted to pick loopholes in the initial story carried by "Times of India". D'Souza notes that in his rebuttal to the letter by Citizens for Justice and Peace, the reporter does not even refer to the three “widely publicised” incidents he originally claimed the SIT had found “no truth” in.
R.K.Raghavan, the chairman of the SIT criticised the report leakage, saying, "The alleged reported leaks appear to be inspired by dubious motives. I cannot confirm such claims. The act is highly condemnable". However, he refused to deny or confirm the report itself.
The Supreme Court itself condemned the leaking of the SIT report as a 'betrayal of trust' but did not deny the report itself.
The CBI director, who heads the SIT noted that "many incidents were cooked up, false witnesses were tutored to give evidence about imaginary incidents, and false charges levelled against the then Ahmedabad police chief P C Pandey".
Reception
Pratap Bhanu MehtaPratap Bhanu Mehta
Pratap Bhanu Mehta is an Indian academic. He is currently the president of the Centre for Policy Research, a New Delhi-based think tank. The Centre for Policy Research is one of India’s most distinguished think tanks. He is also a been appointed to NYU Law School’s Global Faculty...
, President of the Center for Policy Research in New Delhi and the former member of National Knowledge Commission
National Knowledge Commission
On 13 June 2005 , the Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh, constituted the National Knowledge Commission, as a think-tank charged with considering possible policy that might sharpen India's comparative advantage in the knowledge-intensive service sectors.In particular, the Commission was to...
has criticized Teesta Setalvad, saying that if the charges against her were true then she had done the cause of justice irreparable harm. He observed that her actions, as described, will undermine the capability of civil society to have any imprimatur of impartiality in investigating riot cases. However, subsequently Mehta backtracked on his earlier article, stating that, "My intention was not to expose Teesta. I have no competence and desire to do so. I was just stuck by the fact that this seemed to be an important story, carried by a "credible" newspaper, the Economic Times, followed by TOI and a slightly different version by IBN."
Others have said that her grandstanding has undermined the foundations of the beliefs of the Indian republic
Now itturns out that the man friday of teesta Javed has filed affidavits in the Supreme Court exposing the shenangians of Teesta Javed. See http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Teesta-doctored-evidence-Ex-aide-to-SC/articleshow/10936983.cms#write
Affiliations
- Co-editor of Communalism Combat magazine (along with husband Javed Anand).
- Teesta's husband Javed Anand runs Sabrang Communications which claims itself as fighting for human rights. Teesta is the official spokesperson of this organization.
- Teesta heads the Mumbai based NGO Citizens for Peace and Justice(CPJ), of which her father is also a member. Many prominent Mumbai based celebrities are supporters of this NGO.
- Founder of the Women and Media Committee. The group seeks to bring together working women journalists to raise job-related concerns and awareness of gender-sensitivity in writing and reporting on issues concerning women.
- Founder of Journalists Against Communalism.
- Apart from the journalistic tasks Teesta Setalvad leads the project “Khoj: Education for A pluralistic India”.
- Teesta is General Secretary of People's Union for Human Rights” (PUHR).
- Member of the Pakistan India People's Forum for Peace and Democracy.
Awards
Other than the 2007 Padma ShriPadma Shri
Padma Shri is the fourth highest civilian award in the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan...
, Teesta Setalvad received the following awards:
- 2004 M.A.Thomas National Human Rights Award from the Vigil India MovementVigil India MovementVigil India Movement is a non-governmental organization based in Bangalore that aims to protect and promote human rights in India. Founded in 1977, it is one of the country's leading human rights organizations focusing on the rights of Dalits, tribals, children and women.It was founded by Rev. Dr....
. - Parliamentarians for Global ActionParliamentarians for Global ActionParliamentarians for Global Action is a non-profit and non-partisan international organization of more than 1,300 free elected legislators from 130 democratic countries . It was established circa 1978 as Parliamentarians for World Order engaged in a range of action-oriented initiatives that promote...
'Defender of Democracy' award, jointly with Helen ClarkHelen ClarkHelen Elizabeth Clark, ONZ is a New Zealand political figure who was the 37th Prime Minister of New Zealand for three consecutive terms from 1999 to 2008...
, the Prime Minister of New ZealandPrime Minister of New ZealandThe Prime Minister of New Zealand is New Zealand's head of government consequent on being the leader of the party or coalition with majority support in the Parliament of New Zealand...
. - the Nani A Palkhivala Award 2006.
- The Nuernberg Human Rights Award 2003.
- PUCL Journalism for human Rights Award 1993.
- Chameli Devi Jain Award for outstanding Woman journalist 1993.
- Maharana Mewar Foundation's Hakim Khan Sur Award (jointly with Javed Anand) in 1999.
- Human Rights Award OF the Dalit liberation Education Trust in 2000.
- Pax Christi internationally Peace Award (jointly with Australian artist Eddi Kneebone).
- Rajiv GandhiRajiv GandhiRajiv Ratna Gandhi was the sixth Prime Minister of India . He took office after his mother's assassination on 31 October 1984; he himself was assassinated on 21 May 1991. He became the youngest Prime Minister of India when he took office at the age of 40.Rajiv Gandhi was the elder son of Indira...
Award (jointly with Harsh ManderHarsh ManderHarsh Mander is an Indian social activist and writer. He came into prominence after 2002 Gujarat riots and heads "Aman Biradari" which work for communal harmony. He became member of National Advisory Council of the UPA government in 2010 and special commissioner to the Supreme Court...
) for highlighting and helping the victims of violence in February - July 2002 in Gujarat, India.
External links
- INDIA: The constitutional mandate and education - article by Teesta Setalvad in Catalyst Magazine (January 2006)
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Teesta-doctored-evidence-Ex-aide-to-SC/articleshow/10936983.cms#write