Their motives and mine
Update 2: Thanks to all of you who, in various posts and comments, have defended me: in particular, this post by Gawker who points out Gaurav Sabnis’ vicious personal attack on me in the name of the dignity of the dead in contrast to his commendation of Aadisht Khanna’s abusive attack at a reader of How the Other Half Lives which certainly went against the dignity of a living person.
Update 1: My story.
In which i answer the charges levelled at me in relation to the posting of the photograph of Priyanka Bhotmange’s dead body, with just a shard of cloth covering her genitals.
When the tsunami struck in 2004, there were helicopters hired by television channels from the world over taking pictures of the dead. They were criticised all over the world for broadcasting gruesome images. A foreign correspondent in Delhi had, I remember, written an article in Outlook magazine (I can’t find the link) explaining that the magnitude of a tragedy was such that you couldn’t communicate it without showing it, and that the showing of those pictures helped in mobilising international aid efforts.
The printing/broadcasting of gruesome images of the dead is an old debate in journalistic ethics. It is by no means a resolved one, and will never be: ethics, unlike morality, are contextual.
I clearly mentioned that Tehelka had refused to use that photo along with my article, and that I was reducing the picture many times in size. The original picture was 1164 x 384 pixels; I reduced it to thumbnail size – 200 by 66 pixels. Clearly, I was not oblivious of the ethical problems involved in making available that picture in public. (There was another photo, a close-up of her torso, 1171 by 816 px, which I did not use at all.)
So why did I decide to post the photograph at all? Two bloggers who did not feel the need to write posts about the Kherlanji atrocity in the first place, felt it important to write angry, outraged posts against my posting that photograph. One of them, a Desipundit contributor, linked it on to Desipundit himself.
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He calls himself Confused but his views seem far from that. His was the best conspiracy theory:
So why would Shivam publish such a photograph? I will tell you why: because they are Dalits. Just like their dignity and sanctity of their lives was lost on the murderous mob, so is their dignity immaterial to Shivam. Because they are easy victims who can be exploited and used to advance one’s agenda.
Hence proved that Dalits are easy victims for Shivam, who does not care for the dignity of Dalits. He’s comparing me with the mob that lynched the Bhotmange’s as though I was complicit in the crime.
As any regular reader of this blog would know, issues related to India’s caste system, and the plight of dalits are of great concern to me. This blog actually has a category called caste – how many others do? – which has more posts than any other category in my blog. I’m not even counting the number of caste-related posts I’ve written over at How the Other Half Lives. I have written about how I came to be interested in caste. I have written about the discrimination that Dalit and backward caste journalists face in the newsrooms of Uttar Pradesh. I have for two years been running, with help from my friend Tarun Udwala, a mailing list that meticulously documents caste-related news, be it about violence or reservations. I have written about the work of exemplary dalit activists so that more people know about them, like Banjamin Kaila’s Ambedkar Scholarships which he runs in Andhra Pradesh while sitting in the US. I have written about issues relating to Dalit Christians, manual scavengers and dalit-bahujan unity. I recently wrote an obituary of India’s most respected leader of dalit in recent times, the indefatigable Kanshi Ram. But it is perhaps a testimony to the power of images that the most linked-to and commented-upon of my posts on caste was a YouTube video on the plight of Dalits.
So I don’t think I need to dignify with a response Confused’s allegation that I posted the photo of Priyanka Bhotmange’s body because she was dalit and I have little respect for dalits, or, to use his words, “Just like their dignity and sanctity of their lives was lost on the murderous mob, so is their dignity immaterial to Shivam. Because they are easy victims who can be exploited and used to advance one’s agenda.” I wish he’d clarify what he thinks is my agenda? That will speak a lot about his agenda.
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Another charge is that I did it for hits. Evidence: I even left a comment at GB’s saying my blog has pictures. This charge about being hits-hungry has been made by GB himself, and also by another esteemed member of the Indian blogosphere. He has compared me to Aaj Tak, as of my blog got weekly TRP’s and ads worth crores. This blogger gives it away in his post that he has been no great fan of mine. The fact that he is exploiting an opportunity to get back to me is not lost on anyone who has followed the Indian blogosphere. I’ll let him be happy with his pettiness. But I’m glad that such pettiness has also been noted by more independent voices in the blogsophere.
My blog is not a commericial entity (I don’t have obtrusive Google ads like him and the ones that are there have never earned me a single cheque). He says, “a price worth paying for increased attention, more hits, and maybe a few more writing assignments.” That is not true: I am a full time employed journalist and my blog has no bearing upon my daily bread. As for attention, I get more than my share thanks to constant baiting from him alone. And as for hits, they have gone up as a matter of fact because this blogger, Confused, GB, and Desipundit have made such a mountain out of a molehill. Can I say thank you for the hits? And the attention? Or, as some have said, if you think the posting of the image was offensive why did you link to it and give it even more attention.
At least this Aaj Tak-watching blogger was smart enough to deliberately paste an incorrect link so that, in his continued attempts at intellectual honesty, he appears to link to me and yet I don’t get the hits. Now you see who crestfallen I am with the idea that I didn’t get those hits?
If I was really hits hungry, my blog wouldn’t have established a reputation for being activist. If I were exploiting the photo of a raped and murdered woman to get more site hits, then I must say that there are better ways of getting hits that I don’t use. Like writing a tech blog with ‘how to’ posts, or a humour blog like Greatbong’s, or I’d be writing sex like The Compulsive Confessor, or combine all three and write something like India Uncut! This is not to say that these blogs are not enjoyable, but just to point out that I write leftist-sounding posts about such not-so-sexy topics as caste, and can’t possibly be writing for hits or AdSense with such content.
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Then why did I post the photo at all? Did I want to shock people? Was I being sensationalist?
I did want to shock the readers of this blog with the atrocity. I wanted to shock you out of your India Shining, politicians-divide-on-caste lines kind of mentality. By posting the picture I was appealing to the human in you. I was asking you: does this shock you? Do you realise this happened a month ago, but the media’s not covered it, (except for the honourable of Jaideep Hardikar in DNA)? Does it shock you that no one in the blogosphere wrote about it, not even linked to the fact-finding committe report of the Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti that was made available by a blogger who is by no means obscure?
You can say that there are problems with the posting of the picture – even my editors didn’t agree to using it in print – but how can you say that my motive was anything but bringing attention to what I thought was a neglected issue?
And for people to say that I posted the photo to get hits, attention, writing assignments, Ad money, or because I don’t care for the dignity of dalits – how difficult is it for anyone to see through their agendas in speculating such motives?
So who is doing politics over Priyanka Bhotmange’s body? Me or these people? What is more “Disgusting!!” and “Shameful!”?
In any case, because of your bringing attention to the photograph that I have now removed under pressure – but I still think I was not wrong in posting it – the issue has got wider attention. I did get a lot more hits thanks to some people’s petty attempts at maligning me, and that has indeed brought more attention to the reprehensible massacre in Kherlanji. And thank you for that. Now how about a post condemning the massacre, asking for justice to be done, for police officers who did not prevent the massacre to be punished, for the doctor whose post-mortem report said there was no rape to be tried?
For all those wanting Afzal and Santosh Singh hanged, how about arguing that the entire village of Kherlanji be hanged, bcause an entire village was involved in the crime here? That is not my case, but is it yours?
In other words, can we get back to the real issue?
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It has then been said hat words should be used, not pictures. Firstly, I have indeed written a long report that will appear in Tehelka by the weekend and cannot post it here on this blog before it appears in print. So to conjecture that a print journalist prefers pictures to words is absurd.
Secondly, in that case, why have pictures at all? If words can say it all, lets have text-only newspapers, and indeed, text-only blogs! Why do TV channels need visuals, can’t the anchor just read out all of it?
It must have been wise men who turned the analogy of a picture being worth a thousand words into a saying, and Saket has made the same point effectively.
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Did I have permission from the kin of the deceased?
The photo, like the other photos, was taken by members of the Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti, as well as the police (for investigation records). This was done in the presence of the only surviving member of the family, Bhaiyyalal Bhotmange. The photos were circulated on email by the VJAS and seem to have been used in one of the paper cuttings I posted in that post. I presume that the photos are being circulated with permission from Bhayyalal Bhotmange. They are available here – in full size – on a blog put up by Dalit activists, and where well-known Dalit activits from the world over have commented, but no one has objected to the posting of the photographs. They are focusing on the case and expressing anger over it. Just pointing this out: make of it what you will.
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Lastly, I began this post by saying that the issue of the ethics of the publication of pictures of the dead is by no means a settled one. Proof of that is that there have been as many bloggers and comment-ers supporting my posting of the photograph as there are opposing it. Thank you for speaking your mind. I’m writing this in office hours as I have been compelled to clarify my position in the face of cheap propaganda and the questioning of my motives. I have more to say, but I guess if I spend too much office time blogging and don’t file my stories, I’ll be sacked and will have to resort to sensationalism on my blog to get work, with the grace of two holier-than-thou bloggers :)
soul a bit for sometime, but by the evening, it would escape your thoughts. I have seen a couple of such videos shot in Nepal and I know how it felt and still feels. Gaurav Sabnises of the world can go and flog themselves. Also read Shivam Vij’s post on his motives. Image credits: Atrocity News and Shivam Vij
s rights? Those who don’t acknowledge the right to dissent do not understand freedom of expression. Period. There is another point which Saket makes and on which I would address later. Second, Shivam: In my post, I had mentioned that the victim’s photograph was so easily published precisely because she was Dalit. Shivam responds by telling us how he is a well known activist for Dalit rights and how much he has written on the subject compared
the fact (without the air-quotes) is that there exists considerable evidence that contradicts them. Anyone who is remotely familiar with the Indian blogosphere should know that Shivam has been an activist for the Dalit cause for quite some time, as he explains on his blog. Which is why unless someone actually provides me with some evidence to the contrary, I would give Shivam the benefit of doubt in this respect. Secondly, Sabnis, as well as other members of the anti-picture brigade claim that posting these
explains
job in reporting on this dastardly act. That’s really all that matters to me. However, other bloggers questioned and protested against him putting up some gory photos of the victims. And in response to this, er, outrage Shivam has posted his defense here. Do read. For the record, and to repeat myself, I’m with him on this. And I also share Dilip’s dismay. Some things just have to be said. These fine bloggers did a great job.
[...] Update 6: My response to the issue of the photograph that is not anymore on this blog. [...]
The only thing I’ll say, Shivam, is that you had no need to give us a catalogue of the various writing you have done on the caste issue. People who say you posted the pictures because “they are Dalits” or to get more hits are people who don’t even believe their own ideas.
Can we now focus on the real issues here? Hint to anyone who cares: by “real issues” I don’t mean the propriety of posting photographs.
Reply: Dilip, this is not the first time that Gaurav Sabnis has subjected me to a vicious personal attack, but this time he was joined by two others and the issue was blown out of proportion. After I deleted my old blog, Mall Road, and started this one, I had made up my mind to stay away from these slugfests. You will notice, for instance, that I have not written a single post to respond to any of the vicious personal posts against me by several cartellians an others. You will notice that I have, and have concentrated on real issues, also at How the Other Half Lives. But this time I made an exception because I felt I needed to clarify my position. I hope this is the last time I have been forced to do so.
I indeed needn’t give a catalogue of my work on caste. Just that Confused had likened my attitude towards Priyanka’s photo to that of the people who lynched her. I thought I may want to remind him of my committment to caste.
I agree with you completely. Sometimes, I think people focus on all the wrong things and get the whole picture skewed for reasons best known to them. When the naked protest by the Meira Paibis had taken place at the Kangla Fort in Manipur, there were lots of people who chose to focus more on the “nakedness” aspect than on the issues giving root to the protest in the first place!!! I think visuals are required to drive home the point however gruesome they might be…
Reply: Abu Gharib, Vietnam and now the example you give: there are certainly many examples. As I said, the ethical issues are contextual.
Shivam, ignore those scumheads. They do it because they want to use the privacy issue as a cover to their cheap ideologies. They are such losers, they need such cover to hang on in their life. Any sane person will know that they are trying to take out personal vengeance under the cover of privacy. You keep up the good work.
Reply: Thanks Krish.
[...] Update3- Shivam clarifies his motives and questions the motives of those who found his post offensive. That includes yours truly. Ah, well, as a matter of record, I did not link to my own post. [...]
ughh. I used to think that Confused had a bit of sense. but I think I was wrong.
If you start proving yourselves to every person in the world, you will lose the focus of what you want to do. so dont.
Reply: Point taken!
[...] Update: Shivam has explained his point of view in this post. [...]
Shivam,
You are truly a great man. You have proved that by explaining how great you are.
Reply: Thank you, thank you. It’s indeed my greatness that allows trolls like you to comment, unlike others who switch off their comments and happily pronounce their judgements upon the world. They don’t need to tell you about their greatness because they presume you know it!
That’s some quality time you spent explaining your stand…maybe you felt it was worth it,
but honestly I feel that you are trying to justify YOUR action in YOUR blog to a bunch of folks who have patented the Desi blogsphere and think that anyone who writes what they dont subscribe to is anti-blogger :-)
Gaurav is sad guy who gets offended by people with pony tails. And quits jobs to make himself look like a martyr for an usless cause. Never considered him a grown-up. I read his blog when I feel that I need some humour to de-stress myself.
It’s more than 1 year since the IIPM tamasha… IIPM has released a full page ad in The Hindu today and the claims are the same. Pray tell me, where is Gaurav, Rashmi or DP led bloggers who wasted bandwidth and tried to form a Blogger Mafia to expose a dubious institution? lemme tell you, Gaurav is happy in another job, hardly bothered about the quality of education for the Batch of IIPM 2007, Rashmi is writing anti-smoking posts and DP celebrated the 1st anniversary of Desi Bloggers vs IIPM tamasha with a post !!!.
These folks just create a sensation to be in the limelight and dont give a damn about the actual issue. The best you can do is read their posts, have a laugh, leave a losuy comment and move on…
Reply: The IIPM issue was a different one and I had stood by Gaurav Sabnis then because of principles. I didn’t know that I’d later be described in words much worse than what were used for Ponytail. He has written several posts where he does not name me but makes it obvious who he is addressing, and says very vicious and personal things. Reason enough for me not to read him, but I wonder when he’ll stop being so bothered about me.
Shivam,
Keep doing what you are doing as long as you have the energy.
Swarup
Reply: Thank you Swarup!
Shivam, this kind of reaction is to be expected and taken calmly, just hold on with your tenacity and there is no need to answer each and every critic- there are people who will never understand.
You have been doing a great job, and it is very reassuring to many of us who see you holding forth on isues that pertain to those on the receiving end in society.
Carry on with your good work!
Reply: Thank you Bhupinder.
All u guys have so much free time to write and debate on all these topics. Quite funny :-)
Reply: I don’t have this time, but was forced to take time out in office hours to respond to a campaign by three bloggers to malign me.
Shivam,
I am not a regular reader here, but just reading this and its previous post and some of the posts that others have written about you, I am more than convinced that you did not put up the pic to increase the number of hits, to grab more attention or just because the dead people were dalits (thats a really sick accusation).
Reply: Than you, Mitesh, for taking an objective view.
It was sickening to see those shameful personal attacks.
While I was sure you can defend yourself against those silly, cheap and motivated accusations (as you have done admirably in this post), what really saddened me was that the attention was being diverted from the main issue: the murder of a Dalit family.
Reply: the attention is back on the issue. See my latest post.
Unfortunately you shouldn’t have to justify the use of a photograph. If anything it underlined the violence and seriousness of the issue. I don’t see what the fuss is about. If people don’t like it, they simply shouldn’t see it. When I link to stuff that has potential triggers, I usually post a small warning and assume that people have the maturity not to click on a link if it would affect them adversely.
Man, Shivam,
do you guys, dilip and you, think about anything else other than castes… why are you so obsessed with it. While I agree the caste system is a bane of society, I wonder why you have to measure every single event in terms of caste. .. your blogs are so full of it, it rather feels like you are unnecessarily linking caste to happenings that have nothing to do with it. Say, a guy kills a dalit during a drunken brawl… you would scream caste oppression.. (its another matter nobody would notice that the other person might have been a dalit himself)
BY the way , sickening attitude on your part to put up those pics.
In the end, you wanted to provoke people using those pics and get some extra hits – you succeeded !!! You created a storm in the desi blogosphere, and finally via a link from confused, I am hitting your blog. :)
Reply: I have nothing to say to you.
I am a full time employed journalists and my blog has no bearing upon my daily bread.
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Really?? Which paper?
Reply: None of your business. But why don’t you try guessing hard…
I wanted to shock you out of your India Shining, politicians-divide-on-caste lines kind of mentality.
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Do you mean that India is not shining or that politicians dont divide on caste…
The truth is sadly, that India is beginning to shine, and that politicians divide not only on caste, but on religion and race too..
How naive.. you really trust our politicians…
Reply: Certainly more than I trust you!
I agree with Dilip that there was “no need” to prove your credentials. Not that there was any “need” for removing the photos either, a simple warning and a different layout would have done the needful. But that is just my opinion. Your blog, your rules. That’s the way it should be. I hope that this post is the last word from you about the photos. I see that you have posted your article from Tehelka after this post. Good show.
Reply: Thank you Vivek. About the “warning” bit, it would be immaterial if I were posting the pictures. But it would have worked if it had posted the pictures elsewhere and linked to them. But people’s objections about the dignity of the dead being compromised would still stand.
Shivam, I am a regular reader of Gaurav, DP and GB. So I read their articles about your post and I formed my opinions.
I am sorry I formed the wrong ones.
Reply: It’s never too late, Harman, to start giving me hits, attention and writing assignments :)
You did the best thing by publishing the pictures. You should not have taken any picture down. The hell with GS et al. I have supported you wholeheartedly in my blog and published all the pictures.
Of course the guy in question would never ever dare to take upon me. He knows I am too good for him. ;-)
Keep up the good work. You need not have defended yourself following attacks of snobs, and neither do you need their certificate for anything. Let barking dogs bark.
I don’t really have anything to add to what others have said but this is simply to express my appreciation of your efforts in this regard. You do not have to defend yourself, incidentally, as many others have said.
All of us must, of course, continue the fight for justice. However, it is too much to hope that such atrocities will be eliminated in the near future; given that, a fund to help out the survivors of such incidents would be something to think about. I note that the survivors of the Kherlanji murders have not even been paid the full amount of the paltry compensation due to them. Even in death, there seems to be discrimination. Could you inform me whether there is any such fund?
I would stress that my objective in contributing to such a fund is not so that I can wash my hands off…rather, this is complementary to the fight for justice.
I agree with Dilip and Apurva. Gaurav too has made a post defending himself; I don’t think either of you needed to do so. As I commented on Ashutosh’s blog, “Writing graphically is an art, yes, but I don’t see why Shivam putting up those pictures is wrong. I would have taken the post far more seriously had he written about it instead of simply putting up those pictures but I don’t think he is doing it for publicity’s sake or wishes, in any way, to demean the victims.”
Shivam,
I see the line of reasoning that you have put up here. I do agree that a picture speaks a thousand words, etc. I have only one argument to make here: is there really more ’shock value’ needed in this case?? Arent the words gruesome enough??? What kind of people are we trying to reach if they need pictures to be ’shocked’ after reading this story???
I came to your blog from GB’s blog in complete horror after reading what had happened, and I was disturbed, felt helpless, guilty that I was doing nothing, wondering whether there was any way to help, contribute. But I was completely thrown offgear by the picture of Priyanka. I felt she truly deserved more respect. Dignity has been so fragile with her, she has been humiliated, tortured, in the most inhuman way possible in the most public manner. Cant we give her some respect by not digitising images and leaving it eternal in the media?? Does this issue really need these pictures?? Isnt the lack of dignity to her crying out loud to you??
I apologise for having such a strong view on this, but I do feel in this case, it was unwarranted. There were enough other pictures to create the shock effect which you have posted, you could have spared this one.
IMHO
i think showing the pictures was necessary and you did the right thing. one of our greatest afflictions today is that we forget everything too easily. it is important that people remember Priyanka and what happened to her and her family. i hope the pictures will help this story be more than just another perpetration tale that held one’s attention for a few minutes before being banished into oblivion.
I came across your blog for the first time after I read the article concerned in Tehelka, so I assume the pictures had been removed by then. Honestly, my personal view is that such pictures sometimes do help when the public needs to be literally shocked into reacting to what is happening, but I suppose the escapist in me would prefer not to see such pictures.
On the other hand, the way you wrote the article was powerful enough to not need pictures, because just the words completely got across the atrocity of the incident.
Just my two cents’ worth!
You really didn’t have to justify posting the Kherlanji pics, Shivam. But on another thought, good that you did because the Confused guy linked to it from DP and people who are new to your blog might misunderstand your motives. So its okay. But those who have been following your posts here and in How the Other Half Lives know your motives.
I still don’t understand why you would take off that pic because of this Gaurav guy. You shouldn’t have fallen for it. I was shocked seeing it in the atrocitynews blog. It is funny that Gaurav, a self-made martyr with the IIPM issue, accuse you of writing these for the hits. I’m laughing my a$$ off reading his post.
Confused & Gaurav are just angry because its a Dalit issue and they came to realize that they didn’t talk about such a shameful issue, but people like you did. So the only way to escape the questions if they only cared about the issues like blogban or IIPM, which in my opinion comes to the lowest priority compared to such atrocities, is to warm up their popular intellectual heads on the rights of picture posting and not having the least common sense.
Let’s come to the fight (or blog) for justice point. If you start an initiative collecting opinions from the blogosphere or from the youth in any form, as blog post or letters, emails or as such (not that I trust it will bring justice to the victims, but atleast to let the beauraucrats know that there are people who are aware of these and talking against it ), you have my full support.
[...] Kherlanji – fence sitter War has broken out over blogosphere over the Kherlanji massacre. The story is really really disturbing (read it here) and I wonder why most of the media has blacked it out for almost a month. It’s a shame on all these political parties who claim to fight for Dailt rights and empowerment, have not even spoken up about the episode. Anyway, the sparring on the web is about photos about the rape and massacre should have been published or not. Frankly, for me, the story itself was so shocking, that I found it hard to breathe. I read Gaurav’s scathing attack on photo-publication, before I actually saw the photos. I agreed with him. But, now I read Shivam’s response and I am not so sure. Would so many of us have known about the sickening act, were it not for the photos? True, there is bit a voyeurism, but it makes you aware what a heinous crime it was. I would have liked it more if people understood the horror, without someone having to use such devices. [...]
Very brutal, want to know the story. I am not sure what exactly
happened to her and her family ? Please post the photos and the
story, would like to know about it.
What about the victim’s family ? what about the criminal ?
any punishment ? Please write in detail
Thanks
Shivam,
Ignore the guys like gaurav sibnis, he is self confessed shivsainik……….What else do you expect from him. He is pettyminded guy always praising his marath brahmin caste. Just see his echoing glories of agarkar, you can get idea and his state of mind.
As far as Great bong….well epitome of all bengali from mithun to saurave, the ring leader of BJP supporters… he wears more hats than the gaurav chap. Not to mention he tries to rationalise ala congress. But in the end they are the same, always suppressing the truth, with one pretex or the other.
Keep up the good work
[...] Me it was. I didn’t want to say what I said there because I had deleted Mall Road from existence vowed to keep National Highway clean of blogwars – something I still try until someone comes carpet-bombing with vilification. And I didn’t write my own name on this anonymous blog because I wanted its contents to be considered, at least briefly, in an objective light, irrespective of who wrote it. And the ones who didn’t like it didn’t really have a response when their shortcomings were pointed out: they just wanted to find out who the author was: look that troll doesn’t have the balls to troll under his own name, went the predictable response. [...]
[...] doing great buddy. Keep up the good work.Update1: Shivam has explained his point of view in this post.Update2: A very sensible post by Gawker on this issue.Technorati Tags: India, Shivam, Gaurav [...]
shocking, disturbing… The real justice is if the perpretrators get to be treated in the same way publicly.