NEW DELHI: The charge of Plagiarism against the Tribune editor has been upheld by the Press Council of India on a complaint by Kirpal Singh a reader of the Chandigarh-based newspaper.
The allegation was that editor V.N Narayanan had lifted verbatim from “Invisible Armies Terrorism in the 1990s” (by Stephen Segaller) in an article published in Tribune early this year.
Reliable sources said a 10member council committee upheld the charge and decided to convey to the editor its unhappiness. However the committee’s findings are subject to approval by the full house of the council which meets later this month.
The committee’s meeting was chaired by chairman R.S.Sarkaria a former judge of India’s Supreme Court. It included veteran journalist B.G. Verghese.
The council’s observations when communicated to editor Narayanan are bound to put him in trouble as it is rare that editors of top newspapers allow themselves to be so indicted. The newspaper is managed by a public trust which prides itself as an upholder of ethics and standards.
Interestingly editor Narayanan in his reply to the council’s notice had admitted that six of 14 paragraphs of his article were taken a from other publications. But he explained away saying journalists were no original writers there was paucity of space and that (the level of) Tribune readers did not require sourcing of material Besides editor Naraynan sought dismissal of the complaint on the ground that it was intended to harm his career “now at its height”.
The council reportedly rejected all these pleas. There was laughter in the meeting when the members heard complaint’s counsel R.S.Bains ridiculing the editor for suggesting by implication that he had plagiarized only out of deference for the intelligence of the Tribune readers. ““Any editor who does not value his readers deserves contempt” he said.
Counsel also exposed the editor’s “dishonest frame of mind” when he referred to his plea that the article was in two parts and that the concluding part secured the material. On an examination it was found that the one-installment article was conclusive and that the newspaper had later reproduced certain portions from the book without making any mention of the previous piece. A few members expressed their astonishment at the editor’s claim.
Newspapers in India are slowly getting aware of the need for involving readers in the enterprise and to redress their grievances are providing appropriate for a. For instance Times of India has set up a forum comprising former Supreme Court chief justice Bhagwati to hear complaints against the editor on professional matters.
Article extracted from this publication >> September 6, 1991
