NK'S POST

नरेंद्र कुमार सिंह पिछले सप्ताह मीडिया की आजादी पर एक और हमला हुआ। दिल्ली में गृह मंत्रालय ने पत्रकारों से बात करने पर अपने आला अफसरों पर पाबंदी लगा दी। गृह मंत्रालय ने एक आदेश में कहा है कि अतिरिक्त महानिदेशक (मीडिया) के अलावा कोई भी अफसर पत्रकारों से बात नहीं करेगा। पत्रकारों से भी कहा गया है कि वे नॉर्थ ब्लॉक के कमरा नंबर नौ के अलावा कहीं भी अफसरों से मुलाक़ात नहीं कर सकेंगे। यहाँ तक कि होम सेक्रेटरी भी सीधे पत्रकारों से बात नहीं करेंगे। कुल मिलाकर शाम को अनौपचारिक बैठकों में गर्म चाय के प्याले ( और कभी-कभार भजिए) के साथ मसालेदार खबरें परोसने के पहले अफसरों को अपनी नौकरी , कंडक्ट रुल्स और ओफिसियल सीक्रेट एक्ट याद करना होगा। वॉटरगेट से सरकारों ने सबक नहीं लिया ऐसा नहीं कि सरकारी दफ्तरों में पत्रकारों के घुसने पर पाबंदी लगाने के बाद मीडिया में सरकार के खिलाफ निगेटिव खबरें आनी बंद हो जाएंगी। कोई भी सरकार ऐसा नहीं कर सकती है। प्रजातन्त्र की यही खूबी है। याद रखें कि दुनिया की सबसे शक्तिशाली सरकार की भरपूर कोशिशों और धमकियों के बावजूद वॉशिंग्टन पोस्ट ने वॉटरगेट कांड क...

NK SINGH Bhopal: Justice N. K. Singh who is heading the single-member judicial commission inquiring into the Bhopal gas leak disaster, on Friday appealed to participating parties, not to upon valuable time of the commission by making inter-locatory applications without much substance. "Such a course of action, if continued indefinitely, is likely to defeat or delay the main object of this commission," he remarked. Monetary compensation, he said, was a poor substitute for the loss of lives and whatever had to be done should be done as expeditiously as possible. Before adjourning the proceedings of the commission till May 15. Justice Singh also warned that constant vigilance would be necessary for a considerable period to ensure that any section of people, "particularly those in the ruling echelon", do not do anything which prima facie appears to be improper, unjust or unpalatable. The commission also ordered that three members of the Delhi Science Forum, who were on ...

NK SINGH Bharat Bhawan, the controversial "House of Arts" at Bhopal, has started limping back to normalcy with the release on bail of B.V. Karanth—the noted drama director who was recently arrested on the charge of attempted murder. The lake-side multi-arts complex, constructed with public funds and run by a private trust headed by the ruling Congress (1) leader, Mr Arjun Singh, became the centre of unsavoury public attention in the wake of the sensational Vibha-Karanth affair. Normal functioning of the cultural complex was disturbed and the Bharat Bhawan repertory, Rangmandal, was almost paralysed following the arrest of its director, Karanth, and the serious burn injuries sustained by the leading actress of the troupe, Vibha Mishra. Over the last month, little had happened in Bharat Bhawan apart from two minor programmes and a campaign launched to defend the institution against public criticism. Now with Karanth back in action, Bharat Bhawan is restarting its cultural activ...

NK SINGH The Bharat Bhawan controversy has taken a political turn, with one of its life trustees, noted painter J. Swami Nathan, launching a thinly veiled attack on the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr Motilal Vora. The bearded painter said in a press interview that he apprehended a conspiracy by some "politically influential persons' behind the current "smear campaign" against Bharat Bhawan in the wake of the sensational Vibha-Karanth affair. In an obvious reference to the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr Swaminathan said the "conspiracy" was aimed at Mr Arjun Singh, the AICC-I vice-president and Bharat Bhawan Trust chairman, and Mr Ashok Vajpeyi, the culture secretary of Madhya Pradesh and Bharat Bhawan's trustee-secretary. Mr Swaminathan, who was 'lured' to Madhya Pradesh during the regime of Mr Arjun Singh, is considered a supporter of the former chief minister. "We will quit the trust," he had earlier told newsmen when asked wha...

NK SINGH With the Vibha-Karanth affair taking a back seat with the passage of time, the focus of attention is now shifting towards Bharat Bhavan, the sprawling lakeside cultural complex that employed both the principal characters of the highly emotional drama enacted in Bhopal last month. When the Bharat Bhavan management yesterday formally announced an inquiry into the functioning of the “house of arts” by its trustees, Ms. Pupul Jayakar, a number of cultural organisations in the city reacted strongly to the announcement, saying that it was like asking a thief to catch a thief. A press note issued on behalf of the Bharat Bhavan Trust said that any person or organisation wishing to lodge a complaint against Bharat Bhavan may send complaints or allegations “directly in a sealed cover” to Ms. Jayakar by June 15. The handout said that Ms. Jayakar, the Government of India nominee on the trust, had been appointed to inquire into complaints against the trust. About two dozen cultural and lit...

NK SINGH With the Vibha-Karanth affair taking a backseat over time, attention is now shifting toward Bharat Bhawan, the sprawling lakeside cultural complex that employed both principal figures in last month’s highly charged controversy, which left Miss Vibha with 80% burns. On Saturday, the Bharat Bhawan management formally announced an inquiry into the institution, to be conducted by one of its trustees, Mrs. Pupul Jayakar. However, several cultural organizations in the city strongly opposed this decision, likening it to “asking a thief to catch a thief.” A press note issued on behalf of the Bharat Bhawan Trust stated that any person or organization wishing to file complaints against Bharat Bhawan could send them “directly in a sealed cover” to Mrs. Jayakar by June 15.  Around two dozen cultural and literary organizations in the city have reacted sharply to the decision, criticizing the appointment of a trustee to investigate the trust’s affairs. These groups have been demanding a...

                                       NK SINGH The Bharat Bhawan Trust has requested Mrs Papul Jayakar, the government of led nominee on the trust, to inquire into the allegations against the functioning of Bharat Bhawan, the multi-arts complex at Bhopal, and the trustee secretary, Mr Ashok Vajpeyi, a senior IAS officer. Disclosing this here on Thursday, the trust's chairman, Mr Arjun Singh, AIC- CIT) vice-president, told newsmen that Mrs Jayakar would conduct the in-house inquiry into the allegations level. Led in the wake of the Karanth affair, B. V. Karanth, one of the Bharat Bhawan trusters and director of its repertory, was arrested last month by the Bhopal police on the charge of trying to burn to death an actress of his drama troupe. Mr Arjun Singh, who came here on Thursday to attend an organisational meeting, also visited the lake-side bouse of arts and addressed a gathering of ...

                                    NK SINGH The dramatic arrest of the prominent 57-year-old theatre director, B. V. Karanth on a charge of attempting to burn to death Vibha Mishra, the pretty 27-year-old heroine of his drama troupe at Bhopal last week has rocked the world of art. He had joined Bharat Bhavan, the lake-side House of Arts' at Bhopal, four years ago.  Although Karanth has dabbled in films and produced nationally-acclaimed works like "Chomana Duddi" and "Kedu", he is better known as a theatre director and playwright. A diploma-holder from the National School of Drama, Delhi, and the Asian Theatre Institute, he started his career with the famous "Gubbi" company in his native Karnataka. He has directed world classics not only in, Kannada and Hindi, but also in Punjabi, Gujarati and Sanskrit. He was director of the prestigious National School of Drama from 1977 to 1981 when he was p...

NK SINGH Ms Vibha Mishra, the stage actress who suffered serious burns in Bhopal, under controversial circumstances. Involving top theatre personality, B. V. Karanth, was on Saturday admitted to Safdarjung Hospital. Ms Mishra, who sustained severe burns and who has developed serious complications, was brought to Delhi by a special Madhya Pradesh Government aircraft on Saturday. Doctors who attended to her at Safdarjung Hospital described her condition as serious. However, they were making all efforts to save her life. Medical experts, however, wondered whether it was wise to transport a burns patient in such a serious condition from Bhopal to Delhi. In such cases, the journey could lead to deterioration in the patient's condition. Doctors attending to Ms Mishra at Safdarjung Hospital refused to comment on this issue. In an unprecedented gesture of generosity to a private citizen, the Madhya Pradesh Government provided the state plane for shifting the 27-year-old actress from Bhopal...

NK SINGH A wave of anger seemed to sweep through Bhopal, in the wake of the exposure of what appeared to be the tip of a sensational sex scandal involving, among others, Mr. B.V. Karanth, Director of Madhya Pradesh Rang Mandal, the State Government- backed repertory, and Chairman of the M.P. Film Development Corporation. The 57-year-old bearded and renowned theatre director, a recipient of Padma Shree in 1981, was arrested on Sunday night on the charge of attempting to burn to death 27-year-old Ms Vibha Mishra, the heroine of his drama troupe. The pretty Vibha's condition is reported to be critical. The town's indignation at the "sex-ploitation of female artists" at Bharat Bhawan was reflected on Tuesday in the forms of a day-long dharna by women in front of the State Government's prestigious multi-arts complex, a rally brought out by artists, writers, poets and female activists and a flood of statements issued by scores of social, cultural and women's organis...