Tucked away in a drawer in the living room of their Vasant Kunj flat are two thick spiral-bound files which M.K. Vishwanathan and Madhavi Vishwanathan have painstakingly put together in the memory of their daughter Soumya.
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The files contain newspaper clippings in chronological order over the past nine years on everything that has been written about Soumya’s death.
Media attention
“Being a journalist, her death attracted and continues to attract a lot of media attention. It is the media that is keeping her memory alive even though the justice system punishes us instead of those who killed her,” said Ms. Vishwanathan.
She added that it was daunting at first to face the media, the fraternity to which Soumya belonged and something she was so passionate about that she worked for a paper full-time even when she was studying journalism at Delhi University’s Kamla Nehru College. Soumya later studied broadcast journalism at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication in Odisha’s Dhenkanal.
Mr. Vishwanathan recalled Soumya calling home the night she died to inform them that she would be late because of bomb blasts in Maharashtra’s Malegaon. She told them she was working overtime to produce the news bulletin.
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“There was a time in the beginning when I felt that I would break...We did not know what to do. Watching TV would just make everything come rushing back. But my office called me back, and although I would sit and stare at my desk and my work slowed down, it was a way to cope with the situation,” says Ms. Vishwanathan.
She, however, feels for people like Jigisha Ghosh’s parents, whose daughter was allegedly killed by the same men as Soumya, and who have not been able to speak about their pain.
M. K Vishwanathan and Madhavi Vishwanathan, parents of television journalist Soumya Vishwanathan who was shot dead in 2008, during an interview at their Vasant Kunj residence in New Delhi.
“I am not saying that Soumya’s memories are gone, but I have a grandson now and another daughter.. We have moved on slightly. In some cases, the family has nothing to hold on to, nobody by their side and nor do they have the resources to fight for justice,” she added.
The couple said they received a lot of promises from politicians and even from the then President but when they would call back to follow-up the promises ring hollow.
“On the other side, we also received tremendous love and support from people we had never met. We get calls from friends and even unknown people, who call in with their prayers, till today on her birthday and death anniversary. In fact, we did not get a call from someone who called every year. When we called back to find out if everything was okay, his son picked up the phone and said his father had lost his memory.”
Empty promises
Looking back at Soumya’s career, Ms. Vishwanathan said although politicians and relatives made comments about her daughter returning home late from work, she believes that same rules should apply to both men and women at the workplace.
“When you get equal salary, you should work equally, including late nights. In fact, women have to work twice as hard to get recognition,” she said.
Speaking about the trial, the couple said their visits to court felt like a fool’s errand as there was no progress. “I don’t see this case come to an end as no progress has been made so far. Even when the verdict comes, which will hopefully happen in our lifetime, people will not be able to equate it with the crime because it will come after so many years,” rued Ms. Vishwanathan.
The couple said the justice system in the country is very frustrating because justice should be immediate. Justice needs to be immediate if crime needs to be curbed, they said, adding that that will act as a deterrent.
