A newly born infant makes her presence felt by giving free vent to both lungs and limbs but rare is the man who comes into the world of fatherhood kicking and screaming. When Rohit Shekhar filed a paternity suit in September 2007 against Narayan Dutt Tiwari, the veteran politician — who had no biological children of his own — resorted to every possible stalling tactic available to him under the law, and then some. He fobbed off repeated judicial directions to undergo a DNA test until finally, five years on, the justice system caught up with him. The Delhi High Court has now revealed to the world the truth that Mr. Tiwari wanted to cover up, and what his son wanted brought out, come what may. Of course, the Tiwari saga’s ending is a far cry from the cathartic outcome in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter where the protagonist in the end admitted in public to having fathered a child with one who had consequently been stigmatised. Regrettably, even after the final revelation of his paternity, the 87-year-old leader has sounded most unremorseful and has been talking in terms of conspiracies that did him in.
The issue at stake is not a narrow notion of morality in the way Western publics understand the term but Mr. Tiwari’s failure to own up to his responsibilities. Unlike the situation in the United States or Britain or elsewhere, the Indian people, and by extension the Indian media, are remarkably indifferent to the complicated private lives of their politicians. So we have had bachelors with “foster” children or husbands who have left their wives, politicians with companions, and ministers with more than one wife and family, but none of this has affected their public standing. Whenever our politicians are judged harshly, it is always for their political and not personal failings. Even today the reputation of Mr. Tiwari — a former Chief Minister and Governor — stands diminished in the public mind not because he had an affair or fathered a child but because he refused to stand by what he had done and fought five long years to deny something he knew to be true. Mr. Tiwari claims this is his personal business. He is wrong. Where private deeds impinge unfairly on the lives of others — in this instance, on the life of Mr. Shekhar who has carried the unfair stigma of being fatherless in a society which unfortunately places a high premium on paternity and birth in wedlock — that defence cannot possibly hold water. The young man and his mother, who together led a brave battle despite the odds that were stacked against them, deserve praise for the persistence with which they pursued the truth.
A very balanced Editorial.
What a way morals have been degraded ! A cowardly old man, cowering
under the cover of Law hoped in vain that he could escape his
responsibility.Like that Tamil saying: hiding a white pumpkin inside
a heap of rice !! How long?
Now that justice has been delivered to the victims, though badly delayed but not denied, this must be a forerunner to all those other
wily and corrupt politicians seeking refuge under the loopholes of the
Law, basking in their inglorious short-lived freedom on bail. Taarikh
pe taarikh,taarikh, pe taarikh , like the dialogue in a courtroom
drama of a pathbreaking Hindi film. But the Judgement day does come,
in one's own life time. !!
This is about your editorial on Tiwari and the subsequent comment made by Pankaj. They say that justice delayed is justice denied. How very true?
Compare this with the recently delivered verdict in U.K. on the murderous attack on an Indian student.It has been delivered in the space of just 7 months from the date of crime. Compare this with the 5 years Tiwari has been permitted to drag the issue. No wonder our judiciary is overloaded.
The heart of the Story is the way India views its women. Tiwari
abandoned a woman after she bore him a child. That is a crime even in
India. If India wants to move to an era of mature judisprudence, the
courts should take su moto congnisance of this and give half his
property to the Son and Woman.
Sir,
Rohit and his mother had to live for three
decades with stigma that he is fatherless. But when the court has
declared after a DNA test that Rohit is right, Mr Tiwari continue to
deny his fathership in public.It is possible that people in high
positions have no children or his wife must have be separated or died
and that he may require a companion and incidentally must have
fathered a child. While the legal procedure must be cumbersome and
long drawn out, the stigma of fatherless living is really a trauma
which only the victim knows the gravity. Even after the court revealed
the truth, Tiwari continues to tell the court that it should not be
disclosed in public. At 87, what is left so much in him to preserve
his image and dignity.
Action by any human that he own up his son and should grabbed him and
tell the world about his failure and accept him in public That would
have enhanced his stature.
This is one of the finest examples how a common man in the streets has to fight his way in the legal system against such powerful politicians and corporates who can engage the best lawyers in the country to suffocate justice. That the mother and son ware successful is rare to celebrate but the episode reflects the sorry state of our aam-admi.
when i read this editorial i was quite thrown back.I cannot fathom
why we should worry about his personal life.you have made comparisons
with united states and the way the media takes up such cases.i
strongly feel privacy of the individual ,irrespective of public status
that they enjoy, should be preserved however morally wrong he or she
might be.The aspect that directly affects us is his public service.i
think the ambit of the scrutiny should end there instead of probing
their lifestyles.Such 'tabloid-ism' must be avoided by a respected and
esteemed paper such as yours.
The dogged efforts of Rohit Shekhar did not only cut ice, but also has ripped open the fallacious face of Tiwari, who stands before the public totally exposed. How the office that he was holding for half a century,was abused and exploited for his sleazy affairs, is shameful indeed. How could the chairperson of UPA and the ring leaders of Congress,spare the remorseless, non repentent minister from censuring openly makes one raise the eye brows? Moral turpitude, is more preached, than followed.
N D Tiwari is in a class of politicians who are always in a mode of denial. Hats off to Mr Shekar & his mother. Why is it her name is not published as part of this editorial? One can imagine the amount of hardship she must have encountered with her son to bring this out in public. I salute her.
An important editorial indeed.
When this issue initially became public, Tiwari was the governor of Andhra Pradesh, at that time few of MLAs of Andhra Pradesh supported Tiwari openly and blamed Ujjwala Sharma for cheap publicity.
Its also true that political life should not be judged by personal life but its quite impossible to expect ethics from people who lack personal ethics.
I wonder how come this man enjoyed this much popularity with political parties and enjoyed almost all Constitutional positions such as Chief Minister and Governor.
Kudos to ‘The Hindu’! The readers are offered a well-reasoned analysis that probes into the psyche of our celebrity culture. I do not know that 87-year-old Mr. Tiwari does not have biological children until I read this editorial. Doesn’t he have any legal heirs? Is there any serious property implication in this case? What prompts Mr. Tiwari to disown the paternity claim at such a mature age is really perplexing—even when he is confronted with clinching evidence of a DNA test. It is difficult to fathom the motives of this octogenarian politician to keep Rohit Shekhar and his mother in a stigmatized state for more than three decades.
The grim battle waged by Rohit Shekhar and his mother shall go down our history as a landmark.
The editorial is beautifully articulate. And very touching. I wish the author also write for social causes like transgenders, women harrassed by family members, poverty and child sexual harrasment. The benefits to such people will be larger with the power of your words.
Hats off to "The Hindu" for this editorial. This case had been dragging for the last 5 years. What are the lessons for the law makers and the judicial system to improve the delivery of justice from this case? How many criminal cases are being dragged like this by today's powerful politicians? What is the way out? Can the media publish the list of cases against public servants being fought by money, loop holes in law and not with ethics for more than 5 years in this land of cultural heritage?
The Hindu has raised an important point in this Article and we all must congratulate the son-mother team of having pursued this case against all odds.
But a more important point needs to be highlighted - the time it took for our Justice system to deliver a direction to an individual to carry out a DNA test. If these 5 years could be reduced to 5 weeks - 95% of crime, fraud, corruption, breach of contracts would vanish from India - and people will be able to live in peace and prosperity. Justice ensures peace and peace ensures prosperity.
Today injustice is tolerated simply because, it takes too long for justice to be delivered. Justice system is also overloaded because of this problem. If justice is time bound, it would help all.
Justice "system" is the feedback / corrective loop of the society; unless it is strengthened, the performance of other "systems" is likely to remain sub-optimal.
Even if the concerned politician had accepted the accusation, the
consequence would have been lesser. The tactical move to distract the
entire legal proceedings have costed his stature! This editorial
brilliantly describes the success of the pursuit towards truth.
Thanks to Hindu for the article.
How can we choose such politician like tiwari, who can't even take responsibility of his own deed, his own son.
When we expect that politician would take care of our state or our country.
Politicians in India today have submerged in immoral behaviour and on
top pretend in daylight as if they havent done anything wrong at all
- until they are busted. And this culture of shame equally flows in
every indian's veins. We are not afraid of the immorality of our acts
but the trouble that strikes upon when we are caught for the same.
This clearly projects how feeble our ethical foundations have become.
Therefore, we, as an idian citizen should try to learn a lesson and
look inside ourselves instead of viewing this incident through
political glasses of a critique.Its the time for an epiphany for Mr.
Tiwari..and indeed for all of us.
P.S. I appreciate "HER" being used for an infant in the first line of
the article.
This situation has become a routine in almost every celebrity's personal
life in our today's society. the fact is that ethical importance is lost
and monetarism has become the contemporary solution for every issue.in
spite of being corrected by their fellow mates they are neglected and
even aided by them these days.hope for a day to come where law and
ethics control the humans not the money.
In matters regarding conduct, character, corruption, immoral acts , we
are in no way better than westeners. Given the chance, and if not being
caught, we are also capable of doing anything. But one difference is we
do not have the self esteem, integrity to admit if caught also, the
truth. - We will try to defend ourselves, try to find the loop holes,
bend the law and try to escape and walk with head upright. When even a
person of his age can behave like this, what happened to our great
culture, heritage and what not ?
The succint editorial "Tiwari & son" (Aug 2) has summed up facts in such a precise and impressive manner that the veteran octogenarian Congressman N.D.Tiwari, who had held the high posts of State Chief Minister and Governor and who, as ill-luck would have it, kept on repeating the lie that he was not the biological father of Rohit Shekhar, will have no further doubts about where exactly he had gone wrong. By pointing out that his wrong deed had impinged unfairly on the lives of Shekhar and his mother, Tiwari has been made to realize that his defence that what he did was purely his private buisiness does not hold water.
I thank you for this editorial.
Ever since the verdict of the High Court what was bugging me was the
way the man was using all kinds of methods to avoid public exposure.
Step after step - and for years - he was cowering under covers
provided by his lawyers. Even after the truth came out he brazened it
out saying we should not talk of his private life. Has this man ever
apologised in his public or private life? He, who held high positions
in government, comes out very poorly from this episode.
I am so glad that the paper thought it fit to write this editorial to
show him for what he is worth. Your praise to the son and mother for pursuing the truth is also well-deserved.
Your editorial has an excellent opening sentence. Congrats!
(However, I object to your use of 'her'. If the use of 'his' is thought to betray gender bias, I as a male, say the use of 'her' does very much the same thing. I wouldn't mind if you had used 'their' if you had wanted to avoid the awkward 'his/her'.)
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