---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Source <sou...@tehelka.com> Date: 30 June 2010 12:21 Subject: Re: Hi To: CHITTIBABU PADAVALA <afchittib...@gmail.com>
Dear Mr Padavala, Thank you for the mail. Yes, I do understand the pressing need to ensure equal representation and participation of Dalits in mainstream media and totally support your idea. However, since Tehelka does mainly non-commercial journalism, it's very tough for us to offer any scholarships as of now but I do really want to help make the media a more accessible profession for Dalits. So I have already initiated the process of looking for sponsors and as soon as I have something lined up, I will inform you. In the meanwhile, in case there is any development on your side, please do let me know. warm regds Gunjan ----- Original Message ----- From: "CHITTIBABU PADAVALA" < afchittib...@gmail.com> To: "Source" <sou...@tehelka.com> Sent: Monday, June 28, 2010 2:01 PM Subject: Re: Hi Dear Ms. Gunjan Batra, > > Let me first thank you for your kind and positive response. A couple > of days ago Tehelka reporter Ms. Sanjana called me up and told me that > Tehelka School of Journalism decided to reserve five seats for dalits > but I was to get the funding for the students. While I assure you that > I shall do everything in my capacity to contribute to your efforts, I > am baffled by this idea. What is the point of reserving 5 seats for > Dalits if they have to pay fees? > Probably a look at ACJ's Dalit scholarship scheme is useful. I think > ACJ's model is good enough to emulate, and if you want to, can even be > bettered. > > On top of waiving the fees and providing free meals and accommodation, > ACJ also offers Rs. 4,000 nominal stipend per month per each Dalit > student. Now that an organisation came forward to top the stipend up > with 4,000 more, Dalit students will get 8,000 per month. > > From this year on, we are ( a group of Dalit and non-Dalit journalist, > activists and students campaigning for (larger) presence of Dalits in > mainstream English journalism) also planning to conduct a 3 month > intensive English coaching for Dalit applicants for ACJ before > entrance test/interview. Many distinguished journalism trainers came > forward to become part of this program. ACJ is providing meals and > accommodation for the students during this period and an NGO > notionally agreed to bear the travel expenses for the students. > > I am narrating the whole thing in detail just to give you an idea of > one of the important components of our campaign. I am particularly > encouraged by your assurance that you would consider any suitable > candidate we refer to you. Is it possible for you to write an > endorsement such as the one written by Sashikumar or N. Ram in > whichever way you think could serve the purpose of inviting potential > dalit candidates to enter journalism and also to create > non-discriminatory atmosphere among the media houses? > > Here, a highly discouraging fact is that despite an intensive campaign > involving many journalists, Dalit organizations, email groups, > students unions and progressive individuals through presentations and > counseling sessions across the country and individualized > "brainwashing", we managed to get only 107 applications for ACJ > entrance test and sadly not many of them could attend the exam and > only a handful of them cleared it and not more than five got seats. > Mr. Sashikumar told me about a joke among the teachers that even most > of them would fail if they were to take the GK component of the ACJ > entrance test. And, the Dean is planning to soften the criteria to > make test less exclusivist. > This unfortunate state of affairs - unwillingness among young Dalit > people to become journalists and unwillingness of the media houses to > recruit Dalits - is not likely to change immediately but we are > positive about change if many more hands join the effort. Your > contribution to this will really, really make a difference. > > Luckily, Tehelka Journalism College's dates could actually help many > unsuccessful candidates for ACJ to make use of the intervening time to > prepare more seriously and get into the course. We are in touch with a > majority of the 107 Dalit students applied for ACJ this year. We can > reach out to them and encourage them to apply for Tehelka School of > Journalism. > > An invitation and assurance from you in your name would really help > these young people. Mr. Tejpaul himself could consider writing one if > he thinks it is an important issue. Meanwhile, if you authorize me to > do so, I shall find out from my contacts among the NGOs - among whom > an organization which offered monthly stipends and laptops for Dalit > students to study at ACJ- if they could extend the same to Tehelka > Journalism College. > > I have not discussed it with anybody involved in the campaign yet but > you can even think of making at least the certificate program in > writing open to Dalit students for free. It is easy for us then to get > some sponsors for providing accommodation and monthly expenses for > costly stay in and travel within Delhi. My experience is- I am an > activist for the last one and half decades besides being a journalist- > it is not realistic to expect many Dalit students to pay fees to study > journalism. > > I assure you that even if you announce this course to be free for > Dalits, your college is not going to be inundated by too many > applications. I request you to kindly scrap the application fee for > Dalit students, to begin with. It is unusually high. Not a single > institute in the country charges so much for an application from > Dalits for any course. As you know, this year ACJ scrapped application > fee for Dalits altogether. > > One might wonder why then the private colleges should go out of their > way to help Dalits study journalism courses and enter the profession > if there is not much enthusiasm or ability among them. This is so > partly due to the limit on the Dalits forced upon by others in which > most of the time we end up demanding or hoping for fair representation > by others than to think of ourselves representing the world. On top > of that, the Dalits who already managed to enter the mainstream > journalism are not treated well and there > are organizations in the fields without ever letting a single Dalit > journalist work for them. Some of them do write good stuff about > Dalits as long as non-dalits do it. > > Many of us think that presence of dalits in the process of news > gathering, framing, presenting brings with it new ways of looking at > things, enriching not only the products but also the process of > news-making. I don't know if Tehelka ever recruited any Dalit as a > journalist to work for them. Probably, you might not have found > anybody good enough to work with you. If it is the failure of Dalits > rather than your own unwillingness to be inclusive, one useful way of > correcting it is to at least make your journalism course accessible to > Dalits. > You can actually train some Dalit journalists in your vision of > journalism and the skills your magazine needs. I am very happy to know > that your journalism training is not for any profit-making. But, that > admirable fact should not be allowed to hamper any > affirmative action to provide a cost-free journalism education for > Dalits. I hope you agree with me that Media needs Dalits as much as > Dalits need media, not just as its consumers but also as contributors. > Tehelka takes pride in being different and in some important ways > innovative and daring in its approach to news. The Tehelka School of > Journalism could be a story of immediate success with its ability to > draw on the experience and excellence of doing journalism. I am > hopeful that any bold gesture of announcing the courses at Tehelka > School of Journalism free for Dalits would prove to be successful in > attracting, training and employing a decent number of Dalits. > > Specifically, > 1) Scrapping the application fee > 2) Announcing all 3 courses free for Dalit students > 3) Issuing a public appeal to funding organizations for helping you in > providing hostel and other expenses for the students you select for > the training > 4) Including the Dalit concerns as a major component of your syllabus, > lectures, field work and assignments and highlighting it in the next > round of notifications( I am sure you must have already thought about > some of the above suggestions and necessary ground work has been done) > As of now, further consultations with my comrades in the campaign > pending, I offer: > 1) Lobbying with the media organizations for recruiting from Tehelka > School of Journalism > 2) Lobbying with the NGOs, individuals to contribute and set up > scholarships for Dalit students > 3. Persuading funding organisations and other sources for other help > in the form of equipment, books and other help > 4) Providing publicity for the program among our contacts through our > Networks > And, of course, any other specific form of help within our capacity. > > Please notice that there is nothing on your website about how you > select the candidates. Is there an entrance test? Is it based on > interviews alone or in combination with grades or any other criterion? > If there is a test, do you have examination centres all over the > country? If not specific model papers, at least could you provide a > broad outline of the test? > The above is a bit too broad and refers to programmatic concerns. As > to my specific contribution to recommending candidates for the course, > I assure you to spread the word among the members of the campaign for > Dalits in journalism and also spread the word among my contacts. The > financial support I referred to in our conversation was clearly about > helping Dalit candidates study at Tehelka School of Journalism in the > form of sponsoring laptops, stipend, books, coaching. If you are > unwilling or unable to offer free education to Dalits it is difficult > to persuade funding organizations to chip in. Yet, let me find out if > there are anybody who would come forward to do so. > > Thankfully, > Chittibabu Padavala > 0-9818321055 > > > > On 28/06/2010, Source <sou...@tehelka.com> wrote: > >> Hi Chittibabu, >> >> The admission process at Source The Tehelka School of Journalism has >> already >> begun. >> When we last spoke you mentioned that you would find some sponsors who >> would >> financially support the deserving Dalit candidates and I was wondering >> whether you have shortlisted the deserving students and their sponsors. >> In case you have, please do submit their forms. >> >> Thanking you >> warm regds >> Gunjan >> M: +91 9717707740 >> >
