Aveek Sarkar Became a Prisoner of Biases, Letting Objectivity Down

Almost every evening after the edit meeting thathe would chair in his elegant and tastefully-designed third floor officechamber, Aveek Sarkar would take the lift down to The Telegraph's first floor newsroom. Flashing a toothy smile, he wouldwalk across to the deputy editor's seat, fidget with his half-moon eyeglasses, clutchthe frilly frontal pleats of the crisp dhootiand with his right hand fingers scratch his goatee as he discussed the finerelements of the day's big story.

Silence would envelope the otherwiseraucous, white-walled newsroom as Sarkar would hunch over at the deputy editor's table andconfer on how the lead story would be splashed across Page 1. On some occasions he would amble across to the reporters' alley, nod at a few seniorreporters, have a quick word with the bureau chief or chief reporter and walkaway briskly, his shock of silvery hair matching the sparkling white, starched dhooti-and-panjabi worn in the fashion of an erudite 19th centuryBengali bhadralok.

Saddened by Aveek Sarkar's retirement. He was one of journalism's foremost eccentrics. A large-hearted patrician unafraid to dial wrong no's

Many young journalists in TT's newsroom would hold their breath,fearing his legs would tangle in the mass of the dhooti's pleats and he would stumble. Not surprisingly, he managedhis dhooti and The Telegraph with dexterous ease. Until June 22, 2016. When wordcame through last evening that Aveek babuhad resigned as The Telegraph and itspowerful and imposing sister publication AnandabazarPatrika's editor-in-chief, my first reaction was one of utter disbelief.

The Campaign Against Didi

His resignation, stunning news in itself,sent shockwaves across much of Kolkata, especially within the imposing ABPheadquarters on Prafulla Sarkar Street, named after the Bengali media moghul'sgrandfather who had played a seminal role in the nationalist movement of the1940s. After being at the helm of the ABP Group for 33 years, Sarkar had finallystumbled, not on the flowing pleats of his dhooti,but in the wake of a high-octane coverage of a rancorous Bengal electioncampaign.

Sarkar had invested all his energy intothe election coverage, making the Trinamool Congress in general and its fieryleader and chief minister Mamata Banerjee TheTelegraph, and especially the AnandabazarPatrika's, principal targets.

Sarkar's campaign, which began several months before Bengal went to the hustings, was relentless. There was not a day in the months leading to the election when The Telegraph and ABP would not go to town with hard-hitting stories against the TMC and its leadership. Eight-column headlines were common.

War between @MamataOfficial & ABP Gp owner Aveek Sarkar an untold story of WB poll. This, at TMC rally, Behala, Kol pic.twitter.com/0qkKrynWeN

The tone and the tenor of the stories leftnothing to the imagination: the ABP Group wanted the Mamata government to go. Anuncompromising Sarkar had driven himself to believe that the Left-Congresscoalition would inflict a crushing defeat on the Trinamool whose government, inits first term in office, had become the epitome of corruption, moraldepravity and misrule.

The results, of course, threw up a hugesurprise, stunning Sarkar and leaving him deflated, dejected and spent.

Assessing Left's Downfall

Sarkar's visceral dislike for Mamata andher lumpen followers was in stark contrast to the overwhelming reverencedisplayed by each of his group units – print and electronic – which saw in theTMC leader the dawn of a new era in Bengal politics when her party crushed theseemingly unbeatable CPI(M)-led Left Front. In a gushing front page article, The Telegraph described the TMC's 2011victory as “historic thunder”, likening the CPM's defeat to the fall of theBerlin Wall.

At that time Sarkar and his journalistcolleagues in The Telegraph and ABP correctly assessed the downfall of the Leftin Bengal. It was easy. The moment was politically ripe for the CPM's exit: thepeople were fed up with the party and its thugs, economic advancement hadground to a halt a long time ago, Calcutta (as it was then known) was in itsdeath throes. Bengal was sick and it needed a strong dose of antibiotic, if notsurgery, if it was to be restored to good health.

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Loss of Objectivity

Meanwhile, Aveek babu grew younger. Thelong mane that he began sporting gave him the appearance of a rockstar owner-editor. As Mamata blundered and a muscular BJP led by Narendra Modidemolished the Congress at the Centre, Sarkar opened two fronts – one against aforce which was set to take Bengal down and the other against the Modi-led BJP forwhom he had an intense aversion. A strange obsession had taken hold of Sarkar.And obsession gave way to loss of objectivity, the bedrock of journalism.

Great anti-establishment stories, however, do not always make for sound family business. As stories in The Telegraph and ABP became more and more caustic, little did he realise that revenues were taking a hit. State government advertisements had begun drying up, leaving Aveek babu's younger brother Arup, who holds majority stake, in a quandary.

Beyond the Resignation

We will never know what really occasionedSarkar's resignation – pressure from his younger sibling that the group's financialship needed steadying and therefore needless needling of the state governmentmust cease or a vindictive Mamata, wounded by the barrage of stories againsther and her party, breathing down his neck.

We may miss his name in The Telegraph and ABP's printline, but be sure that Aveek Sarkar will continue toplay a role in matters editorial with the newly-designed twin roles of groupvice-chairman and editor emeritus, whatever that means.

Also read:

After Victory, Mamata Forgets Regret Over ‘Narada News' Sting

In Bengal Today, Mamata Banerjee Represents the Bawdy Politic

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