In an age of ‘agendas’, everyone is a suspect!

I knew a really wise lady (she passed away many years ago), whose stock response to questions/issues she didn’t want to get into was, “Aaj mausam bada kharab hai...” This phrase had limitless nuances and interpretations. Those who correctly read her message (“Let’s change the subject...”), immediately backed off. Those who persisted were subjected to her haughty, glacial treatment.

Ithought about this grande dame a great deal last week during the dramatic developments that led to popular police commissioner Rakesh Maria being asked to take a walk. Along with thousands of other Mumbaikars who were taken off guard by the sudden move, I experienced a sense of outrage as well. When I went public with my views, several well wishers called to “warn” me. This was the aspect of the debacle I found extremely disturbing. Not only was I told it was “unwise” to open my mouth, but I was advised to “stay out of this mess.” Soon I started receiving unsolicited info aimed at tarnishing Maria’s reputation. Frankly I was appalled. The very same people who had praised the man (Maria) to the skies, were now casting aspersion on his character. That’s the way the cookie crumbles. Since I don’t have any inside dope in this regard, I stuck to the priceless “Aaj mausam bahut kharab hai...” line and refused to get dragged into who is corrupt and who isn’t. Because, quite honestly, there is just no way of proving these sorts of wild charges against anybody. Unless you can produce irrefutable evidence. None was provided.

It is a shame we have become this cynical. Every public figure stands accused of something or the other, until proved otherwise. You start off being dubbed “guilty.” The onus of clearing your name of fictitious charges stops with you. There were hairy rumours flying around Mumbai during this dramatic period, and the closed world of media “experts” was putting forward several highly motivated leaks. Everyone claimed to have the “real” story behind the overnight ouster. But nobody could back the theories floating around with solid proof. What this development did establish is the toxic conditions swamping this particular narrative. The hate filled innuendoes didn’t spare anybody. A senior journalist warned me, “You are sticking your neck out – beware.” I laughed it off, of course, but somewhere at the back of my mind, I stored that ominous message. Why should ANY citizen feel it is unsafe and perhaps even dangerous to speak up? But these are the awful times we live in – nobody trusts anybody. Everyone is looking out for those glistening knives which are supposedly out. There is a heightened level of mistrust, as friends doubt motives and strangers peddle planted stories in the hope they will get used.

Last week’s most used word was “agenda”. Apparently, everyone taking an interest in the murky case had an “agenda”. What that agenda was didn’t really matter. Sad that we live in a world searching for “agendas” in any and every relationship.

Now that we have finally wrenched ourselves away from “The Case”, and discovered there is more to life than a high profile murder, it would be worth everyone’s time to consider other, more vital issues. But should we just let this case go because we are bored? Because a level of mental fatigue has set in? Because we are sick of the story and craving for a new scandal? Is that really what the initial outrage was about? Just cheap thrills and nothing else?

This is where Arnab Goswami comes in. Regardless of what you think of his hyper-aggressive style of pursuing this story, he doggedly stayed with it, often to the intense annoyance of both panellists and viewers. I hope he continues to track it with as much perseverance since not even the tip of the iceberg has been revealed so far. If the Sheena story gets buried at this critical junction, all previous efforts to get to the truth (ugly as it is) will come to nought. Goswami’s bull dog like belligerence may appear unpalatable to critics, but his determination to get to the bottom of a story, no matter what the cost, must be admired. Since he has consistently questioned official apathy in solving the Sunanda Pushkar murder and expressed his concerns that the same attitude may also impact investigations in the Sheena Bora crime, viewers are hoping he will stick to his guns and keep up the pressure. For all we know, there could be a major link between these two “celebrity crimes”!

As for me, I am concentrating on the “mausam” and hoping it doesn’t remain this “kharaab” for much longer.

Meanwhile, as concerned Mumbaikars, let us extend our full support to the newly minted police commissioner, the very dapper Ahmad Javed.

Over to you, Top Cop!