View source for Tehelka

{{Short description|Indian news magazine}}
{{EngvarB|date=January 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2014}}
{{italic title}}
{{Infobox magazine
| title          = Tehelka
| logo           = [[File:Tehelka Logo.gif|200px]]
| image_file     = [[File:Tehelka-magazine.jpg|260px]]
| editor_title   = Editor
| editor         = Charanjit Ahuja<ref name=RNI/>
| previous_editor = {{flatlist|
*[[Tarun Tejpal]]
*[[Aniruddha Bahal]]
*Sanjay Dubey}}
| category       = News Portal, Magazine
| frequency      = 
| circulation    = 58741 Avg March (2019)*
| founder        = {{ubl|[[Tarun Tejpal]]|[[Aniruddha Bahal]]}}
| founded        = {{start date and age|1999}}<ref name=tindep2006/>
| firstdate      = 
2000–2003 (website)<br />
2004–2007 (tabloid)<br />
2007–present day (magazine)
| company        = Tehelka.com Pvt Ltd<br>Kanwar Deep Singh and his Anant Media Pvt. Ltd<ref name=RNI/>
| country        = India
| based          = [[New Delhi]]
| language       = English, Hindi
| website        = {{ubl|{{URL|http://tehelka.com/|tehelka.com}}|{{URL|http://tehelkahindi.com/|tehelkahindi.com}}}}
|publisher=Swinder Bajwa}}
'''''Tehelka''''' ({{Translation|Sensation}}) is an Indian news magazine known for its [[investigative journalism]] and [[sting operations]]. According to the British newspaper ''[[The Independent]]'', the ''Tehelka'' was founded by [[Tarun Tejpal]], [[Aniruddha Bahal]] and another colleague who worked together at the ''[[Outlook (Indian magazine)|Outlook]]'' magazine after "an investor with deep pockets" agreed to underwrite their startup.<ref name=tindep2006>{{cite web|url= https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/aniruddha-bahal-the-king-of-sting-6229903.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220526/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/aniruddha-bahal-the-king-of-sting-6229903.html |archive-date=26 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Aniruddha Bahal: The King of Sting|last=Zaitchik|first=Alexander |date=19 November 2006|work=[[The Independent]]|access-date=9 February 2010}}</ref> Bahal left ''Tehelka'' in 2005 to start [[Cobrapost]] – an Indian news website, after which ''Tehelka'' was managed by Tejpal through 2013. In 2013, Tejpal stepped aside from Tehelka after being accused of sexual assault by his employee.<!-- Please do NOT add extra details of this here, please read our BLP policies. (Search for WP:BLP)--> ''Tehelka'' had cumulative losses of {{INRConvert|66|c}} till 2013, while being majority owned and financed by [[K. D. Singh (politician)|Kanwar Deep Singh]] – an industrialist, a politician and a member of Indian parliament ([[Rajya Sabha]]).<ref name="Tarun Tejpal's many businesses">[https://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/tarun-tejpal-s-many-businesses-113112800009_1.html Tarun Tejpal's many businesses], Business Standard (28 November 2013)</ref><ref name="economictimes.indiatimes.com">[https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/will-tehelkas-real-owners-please-stand-up/articleshow/26226176.cms Will Tehelka's real owners please stand up?], The Economic Times (23 November 2013)</ref>

The magazine began circulating [[tabloid (newspaper format)|tabloid]]-format newspapers in 2004 and switched to magazine in 2007. ''Tehelka''{{'s}} first sting operation was on a [[Match fixing in cricket|cricket match fixing]] scandal in 2000. In 2001, it won national fame and public support for its sting "Operation West End". This 2001 undercover operation recorded and released footage of government officials accepting prostitutes and bribes in a fake arms deal. This caused the resignations of several officials including the then Defence Minister and two presidents of the ruling parties. In 2007, ''Tehelka'' published a report against members of the [[Bajrang Dal]] and for their role in the [[Naroda Patiya massacre]] during the [[2002 Gujarat violence]]. The report, called "[[The Truth: Gujarat 2002]]", was based on a six-month sting operation with video footage of the members admitting their role in the violence. It won the [[International Press Institute]] (IPI) India Award for Excellence in Journalism in 2010 and 2011.

==History==
[[Tarun Tejpal]], [[Aniruddha Bahal]] and a colleague quit their jobs from ''[[Outlook (Indian magazine)|Outlook]]'' magazine and started ''Tehelka'' in [[New Delhi]] as a website in 2000.<ref name=Independent2006>{{cite news|title=Aniruddha Bahal: The King of Sting|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/aniruddha-bahal-the-king-of-sting-424594.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220526/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/aniruddha-bahal-the-king-of-sting-424594.html |archive-date=26 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=27 November 2013|newspaper=Independent|date=19 November 2006|first=Alexander|last=Zaitchik}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://caravanmagazine.in/media/curious-case-of-tehelkas-missing-archives|title=The curious case of Tehelka's missing archives|last=Wal|first=Aradhna|website=[[The Caravan]]|language=en|url-access=subscription|access-date=2020-01-21}}</ref>

Tehelka gained national fame when Aniruddha Bahal and Matthew Samuel completed and published undercover videotapes about corruption in a fake arms deal through the sting – "Operation West End" – in 2001. The Tehelka report triggered a government inquiry.<ref name=TGHarding2>{{cite news|title=Sting on a shoestring|url=https://www.theguardian.com/g2/story/0,3604,460371,00.html|access-date=23 November 2013|newspaper=The Guardian|date=21 March 2001|first=Luke|last=Harding}}</ref> The exposé caught senior defence personnel and politicians of the Samata Party, the Bharatiya Janata Party and others accepting bribes from a fake company offering fake defence products. The scandal and subsequent inquiry led to the resignation of many including India's Defence Minister.<ref name=TGHarding2/><ref name=NYTPhalnikar/> Politicians from various parties called for action against Tehelka journalists for its unethical methods such as procuring and providing prostitutes for its undercover sting.<ref name=NYTDugger1/> According to Navdip Dhariwal, the ''Tehelka'' staff saw the government inquiry as a direct attack on them.<ref name=BBCDhariwal>{{cite news|title=Scandal website reinvents itself|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3174460.stm|access-date=24 November 2013|newspaper=BBC|date=10 October 2003|first=Navdip|last=Dhariwal|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131203002430/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3174460.stm| archive-date=3 December 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> By 2003, Tehelka staff decreased from 120 to 3 and the website shut down because of debts.<ref name=NYTPhalnikar>{{cite news|title=Combative Indian magazine struggles to sell 'bad news'|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/technology/27iht-mag28.1.9524336.html?pagewanted=all|access-date=24 November 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|date=27 January 2008|first=Sonia|last=Phalnikar}}</ref><ref name=TGHarding>{{cite news|title=Website pays price for Indian bribery expose|url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2003/jan/06/newmedia.india|access-date=23 November 2013|newspaper=The Guardian|date=6 January 2003|first=Luke|last=Harding|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203050905/http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2003/jan/06/newmedia.india|archive-date=3 December 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> Bahal left ''Tehelka'' in the same year, saying the government was "bogging us down with a lot of legal nonsense" and later founded [[Cobrapost.com]].<ref name=OLReddy>{{cite news|last1=Reddy|first1=Sheela|title=10 Questions Aniruddha Bahal|url=http://www.outlookindia.com/article/Aniruddha-Bahal/220388|access-date=12 December 2014|work=Outlook|date=9 June 2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141212145736/http://www.outlookindia.com/article/Aniruddha-Bahal/220388|archive-date=2014-12-12|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2004, after more than 200 writers, lawyers, business people and activists became founder-subscribers, ''Tehelka'' was relaunched as a reader-financed weekly newspaper in [[tabloid (newspaper format)|tabloid]] format. Among the supporters were activist [[Arundhati Roy]], Congress party politician [[Shashi Tharoor]] and Nobel laureate [[V.S. Naipaul]].<ref name=NYTPhalnikar/> It called itself the "People's Paper" and the reporters took a tour around the country promoting what they called "free, fair and fearless" journalism.<ref name=BBCDhariwal/> After its Naroda Patiya sting operation in 2007, it sold around 75,000 to 90,000 copies per week. It still suffered large financial losses, since it attracted very few advertisements and the magazine primarily relied on subscribers and copies sold as of 2008.<ref name=NYTPhalnikar/> ''Tehelka'' had cumulative losses of {{INRConvert|66|c}} through 2013, while being majority owned and financed by [[K. D. Singh (politician)|Kanwar Deep Singh]] – an industrialist, a politician and a member of Indian parliament ([[Rajya Sabha]]) initially elected by [[Jharkhand Mukti Morcha]], later [[All India Trinamool Congress]].<ref name="Tarun Tejpal's many businesses"/><ref name="economictimes.indiatimes.com"/>

Tejpal changed ''Tehelka'' from tabloid to magazine in September 2007 to encourage more potential advertisers, but found it difficult because of their sting operations. Tejpal started the Hindi language website in 2007 and then Tehelka's Hindi News magazine. Sanjay Dubey was the executive editor of the Hindi magazine. In the early years, Tarun Tejpal was Tehelka's largest shareholder through his shell company Agni Media. In an interview to The New York Times, Tejpal stated that he covered the losses at Tehelka by soliciting funds from his personal contacts.<ref name=NYTPhalnikar/>

"THiNK Fest" was started in 2011 as an annual literary festival and promoted as an event of ''Tehelka'', though the program was run by an organisation called Thinkworks Pvt Ltd, a company owned by Tejpal, his sister Neena and managing editor [[Shoma Chaudhury]].<ref name=IE_2511>{{cite news|title=Tarun Tejpal and Shoma Chaudhury-owned Thinkworks organises THiNK Fest, not Tehelka | url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/tarun-tejpal-and-shoma-chaudhuryowned-thinkworks-organises-think-fest-not-tehelka/1199245/0|access-date=27 November 2013|newspaper=Indian Express|date=25 November 2013|first=Appu Esthose|last=Suresh}}</ref> It featured [[Bollywood]] actors, global thinkers and sessions on new technology.<ref name=NYTPolgreen>{{cite news|title=High Ideals and Corruption Dominate Think Festival Agenda|url=http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/11/high-ideals-and-corruption-dominate-think-festival-agenda/?_r=0|access-date=27 November 2013|date=11 November 2011|newspaper=The New York Times|first=Lydia|last=Polgreen}}</ref>

According to ''The New York Times'', during a ''Tehelka'' organized "Think Fest" event in November 2013, a staff reporter of Tehelka accused Tejpal of rape and repeated sexual assault.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/18/world/asia/magazine-editor-in-india-charged-in-rape-of-colleague.html Indian Journalist Charged With Rape of a Reporter], Ellen Barry, The New York Times (14 February 2014)</ref><ref name=TDBVaradarajan/> Tejpal was arrested by Goa police and he stepped aside as editor of Tehelka,<ref>{{cite news|agency=PTI|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tarun-tejpal-steps-aside-as-tehelka-editor-for-6-months/article5374772.ece|title=Tarun Tejpal steps aside as Tehelka Editor for 6 months|location=New Delhi|work=The Hindu|date=21 November 2013|access-date=21 November 2013}}</ref><ref name=TDBVaradarajan>{{cite news|last=Varadarajan|first=Tunku|title=The Fall of India's Conscience|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/11/25/the-fall-of-india-s-conscience.html|access-date=26 November 2013|newspaper=The Daily Beast|date=25 November 2013}}</ref> and his colleague Shoma Chaudhury resigned from Tehelka on 28 November because of the incident.<ref name=TOI2>{{cite news|title=Shoma Chaudhury, managing editor of Tehelka magazine, resigns |url=http://photogallery.indiatimes.com/news/india/shoma-chaudhury-of-tehelka-magazine-resigns/articleshow/26513941.cms |access-date=28 November 2013 |newspaper=The Times of India |date=28 November 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203231852/http://photogallery.indiatimes.com/news/india/shoma-chaudhury-of-tehelka-magazine-resigns/articleshow/26513941.cms |archive-date=3 December 2013 }}</ref> In 2014, [[Mathew Samuel]] became the managing editor of Tehelka.<ref name=ST1>{{cite news|title=Assam Rifles orders probe into 'cash-for-contract scam'|url=http://www.theshillongtimes.com/2014/09/27/assam-rifles-orders-probe-into-cash-for-contract-scam/|access-date=17 December 2014|work=The Shillong Times|date=27 September 2014}}</ref><ref name="Editorial team">{{cite web|title=Tehelka Editorial|url=http://www.tehelka.com/tehelka-editorial/|website=Tehelka|access-date=17 December 2014}}</ref> In March 2016, Charanjit Ahuja became the editor of the fortnightly.<ref name="RNI" >{{cite web|url=http://rni.nic.in/display_details.asp?regn=101447|title=RNI|publisher=Office of the Registrar of Newspapers for India|access-date=8 November 2016}}</ref>

==Sting operations==

===Match-fixing scandal (2000)===
Bahal and Tejpal convinced cricketer [[Manoj Prabhakar]] to record conversations with his colleagues, after the [[South Africa cricket match fixing]] scandal involving [[Hansie Cronje]] in March 2000.<ref name=TGChaudhary/> Prabhakar and Bahal went around the country and Prabhakar, wearing hidden recording equipment, attended meetings with important Indian cricket board officials ([[Board of Cricket Control in India|BCCI]]) and players. He recorded conversations where they talked about links between players and bookmakers, matches being thrown in return for money, deliberate [[run out|run-out]]s and the names of players involved.<ref name=TGChaudhary/> They recorded more than 40 hours of taped conversations, which the [[Central Bureau of Investigation]] (CBI) used as evidence for its own inquiry. The CBI implicated [[Mohammad Azharuddin]], [[Ajay Jadeja]] and [[Ajay Sharma]] as the cricketers involved.<ref name=TGChaudhary>{{cite news|title=The man who blew the gaff on the big fix|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/story/0,3604,406524,00.html|access-date=23 November 2013|newspaper=The Guardian|date=4 December 2000|author=Vivek Chaudhary|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202230748/http://www.theguardian.com/sport/story/0,3604,406524,00.html|archive-date=2 December 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> The documentary ''Fallen Heroes: The Betrayal of a Nation'', which was released in May of the same year, showed Prabhakar's work and Bahal published his report on ''Tehelka.com''.<ref name=TGChaudhary/>

===Operation West End (2001)===
{{main|Operation West End}}
In 2001, ''Tehelka'' did its first major sting investigation called "[[Operation West End]]". It involved Mathew Samuel and Bahal, filming how they bribed several defence officials and politicians from the then-ruling [[National Democratic Alliance (India)|NDA]]-led (National Democratic Alliance) Indian government, posing as arms dealers.<ref name=TGHarding/> Charging a commission from defence deals is illegal in India. They started their investigation in August 2000 because of hearing rumours of middlemen getting rich in such deals in the 1980s. They created a fake British company based in [[Regent Street]], London called "West End".<ref name=TGHarding2/> Bahal and Samuel then found out that the Indian army would be interested in obtaining [[thermal imaging cameras]]. They printed business cards and photographs of particular camera models in ''Tehelka'''s office in suburban Delhi and Samuel did the main dealings.<ref name=TGHarding2/><ref name=NYTDugger2/>

They initially had to bribe junior officials in the defence ministry for amounts ranging from {{INRConvert|10000}} to {{INRConvert|60000}}, to help them in securing deals with several middlemen.<ref name=TGHarding2/> These middlemen said they "fixed" deals before involving jets and artillery; Samuel and Bahal recorded these conversations using hidden cameras. They dealt with [[Samata Party]] President Jaya Jaitley (The then Defence Minister [[George Fernandes]] belonged to this party), whom they paid {{INRConvert|300000}}, and she agreed to tell Fernandes about them.<ref name=NYTDugger3>{{cite news|title=India's Top Party Chief Resigns After Tape Hints He Took Bribe|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/14/world/india-s-top-party-chief-resigns-after-tape-hints-he-took-bribe.html|access-date=24 November 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|date=14 March 2001|author=Celia W. Dugger}}</ref> After bribing other officials, they were introduced to the then [[Bharatiya Janta Party]] (BJP) President [[Bangaru Laxman]] who accepted {{INRConvert|150000}} as a "small new year's gift".<ref name=TGHarding2/> Laxman recommended they meet [[Brajesh Mishra]], who was the [[National Security Advisor (India)|National Security Advisor]] to [[Prime Minister of India|Prime Minister]] [[Atal Bihari Vajpayee]].<ref name="defence deal case">{{cite web|title=Bangaru Laxman convicted of taking bribe|website=[[The Hindu]] |url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article3360364.ece|access-date=18 April 2013}}</ref><ref name="Sting Operation">{{cite web|title=Tehelka sting: How Bangaru Laxman fell for the trap |url=http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/tehelka-sting-how-bangaru-laxman-fell-for-the-trap/1/186303.html)Firstpost |access-date=18 April 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131014172605/http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/tehelka-sting-how-bangaru-laxman-fell-for-the-trap/1/186303.html)Firstpost |archive-date=14 October 2013 }}</ref>

The operation took seven and a half months with Tejpal later saying that the total amount they paid in bribes was {{INRConvert|1.5|m}}.<ref name=NYTDugger3/> The deals were in expensive hotels and few officials asked for branded whisky.<ref name=TGIanBuruma/> In this whole operation, they recorded around 100 hours of video footage.<ref name=TGHarding2/><ref name=NYTDugger1>{{cite news|title=Exposé in India Spawns a Risqué Second One|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/24/world/expose-in-india-spawns-a-risque-second-one.html|access-date=24 November 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|date=24 August 2001|author=Celia W. Dugger}}</ref>

Six months after ''Tehelka'' had made public its investigations, ''[[The Indian Express]]'' acquired and published transcripts of the video tapes. It showed that as part of the investigations, the reporters hired prostitutes to serve the officials.<ref name="BBC2">{{cite news |date=22 August 2001 |title=India arms bribes 'involved sex' |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1504312.stm|work=BBC |access-date=3 January 2015}}</ref> This raised ethical questions about the methods used.<ref name=FL>{{cite journal|last=Kaur |first=Naunidhi |date=September 2001 |volume=18|issue=18|title=The end and the means|url= http://www.frontline.in/static/html/fl1818/18180220.htm|journal=Frontline |access-date=3 January 2015}}</ref> Tejpal later issued a statement denying that any of its women staff were provided as prostitutes.<ref name=IE>{{cite news |date= 25 August 2001|title=Tehelka denies using women staff as prostitutes |url= http://expressindia.indianexpress.com/news/fullstory.php?newsid=1611|work=Indian Express |access-date=3 January 2015}}</ref> Politicians of the ruling parties called for the journalist's arrest for supplying prostitutes and questioned their ethics. Tejpal called that part of the investigation as a "needed transgression".<ref name=NYTDugger1/> The public and majority of their competitors supported them; ''[[The Times of India]]'' concluded that the issue of ethics "pales before the sleaze their team has dug up", ''[[The Hindu]]'' called it a "turning point in Indian journalism" but ''The Indian Express'' criticised the methods used by the Tehelka team.<ref name=NYTDugger2>{{cite news|title=The Sting That Has India Writhing|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/16/world/the-sting-that-has-india-writhing.html?src=pm|access-date=24 November 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|date=16 March 2001|author=Celia W. Dugger}}</ref><ref name=investigation>{{cite web|title=Operation West End|url=http://hindu.com/2001/03/20/stories/13200341.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921055845/http://hindu.com/2001/03/20/stories/13200341.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=21 September 2013|work=[[The Hindu]]|date=2001-03-20|access-date=18 April 2013}}</ref><ref name=TGVancauwenbergheFrank>{{cite news|title=If you take a bribe, we'll nail you|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2001/jun/04/newmedia.mondaymediasection2|access-date=24 November 2013|newspaper=The Guardian|date=4 June 2001|author=Nadja Vancauwenberghe|author2=Maurice Frank}}</ref> Tejpal received death threats and was given police protection. His reporters said that their "extraordinary methods" were for the larger public and national interest.<ref name=TGIanBuruma>{{cite news|title=The story had hidden cameras, whisky parties and prostitutes: investigative journalism in India at its best|url=https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2002/jan/16/features11.g2|access-date=23 November 2013|newspaper=The Guardian|date=16 January 2002|author=Ian Buruma|author-link=Ian Buruma|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140613015449/http://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2002/jan/16/features11.g2|archive-date=2014-06-13|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=TGVancauwenbergheFrank/>

V. S. Naipaul held a news conference and met the then Deputy Prime Minister [[L K Advani]]. Naipaul told the media, "This thing that has happened to ''Tehelka'' has been profoundly disappointing to me, It comes from another era. It serves no purpose. It seems to me it will profoundly damage the country."<ref name=NYTWaldman>{{cite news|title=A Web Site in India That Revealed Graft Becomes a Target|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/13/world/a-web-site-in-india-that-revealed-graft-becomes-a-target.html|access-date=24 November 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|date=13 February 2003|author=Amy Waldman}}</ref> In 2004, the CBI registered cases against Jaitley, Laxman and others in the army and the Ministry of Defence. In 2012, Laxman was sentenced to four years in jail by additional sessions Judge Kanwal Jeet Arora for this case.<ref>New Delhi, 27 Apr 2012  [http://www.indianexpress.com/news/exbjp-chief-bangaru-laxman-convicted-in-fake-arms-deal-case/942351/0 "Ex-BJP chief Bangaru Laxman convicted in fake arms deal case"]. ''Indian Express''</ref> Author and journalist [[Madhu Trehan]] wrote a non-fiction book in 2009 on this incident, called ''[[Tehelka as Metaphor]]''.<ref name=IERoshan>{{cite news|last1=Roshan|first1=Nikhil|title=The write way|url=http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/the-write-way/429099/0|access-date=9 December 2014|work=The Indian Express|date=28 February 2009}}</ref>

==="The Truth: Gujarat 2002" (2007)===
{{main|The Truth: Gujarat 2002}}
In 2007, ''Tehelka'' released footage filmed over six months relating to the 2002 anti-Muslim riots in Gujarat. According to Uday Mahurkar writing in the ''India Today'', it showed "VHP activists, actual perpetrators of the crimes as well as government counsel boasting" they had a role in attacking the Muslim community during the [[2002 Gujarat violence]]. The report, called "The Truth: Gujarat 2002", was published in its 7 November 2007 issue and the video footage was shown on [[Aaj Tak]]. It said that the violence was possible because of approval by the state police, as well as the then Chief Minister of Gujarat [[Narendra Modi]].<ref name=ITMahurkar/>

The Tehelka report was based on allegations made during the undercover interviews. According to Mahurkar, efforts to corroborate the allegations suggest that it contains "boastful lies". For example, two interviewees claimed that Modi visited them in Naroda Patiya and thanked them, when official records of the chief minister Modi's movements show he did not.<ref name=ITMahurkar>{{cite news|last1=Mahurkar|first1=Uday|title=Gujarat: The noose tightens|url= http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/Gujarat:+The+noose+tightens/1/1716.html|access-date=17 December 2014|work=India Today|date=1 November 2007|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141207101903/http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/Gujarat:+The+noose+tightens/1/1716.html|archive-date=2014-12-07|url-status=live}}</ref> Similarly, another VHP activist stated in the Tehelka report that a police superintendent named Gadhvi was on duty and killed five Muslims in Dariapur during the riots. However, attempts to corroborate this Tehelka report claim failed as Gadhvi arrived in Dariapur a month later.<ref name=ITMahurkar/>

==Other notable sting operations==
*On 23 July 2009, when police in [[Manipur]] claimed they had killed a suspected militant who had shot at them, ''Tehelka'' released 12 photographs which showed the police pushing an unarmed person, who was their suspect, into a pharmacy and later carrying him out dead; thus, indicating it was a [[fake encounter]]. This report caused protests in Manipur, mainly against the power granted to security forces under the [[Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act|Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958]] (AFSPA). The police used [[tear gas]] and imposed a [[curfew]] against these agitations.<ref name=THSharma>{{cite news|title=The Other Half: Manipur, once more|url=http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/columns/Kalpana_Sharma/the-other-half-manipur-once-more/article7662.ece|access-date=7 August 2010|newspaper=The Hindu|date=18 March 2010|author=Kalpana Sharma}}</ref><ref name=TH1/>
*In 2010, ''Tehelka'' captured on camera, right-wing organisation [[Sri Ram Sena]] leader [[Pramod Muthalik]] and other members, agreeing to vandalise an art exhibition in exchange for money. The organisation was seen accepting {{INRConvert|10000}} as a donation from a ''Tehelka'' reporter, who posed as the artist wanting publicity.<ref name=TH2>{{cite news|title=Rama Sene chief, aides exposed in 'rent-a-riot' sting operation|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/rama-sene-chief-aides-exposed-in-rentariot-sting-operation/article429401.ece|access-date=24 November 2013|newspaper=The Hindu|date=14 May 2010}}</ref><ref name=ZN1/>

==Criticism==
''Tehelka'' has been criticised mainly for its [[investigative journalism]] which led to [[Journalism ethics and standards|the debate about its ethics]].<ref name=BBCKhare>{{cite news|title=India's Tehelka magazine faces uncertain future|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-25132987|access-date=4 December 2013|newspaper=BBC|date=30 November 2013|author=Vineet Khare}}</ref><ref name=BBCNorth>{{cite news|title=Tehelka's Tarun Tejpal: Sex scandal batters India's top investigative title|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-25055427|access-date=4 December 2013|newspaper=BBC|date=22 November 2013|author=Andrew North}}</ref><ref name=NYTKumar>{{cite news|title=Indian Editor Is Arrested in Assault of Employee|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/01/world/asia/indian-editor-arrest.html?_r=0|access-date=4 December 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|date=30 November 2013|author=Hari Kumar}}</ref> It has been accused of siding with the [[Indian National Congress|Congress party of India]].<ref name=BBCKhare/> After ''Tehelka'' got financial backing for its relaunch as a magazine, it was further accused of favouring the companies which supported "THiNK Fest" in spite of the magazine's previous anti-corporate stance.<ref name=NYTPolgreen/> ''Tehelka'' has denied these allegations.<ref name=BBCKhare/>

=== Private treaty: suppressing unfavorable reports ===
Raman Kripal, a senior editor of ''Tehelka'', accused the magazine of suppressing a report that was unfavorable to the Goa mining industry, allegedly because ''Tehelka'' wanted Congress-led [[Digambar Kamat]] state government's support for the Tejpal owned and profitable "Think Fest" event in Goa.<ref name=outlook122013/> Tejpal defended ''Tehelka'' stating that Kripal was "asked to leave because of poor performance".<ref>[https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tehelkas-goa-thinkfest-dogged-by-controversies/article5381110.ece Tehelka’s Goa ‘Thinkfest’ dogged by controversies], The Hindu (23 November 2013)</ref> According to Debarshi Dasgupta, it was an unusual coincidence that mining groups placed advertisements and sponsored ''Tehelka'' events just when the report was suppressed by ''Tehelka''.<ref name=outlook122013/> Further, states a critical article in ''The Outlook'', if ''Tehelka'' lost money in its operations, how was it able to acquire major properties in Goa? Given ''Tehelka'' purported goals and mission to fight for the public transparency, why did it secretly seek, misrepresent and receive a {{INRConvert|0.85|c}} grant from the Goa government for the 2011 private ''Tehelka'' event to invite movie stars and other celebrities. The ''Tehelka'' and its sting targets, states the ''Outlook'' magazine, seem to be a "ruse to expand personal wealth [of Tejpal]".<ref name=outlook122013/>

According to [[Sevanti Ninan]], a former ''Tehelka'' employee and later a columnist at the ''Mint'' newspaper, this was not an isolated event. ''Tehelka'' suppressed stories related to multiple sponsors. "Whenever there was a sponsor involved for Think Fest", states Ninan, "things would get murky for ''Tehelka'' and stories would be killed".<ref name=mint12022013>[https://www.livemint.com/Specials/T4IUPseQs1Ag6aYpSkJK4O/The-Man-in-the-Mirror--Tarun-Tejpal.html Tarun Tejpal: The Man in the Mirror], Cordelia Jenkins, Vidhi Choudhary, Shuchi Bansal, Mint (2 December 2013)</ref>

According to Maya Ranganathan, the post-Tejpal-arrest discussions and the critical examination of ''Tehelka'' have led multiple scholars to not only praise its early aim of being alternative mainstream non-conformist media, but recounted how it failed and how it allowed advertisers and those who paid to influence content published by ''Tehelka''.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Usha M. Rodrigues|author2=Maya Ranganathan|title=Indian News Media: From Observer to Participant |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2RqJCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA65 |year=2014|publisher=SAGE Publications|isbn=978-93-5150-158-9|pages=78–79}}, Quote: "The moral authority of the journalist to test integrity of others came into focus in discussions following the arrest of Tejpal. In the same breath that his contribution to journalism by way of 'alternative mainstream' that defied the tyranny of mediocre barriers of stasis and conformism was recalled, so also was the story recounted of Tejpal's inability to sustain it and how advertisers and the very corporate construct that Tehelka sought to expose were allowed to influence content (Bal 2013; Sengupta 2013; Shruthjith 2013; Simha 2013; Thakur 2013)."</ref>

=== Unpaid workers, amassing mountain estate ===
''Tehelka'' employees complained that they were not "even being paid their salaries regularly and many had to quit" in late 2000s and early 2010s, while at the same time ''Tehelka'' and Tejpal acquired "a swanky property near Nainital" and took "money from lifetime subscribers",<ref name=outlook122013/> or while the magazine's management visited London and boasted of their financial success.<ref name=mint12022013/> Similarly, the conflict of interest in the operations at ''Tehelka'' has been questioned because the magazine accepted money from Congress party's Kapil Sibal when he was a Union Minister.<ref name=outlook122013/>

=== Allegations of double standards ===
The former employees and journalists of ''Tehelka'' have criticized its founders and management for "lack of transparency" about the magazine's ownership, finances and who had been bankrolling their substantial annual losses.<ref name=outlook122013/> They have called the internal lack of transparency as something in stark contrast to the transparency it aims to share by publishing undercover sting operations on everyone outside of ''Tehelka''. The ''Outlook'' quotes a former employee of ''Tehelka'' summarizing this criticism as "they [Tehelka's management] said it’s their business to suspect people’s intentions but refused to let others question them. I doubt they even followed half of the strict rules they set for others".<ref name=outlook122013/>

=== Sexual assault case against Tejpal ===
The sexual assault allegations against Tejpal in November 2013 received intense public attention and invited the media scrutiny of ''Tehelka''. Tejpal's and Shoma Chaudhury's behavior immediately after the allegations emerged were seen as hypocrisy given ''Tehelka'' had previously published a special issue on sexual violence in India and highlighted victim's rights in February 2013.<ref name=NYTBarry>{{cite news|title=Editor in India, Known for Investigations Into Corruption, Is Accused of Rape|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/23/world/asia/editor-in-india-known-for-investigations-into-corruption-is-accused-of-rape.html|access-date=24 November 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|date=22 November 2013|author=Ellen Barry}}</ref> Within days of the sexual assault allegations, ''Tehelka'' emails and messages showed an attempt to "tarnish the victim's reputation".<ref name=outlook122013>[https://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/tehelka-the-big-think/288716 Tehelka: The Big Think], Debarshi Dasgupta, The Outlook (9 December 2013)</ref> According to Tunku Varadarajan, the rhetoric in ''Tehelka'' about women's right sounded hollow, and "Tejpal is, perhaps, just another unreconstructed, predatory Indian male who was playing the part of politically correct editor for commercial effect" at ''Tehelka''.<ref name=TDBVaradarajan/> Further, both Tejpal and his fellow Tehelka executive Chaudhury, "sought to minimize the damage by private treaty" with the victim, calling the assault as a "lapse of judgment", "awful misreading of the situation" and an "untoward incident", indicative of double standards in ''Tehelka'' for behavior that "carried a penalty of significant jail-time in the world outside Tehelka", states Varadarajan.<ref name=TDBVaradarajan/>

=== Ownership ===
As of 2013, ''Tehelka'' was running significant losses every year, and the Indian media questioned how and why these losses were being bankrolled by the industrialist and [[Trinamool Congress]] member [[K. D. Singh (politician)|K. D. Singh]] and his shell company Anant Media Private Limited and Alchemist group.<ref name="Tarun Tejpal's many businesses"/><ref name=ET_KKS>{{cite news|title=Will Tehelka's real owners please stand up?| url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/will-tehelkas-real-owners-please-stand-up/articleshow/26226176.cms|access-date=27 November 2013|newspaper=Economic Times|date=23 November 2013|author=Sruthijith KK}}</ref> The politician K. D. Singh has been accused of launching an undercover sting operation through an employee of ''Tehelka'' – Mathew Samuel – against politicians of his own party [[Trinamool Congress]].<ref name=lmint062017>[https://www.livemint.com/Politics/LsefeacrWFjRAQwCqr4VOJ/Mathew-Samuel-says-KD-Singh-funded-Narada-sting.html Mathew Samuel says K.D. Singh funded Narada sting], The Mint, Arkamoy Dutta Majumdar (8 June 2017)</ref><ref>[https://www.livemint.com/Politics/w857MuEba6xgj5yd0eZ2vO/Narada-sting-Kolkata-Police-files-criminal-case-against-TMC.html Narada sting: Kolkata Police files criminal case against TMC MP Kanwar Deep Singh], Live Mint, Arkamoy Dutta Majumdar (23 March 2017)</ref> Both Singh – the once majority shareholder of ''Tehelka'' – and his companies remain a target of serious fraud investigations including a ponzi scheme in West Bengal.<ref>[https://www.business-standard.com/article/markets/sat-gives-18-months-to-alchemist-infra-to-refund-money-113072300394_1.html SAT gives 18 months to Alchemist Infra to refund money], Business Standard (23 July 2013)</ref><ref>[https://www.business-standard.com/article/markets/sebi-bans-trinamool-mp-k-d-singh-from-market-115080500572_1.html Sebi bans Trinamool MP K D Singh from market], Business Standard (6 August 2015)</ref><ref>[https://www.timesnownews.com/india/article/ed-attaches-rs-239-cr-assets-in-ponzi-case-linked-to-trinamool-congress-mp-kd-singh/355365 ED attaches Rs 239-cr assets in ponzi case linked to Trinamool Congress MP KD Singh], India News (28 January 2019)</ref>

===Sting journalism===
After "Operation West End", ''Tehelka''{{'s}} "sting journalism" influenced the Indian media.<ref name=BBCBiswas/> Within five years, its news channels began to regularly feature [[sting operation]]s. Tejpal called it the "greatest tool of journalistic investigation and exposure" and that it was for public interest.<ref name=BBCBiswas>{{cite news|title=Sting journalism under fire|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6076040.stm|access-date=24 November 2013|newspaper=BBC|date=23 October 2006|author=Soutik Biswas |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131203053911/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6076040.stm|archive-date=3 December 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>

Inspired by ''Tehelka's'' method and the resulting national fame, a flood of sting and entrapment operations were increasingly "routinized as the corporeal edge of public life" in India, states Ravi Sundaram. These ranged from anticorruption exposés, political battles, domestic battles, propaganda material against opponents, publicity tool and to blackmail.<ref name="Sundaram 2015 pp. S297–S305"/> False claims, careless lies, speculative hearsay and doctored tapes purportedly in "public interest" were created and published to misrepresent the reality and to target opponents and innocent lives. Fabricated sting operations published by a media group, for example, accused a local school teacher of operating a prostitution ring which led to upset parents and violent riots.<ref name="Sundaram 2015 pp. S297–S305"/> In another case, a company's management hired a "sting journalism" team to gather evidence against its own workers. Concerned with the growing misuse of sting journalism, an Indian court ruled, "Sting operations showing acts and facts as they are truly and actually happening may be necessary in public interest and as a tool for justice, but a hidden camera cannot be allowed to depict something which is not true, correct and is not happening but has happened because of inducement by entrapping a person", according to Ravi Sundaram.<ref name="Sundaram 2015 pp. S297–S305">{{cite journal | last=Sundaram | first=Ravi | title=Publicity, Transparency, and the Circulation Engine: The Media Sting in India | journal=Current Anthropology | publisher=University of Chicago Press | volume=56 | issue=S12 | year=2015 | doi=10.1086/683300 | pages=S300–S304| s2cid=146192138 }}</ref>

According to Maya Ranganathan, the genre of sting journalism started by ''Tehelka'' in India has spawned 'entrapment journalism'.<ref name="RodriguesRanganathan2014p78"/> Unlike other countries such as the USA where 'sting journalism' is illegal, in India it is legal and has increasing led to "aims and means" where a sting journalist team presumes a group or ideology as corrupt, targets them through undercover operation to show them to be corrupt, and then plies them with promise of large bribes (financial reward) or social pressure till the resistance of the target cracks.<ref name="RodriguesRanganathan2014p78"/> The target succumbs to the entrapment and is captured in the moment of weakness by a hidden camera. The target may have no criminal intent to begin with, but was goaded into a criminal act by the "sting journalist". Though sensational and potentially destructive for the target, it does not serve the public interest.<ref name="RodriguesRanganathan2014p78">{{cite book|author1=Usha M. Rodrigues|author2=Maya Ranganathan|title=Indian News Media: From Observer to Participant |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2RqJCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA65 |year=2014|publisher=SAGE Publications|isbn=978-93-5150-158-9|pages=74–76, 78–79}}</ref>

Authorities and politicians demanded a sort of legislation over such "stings". Journalists against such sting operations, questioned the difference between this type of reporting and entrapment. Others questioned whether some subjects of the sting journalism were in public interest or a form of [[voyeurism]]. The [[Supreme Court of India]] expressed its concern over the cases of freelance reporters selling their sting reports, questioning whether their intent was for money or public interest. Cases of sting operations where fake evidence were given increased the court's criticism.<ref name=BBCBiswas/> Tejpal said, "there may be bad, motivated and indifferent stings - but that is no different from the rest of journalism".<ref name=BBCBiswas/>

==Awards==
* In 2007, ''[[The Guardian]]'' named Tarun Tejpal among the 20 who constitute "India's new elite" for being a pioneer in sting journalism.<ref name=TGGentlemen>{{cite news|title=Stars of India|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/nov/26/india.features3|access-date=23 November 2013|newspaper=The Guardian|date=26 November 2006|author=Amelia Gentleman}}</ref>
*In 2010, ''[[The Daily Beast]]'' named Shoma Chaudhury among the 150 in the list of "women who shake the world".<ref name=TDB1>{{cite news|title=See Who's Coming to Women in the World 2013: Speakers & Participants|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/03/05/see-who-s-coming-to-women-in-the-world-2013-speakers-participants.html|access-date=23 November 2013|newspaper=The Daily Beast|date=5 March 2013}}</ref>
* In 2010, ''Tehelka'' won the IPI India Award for Excellence in Journalism ([[International Press Institute]]) for its report on the fake encounter by security forces in Manipur.<ref name=TH1>{{cite news|title=IPI India journalism award to 'Tehelka'|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/article891866.ece|access-date=22 November 2013|newspaper=The Hindu|date=17 November 2010}}</ref>
* In 2011, ''Tehelka'' won the IPI India Award for Excellence in Journalism, which was shared with ''[[The Week (Indian magazine)|The Week]]'', for its report on the "rent a riot" tactics of the Sri Ram Sena (''The Week'' won it for its report on fake medical and dental colleges).<ref name=ZN1>{{cite news|title=IPI India journalism award to Tehelka, The Week|url=http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/ipi-india-journalism-award-to-tehelka-the-week_738006.html|access-date=22 November 2013|newspaper=Zee News|date=23 October 2011}}</ref>
* In 2012, Tushita Mittal, from the magazine's [[Kolkata]] bureau, won the Chameli Devi Jain award for Outstanding Woman Mediaperson for 2012 for her reports on interior [[Bengal]], [[Odisha]] and [[Chhattisgarh]] affected by [[Naxalite-Maoist insurgency|Naxal violence]].<ref name=BS1>{{cite news|title=Tushita Mittal of Tehelka gets Chameli Devi Jain award|url=http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/tushita-mittal-of-tehelka-gets-chameli-devi-jain-award-112031000027_1.html|access-date=22 November 2013|newspaper=Business Standard|date=10 March 2012}}</ref>
*In 2012, Jeemon Jecob, the South India bureau chief, was nominated for Statesman award (started by ''[[The Statesman (India)|The Statesman]]'' group) for rural reporting.<ref name=M1>{{cite news|title=Vinoy Mathew, Saji and Jeemon get statesman award|url=http://www.mathrubhumi.com/english/story.php?id=128245|access-date=22 November 2013|newspaper=Mathrubhumi|date=17 September 2012}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://tehelka.com/story_main.asp?filename=te013004our.asp Story of the birth, death and re-birth of ''Tehelka'']
* [http://www.mediaethicsmagazine.com/index.php/browse-back-issues/135-fall-2008/3643813-operation-west-end-a-case-study-in-media-ethics Operation West End: A Case Study in Media Ethics]

{{Newspapers in India}}
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