SANKARSHAN THAKUR INTERVIEW - Wednesday 25th July, 2007
GEORGE NEGUS: Sankarshan, could we pick your media brains,
how big a story is the detention of Mohamed Haneef in India?
SANKARSHAN THAKUR, EXECUTIVE EDITOR, TEHELKA: It is a huge
story,
actually. It's been on the front pages since Dr Haneef was arrested in
one way or the other. It has opened up a lot of inward thinking in
India about what might be happening. The Prime Minister and senior
members of government have so far been wearing this fact like a badge
that, despite having the second largest number of Muslims in the world,
next to Indonesia, India has not exported a single member into the
terror network. But that's gone now and I think that's opened up a
whole lot of introspection in government, in the media, in the
intelligentsia in society at large.
GEORGE NEGUS: So that being the case, they're seizing on
anything at
all related to Mohamed Haneef, But what has been the reaction to him in
particular? Is he as big a story as the Glasgow bombers for instance?
SANKARSHAN THAKUR: Well, listen Dr Haneef is being seen in a
very
different light from the Glasgow bombers, Kafeel in particular. I think
of the firm impression of his is that he is innocent, he's claimed his
innocence from within custody. But I think the impression that India
has received is that this man is not getting access to a fair trial
and, you know, and a fair look from the authorities. His wife has been
on television almost every night. I saw her last night as well, it was
a very emotional statement she made and she kept reiterating that "My
husband is not a terrorist, he's never believed in a fundamentalist
sort of Islam that's believes in violent jihad etc etc," and she is
getting a audience here, I have to say.
GEORGE NEGUS: Right. How significant is it that the Prime
Minister
himself, Prime Minister Singh, actually felt obliged to get involved
very early in the peace and has remained involved, and has been saying
all sorts of, if you like, a better way of putting it, noises about the
situation without getting himself into trouble the Australian
Government?
ANKARSHAN THAKUR: Well, I think, you know, it's a very
ticklish
situation and I think the Prime Minister did have to make the
statements that he made because he is talking to the domestic
constituency as well as to the international constituency, more than
terror it is the communal divide in India that could get ruptured again
in various places. And I think the political establishment, including
the Prime Minister, rightly perceived that as a danger. And I must make
the point here that I think when the Prime Minister spoke about not
tarring nations or communities to the international community I think
he was very clearly, without stating that, he was very clearly saying,
"Look, do not bracket India with, say, a country like Pakistan." And I
think that difference is justified because although Indians have been
found to be, well, part of the Glasgow bombing, the difference between
India and Pakistan is that nobody is coming into India, at least so far
as the evidence suggests, nobody is coming into India to get trained
and picked up, indoctrinated into committing terror attacks elsewhere
in the world, whereas that is very positively happening in Pakistan.
GEORGE NEGUS: Our Prime Minister said that he was not
uncomfortable
with Mohamed Haneef's detention "and I don't see any rift," he says,
"developing in relation to this matter with India". Is there a danger
that this could seriously affect our relations?
SANKARSHAN THAKUR: We know where your Prime Minister stands on
various
global issues he stands very closely with Mr Bush on the war against
terror and I think as a conservative politician, he has made statements
that most people expected him to make. I don't suppose Dr Haneef's
detention is big enough to you know create, you know, a schism in
Indian-Australian relations, but I do think that the Australian
Government needs to be well, it's not, I'm in no position to say this,
but it needs to be, it needs to handle the situation fairly delicately.
GEORGE NEGUS: Sankarshan, it's good to talk to you. It's a
shame we
don't have more time but if need be we'll get back to you because I
think the story is going to stay with us for quite a while. But thanks
for your time.
SANKARSHAN THAKUR: Thank you very much.
GEORGE NEGUS: Sankarshan Thakur, the executive editor of
'Tehelka',
there in New Delhi.