Statement by N. Ram, Editor-in-Chief, The Hindu,
16 October 2008
"On behalf of our 130-year-old newspaper, its 3528 employees,
and four million readers, I wish to strongly condemn the illegal
acts of mischief and violence in Coimbatore and Erode by
activists of the pro-LTTE fringe group calling itself the
Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam (PDK) along with a handful of
anti-social elements.
"These unruly and illegal acts were an expression of
intolerance of the newspaper's criticism of pro-LTTE and
pro-Eelam chauvinism in the Tamil Nadu political arena. In our
considered editorial assessment, these chauvinistic,
pro-separatist tendencies are deeply inimical to the interests
of the Indian people.
Hearteningly, the overwhelming majority of
the people of Tamil Nadu, who do not want a replay of the
propaganda campaigns and violent activities of the terrorist
Tamil Tigers in one of India's most peaceful States, firmly
oppose these chauvinistic tendencies. This is evidenced, among
other things, by the fact that, post-1991, even the small
pro-LTTE parties have not dared campaign on a pro-LTTE platform
in any State or general election.
"The latest act of mischief and violence against our
newspaper occurred around 5 a.m. on Thursday, October 16 at the
Erode Bus Stand. A group of about half a dozen persons raising
pro-LTTE slogans invaded the point of distribution, assaulted
the person in charge of this distribution point, indulged in
filthy slogans and threats, distributed hand bills extolling the
LTTE, snatched 2400 copies of The Hindu and 390 copies of
Business Line, doused them with petrol, and set them on fire.
Thanks to the vigilance of our staff and the outrage of hawkers,
two of the culprits were apprehended on the spot. The police
have registered a case at the Erode Town Police Station under
Sections 147, 323, 294(b), 285, 427, 506, and 506(i) of the IPC
and arrested the leaders of the group, Kumaragurubaran, 42,
district organiser of the PDK, and M. Jayakumar, 30, of the
'Tamil Desiya Podhu Udaimai Katchi.' The police are on the
look-out for the other culprits.
"Earlier, on Tuesday, October 14, there were two incidents
targeting our Coimbatore office on LIC Road. Some activists of
the lawyers' group of the PDK demanded that The Hindu
reverse its editorial stand against pro-LTTE and pro-Eelam
chauvinism, burnt some copies of the newspaper, and attempted to
march to our office.
The police effectively prevented them from doing so, thus
preventing possible violence, and registered a case under
Sections 143 (unlawful assembly) and 285 (negligent conduct with
regard to fire or combustible matter) of the Indian Penal Code.
The second incident, involving about ten persons, including
PDK activists and law college students, was more serious. The
group marched towards The Hindu office in Coimbatore, two
persons sneaked through the police cordon, and tried to scale
the iron gate and force their way past our staff and security
personnel. One of them hurled a stone, which fortunately caused
no injury or damage. The police arrested ten persons, who were
later released on bail, and registered a case against this group
under Sections 147 (unlawful assembly), 285, 447 (criminal
trespass), 336 (act endangered life or personal safety of
others), and 506 (i) (criminal intimidation) of the IPC.
"While we are satisfied with the response of the police in
Coimbatore and Erode to these criminal acts – which constituted
a threat to the physical safety of our journalists,
non-journalistic staff, and others working for us, and to
freedom of expression, guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a) of the
Indian Constitution – we would like the police as well as the
Tamil Nadu Government to take stronger action under the law of
the land against the extremist fringe outfits and the
individuals, including lawyers, behind these illegal acts.
"We expect the police and the State government to monitor and
pursue seriously the prosecution of these cases, so that
exemplary punishment under the law of the land is meted out to
those who menace freedom of expression in the cause of a banned
terrorist organisation."
