Tata Tapes controversy
Encyclopedia
The "Tata Tapes" controversy was a political scandal
in India that was the culmination of a series of allegations of anti-national conduct levied by the then Chief Minister of Assam
, Prafulla Kumar Mahanta
, against the Tatas - their company Tata Tea
in particular. The controversy erupted when journalist Ritu Sarin of the Indian Express broke a story that involved the illegal tapping of the telephone calls of business tycoon Nusli Wadia
and published, on October 4-5 1997, transcripts of the telephone conversations he had with Keshub Mahindra
, Field Marshal Sam Maneckshaw, then Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament Jayant Malhoutra and Ratan Tata
about Tata Tea's problems with the Assam Government.
(ULFA) was extremely active in Assam, and had been extorting money from tea companies to fund its activities. That most companies were paying up in fear was a well known fact. But Tata Tea never did, and this was confirmed by ULFA Commander-in-Chief Paresh Baruah
in an interview published by Rediff.com
, though according to Baruah, they did pay a ransom of INR
ten million in 1993 to secure the release of their regional manager Bolin Bordoloi from the clutches of another banned terror outfit - National Democratic Front of Bodoland
, something Tata Tea executive director S M Kidwai denied.
During 1997, the ULFA and Bodo militants were involved in many terror attacks and other militant activities, the biggest ones being the failed assassination attempt by ULFA on Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta
, head of the government of Assam formed by the Asom Gana Parishad
(AGP) party, and the murder of social activist Sanjay Ghose
by ULFA. And this last incident received wide publicity and focused attention on the deteriorating law and order condition in Assam, threatening the very survival of the Mahanta government; his previous government had been dismissed in 1990 in similar circumstances.
Before the assembly elections that brought the AGP back to power, Mahanta had visited Calcutta to raise funds for his party, and the tea companies had not responded well to the demand; Tata Tea in particular had refused to pay.
50,000 was paid by Tata Tea. The company said that it was not aware of Deka's identity, something Baruah confirms, and that the expenses were borne under a special medical aid scheme they had initiated in 1997 for the people of Assam.
The Assam police interrogated Tata Tea executives SS Dogra (General Manager), SN Kidwai (Executive Director), and Krishna Kumar (Managing Director), and arrested Dogra for "for aiding and abetting unlawful activities of the banned organisation ULFA and knowingly conniving with those who are waging a war against the state." Since Gogoi had accompanied Deka, the police were also looking for him. Gogoi had been to Harvard on a study trip and checked into a company guest house in Calcutta after returning to India on September 6, when he came to know that he was wanted by the police, and on September 11, shifted to Hotel Rutt Deen where he registered under his own name. A couple of days later, Tata Tea officials became aware of an Interpol alert issued for Gogoi. On September 15, Tata group head Ratan Tata, and Tata Tea head Krishna Kumar met Chief Minister Mahanta in Delhi, and told him that Gogoi was abroad. Noted criminal lawyer Ram Jethmalani
wrote a letter to Mahanta confirming the same-
On September 16, Gogoi admitted himself into the Woodland's Nursing Home in Calcutta, and contacted Tata Tea on the 18th. He surrendered to the police on the 24th.
The identity of the persons involved in tapping Wadia's telephones remained a mystery. The Central government denied it had anything to do with it - the Intelligence Bureau works under the Home Secretary - Padmanabhaiah. He demanded a probe into the illegal phone tapping and said in a telephonic interview to the Indian Express-
And the Indian government ordered a probe into the matter.
Political scandal
A political scandal is a kind of political corruption that is exposed and becomes a scandal, in which politicians or government officials are accused of engaging in various illegal, corrupt, or unethical practices...
in India that was the culmination of a series of allegations of anti-national conduct levied by the then Chief Minister of Assam
Assam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
, Prafulla Kumar Mahanta
Prafulla Kumar Mahanta
Prafulla Kumar Mahanta was the leader of the Assam Movement, a former Chief Minister of Assam and belongs to the Asom Gana Parishad , a major political party in the Indian state of Assam...
, against the Tatas - their company Tata Tea
Tata Tea
Tata Tea Limited, also known as Tata-Tetley, is the world's second largest manufacturer and distributor of tea. Owned by India's Tata Group, the Tata Tea Limited markets tea under the major brands Tata Tea, Tetley, Good Earth Teas and JEMČA...
in particular. The controversy erupted when journalist Ritu Sarin of the Indian Express broke a story that involved the illegal tapping of the telephone calls of business tycoon Nusli Wadia
Nusli Wadia
Nusli Wadia is an Indian Parsi entrepreneur, a textile magnate and an important person in the real-estate business. He is the son of Neville and Dina Wadia. His mother Dina Wadia is the daughter of Muhammad Ali Jinnah....
and published, on October 4-5 1997, transcripts of the telephone conversations he had with Keshub Mahindra
Keshub Mahindra
Keshub Mahindra is the Chairman of the Mahindra Group, including Mahindra & Mahindra Limited. As per Forbes Mar 2011 rankings, Keshub Mahindra has networth of $615 Million and is ranked #82nd richest person in India. Keshub Mahindra is uncle of Anand Mahindra...
, Field Marshal Sam Maneckshaw, then Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament Jayant Malhoutra and Ratan Tata
Ratan Tata
Ratan Naval Tata is the present chairman of Tata Sons and therefore, Tata Group. Also, he is one among the few in the world...
about Tata Tea's problems with the Assam Government.
History
In the 1990s, the banned terror outfit United Liberation Front of AsomUnited Liberation Front of Asom
The United Liberation Front of Asom is a separatist group from Assam, among many other such groups in North-East India. It seeks to establish a sovereign Assam via an armed struggle in the Assam Conflict...
(ULFA) was extremely active in Assam, and had been extorting money from tea companies to fund its activities. That most companies were paying up in fear was a well known fact. But Tata Tea never did, and this was confirmed by ULFA Commander-in-Chief Paresh Baruah
Paresh Baruah
Paresh Barua is a rebel leader, born in 1957 at Jeraichakali Bhariagaon, Assam, India. He is the Acting Vice Chairman and Commander-in-Chief of the rebel group ULFA....
in an interview published by Rediff.com
Rediff.com
Rediff.com India is a news, information, entertainment, and shopping portal. It was founded in 1996 as "Rediff On The NeT" and is headquartered in Mumbai, India with offices in New Delhi and New York City, USA....
, though according to Baruah, they did pay a ransom of INR
Indian rupee
The Indian rupee is the official currency of the Republic of India. The issuance of the currency is controlled by the Reserve Bank of India....
ten million in 1993 to secure the release of their regional manager Bolin Bordoloi from the clutches of another banned terror outfit - National Democratic Front of Bodoland
National Democratic Front of Bodoland
The National Democratic Front of Bodoland, also known as NDFB or the Bodo Security Force, is a terrorist outfit which seeks to obtain a sovereign Bodoland for the Bodo people in Assam, India. The founder of the organization, Ransaigra Nabla Daimary, alias Ranjan Daimary has been arrested and...
, something Tata Tea executive director S M Kidwai denied.
During 1997, the ULFA and Bodo militants were involved in many terror attacks and other militant activities, the biggest ones being the failed assassination attempt by ULFA on Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta
Prafulla Kumar Mahanta
Prafulla Kumar Mahanta was the leader of the Assam Movement, a former Chief Minister of Assam and belongs to the Asom Gana Parishad , a major political party in the Indian state of Assam...
, head of the government of Assam formed by the Asom Gana Parishad
Asom Gana Parishad
Asom Gana Parishad is a state political party in Assam, India. The AGP was formed after the historic Assam Accord of 1985 when Prafulla Kumar Mahanta was elected as the youngest chief minister of the country...
(AGP) party, and the murder of social activist Sanjay Ghose
Sanjay Ghose
Sanjoy Ghose was an Indian rural development activist known for his pioneering contributions to community health and development media...
by ULFA. And this last incident received wide publicity and focused attention on the deteriorating law and order condition in Assam, threatening the very survival of the Mahanta government; his previous government had been dismissed in 1990 in similar circumstances.
Before the assembly elections that brought the AGP back to power, Mahanta had visited Calcutta to raise funds for his party, and the tea companies had not responded well to the demand; Tata Tea in particular had refused to pay.
Pranati Deka's arrest
On August 23, 1997, Pranati Deka, central committee member and cultural secretary of ULFA was arrested with her baby at Mumbai's Santa Cruz airport along with two accomplices. A visiting card belonging to a senior Tata Tea executive was recovered from one of the accomplices. According to the police, Brojen Gogoi, a senior manager with the Community Development and Social Welfare wing of the company, had accompanied Deka to Mumbai for child-birth, and the cost of medical treatment and lodging - amounting to INRIndian rupee
The Indian rupee is the official currency of the Republic of India. The issuance of the currency is controlled by the Reserve Bank of India....
50,000 was paid by Tata Tea. The company said that it was not aware of Deka's identity, something Baruah confirms, and that the expenses were borne under a special medical aid scheme they had initiated in 1997 for the people of Assam.
The Assam police interrogated Tata Tea executives SS Dogra (General Manager), SN Kidwai (Executive Director), and Krishna Kumar (Managing Director), and arrested Dogra for "for aiding and abetting unlawful activities of the banned organisation ULFA and knowingly conniving with those who are waging a war against the state." Since Gogoi had accompanied Deka, the police were also looking for him. Gogoi had been to Harvard on a study trip and checked into a company guest house in Calcutta after returning to India on September 6, when he came to know that he was wanted by the police, and on September 11, shifted to Hotel Rutt Deen where he registered under his own name. A couple of days later, Tata Tea officials became aware of an Interpol alert issued for Gogoi. On September 15, Tata group head Ratan Tata, and Tata Tea head Krishna Kumar met Chief Minister Mahanta in Delhi, and told him that Gogoi was abroad. Noted criminal lawyer Ram Jethmalani
Ram Jethmalani
Ram Jethmalani, : राम जेठ्मलानी,: رام جيٺملاڻي born 14 September 1923, in Shikharpur in Sindh, British India) is an Indian lawyer and politician. He has served in various posts such as Union Law Minister and Chairman of Bar Associations...
wrote a letter to Mahanta confirming the same-
On September 16, Gogoi admitted himself into the Woodland's Nursing Home in Calcutta, and contacted Tata Tea on the 18th. He surrendered to the police on the 24th.
The "Tata Tapes"
The tapes that Ritu Sarin accessed contained conversations between Nusli Wadia and many political and industrial heavyweights, and showed that the Tatas were trying to get the central government to intervene in their problems with the Assam Government. Mahanta had met the Indian Prime Minister I K Gujral and had complained to him about the Union Home Secretary K Padmanabhaiah's interference in the matter. The tapes also seemed to suggest that the Tatas knew Gogoi's whereabouts (he had stayed at the company guest house before moving to a hotel and then a nursing home) and had lied to the Assam government about not knowing his location. But that was denied by the group as also Ram Jethmalani.The identity of the persons involved in tapping Wadia's telephones remained a mystery. The Central government denied it had anything to do with it - the Intelligence Bureau works under the Home Secretary - Padmanabhaiah. He demanded a probe into the illegal phone tapping and said in a telephonic interview to the Indian Express-
And the Indian government ordered a probe into the matter.
Aftermath
The United Front government at the Centre collapsed in November 1997, and Mahanta made peace with the tea industry but lost the state elections in 1998.Further reading
- Who's Who in the Tata Tapes controversy
- "I said please do something...I won't tell a soul about it" (Transcripts of Wadia's conversations with Sam Maneckshaw and Ratan Tata)
- The Lost Children of India