MANEKA GOES TO TOWN WITH BEDROOM PHOTOS
Dr. Jai Maharaj
By Vijaya Sharma
The Hindustan Times
Sunday, December 22, 2002
In 1978, Surya magazine editor Maneka Gandhi shocked the
nation by publishing the photos of Defence Minister
Jagjivan Ram's son making love to a Delhi University
student.
The nine self-timed photos, which Suresh Ram, 40, took as
he copulated with Sushma Choudhry, were snatched from his
car and passed on, among others, to journalists including
Gandhi and National Herald Editor Kushwant Singh.
Singh, who was also helping Gandhi in editing the
magazine, thought the photos were explicit. Recently he
recalled: "If the Kamasutra has 64 poses, that one
certainly had 10."
Gandhi, however, felt that she could make a political
killing for her mother-in-law, Indira Gandhi, by
publishing them. The Indira Gandhi-led Congress was then
fighting to win back power from the Janata Party
Government in which Jagjivan Ram was a top minister.
So, at the risk of running into obscenity and privacy
laws, the photos were put up for printing with orders to
the staff to show all but the most objectionable parts.
"We had to use a lot of tape," Singh remembered.
Indeed, when the magazine hit the stands, reactions were
intense and varied:
Surya sales climbed. Maneka Gandhi had to order at least
three reprints to meet the demands for its copies.
Reprints of the original photos found their way into the
market. In New Delhi's Chandni Chowk, copies of the
photos were sold for Rs 50. Photo discounts were offered
to well connected at New Delhi's Tis Hazari session
courts …Price: Rs 25. In Bombay, some businessmen even
used them as sales incentives… buy one and get one free!
The journalist community was in a tizzy. Though the
photos made it to the private collection of many
reporters, at work none of them was willing to be seen
with the photos. (At Hindustan Times, an extreme crop of
the photo was used to tell the Surya story. The photos
were bought from the market and kept with the office
administrator in strict confidence. Later, the photos
were "removed from the office without leaving a trace".)
The publication sparked off massive debates, especially
on journalistic ethics and breach of privacy.
The biggest fallout was, however, political. Jagjivan
Ram, who was tipped to be the next prime minister, stood
politically crushed.
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The Hindustan Times
"The Kamasutra has 64 poses, this one certainly had 9. We
had to put tapes on strategic body organs"
- Khushwant Singh, journalist, writer & political analyst
The pics were taken by Raj Narain to Morarji Desai who
saw them and remarked in disgust: "Kya hai yeh. Ise le
jao mere saamne se"
"Both father and son often shared the same women between
them"
- Khushwant Singh, journalist, writer & political analyst
"We are not criminals.We are social activists and we are
Charan Singh's men"
- K. C. Tyagi, general secy Janata Dal who discovered
the photos from Suresh Ram
"An emissary came from Jagjivan Ram's office with a
message: Mr Ram says he will dump Morarji bhai and join
IG if the photos are not published. Mrs Gandhi said:
First ask him to dump Morarji"
- Khushwant Singh, journalist, writer & political analyst
"The pictures are totally uninhibited and pornographic.
They do not seem to be taken under duress"
- The court ruling in response to Suresh Ram's claim
that the pics were taken under duress
"We had done our homework well. We knew the photographs
were in the car!"
- K. C. Tyagi, general secy Janata Dal who discovered
the photos from Suresh Ram