JAM's resident Deep Throat reports from St Stephens where a controversy, which may not be as big as Watergate, is making news ...
For a week, all Saas-bahu soaps took a backseat. Thanks to the media, this became the mother of all reality shows, as intense as the Survivor series, more gripping than Desperate Housewives, and more unpredictable than KBC-2.
On August 18th, Dr. Anil Wilson, principal of Delhi's prestigious St. Stephen's College resigned owing to differences with the chairman of the college's governing body, the Supreme Council, Bishop Karam Masih. The dispute was reportedly over the admission of the daughter of a prominent Chandini Chowk citizen. Dr. Wilson turned down the bishop's "request" and resigned in the face of growing pressure.
It made headlines around September 1st, when a senior teacher leveled serious allegations against the principal. The matter threatened to divide the college into two factions. The anti-Wilson lobby, however, failed to gather any significant support from within college.
For an 'elitist' college which prefers staying away from all media hype, it was fairly surprising the way this issue made headlines. Almost all the elements of the print and electronic media swarmed the campus. Between classes, students could bump into prominent faces from news channels. Signature campaigns were started in support of Dr. Wilson and posters were put up. Then one day, a daily announced that it was all over for Wilson and came up with the names of five supposed frontrunners for the post of the...
next principal.
The end was as melodramatic as the beginning. At 3:30pm on 8th September, Bishop Karam Masih and Dr. Anil Wilson addressed a joint press conference from the famous Andrews Courts of the college and announced that Wilson was to stay. They praised each other and exchanged bouquets and sweets.
The amicable solution prevented any harm being done to the image of this 125-year old institution. Dr. Sangeeta Luthra Sharma, college registrar of societies, welcomed the move as did most of the teachers and students. "Dr. Wilson has done a lot for the college and we want him to stay", said Aditya, a student.
The whole episode brings two issues to the forefront. One is the amount of pressure such institutions face during the admission season and the other is the national media's fascination with an issue as trivial as the resignation of a college principal. Why did this episode hog prime time space the way Vajpayee - Advani divide did? A leading national reporter wrote in her column in The Times of India, that the high places in media and in the national political and social circles are so full of Stephenians that it is extremely difficult to avoid such stories.
No matter how much we keep scoffing at St. Stephen's for being elitist and snobbish, the truth is that whenever there is a story involving the high and mighty, everyone wants to join in the fun and be a part of the story; the press included.
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