March 4, 2004
Kairali Channel Joins Hate Campaign Against Kerala Monitor
Comrade P M Jabir claims KM is a communal portal
News channel reporter replaces new monitor in maligning KM editor
Kairali Channel, one of the most popular Malayalam news channels from Kerala, has accused Keralamonitor.com (KM) of being a "communal website" spreading negative reports about the fate of 55 Indian workers who are denied basic right by the Arab employer. The Kairali TV reporter from Muscat Mr. P M Jabir, who had no other option but to correct his earlier misleading report glorifying the Indian Ambassador Talmiz Ahmed and embassy officials about the fate of 55 Indian workers stranded in front of the Indian Embassy in Muscat, was trying in an irresponsible way to settle a personal grudge using the channel and thus divert public attention from his close links to the business tycoons who have been disturbed by KM. Mr. Jabbir made a partisan, unwarranted and perverted comment that Gulf Malayalis are concerned that a " website run by a communal association" in Muscat is giving misleading reports. Even if the channel has not named the website, the report is clearly about Keralamonitor.com and the reference is about KM report.
Despite the fact that KM has been a secular media engaged in a protracted campaign against corruption and malpractice in various places including communal groups, Kairali Channel has reported that it is a "communal site". This report is a continuation of the protracted hate campaign conducted through various media, which alleged among other things that KM and its editor are on the pay roll of the Indian Embassy (when the former ambassador K M Meena was in Muscat).
A similar report in a website created exclusively to malign the journalist made interesting reading "Journalist being paid money to write favorable stories." The website report said quoting an unnamed Indian in Muscat ". I know for sure that a prominent KM journalist working for a leading daily Newspaper in Oman is being paid money from embassy to write anything/everything as asked by the embassy. The money is regularly paid to the journalist out of the embassy funds earmarked for various discretionary expenses. The journalist is literally on the "Pay Roll" of the embassy. What a shame that a journalist who is labeling corruption charges against others is himself not above board. Same old story - never practice what you preach"
Now Kairali channel has joined the hate campaigners who were working overtime to malign the journalist along with the former Indian ambassador K M Meena. Earlier they accused the portal as a "joint venture" between K M Meena and Kerala Monitor. Some Hindu religious groups accused KM of getting money from International fundamentalist groups. While all the above campaign has been carried out covertly with the same motive of demoralizing KM, the latest report from Kairli channel has in fact made the public identify clearly as to who was behind such a protracted campaign against KM. Thank you Kairali channel's Muscat reporter Jabbir to come out of the artificial veil and saying it openly! Cler Jabbir was part of the covert campaign against former ambassador K M Meena, journalist V M Sathish and Keralamonitor.com. Now the Indian community in Oman can identify the brain behind the perverted hate campaign against V M Sathish, Keralamonitor and the former ambassador K M Meena. It is an open secret that despite his Mr.Jabbir has been working for the coterie of business tycoons and in the case of workers problem, he was trying to project a positive image of a diplomat whose loyalty is very clear. The diplomat was brought to Muscat with a special mission to help two business groups. Jabbir's loyalty to the big business is an open secret.KM E qual Distance Policy from Communal Groups
Whether it is the Church, the Hindu Association or the Muslim fundamentalist groups, KM has been keeping an equal distance. Our regular visitors have been seeing KM from the beginning, highlighting various problems facing common people in the gulf. Everyone except the Kairali channel reporter would believe that KM has been a strong secular medium. The Kairali report is to be seen as the latest verbal attack on Keralamonitor.com (KM) and its founder editor V.M.Sathish, a reporter of the Oman Daily Observer, recently terminated from service under the influence of a group of big business houses and communal associations. Some social associations and the so-called social workers like Mr.Jabbir have been running a smear campaign to malign the journalist and the website. It is to be noted that the portal has been engaged in a concerted campaign against corruption and malpractice in the Indian Schools, the Indian Embassy, sex trafficking, visa racket and other crimes against common people. Many people with vested interests, including Mr.Jabbir, have been working overtime to serve certain business group's interest. These groups have been annoyed by the free and frank reports published in KM about Indian Schools (Click for details)
It is unfortunate that a reputed channel like Kairali, which definitely stands for the working class and media freedom is misused by the same business lobby through Mr. Jabbir to malign the personality of a journalist who has been victimized through a concerted hate campaign in the last three years. This media campaign through Kairali comes at a time when KM editor has been removed from his job with the Oman Daily Observer due to the influence of big business groups in Oman viz the Galfar Group the Khimji Ramdas group. Senior Indian Embassy officials have been part of the smear campaign against the portal and its editor. Jabbir has shown his association with this coterie of tycoons. KM has been an irritant to the local tycoons and their cronies who enjoy maximum clout over local newspaper editors and reporters. Mr.Jabbir's hate campaign is the continuation of a covert campaign against KM through various mediums including a website resembling keralamonitor name. (Church Discussion) More on Church PCO Pays more than PDO Discuss Discussion forum More Discussion forum
" Keralamonitor.com is a communal website because it has reported about an illegal association in Muscat linked to the SNDP," Jabber says. Well KM has reported about various associations including the Kerala Wing. Going by his logic, anyone can accuse Deshabhimani or Kairali channel as communal because they also carry pictures and news about RSS/BJP leaders. Kairali channel can call us communal if KM blindly accepts the ideology and practices of any particular group. I challenge the entire team of Kairli channel and the CPM intellectuals to prove that KM is a communal website. Except Mr.Jabbir's personal ego and grudge against KM and its editor for reporting an unpleasant story, the communal angle to KM is just a fiction. More
Read what KM has written --
- http://www.keralamonitor.com/sndpnadesh1.html
- http://www.keralamonitor.com/sndpnadeshan.html
- http://www.keralamonitor.com/pcopdo.htm
- http://www.keralamonitor.com/churchpco2.html
While every journalist in town has been praising the rich and famous who are immune from any criticism, whatsoever, KM has reported many stories without showing any fear or favour. These included special reports about Kanaksi Khimji, and Galfar Mohammed Ali, both winners of Pravasa Bharathi Awards. KM was the only medium to report about the interrogation of Khimji family members for alleged financial crimes. It was again KM, which reported the Central Bank restrictions on lending to the Galfar group, which has been facing tight liquidity. Naturally their anger against the portal is reasonable. In most cases journalists like Jabbir used to remain silent or use the channels as public relation agents for the tycoons. It is a shame that both the Asianet and Kairali channel operations are controlled from the Galfar board room. Several members of the ISC Kerala Wing have been agitated against his not so secret deals with the Galfar group, especially appointing the private secretary of Galfar Mohammed Ali as a leading member of the ISC Kerala Wing Management Committee.
Mohammed Ali Zindabad! Jabbir more concerned about the business groups than the man on street
Mr.Jabbir has been a personal friend of Keralamonitor.com editor for at least the last five years. Hi "communal angle report" about KM was just to divert public attention from one of the several mistakes that he has done against the interest of ordinary Indians in Oman. By glorifying the Indian ambassador and other community leaders, Jabbir is continuing a long tradition of serving the interest of big business groups. The Kairali channel report about KM (unnamed website) was apparently in response to a Kerala Monitor report .which said among other things that the Channel and other sections of the media glorified Indian Ambassador Talmiz Ahmed and his juniors, without any reasoning. After KM reported the story, many comrades and members of the Indian community were agitated about the role of media in covering up real problems. Well, KM spirit is not dampened by this unprofessional reporting by Mr.Jabbir who has been skeptical about keralamonitor.com and its editor from day one. Initially he used to call it a "Manja Pathram" (Yellow Journalism) and later on realized its growing popularity.
"Those who are not with us are against us" is apparently the class struggle formulae adopted by comrade Jabir, whom we respect as a responsible social worker. KM while criticizing some of his actions and inaction, is aware of the strong group rivalry within the ISC Kerala Wing and discontent among a section of ISC Kerala Wing membership about his leadership. Jabber has been accused by several club members of taking partisan stand in favour of big business houses in Oman, especially the Galfar group, which are obviously working against the interest of the workers, ordinary middle and upper middle class citizens, which the club represents. It is unfortunate that a progressive party is infected with self-proclaimed proletarian leaders who work secretly with the business tycoons. He has been cleverly using the Kairali channel for serving the vested interest of big business in Oman. Rather than looking into what Jabber has reported, one should look at what he was not reporting. His silence about the Indian School controversy and the campaign against the former ambassador K M Meena, and his love for the Galfar group are not a secret any more. ( to be continued - Editor Keralamonitor.com)
Why People Leave ISC Kerala Wing ? Story behind the Ponnada? -- Watch this space.
How the Indian tycoons look public through Indian Schools
Converting Public Institutions into Private Schools - the Story of Indian School Al Ghubra.
CBO Examines bank's exposure to Construction Group' headed by NRK Tycoon
DUBAI - The Central Bank of Oman (CBO) which regulates the banking sector in Oman has advised all leading commercial banks to report their total credit exposure to a diversified Construction Company with operations in Oman, Qatar, Brunai, India and other Gulf countries. The company is headed by a prominent Non Resident Keralaite businessman with strong political contacts . The CBO advise came as a precaution to prevent the recurrance of earlier bank frauds precipitated by the Ali Redha Group, a trading company which dupedvarious banks to the tune of 50 million Rials. Some cheques issued by the Construction group bounced and the apex bank started a due diligence procedure to prevent the reurrance of Ali Redha episode. The gropup which employs nearly 4,000 workers in various prestigious building projects has been facing sever liquidity problem, as the payment for completed projects is delayed and banks almost stopped Overdraft facility More
