In 1994, when 18 women journalists decided to set up a space exclusively for their ilk, then prime minister P V Narasima Rao appreciated the idea and offered them a quaint, white bungalow in Lutyens’ Delhi’s Ashoka Road – 900 metres away from a building housing the male-dominated Press Club of India.

No male journalist has so far been allowed as a member of the Indian Women’s Press Corps, where the only permanent male, according to an article in the Indian Journalism Review, “is said to be a date palm from Canary Islands”. “Journalism is not an easy profession for women. In those days, the Press Club of India was basically a watering hole where journalists ate and drank. When we set out to establish the IWPC, the idea was to set up something different from the PCI. It was to help women journalists network with newsworthy people, hold panel discussions, and find a sisterhood amongst each other,” explained journalist Coomi Kapoor, who was one of the 18 founding members.

But nearly three decades later, much seems to have changed with outstanding dues, an eviction notice, a dip in activity due to the pandemic, and unprecedented polarisation, as the IWPC prepares for its annual election scheduled for April 16 – after a Covid-induced gap of two years.

Even the election – held every April since 1999 for the posts of president, two vice presidents, general secretary, joint secretary, treasurer and 21 managing committee members – is unmatched this time, according to several members who spoke to Newslaundry on the condition of anonymity.

Usually, there are two panels of nominees that contest but this time there are three: “Left-leaning”, “centrist”, and a “new, pro-government third front”. And while these panels, or groups of candidates that contest together like parties, do not want to identify themselves through ideological differences, privately, all members that Newslaundry spoke to clearly acknowledged these political leanings.

“The stakes have never been higher. It is being fought like a state or national level election this time,” said T K Rajalakshmi, four-time president and senior IWPC member.

Coomi Kapoor explained that during the first few years, elections were very civilised. “Back then, it was a pehle aap, pehle aap type of contest. There were no panels and we didn’t even have enough people to contest.”

Emerging differences

Membership is of three kinds – regular, associate and corporate. Currently, the IWPC has over 900 members, of which 699 are regular and active working journalists. A 100 other associate members are part-time journalists, and among the nearly 25 corporate members are the public relations officers of Reliance Industries Limited, Hans Publications, Steel Authority of India and more.

The members of the IWPC insist that unlike the press club, it is a corps: not just a place to eat but also to network, pick up skills and find support. While the PCI is registered as a company under The Companies Act, the IWPC is registered under the registrar of society act as an NGO. The funds are raised through an annually released souvenir which allots space for advertisement. “Our policy is that we take ads from anyone except fair and lovely and alcohol companies,” said a journalist.

Despite over 600 regular members, only 300-350 votes are cast every year. “But this year, because of the kind of differences, I think we might see more voters,” said a reporter.

Asked what these differences were, members and candidates said they had more to do with political beliefs than “proximity to power”. “Proximity to politicians doesn’t do much for the IWPC but if this proximity influences your political ideology and you start making this non-political body function as a mouthpiece for certain parties, then the entire essence of the IWPC will be lost,” said a reporter.

This time, senior journalists Sushma Ramachandran, Shobna Jain and Poonam Dabas are heading the three contesting panels: dubbed “centrist”, “Left-leaning”, and “pro-government”, respectively, by several journalists who spoke on the basis of anonymity.

Jain is part of the incumbent panel while the Dabas panel is seen as the new entrant. A candidate contesting from the Dabas panel, told Newslaundry that the need for the third front was felt because “there is a need for transparency and changes within the IWPC”.

Sushma Ramachandran also reiterated the need for an overhaul. “It’s time to get the institution back on track”, stated her panel’s manifesto.

Two incidents, many differences

Asked why anonymity was being requested by journalists who spoke to Newslaundry, the common responses were: “I don’t want to create any controversy” or “I don’t want to get into trouble with any senior journalists here”.

Initially, when asked what kind of changes are necessary, most IWPC members pointed out a dip in activities due to the pandemic, and the need to “revive the liveliness” of the space through “more fun interactive sessions”. But speaking more privately, the tensions ran deeper – differences seemed to arise over two incidents from last year that have become a polling issue.

The first incident took place on July 24, 2021 when the IWPC hosted Khawaja Maaz Tariq, the outgoing press attache of the Pakistan High Commission. Back then, Sandhya Jain, a member of the IWPC had told India News that the get-together “was planned in a very secretive manner”. Sections of the media even went on to call the event a “Pakistan-ISI conspiracy”.

The second poll point is the eviction notice sent by the directorate of estates, under the housing ministry, asking IWPC to pay its outstanding dues of over 30 lakhs, with immediate effect. Sections of the media attributed the notice to the hosting of the Pakistani official – the IWPC has hosted multiple dignitaries such as then Pakistani foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi in the past.

“This must never happen again,” read a WhatsApp message sent by a member of the Dabas panel, on the IWPC group, referring to the controversial event while listing out their manifesto. It said that Haryana CM M L Khattar, who had agreed to visit the IWPC, changed his venue because of the gathering.

“During that time, the Indian government was not in a good relationship with Pakistan. We were shocked that this even happened at our press corps,” said a journalist part of the Dabas panel.

However, T K Rajalakshmi, said that, “Their (Dabas panel’s) position on this issue reflects their own political position…We’re not at war with Pakistan…Neither is there a government order that we should not interact with Pakistani officials.” But she said that “we could have definitely thought through” if it was necessary to host an outgoing official”. She said it will be a pity if the panel that gets voted in starts functioning along lines of political ideology. “Soon journalists themselves will start calling each other anti-national or other names and the situation will become reflective of what’s happening in the country.”

Another journalist, who supports Sushma Ramachandran, said the idea of hosting officials is to network with them. “An outgoing official is not of much use. So there definitely wasn’t any need for that event.”

Founding member Coomi Kapoor referred to the event as “perfectly innocent”. “Certain people mischievously twisted and misinterpreted this event with clear political motive”.

However, the journalist from the Dabas panel further pointed to the eviction notice to show the lack of financial transparency within the IWPC. “This lease issue is a big issue. Why are things not more open? What if the central government tomorrow decides that IWPC will be part of the central vista project? Who should be held responsible for this mismanagement?”

The notice, sent by the directorate of estates under the housing ministry, asked the IWPC to pay outstanding dues of over 30 lakhs with immediate effect. The same week, the housing and urban affairs minister Hardeep Puri told the Rajya Sabha that the IWPC was among nine NGOs, trusts, memorials and social organisations that together owed the government Rs 1.40 crore.

However, Vineeta Pandey, the current president of the IWPC, called the notice a result of a “communication gap”. Supporting this, Rajalakshmi said that the outfit had not been notified when the rent had been enhanced. “We continued to pay the same rent every month but suddenly we were told that the rent has increased and we have not paid dues. That’s what happened. We have always been diligent and open.”

Meanwhile, Sushma Ramachandran, said they have included the issue of the lease in their manifesto. “This land is given to the club on a one-year lease. Before the lease expires, the ministry has to write a letter, but due to the negligence of the present panel, the government got an opportunity to take back the land from us.”

Then there is, what many allege, a selective raising of issues.

Most of the journalists that Newslaundry spoke to at IWPC said the polarisation within the association began post 2014 when the Narendra Modi government came to power.

While a candidate from the Dabas panel said it would not be correct to refer to them as “right leaning”, she said the current “Left-leaning” panel discriminates in the way press releases are constructed. “When a journalist died in Haridwar, the current IWPC panel refused to issue any notice…But when journalists are attacked in Bengal, they immediately start issuing notice after notice.”

The manifesto of the Dabas panel also pointed to the inaction on part of the IWPC when Anuj Gupta, a Sudarshan staffer, was kidnapped and killed in 2019 in Bihar. “We will stand for journalists regardless of alleged ideology.”

Shobna Jain said this is “the first time three panels are contesting so we are termed as Left but before this there was no Left, right or centre”.

However, a member of Sushma Ramachandran's panel agreed to the allegation about the press release. “There was concern over the fact that we had not issued a statement in support of Arnab Goswami in 2020 after he was attacked simply because he was working for Republic. It was only after the concern was raised, we issued a statement.” But she said the IWPC WhatsApp group is now being flooded by the “Hindutva” third front. “Their ideology is very extreme and not good for the corps. The corps should take a stand on this.”

Coda

While the IWPC defines itself as “India’s first association of women journalists”, its members are largely Delhi-based – its busiest hour is during lunch when reporters on ground who don’t want to go all the way back to office come and rest or work at the library.

All IWPC members that Newslaundry spoke to emphasised that the point of the IWPC is to offer a professional and emotional safe space for women reporters. Aditi Tandon, who has been an IWPC member since 2008, said electoral differences do not mean personal differences. “We always go back to being friends.”

Nevertheless, women reporters who did not want to be named and are not part of the IWPC, said that not all’s well in the (sister)hood. “I never felt the solidarity when it was needed,” said a reporter.

During instances where they were slapped with criminal or civil cases, intimidated, sexually harrassed on field or within news rooms, they said that the IWPC did not reach out and many times did not even issue a statement. “I was at a point where any support was welcome. But to me they are like an invisible group. They are not really active on ground so what’s the point?” said one journalist.