“The Americans have a great word for me -loser” – In conversation with Sucheta Dalal

In the first of “The Reporters” series, we speak to Sucheta Dalal, an Indian journalist who was awarded the Padma Shri in 2006. In a career spanning close to three decades, Sucheta Dalal has covered the fast-changing world of Indian business. .Although she won accolades for her coverage of the Harshad Mehta stock market scam, Sucheta Dalal has been at the forefront of a number of investigations into the financial world. .“The only thing I wanted to do was get out of that small town.”.And boy did she..The daughter of a doctor with a transferable job, Sucheta Dalal found herself studying in small towns all over Karnataka. Aching to hit the big city, she finally landed a job at the President Hotel, working in the housekeeping department. It was a well-paying job (“we got three bonuses a year”) but it wasn’t where her heart lay..“I wasn’t clear what I wanted to do. I was doing a journalism course, studying law and working at the same time. When I decided to become a journalist, I decided that I would continue with my law while focusing on business journalism.”.It proved to be a decisive move, in more ways than one..“Studying law gave me a systematic grounding into at least what the law is. Look, it gives you a grounding. Most people, journalists or otherwise, don’t even know what a tort is, or what is jurisprudence, what your rights are in the larger framework.”.Most people, journalists or otherwise, don’t even know what a tort is, or what is jurisprudence, what your rights are in the larger framework..Studying law at KC College (“a place where attendance was not a problem”), Sucheta Dalal ended up with a Masters in corporate and international law from Bombay University..In the meanwhile, after a short stint at Fortune India, she moved to Business Standard..She would spend four and a half years there, working at “one of the best papers” of that time..“Business Standard had a very different way of collaborative working – we used to be very proud of the fact that we broke most of the stories in Bombay. Except all the big ones, say like from the Tatas, which would be given to the Economic Times. Those we would not get.” .Breaking stories, with very poor financial renumeration..“The salary was really low. And everybody’s salaries were really low. You were there because you believed in a mission and all that.”.The salary was really low. And everybody’s salaries were really low. You were there because you believed in a mission and all that..By the time she completed her LL.M., Sucheta Dalal had moved to the Economic Times, and then to the Times of India. A few months later, the Harshad Mehta scam broke..“Of course, after that there was no looking back. There was no question of changing to law. By then, I was on the rollercoaster. And enjoying it.”.She may have enjoyed it at that time, but now there is a definite reluctance to speak about the scam. Questions are initially met with cynicism, (“Did anything change? Did it stop anyone?”) but it soon becomes evident that those were some exciting days..Of course, when she first started working on the scam story, even Dalal was unaware of the true extent of the scam, and the players involved..“Debashish [co-author and husband] and I were meeting people at ten, eleven in the night. We met Harshad Mehta’s brother, Ashwin at twelve midnight. I remember driving there, when suddenly [Debashish] says, “What is wrong with us? These guys probably hate us, and we are just going to their house!”.My brother was staying with us at that time. We had told him, “If we don’t come back at three, then you panic” (laughs). I told Debashish, “No drinking even water over there!”.They gave [us] glasses of coke. And finally I was so thirsty, I said forget it, might as well drink. Because it was quite clear that they were not going to poison us or something..No Sheena murder mystery happening there!”.And this was not the first meeting of its kind. Nor the only one..“We met all kinds of people in all kinds of situations. When you look back, it seems great fun, but I think we were quite lucky that nothing happened to us.”.As the larger picture emerged, Dalal’s sources moved up the ladder. Soon, she was speaking with the “head of a government institution” (she refuses to give more details)..This individual’s house was being observed by the CBI (“the CBI was watching everybody”), and his phones were tapped..How did Dalal manage to speak to him?.“We had this little Maruti which we would drive into one of the lanes near his house. He would go for an evening walk, and would then jump into our car. We would drive around talking. And then would drop him back into one of those lanes, and he would walk back home.”.Some sources, like the one who decode all the information, would meet Sucheta Dalal in the northern suburbs of the city..“We would drive to Malad, sit in some nondescript restaurant and he would explain how things would happen. And then he would drive us back, sometimes at three in the morning. So it was hard work, okay. No one was looking at the clock.”.She punches, and punches hard. You can see it in the way she writes; you can certainly see it in the way she speaks. Be it those who broke the law or those who are supposed to enforce it, Sucheta Dalal calls it like she sees it..One story that is particularly close to her heart (“the most bizarre story I ever wrote”) revolved around one Dinesh Dalmia and the DSQ Group. In 2001, Dalal wrote about how Dalmia’s company (“amazing in its brazenness”), claimed to have acquired the US-based company Fortuna Technologies..The acquisition was in violation of a number of listing guidelines. Worse, it later turned out that the acquisition had never actually taken place..Soon enough, Dalmia fled to the US, but Dalal continued to write about DSQ Software. It was around this time that Dalal found one of her most valuable sources yet. Communicating largely through an anonymous e-mail account, this source provided an incredible amount of information. And then another source, and then another..At one point of time, Sucheta Dalal even knew Dalmia’s travel plans. A few months later, a US-based journalist would write to Dalal..“I get a cryptic one line mail saying, “I read your stories about Dinesh Dalmia. Can I talk to you?”.He turned out to be the investigative journalist, Christopher Byron of the New York Post. He was just investigating who was taking over this company called Aegis. And so he discovered all my writing, because he found out that there was this guy called Dalmia behind it. .We collaborated. So I would take care of the India end for him, and he would check out on the US angle. We would exchange mails all the time.”.Eventually, with US regulators closing in on him, Dalmia returned to India. Soon enough, Dalmia was arrested by the Delhi police. And although he had secured anticipatory bail, he was then picked up by the Calcutta police. Which was where the matter ought to have ended..Except it didn’t..This is where Dalal’s disappointment with mainstream media really comes into play..“[These] stories were in some way disappointing because I could stop nothing. I would keep writing to expose the scams. But what happened in the stock market scam? The cases are still going on. What happened in Stock Holding? I lost my job.”.Prod her about the state of the India media and you get Sucheta Dalal at her abrasive best; completely unwilling to take the politically correct stance..“I am saying that the day there is a story that is being broken that is carried by four big news channels you can bet that there is a very powerful person behind it who has paid that supari. Who is calling up those four channels and ensuring that the story appears?.I may break a story tomorrow but if it is an independent journalistic job, not one person is going to carry it. But if it is orchestrated by somebody powerful, that is when it will become a big story.”.I may break a story tomorrow but if it is an independent journalistic job, not one person is going to carry it. But if it is orchestrated by somebody powerful, that is when it will become a big story..Her words are not really that surprising. Sucheta Dalal has long since been a vocal critic of traditional media. Part of the problem, she writes, is the opaque ownership and funding patterns..“You look at the people who get funding – they are either ideology driven or agenda driven. If I actually became a hard right winger, then I would certainly get funding and support. But I would no longer be an independent journalist then because I would have to keep quiet about all the things that they do. I would have to write stories targeting the Left or the Congress or whatever. I would become a PRO, not a journalist.”.At Money Life, founded by her husband and co-author Debashish Basu, Dalal also provides financial advice..Subscription-based financial advice..“Debashish and I are constantly flummoxed at what is happening in our society. You have Google that is free, you have all these Olas and Ubers that are giving you rides at less than half the market price…So no person is satisfied with what you put out, they want more..And nobody wants to subscribe. We have a Rs 99 per month subscription that allows you complete archive access. But you know how many people want to pay that ninety-nine bucks? In fact the number of nasty comments we get about “Why would you tweet about premium products?” .I mean what is wrong with this country, where you will pay 5,000 for a dinner but not paying 1,000 for a subscription that will give you correct information?”.I mean what is wrong with this country, where you will pay 5,000 for a dinner but not paying 1,000 for a subscription that will give you correct information?.It is a fascinating, if slightly cynical, insight into the current state and future of media..“The Americans have a great word for me – “loser”. And it is correct. That is the truth..You could say I am stubborn, [that] I am stupid for continuing to do what I do. Okay a few hundred people may say they have great respect [for me], but other than that it is all bullshit. They are just words.”.For all the bluster and cynicism, Sucheta Dalal remains an activist at heart. She enjoys slugging it out, of taking on the Goliaths, and she refuses to bow down. Recently, the National Stock Exchange took Money Life to court on allegations of defamation. While hearing an interim application, the Bombay High Court imposed costs of 50 lakh on the bourse..Evidently, something keeps her going..“We have around us a bunch of activists. There is this guy who has lost both his legs – he has spent his life working for railway passengers who could not give a shit. He is a dasvi (tenth grade) pass who has filed two PILs, knows the RTI backwards. If he can do it, we are nothing.” .She pauses for a minute, and the feistiness disappears for a brief moment..“Perhaps it is too late to change. Perhaps we don’t want to change.”