86-Year-Old At Heart Of Indian Political Sex Scandal
Narayan Dutt Tiwari does not have the look of a Lothario. He does not strut or swagger; he is not sleek or lean.
Age has left its mark on his round, baggy face and crumpled frame.
Yet accounts of his sexual escapades have stunned India: Tiwari is 86 years old.
Few outside India had heard of Tiwari until recently, when a local TV channel aired a video that appears to show him in bed with three young women.
The video astonished many Indians, partly because of Tiwari's age but mostly because he happens to be governor of one of India's largest states — Andhra Pradesh, in the south. Or rather, he was the governor. This week, as the scandal raged around him, he resigned.
America has a long history of outing public figures who stray from the straight and narrow, be they presidents, talk show hosts, or — as Tiger Woods has discovered to his cost — golf champions.
Not so in India. The country has more than 1.1 billion people. Many are still very poor, with far more to worry about than the sexual adventures of their leaders.
Surveys show the public does not generally have high expectations for its politicians, who are widely seen as corrupt. Hundreds of Indian state and federal lawmakers are facing criminal charges, including some cases of murder, kidnapping and bribe-taking.
Until now, sex scandals involving politicians in India were rarely publicized, no matter how widely known the antics were.
That may now be changing, thanks to Tiwari's alleged frolicking and also to the intensifying competition among India's proliferating TV news channels.
The Tiwari video instantly made headline news. It became an overnight hit on YouTube. The media embarked on a heated debate about the significance of the octogenarian's purported sex romps and the manner in which they were exposed.
One TV channel devoted an entire half-hour to the issue. A panel of pundits raised many questions: Should India demand a far higher standard from its public figures? The post of state governor is widely seen as a form of political patronage, a job handed out as a reward for loyalty or favors.
Has the scandal damaged India's national government? Tiwari is a senior figure in the ruling Congress Party, which is now squirming with embarrassment.
Should India's gung-ho TV news channels be in the grubby trade of peddling political sex scandals?
India has no shortage of hard-line religious extremists, and it has a strong conservative streak. But, paradoxically, it also has a proud tradition of tolerance. Will that change if the private sex lives of India's leaders are seen as fair game by the ratings-hungry media?
As for Tiwari, some reports suggest he is the victim of a sting after failing to keep a promise to hand out a mining lease.
The scandal has erupted at a difficult time for his erstwhile state, Andhra Pradesh, which includes the city of Hyderabad, an IT hub and showpiece of India's economic rise. Hyderabad has recently been paralyzed by strikes and protests calling for India's government to fulfill a commitment to carve out a new state in northwest Andhra Pradesh.
Tiwari has conceded that he did entertain women at his government headquarters, but he said they were only "official delegations."
He and Congress Party officials insist the video was fabricated, in an attempt to defame him, and that he resigned on health grounds. Despite the outcry, the scandal has won Tiwari some new fans, evidently impressed that age has yet to wither the former governor.
"An 86-year-old in an orgy?" said one comment posted on the Web this week. "How marvelous!"
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MADELEINE BRAND, host:
David Letterman, Tiger Woods - we've certainly had our share of sex scandals in America last year. But the exploits of those two celebrities pale in comparison to the allegations now leveled against a political leader from India, as NPR's Philip Reeves reports in his latest letter from New Delhi.
PHILIP REEVES: He really doesn't have the look of a lothario. He doesn't strut or swagger. He's not sleek or lean. Age has left its mark on his round and baggy face. Yet accounts of this man's sexual escapades have caused a mixture of outrage and amazement in India. His name is Narayan Dutt Tiwari. He's 86 years old.
Few outside India had heard of Tiwari until 10 days ago. That's when a local TV channel aired a video that apparently shows him in bed with three young women. The video astonished many Indians, partly because of Tiwari's age, but also for another reason: Tiwari happens to be governor of one of India's largest states, Andhra Pradesh, in the south - or rather, he was the governor. Last week, he resigned.
America has a long history of outing public figures who stray from the straight and narrow, be they presidents or golf champions. India does not. It has more than 1 billion people, many of them still very poor, with much else to worry about. They don't generally have high expectations of their politicians. Legislators here are routinely accused of murder, kidnapping and bribe-taking. Sex scandals involving politicians are rarely publicized, no matter how widely known.
That attitude may now be changing, though, thanks to Tiwari's alleged frolics. The Tiwari video instantly made headline news. It was an overnight hit on YouTube. The media embarked on a debate about the meaning of the octogenarian's purported sex romps. The pundits found much to talk about: Should India demand far higher standards from its public figures? The post of state governor is widely seen as a form of political patronage, a job handed out as a reward for loyalty or favors. Has the scandal damaged India's national government? Tiwari's a senior figure in the ruling Congress Party. The party is squirming with embarrassment.
Other questions focus on the media. Should India's gung-ho TV news channels be in the grubby trade of peddling political sex scandals? India has no shortage of hard-line religious extremists and is socially conservative. But paradoxically, it also has a proud tradition of tolerance. Will that change if the private sex lives of India's leaders are seen as fair game by the ratings-hungry media?
As for Tiwari, some reports suggest he's the victim of a sting after failing to keep a promise to hand out a mining lease. He concedes he did entertain women at his government headquarters, but only official delegations. He and his party insist the video is fabricated and that the only reason he's resigned is on health grounds. He's actually won a few new fans.
We should be proud of this man, said one comment posted on the Internet. It added, I hope I'll do the same when I'm 86. Philip Reeves, NPR News, New Delhi.
STEVE INSKEEP, host:
Today in Dubai, residents will be marveling at the world's tallest building. We've been hearing about financial troubles in Dubai but today, it celebrates the formal opening of the Burj Dubai skyscraper: a swimming pool on the 76th floor, a mosque on the 158th floor, and 169 floors altogether. The chief engineer on this project says he experimented, adding one floor after another to see how high he could go. The building is approximately 2,700 feet tall, which is more than twice the height of the Empire State building, although the exact height is secret, or may be unknown.
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INSKEEP: This is NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.
