http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:TarPmsXn5MgJ:ashokbanker.com/2010/06/12/falling-down-a-goliath-named-david/+A+Goliath+Named+David&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/davidar-forced-out-of-penguin-canada-amid-sexual-harassment-suit/article1601132/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-T2qtEu9e5o

The Justice system will take care of this one way or another. But it’s sad because if L. Rundle is correct, Davidar ruined his life, the life of the victim, Davidar’s wife’s life, his career, etc.

Sexual harassment is pernicious, and predators do not wear their behavior on their sleeves. I have no reason to disbelieve Ashok Banker’s post — and I appreciate it, actually. I don’t find it at all problematic because it is a raw statement of what he noticed. Nilanajana, on the other hand, sounds like a typical letter of recommendation, generic in her praise. She comes across as tribal in her defense/ It’s more like a “save the face of publishing, Indianness,” etc. that is an undercurrent in her post.

The reality is that if Rundle did not have evidence of the emails, etc., David would have never been fired so summarily. It is obvious that Penguin protected him for years. There is a reason why they are suddenly dropping him.

If even half of what Rundle is alleging is true, then Davidar should be sent to share a cell with Alexandar Jon. Scum like these men dominate Indian film, music, fashion industries. Now it is evident that they dominate the publishing world as well.

My heart goes out to the millions of Indian women who do not have cultural or legal protection against sexual harassment.

I find it hard to believe Banker is lying, since the incident in question involved a meeting that presumably could be collaborated by other witnesses. Jyotsana’s comparison of this to when Banker was “one of those better off South Bombay kids” who somehow managed to never live in South Bombay and allegedly threw himself at women doesn’t hold, since he didn’t throw himself at women who worked for him. Unless you’re Rand Paul or Bill Clinton, that’s a critical distinction. It certainly is for the law.

I don’t know Banker personally but from what I know of his biography/life and opinions that is in print here and there, I had long ago decided that he is my hero among all Indian writers in English (that I don’t know personally) and among all Indian upper middle-class youth that had to survive dysfunctional and outside-of-the-norm personal histories. The way I see it, he has nothing to lose anymore; so he can afford to be different and brash in every which way. To me, he is refreshing as it is a very small, homogeneous Indian English writer/publishing world out there.