I would welcome more info on Morarji Desai if you can provide it, Ravi, because frankly I can't make head or tales of Desai's record, aims and character based on his Wikipedia entry, e.g., on the one hand, his record sounds inspiring and progressive: "He spent many years in jail during the freedom struggle and owing to his sharp leadership skills and tough spirit, he became a favorite amongst freedom-fighters...." And: "He is the only Indian to receive the highest civilian awards from both India and Pakistan, namely the Bharat Ratna and Nishaan-e-Pakistan."
OTOH, his record sounds anything but positive: "By Desai's orders in 1960, a peaceful demonstration by the Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti was fired upon by the police resulting in the deaths of 105 demonstrators. Many innocent people were killed in the incident leading to public outrage that shook the central government. ... As Home Minister, Desai outlawed any portrayals of indececy (which included 'kissing' scenes) in films and theatrical productions. Although a staunch Gandhian, Desai was socially conservative, pro-business, and in favor of free enterprise reforms, as opposed to Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's socialistic policies."
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morarji_Desai>
In any event, here's some NY Times coverage of Desai's suit against Hersh:
-------------------------------------------------------------------- October 7, 1989 U.S. Journalist Cleared of Libel Charge by Indian By DAVID MARGOLICK
LEAD: A jury in Chicago ruled yesterday that Seymour M. Hersh, the investigative journalist, did not libel former Prime Minister Morarji Desai of India when he described him as a paid informer for the Central Intelligence Agency.
A jury in Chicago ruled yesterday that Seymour M. Hersh, the investigative journalist, did not libel former Prime Minister Morarji Desai of India when he described him as a paid informer for the Central Intelligence Agency.
After six hours of deliberations, the jury held that Mr. Desai had not shown that Mr. Hersh's assertion was false, or that it was written with reckless disregard for the truth. To win a libel suit, a public figure must show not only that the offending statement is false, but also that the writer either knew it to be false or did not care whether it was true or not. The verdict came six and a half years after the former Indian official filed his $50 million suit against Mr. Hersh in Federal District Court in Chicago.
In his 1983 book, ''The Price of Power: Kissinger in the Nixon White House,'' Mr. Hersh wrote that Mr. Desai, India's Prime Minister from 1977 to 1979, received $20,000 a year from the C.I.A. during the Johnson and Nixon administrations in exchange for information on Indian foreign policy and domestic politics. Mr. Hersh based his claim on information supplied by six confidential sources.
Mr. Desai, now 94 years old, had called the accusations ''sheer madness'' and ''a scandalous and malicious lie.''
Mr. Hersh, who had heard lawyers for Mr. Desai accuse him of fabricating notes, writing filth and blackening the reputation of one of Gandhi's proteges ''with the stroke of a pen,'' was jubilant after the verdict was announced.
''This is an amazing decision,'' Mr. Hersh said.
Mr. Desai, who has remained in Bombay during the trial, was not available for comment. His principal lawyer, Cyriac D. Kappil, of Chicago, said he was displeased by the verdict and was contemplating an appeal. Mr. Kappil complained that various evidentiary rulings made it impossible for him to rebut Mr. Hersh's charges.
The judge, Charles R. Norgle Sr., ruled that while Mr. Hersh must testify about his sources, he need not identify them. In addition, because the C.I.A. is not required to open its books, Mr. Kappil was unable to question anyone in its employ. ''We just had to take Mr. Hersh's words for it that he talked to someone,'' Mr. Kappil said.
With Mr. Desai too ill to travel, much of his case consisted of videotaped deposition testimony, taken in Chicago in 1984 and 1985. In addition, his lawyers subpoenaed former Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger, who testified that he knew nothing of Mr. Desai's alleged connections to the C.I.A. That contradicted Mr. Hersh's book, in which he wrote that Mr. Kissinger was highly pleased to have a source of Mr. Desai's stature on the agency payroll, and playfully chastised C.I.A. officials elsewhere for failing to recruit Cabinet-level informers in their countries. ''The verdict showed that the jury did not believe Henry Kissinger on the critical issue of the case,'' Mr. Hersh said yesterday.
''What this court said today,'' Mr. Hersh maintained, ''is that a reporter like me can write a story based on confidential sources - even to the effect that a former Prime Minister of India had been a C.I.A. asset - then not be compelled to identify those sources, and still have a jury of six people who don't know him or anything he writes conclude that what he wrote was true.'' Mr. Hersh's case lasted only a few hours, and consisted largely of playing additional portions of Mr. Desai's deposition and introducing a few exhibits. Mr. Hersh, who won a Pulitzer Prize for uncovering the My Lai massacre in the Vietnam War, never took the stand.
One of Mr. Hersh's lawyers, Michael Nussbaum of Washington, called the ruling ''a very important illustration that even a person as prominent as Morarji Desai cannot intimidate an American journalist entitled to his First Amendment protections.''
''This case took six and a half years, and its very pendency had a chilling effect,'' Mr. Nussbaum said. ''We believe we have taught those who would chill the rights of Mr. Hersh and those like him that they cannot prevail.''
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Carl
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