A Conversation With: Former Political Editor of Open Magazine Hartosh Singh Bal Hartosh Singh Bal, the political editor of Open magazine, announced on Wednesday that he had received a letter of termination. It was the second high-profile sacking within the Indian media in the space of a month; in late October, Siddharth Varadarajan resigned as editor-in-chief of The Hindu, an influential daily newspaper, when the paper's owners told him he would be replaced. In Mr. Varadarajan's case, it became clear that disputes over political coverage had been simmering under the surface. His replacement told reporters that political bias had crept into the paper's coverage under Mr. Varadarajan, saying that the news desk had been under orders not to run stories about Narendra Modi, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party's candidate for prime minister, on the front page. Mr. Varadarajan disputed the allegation. Mr. Bal said that his letter of termination offered no reason for the decision, but that the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, which owns the magazine, had offered him generous severance pay in exchange for leaving quietly. He also noted that his departure had been preceded by the publication of an article sharply critical of both Mr. Modi and of Rahul Gandhi, the vice president of the ruling Congress Party. India Ink spoke to Mr. Bal about his departure from Open magazine and the pressures the Indian media has encountered in covering this election cycle. This news follows closely on the heels of the sacking of The Hindu's editor. Do you think there are parallels between these two situations? Look, there is a great lack of transparency in what happens within the media. I can speculate about what has happened; I know I have done a certain series of articles. They were well received. I have not received any feedback from within the publication that anything I have done was problematic. Then I hear I should leave the organization. My editor says he opposes the decision. My publisher says he opposes the decision. What happened can best be answered by the management of this group. Who owns your magazine, and do they have a political allegiance? Not as far as I know directly. The current chair's father was part of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation and was an M.P. [member of Parliament] in the Congress government. Whether this chairman has the same political leanings, I have no idea. This can best be answered by the management. Did you ever get explicit guidance on how to cover politics? On a large scale, in Indian media, it is quite common. It hasn't happened here. I made it quite clear that I would not accept anything like that. Whether there was any communication between the editor and owner, that can best be answered by the editor. Which is more dangerous to write about, Congress or Modi? Good question. If I knew what the precise reasons were for the ownership to ask me to leave, I could give you a better answer. I have written enough that would not be pleasant for either. In my case, one thing I will tell you is that everything I've written has gone through an editorial process. If they felt there was a problem, there should have been a discussion between the editor and owner. From what he specifically told me, he doesn't even support it. He did make it quite clear to me that he would not support a termination or be party to it. I can't speak for him personally. If I have reporters under me writing stories that go through me, and if somebody were to question them and ask me to remove them from the organization, they'd have to go over my dead body. Do you feel betrayed? Everyone has to make their own call. I know what my own call would be. Do you think that your colleagues are under pressure for the same reasons? This is a particularly divisive and important election in this country, and I think the role the media plays is very, very important. I do think that overall there is an attempt to stifle voices which are independent. I have never seen the media so divided within itself, taking sides, being so partisan, even when it is clear where the funding and support is coming from. Did this happen in earlier election cycles? I am sure there must have been a certain kind of pressure. The ability to influence media, the attempt to do so - that is changing rapidly. I think it is worse now. There's a kind of fixation on managing elections, which influences both Congress's and B.J.P."s approach to this election. Managing the media is a big part of that. This interview was edited for length and clarity.