I called Mid-Day and asked for an editor, anybody really, not knowing where to start. I actually got through to a human by the name of Rajeshwari. I didn't hear from anyone till about 1.00PM, so I called again and left another message for Sachin, who had gone out for lunch. He actually called back around three and after introductions, during the conversation, checked out the article in question and my site. Vanity raised its head and I asked him to credit the article to me.
Plagiarism is the act of literary theft, the stealing of someone's ideas or work.
The plagiarizer therefore is nothing but a thief. Unfortunately, the law and society in general, especially in India, do not treat thieves who steal material objects such as cars, wallets and jewelry and thieves who steals ideas and words in the same manner. The former are typically prosecuted and jailed, but nothing much happens to the latter. As far as I am concerned, if a thief should go to jail for stealing a wallet, Mrudula by the same token should be behind bars for stealing the article. But that will never happen, simply because our society values tangibles more than intangibles.