Electronic Research Journal of Literature, Volume 2 (2020)

www.erjliterature.com

Emerging Issues Related to Validity and Reliability: A Case Study

of Vivek Agnihotri’s “The Tashkent Files”
Manshi1
Postgraduate Student (English), Amity University Gurugram, India
Email: manshiyadav315@gmail.com

Palak Arora
Postgraduate Student (English), Amity University Gurugram, India,
Email: palak.ar96gmail.com

Abstract:
There are numerous facets of research and when it comes to validity or reliability the
thrust becomes more entangled and crucial. Typically, research done in the humanities is Janus-
faced as it constantly assesses the facts and its relevance in the contemporary world. Any
research in the field stands on its subjectivity that only comes with the rigorous testing and cross-
checking of data to authenticate it with valid and reliable information. Research in the field of
humanities is the anchor to the world on cultural development hence the data provided in the
research should be testified on the grounds of varied situations and time frames to ensure validity
and reliability. Acquainting research with approaches that testify for its validity is essential,
along with considering a legitimate approach for reliability, this research paper will aim to
provide a view on how invalid and unreliable data can prove hazardous for a generation.
Through, the case study of Vivek Agnihotri’s The Tashkent Files the research will further
provide a background for the need for data to be valid and reliable.

Keywords: Validity, reliability, historical approach, human behavior, deciphering

Introduction:
The measurement of human behavior belongs to the widely accepted positivist view, or
empirical-analytic approach, to discern reality (Smallbone & Quinton, 2004). Owing to the fact
that research in humanities majorly focusses on human behavior and its implications in society or
includes research based on historical data hence reliability and validity of the data should be the
primary concern of the researcher. There is an inextricable link between qualitative research and
the relevance of validity and reliability in it. Before understanding reliability and validity in
qualitative research, the case of qualitative research should be cleared first: Qualitative research
exists in “real-world setting [where] the researcher does not attempt to manipulate the
phenomenon of interest" (Patton, 2001). Here the researcher is supposed to embrace their role in
research unlike quantitative research where the researcher is a mere dissociate observer
according to Patton (2001). The possibility of deciphering the exact relation between the
phenomena and human reaction to it is tricky as there are fluidity and dynamism in social
situations which makes acute and precise predictions a challenging task for the researcher. A
mindset that propagates the vision supporting humanly whims and needs is to be fulfilled by all

1
Corresponding author

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non-humanly life forms and this is their sole purpose of existing. (Arora et al. 2020) Retaining
test of time makes research reliable and says for its validity so data collection in the form of facts
and information for qualitative research should be done with narratives that stands true to
contemporary time and after that also. “Reliability is the degree to which a variable or test yields
the same results when administered to the same people, under the same circumstances” (Weller
1998). In quantitative research reliability comes when the researcher comes to a conclusion that
can be replicated by other researchers as well but in qualitative research this reliability stands for
‘Consistency’ as research in humanities is largely based on the assessment of the researcher and
the ‘Trustworthiness’ of his collected data. Qualitative research done in humanities relies
majorly on observation, historical facts or interviews as their data collection tools instead of
formal instruments in quantitative research. While the credibility in quantitative research
depends on instrument construction, in qualitative research, “the researcher is the instrument"
(Golafshani, 2003).
Not only does reliability stands in research for its time test but also for the proving or
testifying what it is purported to testify. Whilst quantitative or scientific research calls for any
innovation but the acceptability of the innovation is tested by qualitative research giving it a
higher significance in reliability testification. Dimensions of human perception to situations and
things are ever-evolving therefore the research conducted should be numerously testified in the
audience and research observants so to prove its reliability in masses. As Stake (1994)
distinguishes various kinds of case studies, an intrinsic case study is one that is done out of the
curiosity of the researcher to investigate in one case pertaining to some issues. Reliability, in this
case, becomes a serious phenomenon as the outcome of the case study might differ according to
personal perception in humanities research but the usage of reliable techniques to consider a
particular case makes the consequences relevant for further researches. Though reliability
couldn’t stand alone from validity so majorly the illuminating part of any research’s life is its
validity. While the terms Reliability and Validity are essential criteria for quality in quantitative
paradigms, in qualitative paradigms the terms Credibility, Neutrality or Confirmability,
Consistency or Dependability and Applicability or Transferability are to be the essential criteria
for quality (Lincoln & Guba, 1985). Considering any research in humanities valid is a contingent
construct as the validity in qualitative research is affected by the researcher’s paradigm. Inherent
bias on the side of the researcher makes validity a critical conception in the qualitative study.
Albeit following some steps would take the qualitative research to a few steps closer to validity
amid the speculative research bias. As an accurate description of the situation or case observed if
presented make the research objective with less reactivity on the part of the researcher’s
presence. ‘A validity checklist assists the researcher in establishing techniques that will be used
to strengthen validity issues’ (Lewis, 2009).
Triangulation is one of the features that prohibit research bias by accommodating and
cross-checking the research with various sources and even statistics if needed. Even though
discrepant data one can assure non-conforming elements in the research that makes a second case
possibility for other arguments rendering the research validity in its front. Member checking is
the most basic method that helps the researcher to overcome research bias and look into the
matter objectively as other people’s input makes a case for alternative statements that improves
upon the validity of the research. Reliability and validity in qualitative research are two sides of
the same coin but what differs them is a fundamental aspect- one aspect dealing with research’s
consistency and other with its result’s credibility.

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Importance of Validity and Reliability Through the Case Study of the Tashkent Files:

“It’s an old habit of yours,

Taking things off record.
Which is why we don’t have proper records” (The Tashkent files)

No research can stand without reliability and validity at its back as it stands for its
consistency and credibility. The Tashkent Files is a movie complying with the agenda of “truth is
a luxury” which fairly resembles a researcher’s propaganda. Whether circulated through
literature or television, the tales may change to fit a new audience, but the meanings within them
have remained constant. (Duggal & Mishra, 2020) Presenting facts with a secret dossier about
former late PM Lal Bahadur Shastri’s death, facts have been the lifeline of the whole movie. A
political conspiracy haggling on the thresholds of irrefutable truth giving food for thought with
stark characters having declamatory debates on a quest for truth and a hidden agenda of theirs.
Throughout time and history there have always been conflicts between good and bad,
right and wrong, love and war, individuality, and religion. (Sinha & Mishra, 2019) A researcher
on every aspect tries to unveil the grey areas for intellectual liberation from doubts and hidden
aspects of a situation. Similarly, in The Tashkent Files, picking up the menagerie carefully,
director Vivek Agnihotri aptly presents a room full of intellectuals, politicians, journalists,
scientists and even secret agents to put up an argumentative stand on Shastri Ji’s death,
camouflaging their own motives in it. As Shyam Sunder Tripathi (Mithun Chakraborty) abort
each one of these committee members as:

social terrorist, judicial terrorist, intellectual terrorist, TRP terrorism, racist (more
dangerous than terrorist);
you don’t care who’s doing what.
as long as you are benefitting

This clearly draws a contrast between a researcher and his bias towards his subject of
research he’s undertaking. Validity is highly questionable when it deals with internal
confounding matters rendering a pool of choices to the researcher and him amid all pieces of
evidence choose what his selfish intrinsic motives deem to call right. The consequence is
selective commissioning of data which leads to low reliability along with two major errors on the
part of the researcher planting the readers in a dubious situation of disbelief. Qualitative
researchers have a common forsaken habit of aligning their own percept with substantiating data
producing results of their choice. As Bertrand Russell warns for any work “do not feel absolutely
certain of anything” (Russell, 1971). Alisha Ali Shah, the historian, demonstrates the perfect
exemplar of this kind..

“Alisha- Shastri died of heart attack everything else a lie.

Indira Joseph Roy- Because you said so in your book, your last word, that’s why
Alisha- It’s a war of narratives. We dedicated our lives in recording history. And you
guys want to create a new narrative now… We are talking about for god sake. Let’s the
historian decide what’s correct.
Raagini Phule- And what if history proves you wrong in the future?”

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If the researcher does in case prioritize his personalized perception of consequences over-
researched data then he surely fell into these errors. Both Types I and II errors were first
introduced by Jerzy Neyman and Egon S. Pearson (1928).

Type 1 Error occurs when the null hypothesis is true but the researcher unduly rejects it
creating false positives, as in the case with the former and late PM’s death in the movie which is
supposed to be designated as a murder but only to cover up the faulty conduct of the government,
a rumored heart attack which isn’t even testified was spread being part of a conspiracy. Giving
little reliability to the government, then doing the part of the researcher. Claimed by the character
of a politician PKR Natrajan (Naseeruddin shah), ‘only idiots are afraid of the truth. One should
be scared of rumors because if they are not stopped, they become such irrefutable truth that even
truth start looking like lies’

Type II Error is the most common of all errors where the researcher fails to reject the
null hypothesis which was actually wrong. In The Tashkent Files, all the pieces of evidence that
proved the possibility of Shastri Ji’s murder were overlooked and no attempts were made to
testify it by abolishing the post mortem and even the factual accounts written in Mitrokhin
archives which then was an authenticated source of information. Owing to this kind of research
attitude the researcher leaves no trails of reliability in his work and the research opening as a
pandora box finishes up with zero thought ignition.
The movie though raises an issue that was long buried in the files but still has fire left in
it to fend for its woods. Shastri Ji’s murder or heart attack though was only a political agenda of
an opposition politician Shyam Sunder Tripathi but it aptly present how selective treatment of
data for the personal benefit on the part of the researcher can be hazardous to the coming
generation as their grounds are already soiled, so any concrete and reliable research is nowhere
to be seen. Provided the case study less reliable and highly invalid data and the researcher’s
selfish objectives are fatal for the researcher.

Translation Errors:
In lieu of the movie The Tashkent Files, it is a well-provided issue as the character
playing the historian Aisha Ali Shah herself furnishes with its facts. Despite the fact that
researches stand on the back of valid and reliable data there are sometimes speculative forces
trying to curb that very originality of the research. They are familiar and to some extent
comfortable with the language and culture of the foreign land. ( D’Rozario & Mishra, 2020)
Translation errors are one of those human errors which cannot only insinuate suspicion in
research but these typological errors can be fatal for a record for generations. We cannot imagine
the existence of civilization, world, even live without the impression of the language. (Mishra &
Mishra, 2020) Owing to the fact that translations are not only limited to typological error but
intentional and unintentional recording too. What is exactly translation is clarified by Catford
(1965) as the replacement of material in one language (Source Language) by equivalent material
in another language (Target Language). However, errors in translation mostly result from the
non-equivalence between the source and target languages (Baker, 1992). Therefore, in The
Tashkent Files we can outrightly point out the authenticity of Shastri Ji’s death claims by
toxication and the medical treatment he received at first because of a translation error. When
Raagini Phule raises an issue of two medical reports being submitted on the name of being

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identical but actually was not altogether the same, changes the point and shifts the focus towards
a translation error. Alisha Ali Shah, playing historian in the movie further enlighten the
committee by addressing the error:

Raagini: in one report it is mentioned he is given, glucose, adrenaline and potassium

chloride.

In another report it is mentioned he is given glucose, adrenaline and calcium chloride:

Alisha: let me tell you the words for potassium and calcium are very similar in Russian.
Kaliy means potassium, Kal’tsiy means calcium.
So, the guy who translated the Russian report translated Kal’tsiy wrong, and he wrote
potassium whereas it should be calcium.

This accounts for semantic error in translation as proposed by Pojprasat (2007). Despite
the overbearing factuality of the report in the end it proved to be unreliable because of an error in
translation. However, this movie focusses on neglected facts in Shastri Ji’s death albeit it
unravels the invalid and unreliable resources in research.

Legal and Ethical Issues in Research:

Integrity is the soul of research yet researchers fall in a vicious trap of intentional and
unintentional access to illegal sources for substantiating their research. The institutional
ethicizing of research is undoubtedly established for the formalized code of conduct when it
comes to presenting your research. It is comparatively difficult to challenge traditional legal
mechanisms. Traditional societies continue to be treated like objects, like machinery, which can
be made desirably functional by replacing some old parts with new ones. (Mishra, 2018)
Believing in something is a matter of personal concern whereas making others believe in your
idea and frame of mind requires valid, reliable, and persuasive evidence. Legitimatizing research
with sources-based on illegal sites or from people declared dead falls under illegal extraction of
data which at the end can’t be cited in research. If the researcher comes out with information
accumulated through illegal sources the probable accusations, he or she will face was of data
fabrication. Likewise, we could encounter in the movie The Tashkent Files, where Raagini Phule
has been looked upon with suspicious eyes because of the facts she was presenting.

GKS Anantha Murthy: what is the source of your information?

Raagini Phule: same place you should have.
Aisha Ali Shah: fake news writers don’t have sources.

The credibility of any research, as well as the researcher, stands on the sources, they refer
to which in Raagini Phule’s case initially seems to be cryptic and illegal, therefore she was
unable to cite them. Proving the point that no matter how strong and authentic your information
may seem but without citing of legal sources it won’t be validated at last. In Raagini’s case she
was extracting information from the spy, Mukhtar who faked his own death twice.
Trust and ethics being abstract notions of research conduct play a key role in the credibility of
the researcher. Owing to the factual nature of qualitative research influence and interpretation of

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incidents and witnesses becomes a key part of the research. Similarly, in the movie The Tashkent
Files, Raagini Phule being a researcher proactively uses measures to substantiate what she
perceives is the truth. In her path of unraveling the truth she somehow crosses the foundation of
ethics by meeting a prospective witness without informing the committee. “The Committee has
already discharged her on the grounds of integrity”, as the dire consequence of her misconduct.
In her case, breach of ethical conduct in research basically is pushing the boundary of
trustworthiness to achieve research information.

Conclusion:
The Tashkent Files stand out as a good example of - 'what happens if research is not
carried out properly?'. Research in Humanities and Social sciences is quite different than that of
scientific fields, both types of research also share some similarities like both are based on
observations and in-depth study of subjects. However, in Humanities and Social Sciences
research, more historical data and secondary data are used, which increases its chances of
manipulation and contamination. If the data (sample) collected by researchers is nonreliable than
it affects the whole research in the particular chronology. As we can't change the historical facts
and data which has been already recorded, we have to carry out our research based on those facts
only. Also, due to the dearth of authentic data the chances of committing errors like Type 1 and
Type 2 on the part of researchers automatically increase. As a consequence, the research might
appear valid at that time but turn out non-reliable in the future. Other errors or mistakes that can
be done on the part of the researcher are translation errors, data mining, data fabrication, and
ethical errors.

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