In the puddle of journalism and the controversy about how virtuous it is, Shekhar Gupta is a gem. This 63 years old is now editor- in- chief and the founder of The Print. The journalist who won Padma Bhushan for his dedication and hard-work in the field of journalism and serving the national interest.
Shekhar Gupta – Biography
| Name | Shekhar Gupta |
|---|---|
| DOB | 26 August, 1957 |
| Birthplace | Palwal, Haryana |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Profession | Journalist |
| Spouse | Neelam Jolly |
| Major Award | Padma Bhushan (2009) |
Shekhar Gupta- Early Life and Personal Life
Shekhar Gupta- Education
Shekhar Gupta- Professional Career
Shekhar Gupta as founder of The Print
Shekhar Gupta- Books
Shekhar Gupta- Awards and Achievements
Shekhar Gupta- Early Life and Personal Life
Shekhar Gupta was born on 26th August, 1957 at Palwal, Haryana. He is married to Neelam Jolly, who is a social worker and runs a NGO.
He started working in the year 1977 in Indian Express. He worked for 6 years there. But he gave his resignation there in order to join Indian Today.
There he completed Operation Bluestar– the Nellie Massacre in Assam and Gulf War in 1991. Through these shows he brought the ring-side view of contemporary history. But after that he again rejoined the Indian Express as editor in chief and CEO. There he again worked for 19 years from 1996-2015.
Shekhar Gupta- Education
He started his schooling in Saraswati Shishu Mandir in Palal, Punjab. He went there for 3 years from 1962- 1965.
And then he graduated from School of communication from Punjab University to do his Bachelor’s in Journalism. He passed it in the year 1976.
Yash Gupta
Shekhar Gupta- Professional Career
Currently he is the editor in chief of The Print, which was launched in August,2017. He started this paper keeping in mind of being “liberal and factual“.
Before retiring from Indian Express in 2014, he was enjoying an annual package of Rs 10 crores. Which was the highest in the Indian journalism or World Journalism scenario.
He is also a columnist in Business Standard. He has had long stints at Indian Express and India Today. He writes a weekly column for India Today named “National Interest“.
All the columns of National Interest from Indian Express were compiled together in 2014 to make a book, “Anticipating India”. He also hosted an “interview- based ” television show “Walk the Talk ” for almost 15 years for NDTV. In that period he covered around 600 guests.
Some of his major projects were :
- Operation Bluestar
- Olympic Games in Los Angeles
- Student Uprising in Tiananmen Square in Beijing
- Fall of Berlin Wall
- First Gulf War from Baghad, Jerusalem and Kuwait
- The first Jihad in Afghanistan
Apart from this he also covered the troubled decade (1983-1993) in Sri Lanka’s Tamil north. Shekhar also had uncovered the LTTE training camp in India. He uncovered a spy scandal in the Indian Space Research Organisation. He dug out the truth behind the falsely implicated scientist in there. He also covered the terrorist attack in the US on September 11, 2001.
He was a very brave man. A man full of courage. He was even able to report extensively from pan- national fundamentalism from around the world- Afghanistan, Pakistan, Germany, the USA and the UK including its links with Osama Bin Laden.
He is also a regular guest speaker at prestigious forums. Including the Asia Society, New York, National Defense College, Defense Service Staff College and the World Economic Forum in Davos and its India Summit.
Shekhar Gupta and Manu Pubby from Indian Express brought AgustaWestland scam into the public domain. The deal was cancelled by then UPA government after Indian Express exposed the scam.
Rishabh Rathi
Shekhar Gupta as founder of The Print
Shekhar Gupta incorporated Printline Media Pvt Ltd it in New Delhi, India, in September 2016.
It basically focuses on politics and policy. The venture is associated with the Off the Cuff program. That is broadcast on NDTV 24×7 and promoted on The Print’s YouTube and Facebook channels.
In May 2017, this digital news platform received an undisclosed amount of funding from:
- N.R. Narayana Murthy and Nandan Nilekani, co-founders of Infosys
- Ratan Tata,
- Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Biocon Founder
- the Uday Kotak Family
- Vijay Shekhar Sharma,Paytm founder
- Bengaluru-based tech entrepreneur Rajiv C. Mody,
- chairman of LVMH Asia Ravi Thakran, and
- IIFL founders Nirmal Jain, R. Venkatraman, Karan Bhagat and Yatin Shah
Niku Mandal
Shekhar Gupta- Books
| Name of the Book | Year |
|---|---|
| Walk the Talk: Decoding | 2017 |
| Anticipating India | 2014 |
| India Redeefines its Role | 1995 |
| Assam, a valley divided | 1984 |
Anticipating India was published by Oxford University Press and International Institute of Strategic Studies, London.
Shekhar Gupta- Awards and Achievements
He won his first award in the year 1985, the Inlaks award for Young Journalist of the Year. He is the recipient of G.K Reddy Award for Journalism. Also the Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Memorial Award for National Integration.
He won the Padma Bhushan in 2009 by UPA government for his contribution in the Journalism field.
He was also elected as the President of the Editor’s Guild of India in 2018.
The Indian Express won the Vienna-based International Press Institute’s Award for Outstanding Journalism in the Public Interest thrice under his leadership.
- the first time for its coverage of the Gujarat riots of 2002,
- the second time for uncovering the Bihar flood relief scam in 2009 and
- the third time for its sustained investigation into the Malegaon and Modasa blasts of 2008 and the alleged role of extremists and organisations.