The importance of
journalism is without parallel in a democracy. Without it, India would be like
a ship adrift without a compass, with no
lighthouse to guide it. Our history is full of pioneers in journalism who have
raised the standards of democracy whenever and wherever required, by bringing
out the sheer truth at all times. They are often referred to as the ‘janbaz’ of
the country. Their mission not only requires determination and intellect, but
also courage, adept vocabulary and more. As our grand salute to the profession,
its a matter of pride that we have with us one of the most renowned faces in
the Indian media—the man known for his relentless interrogation of India’s high
and mighty through SEEDHI BAAT , TEEKHI
BAAT and SACHCHI BAAT—Shri Prabhu Chawla, presently the Editorial Director of
The New Indian Express for a SACHCHI BAAT with me.
A. I am a Midnight's Child. I was born in Dera Gazi Khan,
now in Pakistan. I came to India after Partition with my seven sisters and
brothers and lived in refugee camps for five years in Jallundher, Faridabad and
finally in Agra. Since my family had no regular income I couldn't attend a good
school. I studied in a Municipal Corporation school up to primary class. We
moved to Delhi in 1956, and I enrolled in a government school, which had no
toilet, let alone a playground. I did my matriculation as a private student
from Punjab University and joined an intermediate college in Ghaziabad as I was
living my family in a tenement cluster in the trans-Yamuna area. After
finishing school, I got admission in Deshbandhu College, Delhi University for
the B.A. (Economic Hons.) course). Two years later, I landed up in the Delhi
School of Economics as a postgraduate student. After passing out I started
teaching economics in one of the Delhi University colleges in 1968.
My entry into journalism was by sheer accident. As a teacher
activist, I was actively involved in politics. I was also the President of the
ABVP, which I left in 1974. During the Emergency, this made me a prime target
for the police, which hunted me because of my past connections with the Sangh
parivar. I went underground for about three months and managed to get the
arrest warrants against me withdrawn after spending just a day in police
custody. Since I needed money for my younger sister's marriage, I started
writing columns for leading newspapers like The Statesman, The Times of India,
The Patriot and others. In 1977, India Today magazine got in touch me and
offered me a part-time job, which I did for three years. In 1980, I left
teaching to work as a full time correspondent for the magazine and went on to
became its Senior Editor and the Executive Editor of its regional editions.
Honestly, my decision become a journalist was guided more by
monetary and other considerations rather than any missionary zeal. In 1991, I
became the youngest-ever Executive Editor in the country, and later the editor
of the undivided Indian Express. In 1994, I relaunched the Financial Express,
which I had taken over as Editor-in-Chief and CEO. In 1996 the India Today
group recalled me to become its editor. I soon became the Group Editorial
Director, a post I held till 2010. The India Today group gave the chance to
start my first ever TV show, Seedhi Baat in 2001.I started my current job in
January 2011.
Q. Sir, What has made Prabhu Chawla the person who gives
many people sleepless nights?
A. I spend many sleepless nights before facing such actors
who can play any role without even raising a finger. Only those who are experts
at avoiding the truth feel uncomfortable.
Q. What is journalism
in Prabhu Chawla’s words?
A. Fear None and Favour None.
Q. Sir, could you
please elaborate your experiences on SEEDHI BAAT on Aaj Tak and now Sachchi
Baat on IndiaNews? Which is the best interview you have done till now?
A. My boss at that time told me that the show was
conceptualized keeping in view my aggressive personality and wide experience of
covering politics. So far, I have done over 65 interviews. I think some of my
best ones were of Omar Abdullah, Promod Mahajan. Shahrukh Khan, Sachin
Tendulker and Rakhi Swant. The most aggressive of them were with Narendra Modi
and Mayawati.
Q. Looking at the present political and economic scenario as
well as the leaders of the country, where do you see India having reached after
5 years?
A. India is one of the world’s most powerful countries in
terms of human resources. By 2050, there will be over 1.30 billion young
Indians. If we can provide productive employment to even 70 percent of them,
our GDP would be twice that of the USA’s. With its rich cultural heritage, as
well as its unity and diversity, this nation is poised to be a super power if
it gets the right leadership in all fields.
Q. Sir you have always been a lion of journalism. What
inspires you and gives you the confidence to carry on your work?
A. I have always treated myself as a learner. Never stop learning
and experimenting. Don't promise what you can’t deliver. But you must deliver
more than what you have promised. Never cling to your post, otherwise no one
working under you would ever grow. Hire people who are better than you.
Q. What’s the role of family in your career, since yours is
a hectic, and at times, a troublesome profession?
A. My family deserves the Bharat Ratna for tolerating and
suffering me for over 30 years. I could spend very little time with my two sons
when they were growing up. It is my wife who took all the trouble and
responsibility of raising them, leaving me the time and space to grow faster in
my career.
Q. You are described
as the person whose story led to the fall of the government in 1997.
A. The government fell after I wrote a story about the Jain
Commission report, which exposed the opportunist alliance between the Congress
and the UDF. The Commission had blamed the DMK for its role in the
assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. But the Congress was supporting
the UDF government at the Centre in which the DMK was a leading partner. Once
India Today published the report, the Congress demanded that IK Gural, the
Prime Minister of the time, dismiss the DMK Ministers in his cabinet. He
refused. The Congress withdrew support and the government fell.
Q. What is your take on politics and the Young Generation?
A. It has set a very bad example for the young generation,
which wants clean and decisive leadership. All of them hate caste and community
politics and would like to see their country become a superpower. It is a big
challenge for the youth to protect their own future by voting for the right
leaders and parties which stand for inclusive growth and defeating divisive
communalism.
Q. Sir, what are your views on the youth of the
country? What is their role in various
fields, which can take the country forward?
A. They must fight for transparency in all sectors. They
must expose the misuse of power at the local level by organising protests and
support those who fight against nepotism and misgovernance. At the same time,
the youth must also teach people to understand their responsibilities regarding
civic sense, obey traffic rules and protect the environment.
Q. Sir, at our age we are confused about the future and
finally end up taking some wrong decisions which could ruin it all.
A. If you feel strongly about anything, please go ahead and
do it. Unless you fail in your small decisions, you will never succeed in
taking big decisions.
Q. Ours being an Engineering College what are your comments
on engineering?
A. It’s the fine art of putting together elements which
rarely gel. An engineer can construct or deconstruct a complicated situation.
But all of you must learn to convert theory into practice and use engineering
as a tool to build a really powerful
India.
Q. Describe college life in your words, What are the changes
that you see between now and in your time?
A. As I have said earlier, I never had the chance to spend
life in a regular college. Due to my lower middle class background, I couldn’t
afford to stay in a college longer than necessary. However, when I was a
student, colleges were involved in many more academic and extracurricular
activities, which are missing from regular colleges these days. Modern students
have an easy lifestyle but they have to face much more competition now than we
did back then.
Q. Who in your view should be the ideal icons for teenagers?
A. Atal Behari Vajpayee and Ratan Tata.
Q. Your comments on Pune City, University of Pune being the
Oxford of East?
A. I really don't know much about Pune although my son
studied law in the city. He also got married to a Pune girl. Pune can't be an
Oxford of the East as its identity lies in professional colleges. In that sense
it is much better than Oxford, which has produced poets and thinkers. Pune has
created many successful entrepreneurs and professionals.
Q. Our college being a new one, how can we raise its
reputation?
A. You must think of Big Ideas and add maximum value to the
academic worth of students; more than what they had brought to the college as
newcomers. All of you must return as much better citizens. Your results must
speak louder than the noise of the events you organise.
Q. Being an icon for
us, as a guide of life what is your advice
to the students of the college?
A. Work hard and live happier. Learn like a toddler but act
like a tiger on the prowl.
Q. Lastly please give a word or a sentence which describe
the words mentioned below.
1.Democracy : A
painful instrument to ensure the freedom to express and live.
2.Maharashtra : A giant which has slipped into a long
slumber
3.Naxalism : An ideal ideology which has become a tool for
extortion and massacre.
4.Corruption: An incurable debilitating disease.
5.Engineering : A great science which has been used for
positive purposes.
6.Development : An idea whose time has come.
7.2014 Parliament elections: Fight between Divisive
Secularism and Inclusive Growth.
8.Vision 2020 : Mera Bharat and NOT INDIA Mahaan
9.Cricket in India, Money game. The more the merrier.
10.Bollywood: Entertainment without a message or a mission.
Money makes honey.
Prabhu Chawla
Editorial Director
The New Indian Express Group
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