Famous Indian Journalists

Fareed Zakaria is an Indian-American journalist, author, and political commentator. He has been serving as an editor-at-large for Time and editor for Newsweek International. He has also been serving as a columnist for Newsweek. His show, Fareed Zakaria GPS, which he hosts for CNN, has won a Peabody Award. 

Apart from being a legendary journalist, Prannoy Roy is also a psephologist, a chartered accountant, and an economist. Initially known as the anchor of The World This Week, he later co-established NDTV. Known for his extensive reports on political issues, he has won awards such as the Leverhulme Trust (UK) Fellowship.

One of the most prominent political and current affairs commentators in India, Arun Shourie first gained fame with his anti-Emergency articles in the Indian Express in the 1970s. Once a World Bank economist, he has also won the Padma Bhushan and the Ramon Magsaysay Award, and been a Rajya Sabha MP.

The daughter of Kannada poet P. Lankesh, Gauri Lankesh began her career as a journalist for The Times of India. She also worked as an editor of Lankesh Patrike. Later, she was known for her firebrand left-wing activism against Hindutva and was eventually shot dead by three men near her Bengaluru home.

Barkha Dutt is an Indian journalist and author. She is best known for her association with The Washington Post and The Hindustan Times where she works as an opinion columnist. Dutt achieved national recognition in 1999 for covering the Kargil War between India and Pakistan. Barkha Dutt is the recipient of many prestigious awards, such as the Padma Shri.

Padma Bhushan-winning journalist Aroon Purie is the founder of the India Today group and was the Reader's Digest editor-in-chief. The LSE-educated journalist was dragged into a controversy when he was found to have plagiarized part of Grady Hendrix’s article on Rajinikanth. He is also the father of Bollywood actor Koel Purie.

Initially a bodybuilder, R. Sarathkumar had won the Mr. Madras University title. After stints as a Dinakaran journalist and a travel business owner, he grew up to be the Supreme Star of Tamil movies, with films such as Ragasiya Police, and later also became an MP and launched his own party.

Known for his bestselling book Train to Pakistan, Khushwant Singh was a reputed lawyer, politician, and journalist. He was also known for his widely popular column With Malice towards One and All, which was featured in many Indian newspapers. His post-colonial writings mirrored his wit and sarcasm.

Former editor-in-chief of The Indian Express, Padma Bhushan-winning journalist Shekhar Gupta is also the founder of the online publication ThePrint. Known for his political journalism and his weekly column National Interest, he also hosted Walk The Talk on NDTV for 15 years. He has penned books such as India Redefines Its Role.

Arnab Goswami is an Indian journalist and news anchor. He is serving as the editor-in-chief and managing director of Republic Media Network which he launched in 2017. Goswami achieved national recognition when he served as the news anchor of ET Now and Times Now between 2006 and 2016. He has also been subjected to criticism, including accusations of opinionated reporting.

Part of the Kasturi family that manages The Hindu Group, N. Ram has been the MD of the group in the past. The Padma Bhushan awardee has also penned books such as Riding the Nuclear Tiger and has previously represented Tamil Nadu, his home state, in the Ranji Trophy cricket matches.

Known for her firebrand anchoring on NDTV 24x7, journalist Nidhi Razdan is the daughter of former PTI editor-in-chief Krishan Razdan. She made headlines when she claimed to have been fooled by a phishing attack and made to believe that she had secured a teaching job at Harvard.

Widely known as the voice of Indian cricket, Harsha Bhogle has revolutionized Indian cricket commentary and been associated with ESPN since its early days in India. The IIM-A graduate also owns a sports-consultancy firm with his wife and has penned several books such as The Winning Way.

Sudhir Chaudhary is an Indian media personality and journalist. He is the current consulting editor of the popular Hindi-language news channel, Aaj Tak. Previously, he held important positions in WION, Zee News, and Zee Business. In 2013, Chaudhary was honored with the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award for hosting an exceptional interview with the friend of a gang-rape victim.

Islamic scholar and philosopher Abul A'la Maududi was born into an elite Aurangabad family. He grew up to be fundamentalist who believed Islam should be free of Western influences and launched the Jamaʿat-i Islami. Though an important figure in Pakistani politics, he was also imprisoned for a while for opposing the government.

Ramaswamy Krishnamurthy, better known by his pseudonym Kalki, is remembered for his immense contribution to Tamil literature, which included his short stories, novels, and novellas. His social novel Alai Osai won him a Sahitya Akademi award. He also used the pseudonym Karnatakam to write as a film and music critic.

Renowned journalist Sagarika Ghose was an Oxford Rhodes scholar before she joined media giants such as The Times of India and CNN-IBN. Apart from being the daughter of Indian civil servant and theater personality Bhaskar Ghose, she is also the wife of popular journalist Rajdeep Sardesai.

Apart from being the daughter of legendary Indian playback singer Asha Bhosle’s daughter, Varsha Bhosle was also a singer and journalist in her own right. She wrote for The Times of India and The Sunday Observer, among other publications. Four years after a failed suicide attempt, she shot herself to death.

Gwangju Prize-winning human rights activist Irom Chanu Sharmila, also known as the Iron Lady of Manipur, made international headlines with her 16-year hunger strike to urge the Indian government to repeal the AFSPA Act. She later married British citizen Desmond Coutinho and is now a mother to twin daughters.

A leading columnist for The Indian Express and India Today, Tavleen Singh has also been a reporter for leading publications such as The Statesman, The Telegraph, and The Sunday Times. A firebrand political commentator, too, she has also penned books such as India's Broken Tryst and Lollipop Street.

François Gautier is a French-born journalist who is currently based in India. He is best known for serving as the South Asian correspondent for many publications like Journal de Geneve and Ouest-France. He has also contributed as a columnist for publications like The New Indian Express. In 2003, Gautier was honored with the Bipin Chandra Pal Award for his work. 

Apart from his 28 full-length plays, renowned dramatist Vijay Tendulkar had also penned many short stories and a novel. Apart from winning the Padma Bhushan and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, he also won a National Award for penning the screenplay of the Shyām Benegal film Manthan.

The son of former Indian cricketer Dilip Sardesai, Rajdeep Sardesai had an elite education, first at St. Xavier’s and then at Oxford. Initially a promising college cricketer, he later stepped into journalism and worked with NDTV and India Today. The firebrand journalist has also won numerous awards such as the Padma Shri.

Apart from being a bestselling novelist and a popular columnist, Shobhaa De is also former model and a prominent socialite. The founder of the magazine Stardust, she writes regularly for publications such as The Times of India and Asian Age and was named one of the 50 Most Powerful Women in India.

Social activist and journalist Teesta Setalvad is best known for establishing the Sabrang Trust, aimed at peace-building after the 1992 Mumbai riots, and the CJP, aimed at seeking justice for the 2002 Gujarat riot victims. The Padma Shri awardee has also successfully obtained 117 convictions against the Gujarat rioters.

Shereen Bhan began her career as Karan Thapar’s news researcher. The journalist now heads CNBC-TV18 as its managing editor. She has anchored several popular shows such as Young Turks and India Business Hour and has won honors such as the FICCI Woman of the Year Award.

The founding editor of The Wire and the former editor of The Hindu, Siddharth Varadarajan was educated at the elite LSE and Columbia University. He has also received the Shorenstein Journalism Award, among other honors, and has held faculty positions at the New York University and the University of California, Berkeley.

Initially part of the Indian National Congress, politician M. J. Akbar later joined the BJP. A leading journalist, too, he founded The Asian Age. The former Rajya Sabha MP and external affairs minister was dragged into a controversy when he lost a #MeToo defamation case against journalist Priya Ramani.

Madhu Trehan is an Indian journalist best known for co-founding a digital media portal named Newslaundry where she also works as the editor-in-chief. She is also credited with founding the popular news magazine, India Today. In 1986, Madhu Trehan earned a reputation as a pioneer of investigative journalism when she produced and anchored India's first video news magazine, Newstrack.

One of the most popular journalists of India, Rahul Kanwal is known for his anchoring on Zee News and Aaj Tak. He later rose to the position of the news director of the India Today group. The Newstrack presenter has also won multiple awards, such as 2 ITA awards.

Ramon Magsaysay Award-winning journalist and the celebrated author of the book Everybody Loves a Good Drough, Palagummi Sainath mostly focuses on poverty and social inequality. He is also the man behind the People's Archive of Rural India and has also won honors such as Japan’s Fukuoka Grand Prize.

An Oxford graduate, Lindsay Anderson had initially launched the film magazine Lindsay Anderson. He later became a celebrated director and even won an Academy Award for the documentary Thursday’s Children. A pioneer of the Free Cinema and the British New Wave movements, he also acted in minor roles.

Once the editor-in-chief of Tehelka, which was known for its high-profile sting operations, Tarun Tejpal had started his career as an Indian Express journalist. He also penned the best-selling novel The Alchemy of Desire, but his career hit a downward spiral after he was accused in a sensational sexual assault case.

Gollapudi Maruti Rao is remembered as one of the most prominent figures of Telugu literature and cinema. Initially a journalist with Andhra Prabha, he later also acted in plays and worked for All India Radio. He has won multiple Nandi Awards, both as an actor and as a screenwriter.

Indian author P. N. Oak is best remembered for his Hindu-centric historical revisionism that stated Christianity and Islam both evolved from Hinduism. He also stated that the Taj Mahal was once a Hindu temple of Lord Shiva. His most-talked-about books include Tajmahal: The True Story and Who Says Akbar Was Great.

Prominent Indian right-wing journalist and politician Swapan Dasgupta is one of those rare people who propagate Hindu nationalism through English newspapers. The Padma Bhushan winner has also been a Rajya Sabha MP and has penned books such as Awakening Bharat Mata. He has also worked for his family business, the Calcutta Chemical Company.

Mohammad Ali Jauhar was an Indian Muslim activist, journalist, poet, and freedom fighter. After starting his career by writing articles for major Indian and British newspapers, Mohammad Ali went on to become one of the founders and an important member of the All-India Muslim League. His life and career inspired a 1984 documentary film titled Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar.

One of the best-known screenwriters of Indian cinema, Javed Siddiqui had worked with the stalwarts of the Indian film industry, such as Satyajit Ray and Yash Chopra. The two-time Filmfare winner had penned dialogues for blockbusters such as Umrao Jaan and Baazigar. A part of IPTA, he had penned plays, too.

One of India’s best-known journalists, Vir Sanghvi received an elite education in London and Oxford. He is also known for his food blog Rude Food in the Hindustan Times Brunch magazine, which was also released as a book. He has hosted food and lifestyle shows on TLC and NDTV Good Times, too.