Arun Shourie
Arun Shourie | |
---|---|
Minister of Communications and Information Technology | |
In office 29 January 2003 – 22 May 2004 | |
Prime Minister | Atal Bihari Vajpayee |
Preceded by | Pramod Mahajan |
Succeeded by | Dayanidhi Maran |
Minister of Commerce & Industry | |
In office 9 November 2002 – 29 January 2003 | |
Prime Minister | Atal Bihari Vajpayee |
Preceded by | Murasoli Maran |
Succeeded by | Arun Jaitley |
Minister of Development of North Eastern Region | |
In office 1 September 2001 – 29 January 2003 | |
Prime Minister | Atal Bihari Vajpayee |
Preceded by | ministry created |
Succeeded by | C. P. Thakur |
Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha | |
In office 5 July 1998 – 4 July 2010 | |
Constituency | Uttar Pradesh |
Personal details | |
Born | PhD) | 2 November 1941
Profession | Journalist and former World Bank Economist Politician |
Awards | Padma Bhushan (1990) Ramon Magsaysay Award (1982) |
Website | Arun Shourie Blog |
Arun Shourie (born 2 November 1941
Popularly perceived as one of the main
Early life and education
Arun Shourie was born in
Shourie did his schooling at
Personal life
Shourie is married to Anita, and they have a son.[11] His sister is the journalist Nalini Singh.[7] Arun Shourie speaks about his personal life and reviews his life events as case diaries. "My writing is like the case diary of an advocate which is aimed at winning a case" and his opinions on journalism.[12]
He is skeptical of religions, especially the concept of organised religion. He shared his life experiences in the 2011-book Does He Know a Mother's Heart: How Suffering Refutes Religion.
Career
Economist
Shortly after receiving PhD in economics from Syracuse University Shourie joined the World Bank as an economist in 1967 where he worked for more than 10 years. Simultaneously, between 1972 and 1974, he was a consultant to the Indian Planning Commission and it was around this time that he began writing articles as a journalist, criticising economic policy.[1]
Journalism
In 1975, during
Influenced by
Politics
Arun Shourie was nominated from the state of
Shourie was among many who objected to
After the defeat of the BJP in 2009 general elections, Shourie asked for introspection and accountability within the party. He deplored factionalism within the party and those who brief journalists to aid their own agenda.[23]
Shourie has been described by Christophe Jaffrelot, a political scientist, as "a writer sympathetic to militant Hindu themes"[24] and has publicly voiced support for the aims of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a nationalist Hindutva organisation. This has caused unease among some of those who admire his journalism.[25] He has said that, although he sees danger from perceived Muslim violence such as the Godhra train burning incident of 2002, people have tended to redefine the "Hindutva" term. He says that prominent members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), of which he is a member and which has ties to the RSS — specifically, L. K. Advani and Atal Bihari Vajpayee — have shown their opposition to sectarian hatred and in their attempts to make the BJP inclusive have tried to marginalise those on both the Muslim and Hindu extremes who promote such hatred.[26] As a political scientist, he views that present electoral system does not concern competency and integrity. He emphasised his views in a cultural conference called Tomorrow's India Global Summit and added that the pressure to bring about change in the present electoral system should come from the society.[27]
Shourie has opposed reservation, a system of official legal discrimination in India similar to "affirmative action" in the United States. In 2017, he said "Panditji (Jawaharlal Nehru) had rightly said that in that way (reservation) lies not only folly but disaster."[28]
Writer
Arun Shourie has written numerous books. According to Martha Nussbaum, the traits of his writings are:
recognisably the creation of a smart, determined, muckraking journalist, They are polemical, ad hominem, often extremely shrill in tone. ... But despite their style, the books are obviously the work of a brilliant man, with a wide if idiosyncratic learning, a passion for the freedoms of speech and press, and a desire to get beneath current events to address underlying issues.[25]
Criticism
With the exception of Mahatma Gandhi, he has little time for any religious thinker and, says Nussbaum, his books "nowhere ... seek to provide balance; nowhere is there a sense of complexity. All have the same mocking, superior tone."[29]
Historian
IIT Kanpur
In 2000, Shourie pledged the entire amount (Rs. 12 crore) of discretionary spending available to him under
Books
Author
- Symptoms of fascism, New Delhi : Vikas, 1978, 322 p.
- Hinduism : essence and consequence : a study of the Upanishads, the Gita and the Brahma-Sutras, Sahibabad : Vikas House, 1979, 414 p.
- Institutions in the Janata phase, Bombay : Popular Prakashan, 1980, 300 p.
- Mrs Gandhi's second reign, New Delhi : Vikas; New York : Distributed by Advent Books, 1983, 532 p.
- The Assassination & after, New Delhi : Roli Books Internat., 1985, 160 p.
- On the current situation : new opportunities, new challenges, Pune : New Quest, 1985, 57 p.
- Religion in Politics, New Delhi : Roli Books, 1987, 334 p.
- Individuals, institutions, processes : how one may strengthen the other in India today, New Delhi, India; New York, N.Y., U.S.A. : Viking, 1990, 239 p.
- The State as charade: V.P. Singh, Chandra Shekhar& the rest, New Delhi : Roli Books, 1991, 425 p.
- "The Only fatherland" : communists, "Quit India", and the Soviet Union, New Delhi : ASA Publications, 1991, 204 p.
- These lethal, inexorable laws: Rajiv, his men, and his regime, New Delhi : Roli Books, 1991, 433 p.
- A Secular Agenda: For Saving Our Country, for Welding It, New Delhi : ASA Publications, 1993, 376 p.
- Indian Controversies: Essays on Religion in Politics, New Delhi : Rupa & Co., 1993, 522 p.
- Missionaries in India : continuities, changes, dilemmas, New Delhi : ASA Publications, 1994, 305 p.
- World of Fatwas: Shariah in Action, New Delhi : ASA Publications, 1995, 685 p.
- Worshipping False Gods: Ambedkar, and the facts which have been erased, New Delhi : ASA Publ., 1997, 663 p.
- Eminent Historians: Their Technology, Their Life, Their Fraud, New Delhi : ASA Publ., 1998, 271 p.
- Harvesting Our Souls: Missionaries, Their Design, Their Claims, New Delhi : ASA Publ., 2000, 432 p.
- Courts and Their Judgments: Premises, Prerequisites, Consequences, New Delhi : Rupa & Co., 2001, 454 p.
- Governance And The Sclerosis That Has Set In, New Delhi : ASA Publ., 2005, 262 p.
- Will the Iron Fence Save a Tree Hollowed by Termites?: Defence Imperatives Beyond the Military, New Delhi : ASA Publications, 2005, 485 p.
- Falling Over Backwards: An Essay on Reservations, and on Judicial Populism, New Delhi : ASA : Rupa & Co., 2006, 378 p.
- The Parliamentary System: What We Have Made Of It, What We Can Make Of It, New Delhi : Rupa & Co., 2006, 264 p.
- Where Will All this Take Us?: Denial, Disunity, Disarray, New Delhi : Rupa & Co., 2006, 604 p.
- Are We Deceiving Ourselves Again?: Lessons the Chinese Taught Pandit Nehru But which We Still Refuse to Learn, New Delhi : ASA Publ., 2008, 204 p.
- We Must Have No Price: National Security, Reforms, Political Reconstruction, New Delhi : Express Group : Rupa & Co., 2010, 343 p.
- Does He Know A Mothers Heart : How Suffering Refutes Religion, Noida : HarperCollins, 2011, 444 p.
- Two Saints: Speculations Around and About Ramana Maharishi, Noida : HarperCollins, 2017, 496 p.
- Anita Gets Bail: What Are Our Courts Doing? What Should We Do About Them?, Noida : HarperCollins, 2018, 288 p.
- Preparing For Death, India Viking, 2020, 528 p.
- The Commissioner Of Lost Causes, Penguin Viking, 2022, 616 p.
Co-author
- with Amarjit Kaurn, Raghu Rai et al., The Punjab story, New Delhi : Roli books international, 1984, 199 p.
- with Hindu Temples - What Happened to ThemVol. I : A Preliminary Survey, New Delhi : Voice of India, 1990, 191 p.
- with Sita Ram Goel, Koenraad Elst, Ram Swarup, Freedom of expression — Secular Theocracy Versus Liberal Democracy, Voice of India (1998).
- with The Ayodhya Reference:Suprema Court judgment and commentaries, Voice of India(1994)
References
Citations
- ^ a b c d e f International Press Institute
- ^ "Arun Shourie". Archived from the original on 14 February 2017. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
- ^ "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 October 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
- ^ Vir Sanghvi (19 May 2017), "A few God Men", Business-Insider. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
- ^ Utpal Kumar (18 June 2017), "The loneliness of being Arun Shourie", DailyO.in. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
- ^ "Famous Alumni".
- ^ a b "Nalini Singh's daughter Ratna writes novel about mother-daughter troubled relationship". The Sunday Guardian. 9 August 2014. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
- ^ "SU's Who". Syracuse University Magazine. Syracuse, New York. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
- OCLC 83238831. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
- OCLC 222018035. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
- ^ God's an invention to suit society's needs: Arun Shourie
- ^ Arun, Shourie (6 October 2017). "Interview with Arun Shourie Decentralised Emergency in India By Srikant Kottackal translated by A J Philip senior journalist and columnist". The News Freedom. Archived from the original on 8 October 2017. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ IANS (9 July 2011), "Arun Shourie pens down his trauma", Hindustan Times. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
- ^ "Arun Shourie on what to do — and not to do — in the final lap of life". 20 November 2020.
- ^ a b Magsaysay Foundation (2012)
- ^ Nussbaum (2009), p. 61
- ISBN 978-93-324-6003-4.
- ISBN 9780761932734.
- ^ "Arun Shourie's Speech on Media Freedom at Press Club of India: Full Transcript".
- ISBN 978-1-40082-803-6.
- ISBN 9788170288589.
- ^ Embree (1990), pp. 107–111
- ^ Indian Express (2009)
- ^ Jaffrelot (1996), p. 353
- ^ a b Nussbaum (2009), p. 62
- ^ Nussbaum (2009), pp. 66–68
- ^ "Arun Shourie says pressure to change electoral system should come from society". 8 October 2017.
- ^ "State undoing reforms: Shourie". The Hindu. 8 October 2017.
- ^ Nussbaum (2009), p. 63
- ^ "Grist to the reactionary mill". Indian Express. 9 July 2014. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
- ^ "How History Was Unmade At Nalanda! D N Jha". Kafila. 9 July 2014. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
- ^ Sreedathan, G. (9 November 2014). "Votes do not guide intellectuals: D N Jha". Business Standard. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
- ^ Shourie gives Rs 12 crore to IIT-Kanpur!
- ^ Grape Vine Newsletter
Bibliography
- ISBN 9780520068667
- Indian Express (24 August 2009), "Arun Shourie hits out at BJP top leadership", Indian Express, retrieved 2 May 2014
- International Press Institute, Arun Shourie, India: World Press Freedom Hero, International Press Institute, archived from the original on 2 May 2014, retrieved 1 May 2014
- ISBN 9781850651703
- Magsaysay Foundation (2012), Shourie, Arun: Citation, Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation, archived from the original on 2 May 2014, retrieved 1 May 2012
- ISBN 9780674041561
Further reading
- "Arun Shourie at Idea Exchange: 'Everybody can be instigated…people haven't shifted, the lid has been lifted'". The Indian Express. 11 April 2022.
- Interview at rediff.com
- Interview from December 2013 at rediff.com