India Today

India Today is the leading news magazine and most widely read publication in India. The magazine’s leadership is unquestioned, so much so that India Today is what Indian journalism is judged by, for its integrity and ability to bring unbiased and incisive perspective to arguably the most dynamic, yet perplexing, region in the world. Breaking news and shaping opinion, it is now a household name and the flagship brand of India’s leading multidimensional media group. Additionally, the weekly brings with it a range supplements like Women, Home, Aspire, Spice and Simply which focus on style, health, education, fashion, etc. and Indian cities.

India Today

FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

1975-1985

THE YEARS OF UPHEAVAL

BAPTISM BY FIRE • Born when free speech was manacled, India Today hit the ground running. Its fearless, objective journalism revolutionised the media industry

DEMOCRACY INTERRUPTED • In 21 months, the Emergency changed deep structures of India’s polity. It ushered in a phase of coalition politics and was the first instance of the intimidation of the judiciary, media and civil society

THE HEAVY HAND OF THE STATE • From press censorship to extra-judicial custody and torture to forced sterilisation, oppression took many forms—as did acts of resistance

THE ANSWER TO TYRANNY • Socialists, Hindutvists, pro-farmer and pro-business parties and Congress dissidents all united to hand Mrs Gandhi a devastating blow

LIGHT THAT FAILED • What raised expectations after a righteous democratic triumph collapsed from within, its moral centre splintering into petty dissonance

THE COMEBACK • Indira Gandhi bided her time as the Janata leaders squabbled. She stormed back in 1980 before the bloody end of her remarkable career

LICENCE RAJ MOGULS • How a new generation of mega-rich tycoons cashed in despite the country’s lagging growth, a rigid economy and public disapproval of private ostentation

SMALL CAR, BIG DRIVE • From a stalled, beleaguered dream to middle-class revolution, Maruti’s improbable journey reshaped India’s roads, industries and the everyman’s aspirations

TROUBLES ABROAD • In its first decade, INDIA TODAY followed the gathering clouds in the region: Islamisation under Zia in Pakistan and the start of the civil war in Sri Lanka

A DARK STAR OVER PUNJAB • A toxic mix of political opportunism and identity politics fuelled a spiral of violence that culminated in the tragedy of Operation Bluestar

FEAR AND LOATHING • As the communal climate warmed dramatically in the 1980s, caste was added to the mix in the controversy over the mass conversion of Tamil Dalits to Islam. In Assam, a studentled ‘anti-outsider’ agitation combined with tribal sentiments to spark a shocking massacre of Bengali Muslims

THE TRAGIC COST OF NEGLIGENCE • A newsman recalls his experience covering one of India’s most haunting man-made disasters

The Rise of the Angry Hero • Anger—at injustice and inequality—spilled out on to streets and into gritty films. Its unlikely mascot? A lanky, unconventionally handsome man they often called ‘Vijay’

ECONOMY ON A ROAR HOW TO SUSTAIN THE UPSURGE

THE COLOURFUL ENTRY OF THE SMALL SCREEN • In television, 1982 was the watershed year: the start of both a unified, national DD network as well as colour broadcasts. Soon, Hum Log enraptured a national audience

ON TOP OF THE WORLD • The 1983 World Cup win ushered in a new age and announced the emergence of India as a new cricketing heavyweight

ON THE PODIUM

HOLDING A MIRROR • From the reach of tech and cosmetics to sexuality, porn and the market price of Husain’s art, india today had its ear to the ground and finger on the nation’s pulse

1985-1995

TURBULENCE AND TRANSITION

SHARP TURNS...