Warrior of the Fourth Estate: Ramnath Goenka of the ExpressRamnath Goenka was a man of many parts - freedom fighter, Gandhian worker, politician, merchant, industrialist and newspaper magnate. But more than anything else he was an indomitable warrior for the freedom of the Press, whose frontiers he fearlessly defended and pushed, often at enormous cost to himself. His mission as a newspaper publisher was to empower the citizen, uphold his right to know, and to make all those in power and authority accountable to the people - a mission that he carried out with unflagging, if sometimes excessive, zeal. During the Emergency, Ramnath Goenka - or RNG as he came to be popularly known - waged an epic battle of defiance against a vindictive government, and in later years launched a relentless campaign against corruption, which won him staunch admirers as well as bitter enemies. The targets of his campaigns included prime ministers, political leaders, corporate raiders, trade unionists and tycoons. B.G. Verghese's biography charts the tumultuous course of Goenka's life, from his modest beginnings to his building of the vast Indian Express empire with its multiple editions, which reached out to readers in the remotest corners of the country. contradictions - a wealthy man of property who lived an austere life; who was parsimonious to a fault yet could be exceedingly generous; who adored gossip and intrigue and was at the same time deeply spiritual; one of the most powerful men in India who was deeply lonely in his personal life; a man you could love or hate but never ignore. |
Contents
A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS | 1 |
THE MAKING OF A MARWARI TAMIL | 13 |
GETTING ROOTED IN MADRAS | 35 |
Copyright | |
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Common terms and phrases
alleged appeared Arun asked Bank become Bombay building Calcutta called carried cause charge chief circulation close Commission Company Congress continued copies Court critical crore decided Delhi earlier editions editor election Emergency fact favour felt filed finally followed freedom funds further Group Gurumurthy hand House import independent Indian Express Indira Gandhi industrial interest issue Janata Justice later leader leading letter losses Madras March matter meeting months moved named nationalist never newspapers paper Parliament party passed political President prime minister printing published Rajiv Gandhi Ramnath Goenka regard Reliance RNG's shares Shourie soon sought started story suggested taken thought told took turned United V.P. Singh wanted write wrote
References to this book
Headlines From the Heartland: Reinventing the Hindi Public Sphere Sevanti Ninan Limited preview - 2007 |
Headlines From the Heartland: Reinventing the Hindi Public Sphere Sevanti Ninan No preview available - 2007 |