Ranjit Kumar | Defenceindia : Achievers 2008

Home

Soldiers' Speak Out

Counterpoint

A General Speaks

Ranjit Kumar

Ever since I joined journalism in 1978 , after my graduation , I have been taking keen interest and writing on issues related to national security and international affairs. I started my career with Hindi Dialy AAJ published from Kanpur in 1978 and next year, in 1979, I joined Benentt Coleman and Company, the publishers of the Times Of India as Trainee Journalist in Mumbai and then after finishing my training I joined NAVBHARAT TIMES as a Sub Editor in 1980 in New Delhi.

In 1984, I got the unique opportunity to be invited by the Foreign Languages Press of China to work in BEIJING as Hindi Expert. During this one year sojourn I travelled extensively in China and filed regular reports for Navbharat Times and popular Hindi Weekly DHARMAYUG. Probably I was the first print journalist from India, other than a PTI correspondent, sending regular reports from BEIJING, in those early days when China was just opening up. Those were among my most exciting days in Journalism career.

Since I was taking keen interest on security related issues the then legendary editor of Navbharat Times Late Rajendra Mathur deputed me to join the WAR CORRESPONDENTS COURSE conducted by the Ministry of Defence in 1986 , on my return from CHINA.

Though I was promoted as Chief Sub Editor in 1988 My Editor wanted me to work as a defence Correspondent in the NEWS BUREAU of Navbharat Times. Hence I was promoted as Special Correspondent for covering Defence and Diplomatic affairs for NAVBHARAT TIMES in 1990.

Since then I am working as Special Correspondent with NAVBHARAT TIMES. During this I got the opportunity to cover many national and international events and extensively travelled within and outside the country. Most memorable in my career is the coverage of KARGIL war in 1999 and the post Taliban Kabul in 2004.

After Kargil War I wrote a book, published in 1999, and titled KARGIL KA SUCH (The truth of kargil) which is still in great demand. Before this I had written a widely acclaimed book on India's nuclear explosion in May, 1998 titled PARMANU BOMB - RAKSHA AUR RAJNEETI (Nuclear Bomb- Defence and politics), published in 1998.

In the year 2004 I was invited by the University of Cambridge, UK as a visiting Wolfson Press Fellow during which I worked on the prospects of cooperation among South Asian countries and published a book in English titled SOUTH ASIAN UNION which is much in demand especially by foreign think tanks and academic institutions. I consider, to be invited as a visiting fellow by the UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE is a rare honour especially for a journalist working in Hindi journalism.