Boobli George Verghese (21 June 1927 – 30 December 2014) was a senior Indian journalist. He was editor of leading newspapers the ''
Hindustan Times
''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia.
It was founded by Sunder Singh Lyall ...
'' (1969–75) and ''
The Indian Express
''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split betw ...
'' (1982–86). In 1975, he received the
Ramon Magsaysay award
The Ramon Magsaysay Award (Filipino: ''Gawad Ramon Magsaysay'') is an annual award established to perpetuate former Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay's example of integrity in governance, courageous service to the people, and pragmatic idealis ...
for outstanding contribution to journalism. After 1986, he was associated with the New Delhi think-tank
Centre for Policy Research
The Centre for Policy Research (CPR) is an Indian think tank focusing on public policy. Established in 1973 and located in New Delhi, it is one of the national social science research institutes recognized by the Indian Council of Social Scie ...
.
Early life
Verghese attended
The Doon School
The Doon School (informally Doon School or Doon) is a selective all-boys boarding school in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India, which was established in 1935. It was envisioned by Satish Ranjan Das, a lawyer from Calcutta, who prevised a school mode ...
. He then studied Economics at
St. Stephen's College, Delhi
St. Stephen's College is a constituent college of the University of Delhi, widely regarded as one of the oldest and most prestigious colleges for arts and sciences in India. It was established in 1881 by the Cambridge Mission to Delhi. The college ...
and pursued a master's degree from
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...
. While at Doon, Verghese edited ''
The Doon School Weekly
''The Doon School Weekly'' (informally ''The Weekly'') is a student newspaper produced by and for the students of The Doon School. It was established in 1936, a year after the school's founding, by the first headmaster Arthur Foot. The ''Weekly' ...
''.
Career
Verghese started his journalistic career in ''
The Times of India
''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...
''. He was information adviser to Prime Minister
Indira Gandhi
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (; Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was elected as third prime minister of India in 1966 ...
in 1966-69, and wrote her speeches. Subsequently, he joined ''Hindustan Times'' as editor, but lost his post for criticising Indira Gandhi during
the Emergency. His integrity in those years earned him immense respect, and he was awarded the
Ramon Magsaysay award
The Ramon Magsaysay Award (Filipino: ''Gawad Ramon Magsaysay'') is an annual award established to perpetuate former Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay's example of integrity in governance, courageous service to the people, and pragmatic idealis ...
that year. Immediately afterwards, he contested
Lok Sabha
The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-past ...
elections in 1977 from
Mavelikkara
Mavelikkara is a taluk and municipality in the ''Onattukara'' region of Alappuzha district in the Indian state of Kerala. Located in the southern part of the district on the banks of the Achankovil River.
Etymology
The name Mavelikara ...
in
Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
but lost.
Verghese was also a member of the
Kargil Review Committee
The Kargil Review Committee (KRC) was set up by the Government of India on 29 July 1999, three days after the end of the Kargil War. The committee was set up "to examine the sequence of events and make recommendations for the future".
Over a hu ...
following the
Kargil War
The Kargil War, also known as the Kargil conflict, was fought between India and Pakistan from May to July 1999 in the Kargil district of Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere along the Line of Control (LoC). In India, the conflict is also referr ...
. He was also a member of the
National Security Council Advisory Board
A crusader for civil rights, Verghese has long worked on problems of development. He was also on the
Editors Guild of India
Editors Guild of India (EGI) is a non profit organization of journalists based in India. The organization has declared "objectives of protecting press freedom and for raising the standards of editorial leadership of newspapers and magazines". I ...
Fact Finding Mission after the
Gujarat riots, 2002.
He wrote extensively on developmental issues. ''Waters of hope'' (1990) and ''Winning the Future'' (1994) discuss managing the
Himalaya
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...
n watershed. ''Design for tomorrow'' (1965), ''India's North East resurgent'' and ''Reorienting India: Rage, reconciliation and security'' (2008) are other books with a progressive theme. He also authored ''Warrior of the Fourth Estate'' (2005), an acclaimed biography of
Ramnath Goenka
Ramnath Goenka (22 April 1904 – 5 October 1991) was an Indian newspaper publisher. He launched ''The Indian Express'' in 1932 and created the Indian Express Group with various English and regional language publications.''A doyen of Indian Jou ...
, owner of the ''
Indian Express
''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split betw ...
'', In October 2010, he published his autobiography ''First Draft: Witness to Making of Modern India'', which discusses the steady degradation of democratic processes during the tenures of Indira Gandhi and her son
Rajiv.
Book Review: First Draft by B.G. Verghese - Forbes India
/ref>
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Verghese, B. G.
1927 births
The Doon School alumni
Indian journalists
Ramon Magsaysay Award winners
St. Stephen's College, Delhi alumni
Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge
Indian newspaper editors
2014 deaths
20th-century Indian journalists
Indian male journalists
Journalists from Delhi