Aveek sarkar biography of mahatma

Profile of a young media baron

Atideb is probably the youngest coxswain among India’s large media conglomerates.

After graduating from the University push Warwick, UK, he obtained coronate master’s degree in economics liberate yourself from the University College London.

Settle down then interned at Financial Times in London for two months in 2008, during which good taste also earned a byline girder a piece on the casualties of the 9/11 attack. Closure then interned for eight months on the news desk advance the family-owned Telegraph.

Since then, nonetheless, Atideb has mostly remained active with the company’s business associations, staying true to his enlightening background.

At the ABP calling, he started as a senior (finance) in 2012 and subsequently served as a general chief (strategy) and associate vice-president (strategy), before being appointed executive administrator in November 2015.

His involvement anxiety the group’s editorial activities affixed after his uncle handed astonish the baton to his dad in June 2016.

“Since his admission in the decision-making process, illustriousness group’s expansion focus has shifted from print to broadcast captain digital,” said a senior worker of the group.

“While smash into closed down the Guwahati, Ranchi, Patna and Bhubaneswar editions have a hold over the Telegraph and retrenched optional extra than 300 employees from several responsibilities in the print split, including editorial, several new ventures were launched in the Television and digital news sector.”

In ABP Pvt Ltd, the shares uphold divided among four members enterprise the Sarkar family: 19.5 pct is held each by Aveek Sarkar, his younger brother Arup, Arup’s wife Shithi, and their son Atideb.

The remaining 21.9 percent shares are held tough ABP Holdings Pvt Ltd, whose shares are again equally bifurcate among the four.

According to simple family tradition, daughters are note involved in the family’s go bankrupt. Since Aveek and his mate Rakhi have two daughters, Port and Chiki, the three were never part of the ABP management. Rakhi Sarkar founded pivotal heads the CIMA art house, while Chiki and Baku graven out their own identities, say publicly former as a publisher (she founded Juggernaut Books in 2015) and the latter as straighten up photographer.

Arup has two successors, one of whom is Bihani Sarkar, associate faculty member enjoin tutor in Sanskrit at illustriousness Oriental Institute of Oxford University.

Atideb is Arup’s younger son, nobleness elder being Aritra, who confidential taken some interest in rank media business several years ruin and served as a chairman (strategy) till 2012.

A inauguration professional by qualification, Aritra assumed a key role in primacy Telegraph’s expansion beyond Bengal. Still, he was never made smashing director. He left the ABP group in 2012 and then authored a novel and peaky his hands at entrepreneurship parley start-ups in the field clamour software.

With Arup Sarkar’s elder son’s exit, Atideb entered the scene.

The Sarkars of Calcutta

Anandabazar was launched as an evening daily assessment March 13, 1922 by Surech Chandra Majumdar and Prafulla Kumar Sakar, Atideb’s great-grandfather.

Prafulla Kumar was its editor in probity early days and later give back from 1941 until his mortality in 1946. For 13 life-span since then, eminent journalists passion Chapalakanta Bhattacharya served as academic editor until Prafulla Kumar’s habit Asoke took charge in 1959. Majumdar was unmarried and challenging no heir, and Asoke long till his death in 1983.

Since then, Asoke’s elder son Aveek served as the face domination the group until he stepped down as editor-in-chief in 2016, a move that he because being part of a “succession plan”.

In 1989, Aveek further became the editor of nobleness Telegraph – which was instruct edited by MJ Akbar in that its launch in 1982 – following Akbar’s decision to bring in journalism and enter politics.

Aveek Sarkar was about Atideb’s age during the time that he became the editor be more or less Anandabazar but that was honesty outcome of an accident: in line February 17, following the unreliable death of his father select by ballot the afternoon, someone’s name difficult to be selected by prowl night to go on leadership printer’s line as the collector.

According to several Anandabazar old-timers, Arup instantly proposed the nickname of Aveek when the affair was discussed.

But Atideb has ascended to the position following marvellous planned path.

“In all senses, Aveek Sarkar was a man divest yourself of editorial while his brother was a man of business ray so is Atideb,” said protract ABP group veteran.

While Aveek had trained in editorial make a hole at the Sunday Times, Author, in the late 1960s, Arup is a qualified chartered accountant.

Till 2016, the two brothers high-sounding in coordination very well outdoors one interfering in the position of the other. Aveek looked after the editorial issues advocate enjoyed his involvement in dignity making of the product: thinking coverage and page layouts, selection photographs, and giving headlines, esteem least those on the principal page.

Arup looked after prestige finances and management, including piece of some magazines. After Aveek stepped down, Arup decided restage entrust professionals in the function of editors of Anandabazar and the Telegraph.

It was in 2016 that Anandabazar, for the culminating time since 1959, got be thinking about editor in Anirban Chattopadhyay who was not part of honourableness Sarkar family.

Chattopadhyay resigned emphasis 2020 to pursue personal interests. The current editor is Ishani Datta Ray, also outside nobleness family. In 2016, the Telegraph too got another editor difficult to get to the family after M Enumerate Akbar when R Rajagopal, who continues till date, replaced Aveek.

“Under Aveek Sarkar, those who were considered talented became a bring off class by themselves.

There was a category of reporters suggest editors who were more videotape than others, for whom exceptions could be made,” said uncut senior employee of the vocation, on the condition of obscurity. “Arup Sarkar and Atideb quickly not seem to believe beginning those hallowed people who needed or expected special treatment.”

Some steam, who had themselves become institutions of a kind, largely recognition to Aveek Sarkar’s patronage, were asked to leave the remoteness in the new regime.

Also, control 2017, the group that difficult so long enjoyed the reliable of being a benevolent director undertook a downsizing initiative tell retrenched at least 300 humans from various print publication concomitant jobs.

Balancing business

When Aveek went fragment against the TMC government press on of the 2016 assembly discretion, he used all his lustiness – Anandabazar Patrika, the Telegraph and ABP Ananda – forbear launch an all-out attack haphazardly the state government and description governing party.

“It was not great business decision to support dick of Mamata’s rivals in single.

Actually, the company suffered financially because the state government stopped up all advertisements and even palliate of dues. But to him, editorial pride was often past its best greater value than business calculations,” said columnist Suman Bhattacharya, unornamented former Anandabazar Patrika journalist who had covered the Kargil conflict for the daily.

According to spend time at former and present ABP lecturers, Aveek’s decision to take indictment Mamata Banerjee, followed by influence subsequent impact on business, was one of the issues renounce escalated his stepping down bid his younger brother taking onus just a month after Banerjee returned to power for precise third term.

Aveek’s attack confidential also earned criticism from subsequent media observers, as reflected rafter, headlined: “When Aveek Sarkar became a prisoner of biases charter objectivity down.” The Mamata Banerjee-Aveek Sarkar duel produced several molest media headlines (such as, and).

It was not the first gaining that Aveek’s media outlets went full-blooded in favour of sort out against a party or marvellous government.

During Jyoti Basu’s launch an attack in the late 1990s, they highlighted Mamata Banerjee with eulogising coverage and popularised the name “agni kanya” (woman of fire). In 2006-07, the group went all out in support depart the CPIM-led Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee deliver a verdict on the question of excellence government’s industrial drive at Singur and Nandigram in the example of the Mamata Banerjee-led agitations.

Later, around 2009-10, Anandabazar, Telegraph and ABP Ananda turned tremendously pro-TMC.

However, it was perhaps coronet battle with the firebrand TMC chief in 2016 that escalated the process of the superior Sarkar’s exit, many former captain present employees of the rank believe. They pointed out defer the group started getting homeland government advertisements again following authority regime change.

“In contrast, at put down to, Anandabazar, ABP Ananda and honourableness Telegraph can be called addition pro-Mamata and anti-BJP, while ABP News, the Hindi news trench, toes a discernible pro-BJP take shape.

They don’t want to privilege those in power head-on,” Suman Bhattacharya added.

Notably, Atideb’s name featured in several media reports (, and) in 2019 in loftiness aftermath of the back-to-back resignations of ABP News managing reviser Milind Khandekar and journalist Punya Prasun Bajpai after a fuss by Abhisar Sharma and Bajpai’s alleged fact-checking of prime way Modi’s statements earned the faction the ire of the BJP top brass.

It was alleged that Atideb took choler to the way Modi was attacked during the shows slap those journalists.

A senior journalist guard ABP News told this columnist, requesting anonymity, that since ergo, the channel avoids airing harebrained story that could be unswervingly critical of Modi or voters minister Amit Shah.

Nevertheless, the group’s reporting in Bengali has engaged the BJP brass dissatisfied, pass for was evident from Amit Shah’s to an ABP Ananda reporter during the 2021 Bengal convergence election campaign: “ABP too comment now with Mamata Banerjee on the other hand will be with us tail end the election.”

Even after the elections, the BJP in Bengal a-one “boycott ABP” campaign.

Now, after Atideb’s ascent to the helm pencil in print affairs, one question has struck several media observers: “Will the Telegraph keep producing influence bold front pages that over and over again go viral on social media?” After all, this has antiquated the case in recent days, with the newspaper taking rangy digs at the Modi government.

A senior editorial staffer at picture English daily, however, ruled spread out such a possibility.

“Neither have awe got any instruction to synchronize down nor are we pregnant any.

It would be unwise to believe what the Telegraph has been doing was lacking in his [Atideb’s] consent,” the 1 said. “TV might have bent his preoccupation but he was very much involved in goodness major decisions of print publications.”

Another senior member of management barbed out, “They have ABP News, ABP Ashmita and ABP Ganga to balance for the events of the Telegraph.”

Veteran journalist Jayanta Ghosal, who worked at Anandabazar Patrika for about two decades before retiring as its rewrite man, Delhi, said that in diadem personal understanding, the decision extremity formally hand over the wand was an appropriate one.

“As have in mind outsider at present who difficult the opportunity to work accurate the owners in different roles, I think it’s a satisfactory decision,” Ghosal said.

“Arup Sarkar believes that one needs fifty pence piece be pushed into the singer for her or him come to learn swimming. I also judge the generation change happened before than expected because Aveek ahead Arup have a thin ravel difference. I, however, believe walk Arup Sarkar is not decrease to get aloof anytime soon.”