Sanjaya Baru is an Indian political commentator, policy analyst, writer, and journalist. He served as a media adviser and official spokesman for former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Let’s find out some more interesting details about Sanjaya Baru’s life, family of him, biography of him and other facts.
Biography/Wiki
Sanjaya Baru was born in 1954 (age 65; as on 2019) in Hyderabad, India. He was educated at St. George’s Grammar School and The Hyderabad Public School, Begumpet in Hyderabad. He did his Masters in Economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Furthermore, he did his MPhil from the Center for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram. He has a PhD in Economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.
Baru began his career as a professor of Economics. He has taught at the University of Hyderabad, the Indian Council for International Economic Relations Research in New Delhi, and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore. He was a teacher for about 10 years before making the leap into journalism.
In 1990, he was called by the ‘Doordarshan’ to interview the then Finance Minister, Madhu Dandavate. It was after that that Barú discovered that journalism was an exciting career and soon joined the Economic Times. As a journalist, Baru served as editor of Business Standard, editor-in-chief of Financial Express, and associate editor of Economic Times and Times of India. He was a personal friend of Dr. Manmohan Singh.
Sanjaya with Manmohan Singh in 2007
Physical appearance
Height: 5’7”
Weight: 75kg
Family, wife and caste
Sanjaya was born into a Hindu family. His father, BPR Vithal, was Secretary for Finance and Planning during Manmohan Singh’s tenure as India’s Finance Minister under PV Narasimha Rao’s Government. Her mother’s name is Seshu Vithal.
Sanjaya married Rama V. Baru. The couple is blessed with a daughter, Tanvika Baru.
Wife and daughter of Sanjaya Baru
Career
After eight years in journalism, Baru left the Times of India to spend time at a research institute in Delhi. She took time off between 1998 and 2000 to read and write. In 2000, he returned to journalism and has worked as an editor for India’s leading financial newspapers. He became an influential commentator on political and economic issues. From 1999 to 2001, he was a member of the Indian National Security Advisory Council, the Indian National Defense University Think Tank and the India-ASEAN Group of Eminent Persons. He has been a consultant to the Human Development Report Office, UNDP and the Asian Development Bank. He has also lectured at Chatham House in London, the National Defense College in Delhi and the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad.
From 2004 to 2008, Baru was appointed as the Senior Spokesperson and Media Advisor to the former Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh; during his first term in office. Since 2008, he has served as a Senior Officer at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). In 2011, Barú took over as Director of the Institute’s Geoeconomics and Strategy program. He also served as an independent non-executive director of Wockhardt Limited. Furthermore, on 1 September 2017, Baru was appointed as the Secretary General of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). He was also an Additional Independent Director at Artemis Global Life Sciences Limited.
As an author, Baru’s publications include The Political Economy of Indian Sugar: State Intervention and Structural Change, Strategic Consequences of India’s Economic Performance, The Accidental Prime Minister, 1991: How PV Narasimha Rao Made History and India, and India and the World: Essays on Geo-Economy and Foreign Policy.
Sanjaya Baru at the book launch of The Accidental Prime Minister
disputes
- In 2014, Sanjay Baru made headlines when he published his book titled “The Accidental Prime Minister” where he claimed that Dr. Manmohan Singh barely controlled his cabinet and was totally subservient to the Congress Party and party boss Sonia Gandhi during his tenure as Prime Minister. He claimed that Dr. Singh’s vital power was wiped out by party chairwoman Sonia Gandhi during her two terms. However, a congressional representative called Barú’s book “a work of fiction written by a disgruntled renegade.”
Sanjaya Baru with his book, The Accidental Prime Minister
- When Dr. Singh declared his retirement before the 2014 election, Baru was left with no choice but to publish the book under pressure from publishers; although it was previously decided that the book would be published after the elections. Congress leaders alleged that the book was published at the time when the heat of the 2014 election was raging and questions were raised by the opposition to Dr Singh based on the claims made by the book.
Dr Singh with Sonia Gandhi
Facts
- Sanjay Baru’s book “The Accidental Prime Minister” raised many controversies and the PMO issued an official statement saying, “It is an attempt to abuse a privileged position and access to high office to gain credibility and apparently exploit it for commercial gain.”
Sanjaya Baru – The Accidental Prime Minister
- In his book “The Accidental Prime Minister,” Baru revealed many confidential conversations between the prime minister and the ministers. She also revealed that during Singh’s tenure as Prime Minister, Sonia Gandhi often annulled her election.
Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi
- Baru claims that he wrote the book “The Accidental Prime Minister” because Dr. Singh was not getting credit for all the work he had done and that 90% of his writings were in favor of Dr. Singh.
Sanjaya Baru with Manmohan Singh
- Baru referred to Robert Vadra, Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law, as “Damadji” in his book.
- He made a bold statement in his book that Rajiv Gandhi was a weak Prime Minister.
- Dr. Manmohan Singh’s daughter, Upinder Singh, commented on Baru’s book “The Accidental Prime Minister” as a ‘major breach of trust’.
Anupam Kher and Akshay Khanna as Manmohan Singh and Sanjaya Baru
- However, the film “The Accidental Prime Minister” was rejected by the Congress Party and supported by the BJP.
- Congress leaders claimed Sanjaya Baru’s book as ‘cheap fiction’ and that it was written in revenge after Baru was denied the post of second-term adviser to the prime minister.
- In 2010, Barú received the Annual Award from the GITAM Foundation.
- Her hobbies include reading, writing, and listening to music.
Categories: News
Source: dienchau2.edu.vn
