Hartosh Singh Bal Explained

Hartosh Singh Bal
Nationality:Indian
Occupation:Journalist
Alma Mater:BITS Pilani & NYU

Hartosh Singh Bal is currently the political editor of The Caravan magazine[1] [2] [3] He is also an adjunct faculty member at Jindal School of Journalism & Communication at the O. P. Jindal Global University.[4] [5] He had been the political editor of OPEN magazine.[6]

Education

Bal pursued his undergraduate education in Mechanical Engineering from BITS Pilani.[7] He then went on to pursue an MS in mathematics from New York University, USA.[8] [9]

Career

In November 2013, Bal was controversially fired from his position of political editor of OPEN magazine.[10] In an interview, OPENs former Editor Manu Joseph revealed that the magazine's proprietor, Sanjiv Goenka, had told Joseph that Bal's views, expressed in his writings and in television appearances, were resulting in him "making a lot of... political enemies."[11]

Books

Bal has co-written a novel called A Certain Ambiguity which won the 2007 Association of American Publishers award for the best professional/scholarly book in mathematics. His second book--"Waters close over us"—is part-travelogue and partly a sociological, political, artistic, historical, and anthropological commentary.[12] [13] [14] [15]

Awards

Caravan Magazine Wins 2023 Shorenstein Journalism Award on October 11, 2023. Caravan Editor, Hartosh Singh Bal, "delivered a keynote address at the Stanford Alumni Centre in California on October 10. The award committee had also specifically spoken of Bal’s achievements, saying, “The award also recognizes the contributions of The Caravan’s executive editor, Hartosh Singh Bal, who formerly worked as the magazine’s political editor for ten years. An incisive commentator on Indian politics and society, Bal was the political editor of Open magazine and has worked with The Indian Express, Tehelka and Mail Today. He is the author of Waters Close Over Us, A Journey Along the Narmada and co-author of A Certain Ambiguity, A Mathematical Novel. He is trained as an engineer and a mathematician.”

Controversies

He was invited to participate in the Harjit Kaur Sidhu Memorial Program at the University of British Columbia, where he was invited to speak on the Farmer's Movement in India.[16] However the UBC Sikh Students’ Association objected to his inclusion because he is a nephew of the KPS Gill and has spoken in support of Gill's role in the suppression of the Punjab disorder.[17]

Ujjal Dosanjh, in a letter to UBC president said that he's recycled his UBC degree to protest what he perceived as an attack on academic freedom.[18]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Bal home page in Caravan. 2015-06-16. 2016-12-01. https://web.archive.org/web/20161201192644/http://www.caravanmagazine.in/profile/307/. dead.
  2. Web site:
    1. MediaRumble: Role of journalism in speaking truth to power
    . newslaundry. 12 August 2017. 15 March 2018. YouTube.
  3. Web site: Suggestion on 35 A. Let's remove it but ensure twitter brahmin hawks are first to go settle. & let's not waste state security on them. Hartosh Singh. Bal. twitter.com. 15 March 2018.
  4. Web site: Jindal School of Journalism & Communication. 18 December 2020.
  5. Web site: Hartosh Singh Bal -. 2020-12-18. en-US.
  6. Web site: 2 November 2011 . Bal on Niira Radia . 9 June 2015.
  7. Web site: Freedom of Expression, the Business of Media, and Society: Connecting the Dots. 2020-12-18. Asia Society. en.
  8. Web site: Hartosh Singh Bal. 2020-12-18. HarperCollins Publishers India.
  9. Book: Various. THE CHILDREN'S BOOK OF TRUTHS. 25 February 2018. Hachette India. 978-93-5009-349-8.
  10. Web site: 14 November 2013 . New York Times conversation with Bal . 11 June 2015.
  11. Web site: Bal fired from Open magazine . 9 June 2015.
  12. Web site: HarperCollinsPublishers India - Hartosh Singh Bal. harpercollins.co.in. 15 March 2018.
  13. Web site: Waters close over us review by Avtar Singh. 9 June 2015. 10 June 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150610085933/http://www.outlooktraveller.com/travel-books/travel-classic-waters-close-over-us-1006462. dead.
  14. News: Along a river . The Hindu . 26 May 2014 . 30 October 2016.
  15. News: Down the river . Mint . 14 December 2013 . 24 November 2016.
  16. https://asia.ubc.ca/events/event/harjit-kaur-sidhu-memorial-program-2021/ Harjit Kaur Sidhu Memorial Program 2021, UBS 2021
  17. https://www.straight.com/news/ubc-sikh-students-association-why-we-opposed-hartosh-singh-bals-inclusion-in-harjit-kaur-sidhu UBC Sikh Students' Association: Why we opposed Hartosh Singh Bal's inclusion in Harjit Kaur Sidhu Memorial Program, The Georgia Straight, April 17th, 2021
  18. https://www.straight.com/education/indian-journalist-will-speak-at-sfu-and-ubc-event-but-not-as-part-of-harjit-kaur-sidhu UBC is denying allegations that it infringed on anyone's free speech, The Georgia Straight, Charlie Smith on April 18th, 2021