Arun Shourie (born 2 November 1941) is an Indian economist, journalist, author and politician. He has worked as an economist with the World Bank, a consultant to the Planning Commission of India, editor of the Indian Express and The Times of India and a Minister of Communications and Information Technology in the Vajpayee Ministry (1998–2004). He was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1982 and the Padma Bhushan in 1990.
Popularly perceived as one of the main Hindu nationalist intellectuals during the 90s and early 2000s, for instance writing controversial works on Islam and Christianity apart from attacks on left-wing ideologues, he considers himself skeptical of religions, especially the concept of the organised religion.
Early life & education
Arun Shourie was born in Jalandhar, British India, on 2 November 1941.
Shourie did his schooling at Modern School, Barakhamba, and did his bachelor's in Economics(H) from the St. Stephen's College, Delhi. He then obtained his doctorate in Economics from Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University in 1966.
Personal life
Shourie is married to Anita, and they have a son. His sister is the journalist Nalini Singh. Arun Shourie speaks about his personal life and reviews his life events as case diaries "My writing is like the case diary of an advocate which is aimed at winning a case" and his opinions on journalism.
He is skeptical of religions and especially the concept of organised religion. He shared his life experiences in the 2011-book Does He Know a Mother's Heart: How Suffering Refutes Religion. In his 2020-book Preparing for Death, he wrote about dealing with mortality, and added that others can approach this eventuality by looking at the examples of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Gautama Buddha, Ramana Maharshi, Mahatma Gandhi and Vinoba Bhave.
Career
Economist
Shortly after receiving PhD in economics from Syracuse University Shourie joined World Bank as an economist in 1967 where he worked for more than 10 years. Simultaneously, between 1972 and 1974, he was a consultant to the Indian Planning Commission and it was around this time that he began writing articles as a journalist, criticising economic policy.
Journalism
In 1975, during The Emergency imposed by then prime minister, Indira Gandhi, Shourie began writing for the Indian Express in opposition to what he saw as an attack on civil liberties. The newspaper, owned by Ramnath Goenka, was a focal point for the government's efforts at censorship. He became a fellow of the Indian Council of Social Science Research in 1976. In January 1979, Goenka appointed Shourie as executive editor of the newspaper, giving him a carte blanche to do with it as he saw fit. He developed a reputation as an intelligent, fearless writer and editor who campaigned for freedom of the press, exposed corruption and defended civil liberties such that, in the words of Martha Nussbaum, "his dedication to the truth has won admiration throughout the political spectrum".
Shourie has been called a "veteran journalist". Shourie was a winner of the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1982, in the Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts category as "a concerned citizen employing his pen as an effective adversary of corruption, inequality and injustice." In 2000, he was named as one of the International Press Institute's World Press Freedom Heroes. He has also been named International Editor of the Year Award and was awarded The Freedom to Publish Award.
Politics
He was nominated from the state of Uttar Pradesh as a BJP representative for two successive tenures in the Rajya Sabha, thus being a Member of Parliament for 1998–2004 and 2004–2010. He held the office of the Minister of Disinvestment, Communication and Information Technology in the government of India under Vajpayee's prime ministership. As Disinvestment Minister, he led the sale of Maruti, VSNL, Hindustan Zinc among others.