Arun Shourie facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Arun Shourie
Shourie in 2009
Minister of Communications and Information Technology
In office 29 January 2003 – 22 May 2004
Prime Minister	Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Preceded by	Pramod Mahajan
Succeeded by	Dayanidhi Maran
Minister of Commerce & Industry
In office 9 November 2002 – 29 January 2003
Prime Minister	Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Preceded by	Murasoli Maran
Succeeded by	Arun Jaitley
Minister of Development of North Eastern Region
In office 1 September 2001 – 29 January 2003
Prime Minister	Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Preceded by	ministry created
Succeeded by	C. P. Thakur
Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha
In office 5 July 1998 – 4 July 2010
Constituency	Uttar Pradesh
Personal details
Born	(1941-11-02) 2 November 1941 (age 83) Jalandhar, Punjab, British India (now in Punjab, India)
Political party	Bharatiya Janata Party
Spouse	Anita Shourie
Relations	H. D. Shourie, (father) Nalini Singh, (sister)
Children	1
Residence	New Delhi, India
Alma mater	University of Delhi (BA) Syracuse University (PhD)
Profession	Journalist and former World Bank Economist Politician
Awards	Padma Bhushan (1990) Ramon Magsaysay Award (1982)
Website	Arun Shourie Blog

Arun Shourie (born on November 2, 1941) is a well-known Indian economist, journalist, author, and politician. He has worked in important roles, including as an economist at the World Bank. He was also a consultant for the Planning Commission of India.

Shourie served as an editor for famous newspapers like the Indian Express and The Times of India. He also held a position as a Minister of Communications and Information Technology in the Indian government from 1998 to 2004. For his contributions, he received the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1982 and the Padma Bhushan in 1990. He was also honored with the International Editor of the Year Award in 1982.

Early Life and Education

Arun Shourie was born in Jalandhar, which was part of British India at the time, on November 2, 1941. His father, Hari Dev Shourie, was a famous activist who worked to protect consumers' rights in India. Hari Dev Shourie was also a government officer and received high civilian awards like the Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan.

Shourie went to school at Modern School, Barakhamba. He then studied Economics at St. Stephen's College, Delhi. Later, he earned his doctorate degree in economics from Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University in 1966.

Personal Life

Arun Shourie is married to Anita, and they have one son. His sister, Nalini Singh, is also a journalist. Shourie often shares his life experiences, describing his writings as "case diaries" aimed at winning a case. He also shares his thoughts on journalism.

He has expressed some doubts about organized religion. In his 2011 book, Does He Know a Mother's Heart: How Suffering Refutes Religion, he shared his life experiences. In his 2020 book, Preparing for Death, he wrote about how people can deal with the idea of death. He mentioned examples like Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Gautama Buddha, Ramana Maharshi, Mahatma Gandhi, and Vinoba Bhave.

Career Journey

As an Economist

After finishing his PhD in economics, Shourie started working as an economist at the World Bank in 1967. He worked there for over 10 years. At the same time, from 1972 to 1974, he also advised the Indian Planning Commission. During this period, he began writing articles as a journalist, sharing his opinions on economic policies.

As a Journalist

In 1975, during a difficult time in India known as The Emergency, Shourie started writing for the Indian Express newspaper. He wrote against what he saw as a threat to people's freedoms. The newspaper, owned by Ramnath Goenka, was a key place for opposing government censorship.

In 1979, Goenka made Shourie the executive editor of the newspaper. This gave Shourie a lot of freedom to run the paper as he thought best. He became known as a smart and brave writer and editor. He fought for freedom of the press, exposed corruption, and defended people's rights.

Shourie was influenced by Gandhian ideas and is known as a "veteran journalist." He won the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1982 for using his writing to fight against corruption and unfairness. In 2000, he was named one of the World Press Freedom Heroes by the International Press Institute. He also received The Freedom to Publish Award.

In Politics

Arun Shourie was chosen to represent the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from the state of Uttar Pradesh in the Rajya Sabha. He served as a Member of Parliament for two terms, from 1998 to 2004 and from 2004 to 2010.

He served as the Minister of Disinvestment, Communication, and Information Technology in the Indian government under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. As the Disinvestment Minister, he oversaw the sale of government shares in companies like Maruti, VSNL, and Hindustan Zinc.

Shourie was among those who disagreed with The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act 1986. This law was proposed by the government to help Muslim women after divorce. Shourie wrote articles suggesting that Islamic law, if applied correctly, could protect women. However, he felt that in practice, it was often used to oppress them.

After the BJP lost the general elections in 2009, Shourie called for the party to look closely at itself and take responsibility. He spoke out against disagreements within the party.

Shourie has been described as a writer who supports certain Hindu ideas. He has publicly supported the goals of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a nationalist organization. He believes that leaders like L. K. Advani and Atal Bihari Vajpayee have tried to reduce hatred between different groups. He also thinks that the current election system does not focus enough on a person's skills and honesty. He has said that society should push for changes in this system.

Shourie has also spoken against reservation, which is a system in India similar to "affirmative action" in the United States. In 2017, he quoted Jawaharlal Nehru, saying that such a system could lead to "disaster."

As a Writer

Arun Shourie has written many books. In his 2014 book, Eminent Historians: Their Technology, Their Life, Their Fraud, he criticized some historians for letting their personal beliefs affect how they wrote about history. He argued that they sometimes changed facts to fit their ideas.

His writings are known for being strong and direct. They often aim to expose problems and fight for freedom of speech. People see his books as the work of a brilliant person who cares deeply about important issues.

Support for IIT Kanpur

In 2000, Shourie promised a large amount of money (Rs. 12 crore) from his Member of Parliament fund to help set up a Bio-Sciences & Bio-engineering Department at the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur. In 2005, he again pledged Rs. 11 crore for a new building for Environmental Sciences and Environmental Engineering at the same institute.

Books

Author

• Symptoms of fascism, 1978
• Hinduism : essence and consequence : a study of the Upanishads, the Gita and the Brahma-Sutras, 1979
• Institutions in the Janata phase, 1980
• Mrs Gandhi's second reign, 1983
• The Assassination & after, 1985
• On the current situation : new opportunities, new challenges, 1985
• Religion in Politics, 1987
• Individuals, institutions, processes : how one may strengthen the other in India today, 1990
• The State as charade: V.P. Singh, Chandra Shekhar & the rest, 1991
• "The Only fatherland" : communists, "Quit India", and the Soviet Union, 1991
• These lethal, inexorable laws: Rajiv, his men, and his regime, 1991
• A Secular Agenda: For Saving Our Country, for Welding It, 1993
• Indian Controversies: Essays on Religion in Politics, 1993
• Missionaries in India : continuities, changes, dilemmas, 1994
• World of Fatwas: Shariah in Action, 1995
• Worshipping False Gods: Ambedkar, and the facts which have been erased, 1997
• Eminent Historians: Their Technology, Their Life, Their Fraud, 1998
• Harvesting Our Souls: Missionaries, Their Design, Their Claims, 2000
• Courts and Their Judgments: Premises, Prerequisites, Consequences, 2001
• Governance And The Sclerosis That Has Set In, 2005
• Will the Iron Fence Save a Tree Hollowed by Termites?: Defence Imperatives Beyond the Military, 2005
• Falling Over Backwards: An Essay on Reservations, and on Judicial Populism, 2006
• The Parliamentary System: What We Have Made Of It, What We Can Make Of It, 2006
• Where Will All this Take Us?: Denial, Disunity, Disarray, 2006
• Are We Deceiving Ourselves Again?: Lessons the Chinese Taught Pandit Nehru But which We Still Refuse to Learn, 2008
• We Must Have No Price: National Security, Reforms, Political Reconstruction, 2010
• Does He Know A Mothers Heart : How Suffering Refutes Religion, 2011
• Two Saints: Speculations Around and About Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and Ramana Maharishi, 2017
• Anita Gets Bail: What Are Our Courts Doing? What Should We Do About Them?, 2018
• Preparing For Death, 2020
• The Commissioner Of Lost Causes, 2022

Co-author

• with Amarjit Kaurn, Raghu Rai et al., The Punjab story, 1984
• with Sita Ram Goel, Harsh Narain, Jay Dubashi and Ram Swarup, Hindu Temples - What Happened to Them Vol. I : A Preliminary Survey, 1990
• with Sita Ram Goel, Koenraad Elst, Ram Swarup, Freedom of expression — Secular Theocracy Versus Liberal Democracy, Voice of India (1998)
• with Arun Jaitley, Swapan Dasgupta, Rama J Jois, Harsh Narain-The Ayodhya Reference:Suprema Court judgment and commentaries, Voice of India(1994)

See also

In Spanish: Arun Shourie para niños