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 (Punjabi: ਅਰੁਣ ਸ਼ੌਰੀ; born November 2, 1941) is a well-known Indian economist, journalist, author, and politician. He worked as an economist at the World Bank and advised the Planning Commission of India. He was also the editor of major newspapers like the Indian Express and The Times of India. Later, he became a government minister, serving in the Vajpayee government from 1998 to 2004.

Shourie received the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1982. This award is often called "Asia's Nobel Prize." He also received the Padma Bhushan in 1990, one of India's highest civilian honors.

Early Life and Education

Arun Shourie was born in Jalandhar, which was part of British India at the time, on November 2, 1941.

He went to Modern School, Barakhamba for his early education. Later, he earned a bachelor's degree in Economics from St. Stephen's College, Delhi. He then continued his studies in the United States. In 1966, he received his doctorate (PhD) in economics from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University.

Personal Life

Arun Shourie is married to Anita, and they have a son. His sister, Nalini Singh, is also a well-known journalist.

Shourie has shared his life experiences in his books. He sees his writing as a way to understand and explain important events. He has also written about dealing with life's challenges, including suffering and mortality. In his 2020 book Preparing for Death, he discussed how people can face the end of life. He mentioned figures like Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Gautama Buddha, Ramana Maharshi, Mahatma Gandhi, and Vinoba Bhave as examples.

Career Highlights

Economist

After getting his PhD in economics, Shourie joined the World Bank in 1967. He worked there as an economist for over ten years. At the same time, from 1972 to 1974, he also worked as a consultant for the Indian Planning Commission. It was during this period that he started writing articles as a journalist, often criticizing economic policies.

Journalism

In 1975, during a difficult time in India known as The Emergency, Shourie began writing for the Indian Express. He wrote against the government's actions, which he felt were limiting people's freedoms. The newspaper, owned by Ramnath Goenka, was a key place for opposing government censorship.

In 1979, he became the executive editor of the Indian Express. He was known for being a brave and intelligent writer and editor. He fought for press freedom, exposed corruption, and defended people's rights. Shourie won the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1982 for his work. The award recognized him as a citizen who used his writing to fight against corruption and injustice. In 2000, he was named one of the World Press Freedom Heroes.

Politics

Arun Shourie became a Member of Parliament (MP) in the Rajya Sabha, which is one of the two houses of the Indian Parliament. He represented the state of Uttar Pradesh for two terms, from 1998 to 2010.

During his time in government, he served as a minister under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. He held important roles like Minister of Disinvestment, Communications, and Information Technology. As the Disinvestment Minister, he oversaw the sale of government shares in major companies like Maruti, VSNL, and Hindustan Zinc.

Shourie has spoken about the need for political parties to be accountable. He believes that the current election system in India does not always focus on a candidate's skills or honesty. He has emphasized that society should push for changes in this system.

Writer

Arun Shourie has written many books on various topics. His books often discuss important issues in India, including politics, history, and society. He is known for his strong opinions and detailed research in his writings.

Support for IIT Kanpur

In 2000, Arun Shourie made a significant contribution to the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT Kanpur). He used all the funds available to him from the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) to help set up a Bio-Sciences & Bio-engineering Department at the institute. In 2005, he again pledged funds to build a separate building for Environmental Sciences and Environmental Engineering at IIT Kanpur.

Books

Author

• Symptoms of fascism, 1978
• Hinduism : essence and consequence, 1979
• Institutions in the Janata phase, 1980
• Mrs Gandhi's second reign, 1983
• The Assassination & after, 1985
• On the current situation, 1985
• Religion in Politics, 1987
• Individuals, institutions, processes, 1990
• The State as charade, 1991
• "The Only fatherland" : communists, "Quit India", and the Soviet Union, 1991
• These lethal, inexorable laws, 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, 1998
• with Arun Jaitley, Swapan Dasgupta, Rama J Jois, Harsh Narain-The Ayodhya Reference:Suprema Court judgment and commentaries, 1994

See Also

In Spanish: Arun Shourie para niños