ThePrint FirstPersonSecondDraft : India’s most consequential decade & chronicling it as part of the dream team of journalism
Jan 4, 2026
Shekhar Gupta reflects on his impactful decade at a prominent news magazine during India's most transformative years. He delves into the political uproars, including communal tensions and terror strikes, while also discussing how global events reshaped India’s aspirations. The show highlights the significant newsroom evolution with the introduction of computers. Gupta also shares insights on caste and religious dynamics in politics, and the lasting effects of economic reforms that continue to reverberate today.
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A Decade That Shaped Modern India
- The decade 1985–1995 produced many of today's defining political and security issues in India.
- Shekhar Gupta argues these events reshaped India's domestic politics and global posture for decades.
Crises Drove Global Repositioning
- Multiple crises (communal, insurgency, nuclear blackmail) and geopolitical shifts accelerated India's international role.
- Shekhar Gupta links domestic turmoil with India opening up and gaining strategic weight globally.
First Computers Were Newsroom Treasures
- The first Apple desktops arrived in the India Today newsroom in 1985 and were treated like prized possessions.
- Shekhar Gupta recalls staff jockeying for keyboard time and a playful placard reading "this is the apple of my eye."
