Nikhil Wagle Wiki, Age, Caste, Wife, Children, Family, Biography & More

Nikhil Wagle is an Indian journalist, author, and columnist.

Wiki/Biography

Nikhil Wagle was born on Thursday, 23 April 1959 (age 65 years; as of 2024) in Mumbai, Maharashtra. His zodiac sign is Taurus.

Physical Appearance

Height (approx.): 5′ 5″

Hair Colour: Black

Eye Colour: Black

Family

Parents & Siblings

Not much is known about his parents.

Wife & Children

During a talk with a media house, Nikhil’s wife, Meena Karnik, once mentioned that after completing her college studies in 1981, she joined Dinank newspaper in Mumbai as a reporter along with her brother who was also a reporter. She said that during that time Nikhil worked as the editor for the newspaper when she first met him.

In 1985, Nikhil Wagle got married to Meena Karnik, a journalist and media cell convener of the Aam Aadmi Party. The couple has a son named Parth Nikhil, who is a journalist.

Relationships/Affairs

They were in a four-year relationship before getting married.

Religion

Nikhil Wagle is an Atheist. ^[1]Nikhil Wagle’s Twitter Post

Career

After completing his formal education, he started working as a freelance reporter in media in 1977. Thereafter, he joined Dinank, a Marathi newsweekly, in Mumbai, and began working as its reporter. At the age of 19, he was promoted to the position of managing editor after Dinank’s previous editor left his job in 1979. Later, he became the editor-in-chief at Dinank.

After leaving Dinank, Nikhil Wagle went to Pune and started working with the Kirloskar Group, which was publishing some magazines at the time. However, he quit the job after a month and returned to Mumbai. In 1982, he started his publishing house and launched a new magazine called Akshar.

Nikhil Wagle started a sports magazine called Shatkar in 1983 and appointed Sandeep Patil, a former Indian cricketer, as its editor. In 1985, he launched a film and entertainment magazine titled Chanderi. Initially, Rohini Hattangadi worked as the editor of Chanderi, and later, Gautam Rajadhyaksha took over the position.

Meanwhile, Nikhil Wagle also launched a few magazines in Gujarati. Wagle started hosting TV shows in 1989. After doing some shows for Doordarshan, he began working for various private TV channels, where he talked about social and political issues. He then hosted a famous talk show called Amne Samne.

In 1990, he started a newspaper named Mahanagar in Marathi and Hindi. He became the editor of its Marathi version, Aapla Mahanagar.

In the mid-2000s, Wagle became the editor-in-chief at IBN Lokmat, a Marathi news channel owned by the Network 18 group. He hosted the show Aajcha Sawal but left in July 2014.

After leaving IBN-Lokmat, Nikhil Wagle became the editor-in-chief of the Maharashtra1 news channel. Reportedly, many of his old colleagues also joined him in this new channel. He later merged his Marathi talk show, Aajcha Sawal, with Maharashtra1. However, in November 2016, he resigned from his position at Maharashtra1.

Wagle then joined the TV9 Marathi news channel on 1 May 2017 and began hosting a talk show called Sadetod. However, on 20 July 2017, Nikhil confirmed on his Twitter handle that the channel stopped airing the show.

Literary Works

In 2019, he released a book titled ‘Spashta Bolayach Tar (Marathi).’ In September 2022, he published another book titled ‘MODI Mahabharat – Vedh Modi Parvatlya Rajakiya Ghadamodincha.’

Controversies

A critic of Shiv Sena

In the 1990s, he became a critic of the political party Shiv Sena and its leader Bal Thackeray. Reportedly, his office was often attacked by the supporters of Shiv Sena in 1991.

Controversial Remarks

In 1994, Nikhil Wagle attracted controversy when he spoke against some leaders in Maharashtra who were praising a deceased MLA, who was accused of having criminal connections. It resulted in his imprisonment for a week when he refused to apologize for his comments.

Attack Incident

Some supporters of the Shiv Sena attacked Nikhil Wagle and blackened his face with engine oil in August 2001. The incident took after he criticized the party leader Narayan Rane in a media interview. ^[2]Frontline

Tweets Against Prime Minister Modi

In June 2015, he called Prime Minister Narendra Modi a ‘pervert’ in one of his tweets. When the BJP found his tweets offensive, a police complaint was registered against him by the BJP’s Communication Cell and the Akhil Bhartiya Brahman Mahasangh. ^[3]India Today

Awards

• 2014: Sanskriti Award (as a member of the IBN-Lokmat editorial team)

• 2018: Kuldip Nayyar Journalism Award

Facts/Trivia

• Nikhil Wagle follows a non-vegetarian diet. ^[4]Nikhil Wagle’s Instagram Post

• As a publisher, he has released more than 80 books.

• He runs a YouTube channel titled Nikhil Wagle Original, where he frequently uploads videos related to his analysis of politics.
  

  A snip of Nikhil Wagle’s YouTube channel

• In February 2015, Govind Pansare, a leader of the Communist Party of India, was shot by two people riding a motorcycle. Soon after the incident, Sameer Gaikwad, associated with the Sanatan Sanstha, was arrested in Pansare’s murder. Gaikwad was accused of mentioning Nikhil Wagle as the next target.

• Reportedly, his verbal clashes with Hindutva organizations made him well-known in journalism.

• Nikhil Wagle enjoys travelling to distant places and reading books in his leisure time.
  

  Nikhil Wagle while enjoying a trip with his wife

• On 9 February 2024, some workers from the Bharatiya Janata Party attacked Nikhil Wagle’s car while chanting the slogan “Jai Shri Ram.” Wagle was allegedly targeted for his comments about Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Lal Krishna Advani. ^[5]TV9 Marathi