Vinod Mehta (1941-2015) was an Indian journalist, editor, author, and political exponent. He was well known as the founder editor-in-chief of Outlook magazine from 1995 to 2012. He died of multi-organ failure at the age of 73, in March 2015.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Vinod Mehta was born on Saturday, 31 May 1941 (age 73 years; at the time of death) in Rawalpindi in Punjab, British India (now in Pakistan). His zodiac sign was Gemini. He grew up in Lucknow as an army lad, which shaped him into a fervent secularist. He attended La Martinere School in Lucknow and later earned a degree in Bachelor of Arts. Vinod then went on to pursue a career in journalism.
Vinod Mehta in his Childhood
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 9″
Weight (approx.): 65kg
Hair Colour: Salt & pepper
Eye Colour: Dark Brown
Family
Vinod Mehta belonged to a family who became refugees during the India-Pakistan partition in 1945.
Parents & Siblings
Vinod had two brothers and a sister. There is not much information about his parents.
Wife & Children
Vinod Mehta got married to Sumita Paul, who was a journalist and worked for The Pioneer and the Sunday edition of The Times of India.
Vinod Mehta’s wife Sumita Paul
He had a daughter from his past relationship, which he acknowledged in his autobiography after being encouraged by his wife.
Relationships/Affairs
Vinod Mehta had a relationship with a Swiss lady, who got pregnant and refused to abort the baby. However, in his continuous efforts to trace his only child, Mehta failed to meet his daughter. [1]Hindustan Times
Religion
He followed Hinduism.
Career
Journalism
Vinod Mehta began his career as an editor of a men’s magazine, Debonair in 1974, after he had experimented with a lot of other jobs including that of a factory worker in Britain. Mehta rose to prominence as an editor in India after founding several popular journals, including the Sunday Observer in 1981, The Indian Post in 1987, The Independent in 1989, The Pioneer in 1990, and Outlook in 1995. He served as the Outlook Group’s editorial chairman from 1995 till February 2012.
Vinod Mehta while working in his office
Later, Mehta wrote biographies of Meena Kumari and Sanjay Gandhi. In 2001, he published a bundle of articles on the topic ‘Mr. Editor, How Close Are You to the Prime Minister?’ In 2011, Mehta wrote his autobiography and named it ‘Lucknow Boy.’ Vinod was a television panelist who appeared on shows like Newshour on Times Now and India at 9 on CNN-IBN.
Vinod Mehta during a conference
As a veteran journalist, he was called upon by news anchors for his analysis of key issues and scenarios. He then was regarded as the president of the Editors Guild of India and, for a short time, the writer and speaker of “Letter from India” on BBC World Service and BBC Radio.
Publications
- Bombay: A Private View in 1971
- Meena Kumari in 1972 (Re-launched in 2013)
- Mr. Editor, how close are you to the PM? in 1999
- Lucknow Boy: A Memoir in 2010
Vinod Mehta’s book Lucknow Boy A Memoir
- The Sanjay Story in 2012
- Editor Unplugged in 2014
Vinod Mehta’s book Editor Unplugged
Controversy
The Indian Express journalists sued Vinod Mehta for Rs 100 crore in damages.
In 2012, the Editor-in-chief of the Indian Express group, Shekhar Gupta filed a lawsuit against Vinod Mehta, editorial director of the Outlook group of publications, and the editor and correspondent of Open magazine, seeking Rs 100 crore in damages for an interview Mehta gave to Open’s correspondent Hartosh Singh Bal that, according to Gupta’s attorneys, contained “defamatory and defamatory imputations.” [2]Rediff.com
Awards
On 9 February 2015, Vinod Mehta was awarded the ‘Yash Bharti Award’ by the Government of Uttar Pradesh to applaud his work in journalism.
Death
On 8 March 2015, Vinod Mehta, at the age of 73, died of multi-organ failure at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi. [3]India Today
Favorites
- Sports: Cricket
Facts/Trivia
- Mehta was noted for complimenting Pakistan’s military dictator Pervez Musharraf at the 2001 Agra Summit. He said to Musharraf,
I support you so much that in India, they call me your man.” [4]NDTV.com
- Vinod Mehta was an animal lover and owned a pet dog named ‘Editor.’ [5]Outlook India
Vinod Mehta with his dog, Editor
- Mehta was compelled to leave as editor of The Independent newspaper in 1989, 29 days after it was launched, because of a story based on a dubious RAW report that called Maharashtrian politician Y. B. Chavan a spy, which Mehta carried with an eight-column banner title.
- He was often praised by his employees. One of his employees, Coomi Kapoor said,
As an editor Vinod Mehta never pulled rank, giving correspondents a free hand if he felt they had a valid story to tell, no matter the consequences. He had an unconventional approach towards editing newspapers, brimming with ideas he was shorn of any pomposity.” [6]The Indian Express
- Mehta was dismissed from school for six months when a girl sought to borrow his eraser and he asked her to be his girlfriend in return. [7]The Times of India
References
