Aatish Taseer
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Aatish Ali Taseer (born 27 November 1980) is a British-American writer and journalist. Taseer was born in London and raised by his mother Tavleen Singh in
New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...
. Taseer had no contact with his father,
Salman Taseer Salman Taseer (; 4 January 2011) was a Pakistani businessman and politician, who served as the 34th Governor of Punjab from 2008 until his assassination in 2011. A member of the Pakistan Peoples Party since the 1980s, he was elected to the ...
, until he was 21. He received his education at Kodaikanal International School and
Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zepha ...
, where he earned degrees in French and Political Science. Taseer's early life and estrangement from his father were central themes in his first book, ''Stranger to History'' (2009). Taseer has contributed to
Time magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps as ''TIME'') is an American news magazine based in New York City. It was published weekly for nearly a century. Starting in March 2020, it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York Cit ...
and other publications, gaining recognition for his pieces on feudal Pakistan, the " Ground Zero Mosque" controversy, and situation in Pakistan following his father's assassination. His article arguing Pakistan has an obsession with India, published in
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
, sparked widespread debate and controversy, leading to a notable exchange between journalists and politicians across India and Pakistan. Personal aspects of his life include his marriage to lawyer Ryan Davis in New York, and his cultural and religious identity, which he describes as culturally and historically
Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
, worshiping
Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...
. In 2019, Taseer's Overseas Citizenship of India was revoked, a move he claims was retaliatory for his critical coverage of Indian Prime Minister
Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician who has served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Par ...
. Taseer became a US citizen in 2020. Taseer's work includes translations of
Saadat Hasan Manto Saadat Hasan Manto (; Punjabi, , , ; 11 May 1912 – 18 January 1955) was a Pakistani writer, playwright and author who was active in British India and later, after the 1947 partition of India, in Pakistan. Writing mainly in Urdu, he produc ...
's short stories and several novels, with ''Stranger to History'' being translated into 14 languages. His literary contributions have earned him a place on the 2010 Costa First Novel Award shortlist for "The Temple-Goers."


Early life

Taseer was born in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, England, to Pakistani businessman and politician
Salman Taseer Salman Taseer (; 4 January 2011) was a Pakistani businessman and politician, who served as the 34th Governor of Punjab from 2008 until his assassination in 2011. A member of the Pakistan Peoples Party since the 1980s, he was elected to the ...
and Indian journalist Tavleen Singh. His parents had a brief extramarital relationship and never married; he was raised by his mother and had no contact with his father until he was aged 21. According to Taseer, his father met his mother during a book promotion trip to India in 1980 and the affair lasted "little more than a week." His father served as the 26th Governor of Punjab from 2008 until his assassination in 2011. Taseer was raised in
New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...
, before attending Kodaikanal International School, a residential school in
Kodaikanal Kodaikanal () (English: ) is a municipality and hill station in Dindigul district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is situated at an altitude of in the Palani hills of the Western Ghats. Kodaikanal was established in 1845 to serve as a r ...
.Lunch with BS: Aatish Taseer: Passage through Islam
Kishore Singh/ New Delhi,
Business Standard ''Business Standard'' is an Indian English-language daily edition newspaper published by Business Standard Private Limited, also available in Hindi. Founded in 1975, the newspaper covers the Indian economy, infrastructure, international busi ...
, 14 April 2009.
Taseer later studied at
Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zepha ...
in
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
, earning dual
Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
degrees in French and
Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...
in 2001. In his first book ''Stranger to History'' (2009), which received many reviews in India, he wrote about his estrangement from his father.


Career

Taseer has worked for ''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'', and as a freelance journalist also written for ''Prospect'', ''
The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...
'', ''
The Sunday Telegraph ''The Sunday Telegraph'' is a British broadsheet newspaper, first published on 5 February 1961 and published by the Telegraph Media Group, a division of Press Holdings. It is the sister paper of ''The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Tele ...
'', ''
Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...
'', ''TAR'' magazine and ''Esquire''. Taseer's opinion pieces have garnered both attention and critical appreciation.
David Goodhart David Goodhart (born 12 September 1956) is a British journalist, commentator and author. He is the founder and a former editor of '' Prospect'' magazine. Early life and education Goodhart is one of seven children born to Valerie Forbes Winant ( ...
drew attention to Taseer's piece on feudal Pakistan, ''Travels with the mango king'' in his article "''Prospect''s 10 Most Influential Articles". In 2010, he wrote a piece on the controversy surrounding the possible construction of the " Ground Zero Mosque" in
Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
, ''Tolerance test for New York''. Since his father's assassination on 6 January 2011, Taseer has written about the situation in Pakistan leading up to and following the incident. These pieces attempt to go far beyond the immediate events surrounding his father's murder. A piece for ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'' published just two days after, extended his view from the incident. On 5 May 2011, a few days after the death of
Osama bin Laden Osama bin Laden (10 March 19572 May 2011) was a militant leader who was the founder and first general emir of al-Qaeda. Ideologically a pan-Islamist, Bin Laden participated in the Afghan ''mujahideen'' against the Soviet Union, and support ...
, Taseer wrote a piece for the ''
Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...
'' titled "Pakistan’s Rogue Army Runs a Shattered State". It was one of the first pieces of journalism to point to the significance that Osama bin Laden had been killed in a Pakistani cantonment town,
Abbottabad Abbottabad is a city in the Hazara Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan. It is the 40th largest city in the country and 6th largest in the province by population, and serves as the headquarter of its namesake tehsil and district ...
. In the article, Taseer stated that "he was found in this garrison town because he was the guest of the army." On 16 July 2011, ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
'' published a piece its editors provocatively, and somewhat misleadingly, titled "Why My Father Hated India". Although Taseer used his father's distaste for all things Indian as an example, or metaphor, the article attempted to explain a much bigger question – a question about Pakistan's apparent unhealthy obsession with India. It argued that "to understand the Pakistani obsession with India, to get a sense of its special edge – its hysteria – it is necessary to understand the rejection of India, its culture and past, that lies at the heart of the idea of Pakistan", He continued: "In the absence of a true national identity, Pakistan defined itself by its opposition to India." The article remained the most emailed and commented-on on ''The Wall Street Journal'' website for days and at the end of July it was by far the most emailed of the month. The controversy spread when, following an exchange on
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between Pakistani journalist, Ejaz Haider and Indian Member of Parliament and former Indian Union Minister and Under-secretary at the UN,
Shashi Tharoor Shashi Tharoor (; born 9 March 1956) is an Indian politician, author, and former diplomat, who has been serving as Member of Parliament for Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, since 2009. He is currently the Chairman of Committee on External Affairs. ...
. Haider wrote a column in ''
The Express Tribune ''The Express Tribune'' is a daily English-language newspaper based in Pakistan. It is the flagship publication of the '' Lakson Group'' media group. It is Pakistan's only internationally affiliated newspaper in a partnership with the '' Intern ...
'' titled "Aatish’s Personal Fire", Haider stated that Taseer himself seemed to suffer from an identity crisis accusing Taseer of employing "everything except the kitchen sink in order to construct a supposedly linear reality". His central argument was that India – with its massive army arrayed along its border with Pakistan – left Pakistan with no choice but to be deeply concerned with its every move. Tharoor rose to Aatish Taseer's defense; writing in the ''
Deccan Chronicle ''Deccan Chronicle'' is an English-language daily newspaper based in Hyderabad, India. Founded in 1938, it was initially launched as a Weekly newspaper, weekly and later converted into a daily. The newspaper's name reflects its origins in the ...
'', in a piece titled "Delusional liberals", he quoted Taseer's original piece extensively and said in general he "admired the young man’s writing", and felt he had made "his point in language that was both sharp ..heartfelt and accurate". He said that in their vitriolic response to Taseer's piece Pakistan's liberals had exposed themselves and took on Haider point-for-point, saying "that there is not and cannot be an "Indian threat" to Pakistan, simply because there is absolutely nothing Pakistan possesses that India wants." Ejaz Haider subsequently responded strongly stating "Like every other state in the world, Pakistan is also a self-interested state and the rest of the world must live with this fact; three, we have no intention of defenestrating our military, even as we would continue to kick them to extract obedience; four, we don’t need advice from across the border, especially because the Indian pundits crawled on their bellies when Mrs Indira Gandhi slapped her two-year emergency rule. We have seen worse without giving up or giving in. Thank you!"


Personal life

Taseer divides his time between
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
and
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
. In 2016, he married lawyer Ryan Davis in New York. Previously, he was in a relationship with Lady Gabriella Windsor, daughter of the
Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
and
Princess Michael of Kent Princess Michael of Kent (born Baroness Marie-Christine Anna Agnes Hedwig Ida von Reibnitz, 15 January 1945) is a member of the British royal family. She is married to Prince Michael of Kent, who is a grandson of George V, King George V. Prince ...
, whom he had met when she was an undergraduate at
Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...
in
Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...
, and he at
Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zepha ...
in
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
. Although his father was Muslim and his mother a Sikh, Taseer considers himself culturally and historically Hindu. He worships
Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...
.


Citizenship

On 8 November 2019, Taseer's
Overseas Citizenship of India Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) is a form of permanent residency available to people of Indian origin which allows them to live and work in India indefinitely. It allows the cardholders a lifetime entry to the country along with benefits suc ...
was revoked by the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs claiming he attempted to "conceal information that his father was of Pakistani origin". Taseer has said this is untrue, he never concealed the identity of his father with whom he had no contact and his mother was always the only legal guardian as a minor. Taseer alleged that the ministry didn't give him enough time and that it was an act of reprisal. In his May 2019 cover article for ''Time'' magazine, published during the Indian election entitled "India’s divider in chief" he was highly critical of the Indian prime minister,
Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician who has served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Par ...
. He claimed to ''The Guardian'' that his citizenship issue had not caused him any problems before the ''Time'' article was published. The Home ministry had rejected the claim that the ''Time'' article had any connection to the rejection of Taseer's citizenship. Taseer became a US citizen on 27 July 2020.


Works

Taseer's first book ''Stranger to History: A Son's Journey Through Islamic Lands'' (2009), His part memoir-part travelogue, has been translated into more than 14 languages and hailed as a "must-read" for anyone attempting to understand the Muslim world. Taseer's well received translation of
Saadat Hasan Manto Saadat Hasan Manto (; Punjabi, , , ; 11 May 1912 – 18 January 1955) was a Pakistani writer, playwright and author who was active in British India and later, after the 1947 partition of India, in Pakistan. Writing mainly in Urdu, he produc ...
's short stories from the original Urdu, ''Manto: Selected Stories'', was published in 2008.


Bibliography

* ''Manto Selected Stories''. Random House. . * ''Stranger to History: A Son's Journey Through Islamic Lands'', McClelland & Stewart. 2009. . * Translated from the English: ''Terra Islamica. Auf der Suche nach der Welt meines Vaters'', translated by Rita Seuß, Verlag C.H. Beck, München 2009 * ''The Temple-Goers'', Viking. 2010. . * ''Noon'', Faber & Faber in the US; by Picador in India and the UK. 2011. . * ''The Way Things Were'', Pan Macmillan in UK and India 2014, . * ''The Twice-Born: Life and Death on the Ganges'' (2019)


Awards

* "2010 Costa First Novel Award shortlist" for ''The Temple-Goers''.


References


External links

*
Studying Sanskrit
, an article by the author about his search for his roots. {{DEFAULTSORT:Taseer, Aatish 1980 births Living people Kashmiri people Aatish Amherst College alumni English Sikhs English people of Indian descent English people of Pakistani descent American writers of Indian descent American writers of Pakistani descent British writers of Pakistani descent British writers of Indian descent English gay writers English LGBTQ journalists Journalists from London LGBTQ people from London English people of Punjabi descent English people of Kashmiri descent British people of Punjabi descent British people of Kashmiri descent American people of Punjabi descent American people of Kashmiri descent 21st-century British journalists 21st-century English male writers LGBTQ Sikhs 21st-century English LGBTQ people People with Overseas Citizenship of India Journalists from Delhi Writers from Delhi Kodaikanal International School alumni