Rasheed Kidwai (born 20 July 1967, in

Lucknow Lucknow () is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is the administrative headquarters of the epon ...

) is an Indian journalist, author and political analyst. He is a visiting Fellow with the

Observer Research Foundation Observer Research Foundation (ORF) is an independent global think tank based in Delhi, India. The foundation has three centres in Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. ORF provides potentially viable inputs for policy and decision-makers in the Indian ...

. Kidwai has appeared on

News 18 Network18 Media & Investments Limited, (d/b/a Network18 Group) is an Indian media conglomerate owned by the Reliance Industries, headed by Mukesh Ambani. Rahul Joshi is the managing director, chief executive officer and group editor-in-chief, a ...

,Times Now , ABP news and

NDTV New Delhi Television Ltd is an Indian news media company focusing on broadcast and digital news publication. It was founded in 1984 by economist Prannoy Roy and journalist Radhika Roy. NDTV began as a production house for news segments, ...

. Kidwai tracks

Indian government The Government of India (ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of 36 states and union territor ...

, political parties, community affairs and

Hindi cinema Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

. He also reports on the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

Sonia Gandhi Sonia Gandhi (, ; ; born 9 December 1946) is an Indian politician. She is the longest-serving president of the Indian National Congress, a big-tent liberal political party, which has governed India for most of its post-independence history. ...

, Rahul Gandhi, and

Priyanka Gandhi Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (''née'' Gandhi; born 12 January 1972) is an Indian politician who is serving as the member of the Lok Sabha for Wayanad, Kerala, since November 2024. A member of the Indian National Congress, she is also serving as a ge ...

. Kidwai is the author of ''Sonia, A Biography'' and ''24 Akbar Road.''

Personal life

Education

Kidwai is a graduate from St Stephen’s College, Delhi

989 Year 989 ( CMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Emperor Basil II uses his contingent of 6,000 Varangians to help him defeat Bardas Phokas (the Younger), who suffe ...

His school was Centennial School, Lucknow

980 Year 980 ( CMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Peace is concluded between Emperor Otto II (the Red) and King Lothair III (or Lothair IV) at Margut, ending the Franco-Germa ...

Anglo Arabic School, Delhi

984 Year 984 ( CMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – German boy-king Otto III (4 years old) is seized by the deposed Henry II, Duke of Bavaria ("the Wrangler"), wh ...

and Bhartiya Vidya Bhawan, New Delhi

986 Year 986 ( CMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * August 17 – Battle of the Gates of Trajan: Emperor Basil II leads a Byzantine expeditionary force (30,000 me ...

Kidwai did his master’s in

mass communication Mass communication is the process of imparting and exchanging information through mass media to large population segments. It utilizes various forms of media as technology has made the dissemination of information more efficient. Primary examples o ...

research from

University of Leicester The University of Leicester ( ) is a public university, public research university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park, Leicester, Victoria Park. The university's predecessor, Univ ...

where had gone on a fellowship given by British and Commonwealth Office, UK.

Family

Kidwai's family comes from Daryabad,

Barabanki Barabanki is a city and a municipal board in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of Barabanki district and a part of Ayodhya division. The city is about 30 km east of Lu ...

, Kidwai’s maternal grandfather was Maulana Abdul Majid Daryabadi, a noted English and Urdu commentator of the Quran. Kidwai’s wife Dr Farah Kidwai is Scientist ‘G’ DRDO, ministry of Defence, Government of India.

Career

Formerly Associate Editor of The Telegraph, Calcutta, Kidwai is a regular political commentator on various television networks, radio programmes and newspapers. Kidwai is a columnist with '' The Tribune Chandigarh, Mumbai Mirror, ThePrint, ABP News Blog, Network 18, Inquilab, Dainik Jagran,

Amar Ujala ''Amar Ujala'' () is a Hindi-language daily newspaper published in India which was founded in 1948. It has 22 editions in six states and two union territories covering 180 districts. It has a circulation of around two million copies. The 2019 ...

, Prabhat Khabar, Rediff,

The Quint ''The Quint'' is an English and Hindi language Indian general news and opinion website founded by Raghav Bahl and Ritu Kapur after their exit from Network18. The publication's journalists have won three Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism ...

'' and a range of other English, Hindi and

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

publications.

Selected bibliography

* The House of Scindias -a saga of Power, Politics and Intrigue *''A Biography'' enguin India 2003 The book has been translated into Hindi, Telugu, Marathi, Punjabi, Tamil and revised in 2009 and 2011. * ''24, Akbar Road, -- A Short History of The People Behind The Fall and Rise of The Congress'' achette 2011 is considered as an important source of Congress history. * ''Neta Abhineta: Star Power in Indian Politics,'' achette India 2018tracked political journey of

Prithviraj Kapoor Prithviraj Kapoor (born Prithvinath Kapoor; 3 November 1906 – 29 May 1972) was an Indian actor who is also considered to be one of the founding figures of Hindi cinema. He was associated with IPTA as one of its founding members and establish ...

, Nargis,

Sunil Dutt Sunil Dutt (born Balraj Raghunath Dutt; 6 June 1929 – 25 May 2005) was an Indian actor, film producer, director, and politician known for his work in Hindi Cinema. He acted in more than 80 films over a career spanning five decades and was t ...

, Amitabh Bhachan,

Jaya Bachchan Jaya Bachchan (''née'' Bhaduri; born 9 April 1948) is an Indian actress and politician. She is regarded as one of the greatest actresses of Hindi cinema. She is serving as member of the parliament in the Rajya Sabha from the Samajwadi Party ...

, Rekha, Mithun Chakraborty,

Dharmendra Dharmendra Kewal Krishan Deol (born 8 December 1935), known mononymously as Dharmendra, is an Indian actor, producer, and politician who is primarily known for his work in Hindi films. Dharmendra is widely considered one of the greatest, most h ...

, Hema Malini,

Govinda Govinda (, ), also rendered Govind, Gobinda, and Gobind, is an epithet of Vishnu and his avatars, such as Krishna. The name appears as the 187th and the 539th name of Vishnu in the ''Vishnu Sahasranama''. The name is also popularly addressed to ...

, Shatrughan Sinha, Rajesh Khanna,

Vinod Khanna Vinod Khanna (6 October 1946 – 27 April 2017) was an Indian actor, film producer, and politician known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the greatest actors of Hindi cinema. Recognised as a style and fashion icon, he wa ...

, Dev Anand, Dilip Kumar, Jaya Prada,

Javed Akhtar Javed Akhtar (born 1945) is an Indian screenwriter, lyricist and poet. Known for his work in Hindi cinema, he has won five National Film Awards, and received the Padma Shri in 1999 and the Padma Bhushan in 2007, two of India's highest civili ...

, Shabana Azmi, Paresh Rawal and Raj Babbar. * ''Ballot: Ten Episodes that Have Shaped India’s Democracy'' achette India 2018tracing how elections are fought in the country. The anecdotal account has also focussed on many leading players of Indian politics such as N T Ramarao,

Bal Thackeray Bal Thackeray (; 23 January 1926 – 17 November 2012), also known as Balasaheb Thackeray, was an Indian cartoonist and politician who founded the original Shiv Sena, a far-right, a pro- Marathi and a Hindu nationalist party active mainly in ...

Mayawati Kumari Mayawati (born Kumari Mayawati Das; 15 January 1956) is an Indian politician who served as the 18th Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh from 1995 to 1995, 1997 to 1997, 2002 to 2003 and from 2007 to 2012. She is the national president of t ...

and

Mamata Banerjee Mamata Banerjee (; born 5 January 1955) is an Indian politician who is serving as the eighth and current List of chief ministers of West Bengal, chief minister of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of West Bengal since 2 ...

Writings

What's eating the congress

The complex narratives of ‘Ghazwa-e-Hind’

COVID-19 and Indian Muslims

Cow Slaughter

Why we need a special law to curb mob lynching

Sachin Pilot & Co will be 49th breakaway from Congress. But only 16 survived on their own

References

External links

Official Twitter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kidwai, Rasheed Indian male journalists Living people Alumni of the University of Leicester Indian male novelists Indian newspaper editors Indian political writers 1967 births