Blitz India makes its foray into the Maximum City with a humble tribute to RK Karanjia, the legend behind its inspiration. We pay our homage with a special issue that encapsulates the life and times of the doyen of Indian journalism, whose weekly tabloid Blitz was woven into the intellectual and ideological psyche of India in the first few decades post-Independence. Along with special write-ups by two of the country’s top journalists, we publish tributes by erstwhile colleagues, who share vivid memories of landmark campaigns launched by Blitz and also throw light on rare traits of the man behind it.
Our Research Team digs out obituaries written by two close associates of RKK, who were fortunate to have worked with him for several years. We reproduce excerpts from these, besides offering the edited version of a recent piece which shows a mirror on the genius. Adding to the mix is the Centrespread where we carry excerpts from the legend’s famous reply to the Privilege Committee of the second Lok Sabha along with some outstanding cover headlines of Blitz and a few memorable photographs of Rustom Khurshedji Karanjia, who would have been 110 on September 15 this year. Long live his genius!
The Cover Story of our regular edition focuses on the Grand Old Party, which is in a state of terminal decline. The recent resignation of Ghulam Nabi Azad has virtually brought the Congress at the deadend and many don’t see any hope of its revival even after the hurriedly-announced election for the top post in the party, says our story. In a scathing resignation letter, which read like an epitaph, Azad has raised basic issues about the direction in which the Congress was being led by a coterie around Rahul Gandhi. The best course for the Congress is to facilitate an election that is as fair as possible and use it as an opportunity for revamp of the Congress. However, going by the recent past, that possibility seems remote, says our report.
As part of the Congress package, we have another story that focuses on the proposed election for the post of party president and discusses how a difficult task awaits the incumbent. Based on grapevine, our report says that Rajasthan CM and veteran Congress leader Ashok Gehlot is tipped to lead the party and weighs the pros and cons of such an eventuality. Yet another report traces the history of the major splits suffered by the party and explains how family factor remains the DNA of the Congress.
Mexico, the first Latin American country to recognise India after its independence, is our Globetrotting destination this week. Our report focuses on the cultural, social and political similarities between India and Mexico and says the Latin American nation is our biggest trading partner in the region today. Keeping the Mumbai foray in mind, our state focus is Maharashtra with two powerful stories. Enjoy reading!
