M. J. Akbar

Some Lesser Known Facts About M. J. Akbar

• Does M. J. Akbar smoke?: No

• Does M. J. Akbar drink alcohol?: Yes

• He was born in a Hindu family who later changed their religion to Islam.

• M.J. Akbar has done his BA (Hons) in English from Presidency College, Kolkata.

• Immediately after his graduation, he joined The Times of India as a trainee in 1971.

• With his emerging talent, he became the sub-editor of The Illustrated Weekly of India, which was India’s largest-selling magazine at that time.

• In 1975, Akbar got married to Mallika Joseph, his fellow mate at The Times of India. The couple is now blessed with a son- Prayaag, an alumnus of Dartmouth College, and daughter- Mukulika, a Law graduate from Jesus College, Cambridge.

• His journalism career rose to prominence when he joined the Ananda Bazar Patrika (ABP) Group as editor of popular political weekly- The Sunday.

  

• In 1982, Akbar launched India’s first modern newspaper The Telegraph, which took newspaper journalism of India to new heights.

  

• In 1990, he published his first book which was a biography of the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru entitled “Nehru: The Making of India”.

  

• He has worked as an official spokesman for late Former Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi.

• In 1991, he worked as an adviser in the Ministry of Human Resources and was involved in various planning areas.

• Akbar resigned from this post and quit politics in December 1992 and made a come back in his writings and journalism career.

• After returning to journalism, he was of the vision to launch India’s first newspaper that would not only include an international focus within its editorial range but also be the first Indian daily with an international edition.

• In February 1994, “The Asian Age,” an English-language Indian daily newspaper, was launched with its initial editions published in Delhi, Bombay and international publication in London.

  

• Akbar has also worked as an editor-in-chief of “The Deccan Chronicle” a Hyderabad based Newspaper.

  

• By 2008, the newspaper was spread globally, and according to some sources, Akbar was removed from The Asian Age and Deccan Chronicle due to some misunderstanding with the owners over editorial policy.

• Akbar has written many non-fictional books that won the heart of the public- Riot After Riot in 1991, Kashmir: Behind the Vale in 1991, India: The Siege within – Challenges to a Nation’s Unity in 1996, The Shade of Swords: Jihad, and the Conflict between Islam and Christianity in 2003.

• On 31 January 2010, he launched a new Sunday newspaper titled “The Sunday Guardian,” which was published from New Delhi and Chandigarh.

  

• In 2012, his book- “Tinderbox: The Past and Future of Pakistan” – A fine and detailed history of Indian Muslim anger and insecurity attracted many people worldwide.

  

• On 13 May 2008, he launched a political magazine entitled ‘Covert‘ with its website in Delhi, but two days later, the site was discontinued.

  

• After serving as the Editorial Director of the leading weekly English news magazine- “India Today” and the English news channel- “Headlines Today,” in October 2012. he quit the journalism to join politics.

• In July 2015, he was elected to Rajya Sabha from Jharkhand.

• On 5 July 2016, Akbar took oath as Minister of State for External Affairs in Rashtrapati Bhavan.

• Akbar has also penned down hit fiction books named Blood Brothers-A Family Saga and Have Pen, Will Travel.

  

• In May 2025, Akbar was chosen as a member of a multi-party delegation established to rally global support for India’s military action against Pakistan. He visited the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom to brief the countries about India’s perspective.