Siddharth Varadarajan, Editor, 'The Hindu' -- a profile
Note: deracinate 'uproot, to remove or separate from a native environment or culture' (Merriam-Webster dictionary)
I would like to alert you to a few more facts on Siddharth Varadarajan, a deracinated Indian and citizen of the United States, born in America. He studied in Columbia University for a PhD in Economics, which he never completed. He had started a Marxist student group there by the name of the Indian Progressive Student Group whose only mandate was to attack India. He was then a member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (CPI-ML) and openly supported the Maoist revolt in the Indian heartland, not to mention the Kashmiri claim to self-determination and independence.
Surprisingly, he had also traveled to Israel - not sure why - to interview Palestinian groups? He led several demonstrations against India in front of the Indian Mission to the UN in New York. He was an avowed admirer of Stalin..
He took a close interest in events in Nepal and had traveled several times to Pakistan. He knew Prachanda well. He was closely linked to Ayesha Jalal, Sumantra Bose, Sugata Bose and Sharmila Bose. He never finished his PhD although he did have a part time lecturer position at New York University.I was surprised therefore when he returned to India to take up a position as a journalist in the "Hindu'.
Its time that both the New Indian Express and the Hindu are in Indian nationalist hands, not in the those in cohoots with international vested interests. It does not surprise me that N. Ram had designated Varadarajan as his successor.
Siddharth married a fellow student - Nandini Sundar whom he then inducted into that Marxist student group. Both were deracinated Tamils who could not speak Tamil. This said, Siddharth was a fan of Urdu poetry. Siddharth's father was a senior IAS officer who was close to the Congress Party.
--Anonymous May 12, 2013