The arrest of Republic TV Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami sparked outrage among people in the country, many called it a “misuse of state power”. Arnab, who is known as a fearless speaker, was arrested by Maharashtra Police in connection with a 2018 suicide case. People from all over the country have come out in support of Arnab Goswami. Soon, #WesupportArnabGoswami began trending on Twitter.
Hindi news channel Aaj Tak strongly condemned the arrest of Arnab Goswami. The BJP also came out in strong support of Arnab Goswami, led by Union ministers Smriti Irani and Prakash Javadekar, with #IndiaWithArnab trending on Twitter.
Landing in controversies is not new for Arnab Goswami. In fact, there are several unexplored facts about Arnab, that many people may not be aware of
Let’s take a glimpse at some interesting facts about this fierce journalist that the nation wants to know:
1. He was accused of faking a car attack:
In 2017, Rajdeep Sardesai had written: “Wow! My friend Arnab claims his car attacked next to CM Res in Guj riots! Truth: he wasn’t covering Ahmedabad riots!!”
He also tweeted: “Fekugiri has its limits, but seeing this, I feel sorry for my profession.”
The incident was actually described by Sardesai in his book 2014: The Election That Changed India. He wrote, “The gang wasn’t willing to listen. ‘Hamein chief minister se matlab nahi, aap log apna identity dikha’ (We don’t care about the chief minister. Show your identity cards). I showed my official press card and got my cameraperson, Narendra, to play a clip from the interview with Modi. ‘Look,’ I shouted, ‘look at this interview. Can’t you see we are journalists?’ After fifteen tense minutes and after watching the tape, they seemed to calm down a bit and we were finally allowed to go.
2. His wife is also a journalist:
Samyabrata is also an Indian journalist and news producer who is currently the editor and co-owner of Republic TV. She started off as a print media journo and has worked in several publications, such as Anand Bazaar Patrika, Tehelka and Down to Earth.
Samyabrata’s notable works include breaking the news of Sheena Bora being the daughter of Indrani Mukerjea and not sister.
3. He has ‘Y’ category security:
The ‘Y’ level of security is provided to Arnab Goswami that includes round-the-clock protection from around 11 personnel and 1 or 2 armed commandos for close proximity protection.
4. His first interview was with Sonia Gandhi:
Being a journalist, Arnab’s first-ever interview was with Congress leader, Sonia Gandhi. He was widely praised for this interview.
However, on being asked about the one person he tried to interview but failed so far, he said, “As a young reporter, I was able to get Sonia Gandhi’s interview on the tarmac of the Palam Airport. Some short interactions in the years after that. But I would really like the opportunity for a sit-down interview with her.”
5. Debating was his passion right from school:
Arnab revealed in an interview that he had a keen interest in debate since childhood.
“Earlier, in the studio, I used to have very calm, quiet discussions…so I used to really miss debating. Later, when I got the chance to start a new channel of my own, then I really came back to my old habits. And the last 7-8 years, my hobby, school hobby of debating, has become my career. And I have never enjoyed myself more on a daily basis,” he told a radio channel.
6. He loves Bollywood & Occasional reading
In one of his earlier interviews with Scroll.in he said that he loves Bollywood besides news.
He said, “I love Bollywood. I watched Tanu Weds Manu Returns and loved it. I read, but not as much as I should. Fiction is not really my cup of tea. I am currently lapping up Coomi Kapoor’s book on the Emergency.”
7. He hails from a political family:
Arnab’s father, Manoranjan Goswami is a retired Indian Army officer and a BJP member, who has contested as a BJP candidate in the general election, from Guwahati.
Arnab’s paternal grandfather Rajani Kanta Goswami was a lawyer while his maternal grandfather Gaurisankar Bhattacharyya was a legislator (CPI) and served as the leader of opposition in Assam for many years.
However, on being asked about his political leanings, he said, “I never describe myself in definitions because it’s very difficult to do that. The reason I’m telling you this is because socially, I’m very progressive. I’m for LGBT rights, etc. On issues related to India, I’m very conservative. On issues related to the economy, I’m for the free market. On issues related to religion, I myself go to all places of worship, so I’m truly secular in that sense. I’m neither AAPtard, Congi or Sanghi; I’m Arnab. I don’t want to waste my time trying to define myself.”
