On 26 October 2006, the IISS held a Discussion meeting with Mr M J Akbar, Editor-in-Chief, The Asian Age, India. He spoke on ‘Religious Radicalism in South Asia: Problems and Prospects’.
Mr. Mobashar Jawed Akbar is Founder & Editor-in-Chief of The Asian Age, India’s first global newspaper, & Editor-in-Chief of the Deccan Chronicle. The Asian Age, launched in 1994 with initial editions in Delhi, Bombay, and London, has now grown to eight editions with a major media presence in India and abroad. In 2004, the group began publishing The International Herald Tribune in India, and became a publishing partner of The New York Times. In the 1970s and 1980s, Mr. Akbar also launched and edited Sunday, India's first genuine political weekly, and The Telegraph (Calcutta), a prominent daily newspaper.
A former Member of Parliament (1989-91) and Advisor to the Ministry of Human Resources, Government of India, Mr. Akbar is the author of a number of books that have achieved international acclaim. These include "Blood Brothers: A Family Saga"; "The Shade of Swords: Jihad and the Conflict Between Islam & Christianity"; "Nehru: The Making of a Nation"; "Kashmir: Behind the Vale"; "India: The Siege Within"; and "Riot after Riot". Last year, he was invited by His Majesty King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia to become a member of the Forum of Islamic Scholars and Intellectuals; earlier this year, he joined the Brookings Institution in Washington DC as a Visiting Fellow on its project on 'U.S. Policy Towards the Islamic World'.
