M. J. Akbar

A prominent Journalist and writer revered by many in the industry, M.J Akbar cast his hat in the political ring in 1989. Prior to venturing into the political arena, he had a gargantuan reputation as an eminent editor of various newspapers, that he had helped establish in the big leagues. Akbar started out as a trainee journalist in Times of India in 1971 and thereafter quickly established himself as a prolific writer/reporter, who was swiftly promoted up the journalistic ranks. He then decided to launch his own media ventures, that in no time, morphed into one of the biggest media agencies in India. The brainchild of Akbar, Asian age was the first media house to cover international stories to a large extent. It soon coveted the ranks of the best news agencies in the world, with offices both in India and abroad. He got his first taste in politics in 1989 as an MP of Kishanganj. Subsequently, he lost the following election and took a long sabbatical in politics and dived back into Journalism. He again entered the political ring and was elected as the member of Rajya Sabha in 2015 and was re-elected in 2016. In 2016, he was appointed the Minister of External Affairs the position he was forced to resign when he was accused of fostering an environment of fear, rage, misogyny, abuse and systematic harassment during his stint as an Editor in every organization he presided over. In the wake of the Me Too movement, 20 women accused Akbar of sexually harassing them during their stint in his organization.