189.215.222.23 at 22:55, 28 December 2021

2021-12-28T22:55:55Z

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'''Anjan Sundaram''' is an author and journalist.

== Personal life ==

Sundaram was born in Ranchi, India, and grew up in Dubai. He studied at [[Rishi Valley School]] in India. After enrolling in the electrical engineering programme at the [[Indian Institute of Technology Madras]], he moved to the United States and graduated from [[Yale University]] in 2005. Sundaram earned a master's degree in mathematics as an undergraduate at Yale, studying [[abstract algebra]] under mathematician and activist [[Serge Lang]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.openthemagazine.com/article/international/the-assignment |title=The Assignment |work=Open Magazine |date= |access-date=2013-11-02}}</ref> He then began to write, reporting for [[The New York Times]] and The [[Associated Press]] from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and India, among other countries.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.brockwood.org.uk/pdf/observer_summer2016_web_slim.pdf |title=We are in this world together |publisher=Brockwood Park School |access-date=2019-09-16}}</ref> He taught journalism in 2016 at Brockwood Park, an alternative school founded by [[Jiddu Krishnamurti]] in Hampshire, England. In 2018, he obtained a PhD in Literature from the [[University of East Anglia]], with a focus on postcolonial literature.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/66958/ |title=Forgotten newsmakers : postcolonial chronicles of stringers and local journalists in Central Africa |publisher=University of East Anglia |access-date=2019-09-10}}</ref>

== Books ==
Sundaram's first book ''Stringer: A Reporter's Journey in the Congo'', a coming of age memoir that explores the neglect of the world's deadliest war in Congo, earned him comparisons to [[Ryszard Kapuściński]] and [[V.S. Naipaul|V. S. Naipaul]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.randomhouse.com/book/227869/stringer-by-anjan-sundaram#praise |title=Stringer by Anjan Sundaram - Book - eBook |publisher=Random House |date=2011-03-08 |access-date=2013-10-21}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cjr.org/reality_check/first_person_documenting.php?page=all |title=Upsides to 'I' |work=Columbia Journalism Review |date=2014-02-05 |access-date=2013-02-23}}</ref> ''Stringer'' was featured on ''[[The Daily Show]]'' with [[Jon Stewart]], who called the book "remarkable". It was also a [[Royal African Society]] book of the year and a [[BBC]] book of the week.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-january-23-2014/anjan-sundaram |title=The Daily Show, Anjan Sundaram |work=The Daily Show |date= |access-date=2014-02-23}}</ref> A feature of Sundaram's writing is his immersion in a place and his portrayals of what it feels like to be there.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nawaidanjum.wordpress.com/2013/03/25/my-life-is-in-seeking-out-experience-feeling-emotion |title=Signposts |publisher=Asian Age |date=2013-03-25 |access-date=2013-02-23}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/03/04/the_things_they_carried_the_congolese_rebel |title=The Things They Carried: The Congolese Rebel - Interview by Anjan Sundaram |publisher=Foreign Policy |date= |access-date=2013-10-21}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://granta.com/a-place-on-earth/ |title=A Place on Earth|publisher=Granta |date=2013-02-01 |access-date=2015-02-23}}</ref> In 2015 a jury of journalists awarded him the annual [[Frontline Club]] prize for his war reporting from the Central African Republic.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.frontlineclub.com/awards/ |title=Frontline Club Award |publisher=Frontline Cub |date= |access-date=2015-12-30}}</ref> He received a [[Reuters]] environmental journalism prize in 2006 for his reporting from the Democratic Republic of Congo.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iucn.org/media/media_awards/past/ |title=Past Awards |publisher=IUCN |access-date=2013-10-21 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131023125614/http://iucn.org/media/media_awards/past/ |archive-date=2013-10-23 }}</ref>

''Bad News: Last Journalists in a Dictatorship'', about the destruction of free speech and the rise of dictatorship in Rwanda, was published in January 2016 and named an Amazon Best Book of the year. [[Noam Chomsky]] praised the book for providing "insights about the human condition that reach far beyond the tragic story of Rwanda." [[Christiane Amanpour]] interviewed Anjan about the book in 2020.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://edition.cnn.com/videos/tv/2020/09/25/amanpour-sundaram-paul-rusesabagina-hotel-rwanda.cnn |title=Shocking Twist for Hotel Rwanda hero |newspaper=CNN |date= |access-date=2021-05-05}}</ref> ''Bad News'' documents the persecution of journalists in Rwanda, including a non-exhaustive appendix of Rwandan journalists, many of whom were killed, [[disappeared]], arrested, or forced into exile.<ref name=Lemarchand>{{cite journal |first=René|last=Lemarchand|authorlink=René Lemarchand |title=Rwanda: the state of Research {{!}} Sciences Po Violence de masse et Résistance – Réseau de recherche |journal=Sciencespo.fr |date=2018 |url=https://www.sciencespo.fr/mass-violence-war-massacre-resistance/en/document/rwanda-state-research |issn=1961-9898}}</ref> ''The Guardian'' called it "an important book that should shatter any lingering faith people might hold in [[Kagame]]'s hideous regime" and the Washington Post described it as "courageous and heartfelt."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/jan/11/bad-news-last-journalists-in-dictatorship-anjan-sundaram-review-rwanda-paul-kagame |title=Rwanda's Big Brother |newspaper=The Guardian |date= |access-date=2016-02-25}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/in-rwanda-a-journalist-opens-his-notebook-to-expose-injustice/2016/01/21/19abf742-a353-11e5-9c4e-be37f66848bb_story.html |title=In Rwanda, a journalist opens his notebook to expose injustice |newspaper=Washington Post |date= |access-date=2016-02-25}}</ref>

== Television ==

Sundaram hosted a four-part series in 2016 called ''Deciphering India with Anjan Sundaram'',<ref>{{cite web|date=|title=Deciphering India with Anjan Sundaram|url=https://tv.toggle.sg/en/shows/deciphering-india-with/episodes|access-date=2019-09-10|publisher=Channel News Asia}}</ref> which explores the contentious rise of [[nationalism]] in India. The episodes were titled "Godmen", "The Sacred Cow", "The Great Indian Male" and "Identity".

He hosted a four-part television series called ''Coded World'' in 2019.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/video-on-demand/coded-world |title=Coded World |publisher=Channel News Asia |date= |access-date=2019-09-10}}</ref> The four episodes explore how [[algorithms]] and [[artificial intelligence]] are changing humans. The series combines Sundaram's expertise in mathematics and journalism.

== Talks ==

His [[TED (conference)|TED]] talk in 2017, titled ''Why I risked my life to expose a government massacre'', is about his reporting on remote conflicts. <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ted.com/talks/anjan_sundaram_why_i_risked_my_life_to_expose_a_government_massacre |title=Why I Risked My Life to Report on a Government Massacre |publisher=TED |date= |access-date=2019-09-10}}</ref>

In 2016 he gave a talk called ''Detecting a Dictatorship'' at the [[Oslo Freedom Forum]], about journalists who confronted Rwanda's authoritarian government.<ref>{{cite web|date=|title=Detecting a Dictatorship|url=https://oslofreedomforum.com/talks/detecting-a-dictatorship|access-date=2019-09-10|publisher=Oslo Freedom FOrum}}</ref>

== Links ==
* {{official website|http://www.anjansundaram.com}}
* [https://www.ted.com/talks/anjan_sundaram_why_i_risked_my_life_to_expose_a_government_massacre Anjan Sundaram's TED Talk]
* [https://www.pbs.org/wnet/amanpour-and-company/video/rwandas-increasingly-authoritarian-climate/ Christiane Amanpour speaks to Anjan Sundaram]
* [https://www.npr.org/2016/01/13/462950410/bad-news-chronicles-the-loss-of-press-freedom-in-rwanda "'Bad News' Chronicles the Loss of Press Freedom in Rwanda"], radio interview with Sundaram on NPR's ''[[All Things Considered]]'' (6 min., 2016)

== Bibliography ==

{{reflist}}

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[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of East Anglia]]
[[Category:Indian war correspondents]]
[[Category:Indian male journalists]]
[[Category:Yale University alumni]]
[[Category:People from Ranchi]]
[[Category:People from Dubai]]
[[Category:Indian memoirists]]
[[Category:Journalists from Jharkhand]]
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Anjan Sundaram - Revision history

189.215.222.23 at 22:55, 28 December 2021