Hello! my name is Kunāl Majumder

With 17 years in journalism, media leadership, and academia, I’ve dedicated my career to advancing press freedom and fostering innovation. Currently, as a Knight Wallace Fellow at the University of Michigan, I’m studying AI, U.S. foreign policy, and entrepreneurship, focusing on leveraging public policy to enhance journalist protections. Previously, as the India Representative for the Committee to Protect Journalists, I led efforts to document press freedom violations and advocate for journalist safety. I continue to support impactful journalism as an advisor to the Impulse Model Press Lab and have taught as a visiting faculty member at Jamia Millia Islamia University. Throughout my career, I’ve held leadership roles at major Indian media outlets like Tehelka, Indian Express, and Zee Media, launching platforms like Catch News and InUth to engage young audiences. Throughout my career, my work on issues ranging from rural reporting to gender sensitivity has earned recognition, including awards and fellowships such as the EUVP Fellowship, the Jan Mitra Award, the Statesman Award for Rural Reporting and UNFPA-Laadli Award for Gender Sensitivity.
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‘China provokes us but we still don’t know how to fight it’

by Kunal Majumder 2 minutes read.

THIS NEW book is a detailed critique of the military strategy of India. NC Asthana, a top IPS officer, and Anjali Nirmal, who has a doctorate in police administration, examine India’s preparedness in case of a war. Ranging across war doctrines, strategies, perceived threats and military capacity, they study what is wrong with Indian military. In a conversation with Kunal Majumder, the authors outline the reasons our strategies are often Pakistan-centric and why we are scared of China.

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India’s hyperactive judiciary

by Kunal Majumder 7 minutes read.

On 2 February 2012, hours before lawyers and judges met on the Supreme Court (SC) of India lawn to bid Justice AK Ganguly farewell, the retiring judge and his colleague Justice GS Singhvi dropped a bombshell on the government. Ganguly and Singhvi, who were part of the bench hearing the $15.4 billion telecom scam case, cancelled all the 123 telecom licenses allotted by the government.

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Fence-sitters Eye a Windfall

by Kunal Majumder 2 minutes read.

THE RESULTS of the Manipur Assembly election are some weeks away but horse-trading has already begun. Tapes of alleged conversation of a Delhi-based journalist with a Cabinet minister and a key Congress leader reveal plans to buy the support of Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLAs to form the government. While TEHELKA could not independently verify the authenticity of the tapes, senior politicians accept that such activity will only increase once the results are out on 6 March.

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Splinter cells and the Chaos Theory

by Kunal Majumder 12 minutes read.

Renegade Maoist groups wreak havoc in Jharkhand, often with the tacit support of the state police. Last year on 7 April, after the murder of Reliance Power general manager Manoj Ojha by a Maoist renegade group in Chatra district, Jharkhand IG RK Malik made an unusually candid admission. He accepted that the Tritiya Prastuti Committee (TPC), a renegade group believed to be responsible for Ojha’s death, was once an ally of the state police. Malik went on to add that the group was no longer under police control after turning criminal. And that the police has been instructed to take action against TPC operatives.

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‘Institutions in Pak are on a head-on collision’

by Kunal Majumder 15 minutes read.

PAKISTAN IS in a political crisis, again. Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani is openly targeting the army. The army and ISI are digging up dirt against the prime minister on Memogate and are angry with his statements. The judiciary is adamant on pursuing corruption cases against President Asif Ali Zardari and is charging the prime minister for contempt. Amidst all this chaos, talks of a possible coup are doing the rounds. Gilani has been summoned to appear before the Supreme Court. Controversial Pak-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz, the man who claimed to have delivered the controversial memo to the Americans, is to visit Pakistan on 24 January. Kunal Majumder spoke to Ayesha Siddiqa, Pakistan’s leading authority on civil-military relations, about her assessment of the changing equations between the army, judiciary and the government.

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