‘People build mythologies around leaders they believe in,’ says ThePrint Editor-in-Chief Shekhar Gupta

In ThePrint’s latest Off The Cuff, Shekhar Gupta discusses India & Pakistan’s political leaders, lessons he has learnt during his career as a journalist, and the freedom of speech.

Author and columnist Vir Sanghvi with ThePrint Editor-in-Chief Shekhar Gupta | Photo: Praveen Jain, ThePrint

New Delhi: “Freedom of speech never comes for free. Someone has to pay for it — from subscribers to those who have to face government agencies,” said ThePrint Editor-in-Chief Shekhar Gupta on the condition of freedom of speech and the media in the world.

In conversation with author and columnist Vir Sanghvi, Shekhar Gupta — occupying the interviewee seat — discussed India’s perspective on liberal democracies, freedom of speech in the country and the role of audiences in influencing the media.

Held in Bengaluru, this was the first episode of ‘Off The Cuff’ shot in-person following the pandemic.

Off The Cuff audience in Bengaluru | Photo: Praveen Jain, ThePrint

On the lessons India learnt from The Emergency (1975-77), he said, “We Indians, deep down, are not strongly wedded to the idea of a liberal democracy.”

Speaking about popular political leaders in mainstream media and their influence on the public, Gupta, using the example of Donald Trump, explored how the former US President legitimised hate during his term by tapping into the prejudices of American society against minority communities such as African-Americans, women, LGBTQIA+ communities and more, through his comments and speeches.

He also examined his first interaction with political leaders in India in 1975. “The first lesson is that politicians are hypocrites. The second is that they can betray what is deep in their hearts,” said Gupta.

He also narrated an anecdote about hearing former Haryana Chief Minister Bansi Lal speaking at an Independence Day celebration. He noted how Lal’s speech exposed the bigotry that lay deep within the leading figure of the Congress party, the same political party that was promoting secularism in India at the time.

During the over hour-long discussion, Gupta explored numerous subjects — from the dangers of not being able to trust the history one is taught and building mythologies around political leaders, to the numerous essential qualities in a good leader.

“As people believe in leaders, they build mythologies…and generations go on believing them. The dangers are phenomenal,” he said. Apart from discussing Indian political leaders such as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former PM Vishwanath Pratap Singh and more, Gupta also spoke about Pakistan’s political leaders — from Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto to Pervez Musharraf, Imran Khan — and the impact they have had on their country.

Speaking from his personal experience leading several newsrooms — from India Today and The Indian Express to now ThePrint — Gupta stated, “The one major essential need for a leader is to have a big heart.”

Touching upon the numerous experiences that have shaped the leader he is today, he listed some of the essential qualities that a good leader should have, such as having an open mind, learning from others, knowing how to deliver bad news, building a team that agrees and disagrees with their leader, and taking pride in those you work with.

One of the crucial sectors whose leadership he finds admirable is the Indian Army. “An impressive quality of the Army is that officers or leaders fulfil their moral requirement by risking their lives before their troops,” said Gupta.

Apart from discussing the significant life lessons he has learnt throughout his career as a journalist, he also noted the areas he believed he hadn’t fully explored, such as technology.

“An area that is too late for me to start learning is tech,” he said, expressing his admiration for tech journalists across the world reporting on the complexities of the field. “A lot is happening in tech, and it will determine our lives, politics and so on.”