Pankaj Vohra: Political pundit
Pankaj Vohra is the Political Editor of Hindustan Times.
Political Editor of Hindustan Times, Pankaj Vohra is a veteran journalist with over 25 years of experience. He has worked with many leading newspapers of India. Vohra has been associated with five newspapers during his career, including three of India's top dailies - the Hindustan Times, The Times of India and The Hindu.
Well known for his understanding and knowledge of the political affairs of the country, he has followed important events closely, both as correspondent and as commentator. He has covered Parliament and two major political parties - the Congress and the BJP - extensively.
Vohra started his career as a journalist with the National Herald where he worked as a cub reporter for a few months before moving to the Patriot for about two years. A four-year stint in The Times of India was followed by a shift to The Hindu, where he was soon made a Special Correspondent and reported regularly on Punjab during the peak of militancy and covered the Congress, the BJP and the Rajya Sabha.
In 1992 he was invited to join The Times of India once again, as the Metropolitan Editor this time. Subsequently elevated as Deputy Resident Editor in Delhi, he was successful in beefing up its local coverage. He then joined the Hindustan Times as Associate Editor in charge of Delhi and the NCR. In September 2001, he was elevated as the Political Editor of the paper. Vohra is the only journalist to have headed the city units of the two rivals newspapers.
Vohra has extensive experience as a reporter - from covering Indira Gandhi's meetings to the controversial rath yatras by LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, Rajiv Gandhi's election from Amethi and the fall of the VP Singh government, communal riots to militancy - the spectrum has been wide. His writings have also analysed cabinet re-shuffles and implications of important political decisions. Apart from politics, Vohra specialises in covering crime, militancy and education.
His Sunday weekly column, 'Between Us', has been a regular feature of the Hindustan Times for nearly eight years and enjoys a high readership in the capital. A number of important issues, from city affairs to national politics, have been highlighted in this column.
Vohra did his schooling from Delhi Public School, Mathura Road and later attended Delhi College (now known as Zakir Hussain College). He completed his MA in Political Science from the Delhi University in 1977.
He has also traveled extensively, both in India and abroad. He has a keen interest in Hindi film music and is a fan of Shankar-Jaikishen and OP Nayyar.