Barkha Dutt rejects retirement talk at book launch

Dutt was referring to the fact that the memoir-like tone of the work has some people speculating that she might be hanging up her boots.

“I’m definitely not retiring,” journalist Barkha Dutt said, with a laugh, during the Mumbai launch of her book, This Unquiet Land, on Thursday.

(From left) Writer Anil Dharker, journalist Barkha Dutt, actor Kangana Ranaut and former FM P Chidambaram at the launch of Dutt’s book, This Unquiet Land, on Thursday. (Bhushan Koyande)

Dutt was referring to the fact that the memoir-like tone of the work has some people speculating that she might be hanging up her boots.

This Unquiet Land was launched as part of a Literature Live! event and featured Dutt in conversation with former finance minister P Chidambaram, writer Anil Dharker and actor Kangana Ranaut. They discussed, among other issues, reportage of the Kargil War and the 26/11 terror attacks, Naxalism, and the challenges facing broadcast journalism.

Chidambaram raised the issue of mob opinion via social media informing policy-making and turning everything from governance to legislation into needless controversy. Meanwhile, he said, “a coastal police station [in Mumbai] is merely a shack, state governments are ineffective and the citizens are not angry enough to see that some action is taken against the city’s susceptibility to terror”.

Dutt, in a rebuttal, pointed out the situation was much the same when Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan was the chief minister, before the BJP-led combine won the last state election.

Chidambaram conceded that while a concern like that “is valid, every decision of the government is questioned” which has led to an atmosphere where inaction is embraced in order to avoid any kind of censure.