Breaking Ground

   RAMI CHHABRA
 
   Hardcover, 2012, English, 1st Edition,
   469 Pages    978-81-237-6598-3

   Paperback, 2012, English, 1st Edition,
   469 Pages   978-81-237-6597-3

 

 

The Nehruvian-era' of post-Independence India roused unprecedented hopes and expectations in the country, particularly among the educated classes. Growing up during those atmospheric years and starting out professionally in the historic fifties and sixties, Rami Chhabra carved a niche for herself as a pioneering 'woman' journalist. The book, presented as her 'professional memoir', takes us deep into a positive life perspective turning into a complex web of disappointments, bewilderments—and committed battles—as the times changed, particularly in the last two decades of globalization. Fascinating and passionately narrated, with minute details of events throwing light on the struggle for women's equality and public service communication space, in particular the intersection with sexuality, the book offers a rare insight into 'other' sides of nation-building..

Rami Chhabra (born 1938, Dehra Ismail Khan, NWIT, Pre-Partition India) is a veteran media-person and social-activist whose life and work represent sustained commitment to women and social-development issues, addressed through multiple roles. Her expertise in public-service communication, population, women and development has been utilised by Government, national/international NG0s/agencies, including World Bank WHO. UNFP. A graduate (Eng. Hons, Miranda House, Delhi University) she has also pursued post-graduate courses in Law and Sociology. Known as a pioneer woman journalist, Rami is amongst the handful who broke into the all-male newspaper-bastions in the late-fifties; anchored regularly on Doordarsan since its inception. She carved independent columnist-space: Hindustan Times (1960-63); The Statesman (1969-1980); The Indian kxpress (1974-80). "A Feminist Viewpoint" (The Indian Express, 1977-80) broke ground-space for women's issues, while her daring entry into Vietnam, after Saigon's collapse, and 2000- kilometer road-odyssey became an internationally-published world-scoop. Post-Emergency. family-planning programme critiques of this 'silent-emergency' took her beyond media to leading NGO, Family Planning Foundation (1978-86), spearheading work to depoliticise and re-energise family-planning in the country. Appointed in 1986 as Advisor/Additional Secretary in the Union Health & Family Welfare Ministry by Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, she brought a paradigm shift to family welfare communication and a breakthrough on TV with the path-breaking one-minute spots with social messages on 'prime time'. The past two decades have witnessed her fearless battle against ‘mal-developments' in health and public communication arenas; speak for peace on the Subcontinent. Widely-travelled and a well-known public speaker, she was UN Fellow at the historic IWY Conference, Mexico City, 1975; participant, UN Mid-Decade Women and Media Meeting, New York, 1980;official delegate, Women's Decade Conference, Nairobi, 1985. Married, with three children, three grandchildren, she lives in Delhi.

 

 

Book Review:

Business Line: Rami, a very special correspondent....

 

The Sunday Statesman : Personal, political and more....

   

The Asian Age:  “Gang rapes reflects social ...

 

The Hindu: An  involved  bystander....

 

The Tribune: Journey Into the Media...