Dear Mr Khare,

It was with disappointment and regret that I read of your departure from the Tribune newspaper. The publication had acquired a new life and zeal under your leadership, and I found myself eagerly anticipating your regular op-eds and odes to the coffee-break! In today’s environment of meek, ‘state-fed’ journalism, I admired your capacity to speak truth to power and articulate a deeper perspective of events unfolding around us.

If, as has been suggested in articles in The Wire, your departure is indeed linked to the publication of the Aadhaar data ‘theft’, then it is doubly painful and worrying that the powers-that-be are so insecure as to muzzle every single voice that they find inconvenient, instead of appreciating the investigative journalism that seeks to present truth to the citizens of this country. That the citizens have not yet responded with any alacrity to this threat to their personal liberties is deeply disheartening –after all, these are the same personal liberties that our nation’s leaders fought and died for in the struggle for independence.

I shall deeply miss the opportunity to read your writings in The Tribune, but I am sure also that yours is a voice that will be heard, no matter the forum. So, I look forward to hearing more of your insights and opinions in times to come.

Vijay Sabharwal

President,

Haryana Accredited Press Report’s Union

Kurukshetra

M-9896244822