News Broadcasting
Kalli Purie urges RSS to boost women’s role in leadership at book launch
MUMBAI: When Kalli Purie took the mic, she made sure the Sangh heard more than just polite applause. Speaking in the presence of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat at the launch of Tan Samarpit, Man Samarpit, a biography of swayamsevak Ramesh Prakash India Today group vice chairperson called for women to find stronger footing in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s leadership structures.
Purie praised the Sangh’s famed simplicity, discipline, and its unusual ability for century-long planning, referencing its centennial blueprint and Panch Parivartan vision. But she also pushed the envelope, noting that corruption must not be normalised as “a way of life”. She spotlighted India Today’s experiment with Gross Domestic Behaviour (GDB), a metric designed to gauge civic discipline, inclusivity, gender balance, and attitudes towards corruption.
Her candour drew a direct response from the Sarsanghchalak himself. Bhagwat stressed that true social transformation cannot come from ideas alone: “Knowledge is not enough. Change comes only when it reflects in the swayamsevak’s life through discipline, example, and practice.”
On the question of women’s representation, he pointed to the Rashtra Sevika Samiti, the women’s wing founded in 1936, which he described as running in parallel to the RSS. “Wherever there are swayamsevaks, women are alongside,” he said, adding that in many regions, women are invited into core meetings, their proposals are included, and their role in decision-making is expanding. “Fifty per cent of society cannot be kept outside,” he underlined, while noting that processes differ across states, which he framed as a mark of the Sangh’s evolving nature.
Yet Bhagwat also added a note of balance: “Rashtra seva should never come at the cost of family duties. The two are complementary, not contradictory.”
Between Purie’s call for parity and Bhagwat’s emphasis on gradual adaptation, the evening turned into more than just a book launch, it became a mirror to the Sangh’s ongoing conversation about gender, governance, and the path to social change.
News Broadcasting
Rajesh Sundaram joins NDTV Profit as senior editor, assignment
The 32-year newsroom veteran has launched channels on three continents and covered everything from 9/11 to South African television
MUMBAI: NDTV Profit has bolstered its newsroom with a hire who has done rather more than most. Rajesh Sundaram, a journalist with over three decades of editorial, managerial and consultative experience across India and international markets, joins as senior editor, assignment, tasked with sharpening the network’s newsgathering and real-time response.
Sundaram’s career reads like a tour of Indian media’s most formative moments. He began at Businessworld in 1994, moved to Zee News as bureau chief across Mumbai and Chennai, then joined NDTV in 2002 as part of its political bureau during a particularly febrile period in Indian politics. A stint as India correspondent for Al Jazeera International followed, where he covered key geopolitical developments and got his first serious taste of the global newsroom.
What sets Sundaram apart, however, is his serial channel-launching habit. At NewsX, he helped get the operation off the ground. At Headlines Today, part of the India Today Group, he served as editor. At News Nation, he helped launch the Hindi news channel and its digital ecosystem. He then crossed continents to lead the launch of ANN7 in South Africa as editor-in-chief, overseeing both television and digital. Back in India, he launched Tamil news channels News7 Tamil and Cauvery News, and later served as principal consultant for the launch of Marathi channel Lokshahi. Most recently, he helped build and lead the Press Trust of India’s video service and content studio, before stints consulting for Business Today and The Himalayan Times.
Rahul Kanwal, chief executive and editor-in-chief of NDTV, left little doubt about what Sundaram is expected to deliver. “The assignment desk is where a newsroom’s intent becomes action,” he said. “Rajesh brings a rare combination of field experience and leadership in building news operations at scale.”
Sundaram has reported from across India and the world, covering elections, civil conflicts, the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks and the 2008 US presidential election.
At NDTV Profit, he will lead the assignment desk, driving editorial coordination and real-time response across markets and breaking developments. For a business news network sharpening its focus on speed and multi-platform delivery, it has hired a man who has built newsrooms from scratch on three continents. The assignment desk is in good hands.
