The Indian Media Illusion, Delusion and Reality: Essays in Honour of Prem Bhatia Edited by Asharani Mathur,
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Prem Bhatia?s generation produced two distinguished names of Indian journalism. He, born in 1911, and Sham Lal, who was born one year later. Bhatia missed the groves of academia by a shave. When he was about to leave for Oxford, he was invited in 1933 to join the British-owned Civil and Military Gazette. Delhi claimed him in 1938, when he arrived there to work for All India Radio?s News Services Division. He did a stint in the army and then came back to journalism. He worked in all the famous dailies in India, The Times of India, The Indian Express, The Statesman and The Tribune.

This volume is not about Prem Bhatia but his presence is writ right through the volume. This is a volume in honour of Prem Bhatia. Many of his former colleagues and admirers have contributed essays to it. To the present generation it needs to be pointed out that the first major scam of independent India, the Mundra scandal, was exposed only after Bhatia mentioned it in his weekly column. It was only after this that a question was tabled in the Lok Sabha.

Given Bhatia?s stature, it is entirely fitting that some of the best and the brightest figures of Indian journalism have contributed to this volume. Inder Malhotra kicks off with an essay on Bhatia himself; the facts in the first paragraph of this review are taken from that essay. Among other well-known journalists who write here are Ajit Bhattacharya, S. Nihal Singh, Mark Tully from an older generation; from the younger lot there are names like Sucheta Dalal, Raj Chengappa, Manoj Joshi, P. Sainath and Rajan Bala.

What is significant ? and this must be read as a sign of the respect that Bhatia commanded from people outside his own chosen profession ? are contributions from persons like Soli Sorabjee, Medha Patkar and Bittu Sahgal. These are not journalists and not even regular contributors to newspapers. Yet they have chosen to honour Prem Bhatia.

The world of Indian newspapers has changed beyond recognition from the time men like Prem Bhatia held sway. Journalists and editors like him could not dream of words like ?dumbing down? or ?page three?. Prem Bhatia belonged to a generation that placed their professional and personal integrity above everything else. He is worth honouring for this reason alone. This volume is a worthy tribute to a man who was a pioneer in the trade in which many of us make a living.