Post-Conatus News Meander 4: Rakshit Sharma
Publisher: In-Sight Publishing
Publisher Founding: March 1, 2014
Web Domain: http://www.in-sightpublishing.com
Location: Fort Langley, Township of Langley, British Columbia, Canada
Journal: In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal
Journal Founding: August 2, 2012
Frequency: Three (3) Times Per Year
Review Status: Non-Peer-Reviewed
Access: Electronic/Digital & Open Access
Fees: None (Free)
Volume Numbering: 13
Issue Numbering: 1
Section: A
Theme Type: Idea
Theme Premise: “Outliers and Outsiders”
Theme Part: 32
Formal Sub-Theme: Post-Conatus News Meander
Individual Publication Date: December 8, 2024
Issue Publication Date: January 1, 2025
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Word Count: 1,361
Image Credits: Photo by Naveed Ahmed on Unsplash.
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN): 2369-6885
Please see the footnotes, bibliography, and citations, after the publication.*
Abstract
Rakshit Sharma began his journalism career while in college, connecting with Conatus News. After studying history and eventually dropping out, he pursued journalism and now works at the Hindustan Times, covering agriculture, education, and public health in Ludhiana, Punjab. His career has shifted ideologically, moving from atheism and leftist views to embracing family values and a more spiritual identity. Sharma acknowledges the challenges of maintaining objectivity in journalism, especially in an agrarian region like Punjab.
Keywords: agrarian society in Punjab news, Conatus News focus on politics, family as societal building block, Hindustan Times editorial standards, Indian journalism diploma necessity, objective journalism in India, Punjab agricultural controversies coverage.
Post-Conatus News Meander 4: Rakshit Sharma
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: What is your background and moving forward since Conatus New?
Rakshit Sharma: Yes. So, I was in my first year of college. We have three years for a typical graduation. I was in either part 1 or part 2 when I connected with the people at Conatus News.
I went on to study history after that, but something happened, and I dropped out. One thing led to another, and I eventually got into journalism. I am working with one of India’s leading newspapers, the Hindustan Times.
I’m currently working with the Hindustan Times. I’m based in Ludhiana, Punjab, and I cover agriculture, education, and public health. Conatus News played an important role in shaping my career in its own way.
That was my first real interaction with journalism.
Jacobsen: You studied journalism formally, right? Not everyone does that. You were a social media officer at Uncommon Ground Media, a journalism intern at News Now, and a former sub-editor at First Post. There is a clear progression; working at a small progressive activist outlet helped you in the long run.
Sharma: Yes. The thing is, you don’t have to study journalism to become a journalist here in India. I suppose that’s true outside India as well. However, it would help if you typically had a diploma to secure a job with a reputable media house.
We have an institute called the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), which is ranked as the top journalism school in India. I didn’t go there to learn journalism; I went there to get a diploma so I could get a good job, and I’m doing well.
It was a practical orientation. Also, I wanted to mention that I’ve gone through a lot of change over the years on both personal and ideological fronts.
Back then, I identified as an atheist—left of center, no, actually just left. Now, I’ve developed some spiritual beliefs. I wouldn’t say I’m fully religious, nor am I a practicing Hindu. Still, I do now feel a connection with my religious identity.
Jacobsen: Does this change come more from belief, practice, or both for you?
Sharma: For me, it’s mostly belief. Maybe it’s part of personal growth, or as some would call it, the dynamic of synthesis, antithesis, and synthesis. My position in 2017 was quite different—it was radical. Then, my thoughts began to evolve, and it’s been a process ever since. : I’m still undergoing a lot of changes.
Jacobsen: What would you argue with people about?
Sharma: I’m still trying to figure that out.
Jacobsen: What was the feeling as you transitioned from center-left to a different political stance and from atheism to a more spiritual belief structure?
Sharma: How do I put it, I’ve grown to believe that family is important. I see people on the left, those who identify as leftists, and I’m afraid I have to disagree with their position on family and related matters. I believe family is the building block of society.
So the positions that the left usually take on a lot of issues, in the long run, involve doing away with family as the basic unit of society. That is something we want in the short term.
Jacobsen: It’s a strange thing. Most religions, outside of aberrations in the interpretation of holy scripture and belief, strongly emphasize the ethical value of family as a fundamental unit in society. Suppose you look at the United Nations, the largest bureaucratic, essentially secular structure. In that case, they also stipulate in their founding documents that the family is the fundamental group unit of society.
So whether it’s the largest bureaucratic secular organization in the world or the major religions, or the religions that have a significant following globally, their interpretation is that family is a fundamental group unit. So you’re arguing more about left-wing political and social thought strands. Is that accurate?
Sharma: Yes.
Jacobsen: Now that you’re working at Hindustan Times, how do you characterize the kind of reportage, the editorial standards, the stories you pick, those you reject, and so on?
Sharma: We have been trained in what I would call fairly objective journalism, but it’s hard not to let your personal bias slip into your reports. We mostly do reports, but we also do analysis pieces around elections.
At times, the kind of questions you ask and the kind of stories you find interesting seem to come from your biases or preconceived notions. It’s always a struggle. You always remind yourself that you can’t ignore a point of view or a certain way of looking at things just because you have certain preconceived ideas. Also, we have good people leading us here at the bureau, so they ensure that we don’t fall into that trap.
Jacobsen: What would you say has been your most popular article? And what has been the most difficult one to write?
Sharma: A couple of days ago, there was a controversy here in Punjab. There’s a variety of paddy called PR 126. It was supposed to be a short-duration variety with good quality. But then something happened. Local private companies sold their hybrids, claiming it to be PR 126, and it didn’t yield the same results that the university, which developed the variety, had promised.
So there was a lot of trouble a couple of weeks ago. It’s harvest season here in Punjab. The farmers are taking their produce to the markets. The millers, who are supposed to take in the paddy and give rice to the public distribution system here in Punjab, refused to lift the paddy. The farmers were coming to the market, dumping the product. Then, no place was left for other farmers to bring in their produce because the paddy wasn’t being lifted.
They’re also trying to bring it to the market. So, the local government asked Punjab Agricultural University, a research university here in Ludhiana, to conduct milling trials for that particular variety. It turned out that many hybrids being sold in the market didn’t yield good results and had a lot of breakage.
So the rice grain, for it to be considered good quality, should have no more than 25% breakage. Two-thirds of it should be full grain after it’s been milled. It turned out that the breakage was higher during the university’s milling trials. I got wind of this and spoke to the vice-chancellor. He shared all the details with me, and I published the story. The report still needed to be beneficially released; they were supposed to submit it by the end of the season, so it created quite a stir. I told the officials they should have been more cautious. I kept the results private after the final report was out, but that was the situation. That’s fine. I keep checking on these things. We’ve got a couple of minutes left.
Jacobsen: As a Canadian, I’ve noticed that the British news style differs slightly from how we orient ourselves here. When I did journalism in the UK, I found that the way news is prioritized there is a little different from how it’s handled in Canada. I was curious about your experience, particularly covering farming and universities. How do you find the character of news and opinion pieces in India, and how does it compare with the British style? Where do you see differences, and where do you see similarities?
Sharma: So, at Conatus News, we were a niche website. We focused mainly on politics, extremism, and radical Islam—our main topics. But here at Hindustan Times, we focus on stories that resonate with the masses. Punjab is an agrarian society, so agriculture is a big news item here. Anything connected to agriculture has new value in Punjab. Also, stories about center-province relationships and environmental issues are significant here, especially because Punjab is sensitive. At Conatus News, we didn’t focus on those areas. We were concerned with entirely different topics.
Jacobsen: Again, thank you so much for this interview, Rakshit. What was it–about six or seven years later?
Jacobsen: Yes, I really appreciate it. It was good to catch up.
Sharma: Excellent. Thank you.
Jacobsen: Nice talking to you.
Footnotes
None
Citations
American Medical Association (AMA 11th Edition): Jacobsen S. Post-Conatus News Meander 4: Rakshit Sharma. December 2024; 13(1). http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/conatus-news-4
American Psychological Association (APA 7th Edition): Jacobsen, S. (2024, December 8). Post-Conatus News Meander 4: Rakshit Sharma’. In-Sight Publishing. 13(1).
Brazilian National Standards (ABNT): JACOBSEN, S. Post-Conatus News Meander 4: Rakshit Sharma’. In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal, Fort Langley, v. 13, n. 1, 2024.
Chicago/Turabian, Author-Date (17th Edition): Jacobsen, Scott. 2024. “Post-Conatus News Meander 4: Rakshit Sharma’.” In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal 13, no. 1 (Winter). http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/conatus-news-4.
Chicago/Turabian, Notes & Bibliography (17th Edition): Jacobsen, S. “Post-Conatus News Meander 4: Rakshit Sharma.” In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal 13, no. 1 (December 2024). http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/conatus-news-4.
Harvard: Jacobsen, S. (2024) ‘Post-Conatus News Meander 4: Rakshit Sharma’, In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal, 13(1). http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/conatus-news-4.
Harvard (Australian): Jacobsen, S 2024, ‘Post-Conatus News Meander 4: Rakshit Sharma’, In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal, vol. 13, no. 1, http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/conatus-news-4.
Modern Language Association (MLA, 9th Edition): Jacobsen, Scott. “Post-Conatus News Meander 4: Rakshit Sharma.” In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal, vo.13, no. 1, 2024, http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/conatus-news-4.
Vancouver/ICMJE: Jacobsen S. Post-Conatus News Meander 4: Rakshit Sharma [Internet]. 2024 Dec; 13(1). Available from: http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/conatus-news-4.
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