Vijay Simha

Editor at Greenpeace
vijsimha@gmail.com

Summary
• Fifteen years of top-of-the-line experience with some of the most luminous names in the Indian
media world

• Helped launch two magazines

• Headed teams since 1992-93, and managed newsrooms periodically thereafter

• Extensively reported on Indian politics and the Indian society

• Consistently delivered high-value stories and articles that competitors regretted they didn't have

• Have done broadcast scripts for All India Radio (AIR)

• Exemplary editing skills in the media industry and the publishing world

• Insight into human nature that enables quality teamwork

• Will accept challenging freelance assignments

• I'd like to work with global media icons

• I also work in the field of recovery and rehabilitation from alcohol and drug abuse

• I have begun the process of setting up social organisations

• Have been interviewed on special 30-minute programs on NDTV (one time) and CNN-IBN (two
times), leading Indian news and current affairs television channels

• Was invited for a US Congress briefing in 2008 on "The Threat Religious Extremism Poses to
Democracy and Security in India: Focus on Orissa", after my reporting on the Kandhamal attacks on
Christians in India

Specialties
WRITING: Politics, international affairs, crime, cinema, community relations, society, human

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behaviour

MEDIA: Launching print publications, newspaper and magazine production, building editorial teams,
mentoring younger journalists, writing narrative articles, interviewing the influentials, editing, and
news reporting that compels others to follow-up

NON-PROFIT: Counseling for alcohol and drug addiction, sobriety campaigns

Experience
Editor at Greenpeace
July 2009 - Present (6 months)

Independent Journalist and Writer at India

January 2009 - Present (1 year)

Sobriety Campaigner at India

January 2005 - Present (5 years)

Senior Editor at Tehelka, New Delhi, India

July 2008 - March 2009 (9 months)
• My primary responsibility was to initiate and execute major political and other stories and to plan
and oversee the political coverage of the paper.

• At the same time, I functioned as a key member of the core editorial team at Tehelka, helping
shape the overall editorial tone and policy as well as the weekly menu of both the paper and the
website.

• My job involved a great deal of initiative and autonomy. As a senior member of Tehelka, I
contributed my energies to the overall direction and growth of the company.

Senior Associate Editor, The Caravan, at Delhi Press, New Delhi, India
March 2008 - July 2008 (5 months)
• Delhi Press is India's largest magazine publishing house. Delhi Press publishes four of India's top
10 magazines, including India's largest-selling magazine for the last 10 years.

• The Caravan is one of India's oldest magazines, having begun in 1939. It was revived in late 2008
after more than 20 years.

• The Caravan is now an English fortnightly journal of politics, the arts, and literature. It relies on
high-calibre narrative journalism.

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 • My job was to: Help build The Caravan in an altogether fresh outlook and perspective
2 recommendations available upon request

Executive Editor, The Sunday Indian; Associate Editor, Policy, Business & Economy; at
Planman Media, New Delhi, India
April 2006 - July 2007 (1 year 4 months)
• Planman Media brings out four publications from New Delhi in various fields (policy, economy,
politics, marketing, etc.).

• The Sunday Indian is the only news and current affairs magazine in the world that is published in
14 languages.

• Business & Economy is one of India's fast-growing business magazines.

• My job was to: Create and conceptualise The Sunday Indian

• Be an ambassador for the brand. Build a team and run the editorial part of the magazine's mother
edition

• Take the lead in making the magazine grow, with stories and production. Give character to the
publication, finalise the design and the look of the magazine

• Put the magazine to print every week

• Write important stories

• Rewrite, edit, and plan content

• Train younger journalists

1 recommendation available upon request

Senior Writer at Tehelka, New Delhi, India

March 2004 - March 2006 (2 years 1 month)
• Tehelka is an iconic publication, which has spawned a new genre of journalism.

• Tehelka, India's leading investigative magazine, is headed by Tarun J Tejpal and has several
successful stories. The biggest is Operation West End in 2001, when Tehelka was an online
magazine

• Operation West End exposed the corruption in the Indian Defence ministry and led to the
resignations of the then Indian Defence Minister and the then president of the Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) - a rightwing party heading the Indian government at that time.

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 • My job was to: Take a lead in lending direction to the print magazine with exclusive stories

• Be involved in planning and execution, as a member of the core team

• Provide intensive reportage of political affairs, plus offer in-depth stories on social trends

• Analyse government policy

• Guide younger journalists

• I also had the longest running column, Alphabets of Love (on recovery from addiction), on
www.tehelka.com.

Media Consultant and Programme Planner at Gene Campaign, New Delhi, India
October 2003 - March 2004 (6 months)
• Gene Campaign is one of India's earliest non-profit organisations to work for farmers' rights,
pitching in strongly when the GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade - the precursor to the
WTO) came about.

• My job was to: Help shape and plan programmes for farmers' rights, and liaise with the media on
the pros and cons of genetically modified food

• Plan media coverage, and write inhouse reports, as a member of the core team

Resident Counsellor at Astha Foundation, New Delhi, India

November 2002 - September 2003 (11 months)
• Astha Foundation (now the Astha-Kripa Foundation) was the brainchild of Oswald Pereira, one of
India's founding fathers in the field of drug and alcohol rehabilitation.

• Astha Foundation was a 35-bed rehab centre for the chemically dependent, and had arguably one
of the finest recovery programmes in the world.

• My job was to: Run the centre's day-to-day operations

• Guide alcoholics and drug addicts into recovery so that they become sober and productive
citizens

Chief of Bureau in New Delhi, News Editor in Hyderabad, at Deccan Chronicle, Hyderabad,
India
June 2000 - September 2001 (1 year 4 months)
• Deccan Chronicle is the largest-selling English newspaper in the state of Andhra Pradesh (capital

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 Hyderabad), in India.

• Deccan Chronicle owns The Asian Age, a leading English daily published from several cities in
India and from London.

• My job was to: As the Chief of Bureau, take charge of political reportage from Delhi

• As the News Editor, help produce the newspaper everyday in Hyderabad

• Coordinate the planning and reportage of news, and to give shape to the content produced

Special Correspondent at The Indian Express, New Delhi, India

1996 - 1999 (3 years)
• The Indian Express is India's most hard-hitting English newspaper, published from several cities in
north and west India. The Indian Express is headed by Shekhar Gupta.

• My job was to: Provide exclusive and breaking news political reportage from Delhi

• Offer groundbreaking reportage of political affairs, the Union government, and the Parliament
1 recommendation available upon request

Principal Correspondent; Chief Reporter, at The Pioneer, New Delhi, India

1991 - 1996 (5 years)
• The Pioneer is an English daily published from New Delhi that boasts of a pedigree history, with
Rudyard Kipling and Winston Churchill as its correspondents once.

• I was part of the first team when The Pioneer was launched by Vinod Mehta in Delhi in a new
form.

• I was the second head of The Pioneer's city bureau, gaining a promotion from the position of
Senior Reporter.

• My job was to: Ensure incisive coverage of Delhi news and trends

• Build a team of young reporters

• Be a roving correspondent. I reported on some of the biggest natural and man-made events in
India, like the biggest fire in India's history, and the worst avalanche in Jammu and Kashmir in a
century, etc.

• Provide exclusive political reportage, when I moved to the national bureau after more than three

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 years as the head of the city bureau

Reporter at Patriot, New Delhi, India

June 1988 - 1991 (3 years)
• Patriot was a sharp and influential left-leaning English daily published from New Delhi. Patriot was
started by Aruna Asaf Ali, a legend in India's Independence struggle.

• Patriot was a cradle of journalism talent from the 1960s to the 1980s.

• My job was to: Report on labour, crime, health, the Delhi Government, and other key beats

• Write special reports and features

Process Chemist at Grasim Chemical Division, Nagda, Madhya Pradesh, India

1986 - 1988 (2 years)
• Grasim Chemical Division is a part of Grasim Industries, which in turn is a part of the Aditya Birla
Group – India’s second largest business house.

• My job was to: Run a new chemical plant with technology to make caustic soda flakes (caustic
soda is used in the manufacture of soap, pulp, paper, refineries, and a host of other applications)

• Oversee plant operations in shifts

• Maintain 99%+ concentration of the flakes and have a high production rate

Education
Department of Journalism, Osmania University, Hyderabad, India
Bachelor of Communication and Journalism, BCJ, Reporting, Editing, Mass Media, Advertising,
Public Relations, etc., 1984 - 1985
Activities and Societies: Cricket team, Osmania University 'B', 1984-85

College of Arts and Science, Osmania University, Hyderabad, India

Bachelor of Science, B.Sc., Biology, Physics, Chemistry, 1980 - 1983

Honors and Awards

Super Performer of The Year, 2007, Planman Media, New Delhi, India
Numerous academic distinctions in school and college

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Interests
Yoga, Cricket, Cinema, Books, Philosophy, Newspapers and Magazines, Apparel, Spiritualism (as
distinct from religion), Food, Technology, The Mind

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Vijay Simha
Editor at Greenpeace
vijsimha@gmail.com

4 people have recommended Vijay

"An extra-ordinary person, willing to help anybody and everybody. Knowing Vijay thoroughly is a
difficult job which once done, is an exhilarating and life-time experience. A man of principles and
excellent journalist with values - a rare commodity. Wish him all the best in life."
— Sharad Gupta, Executive Editor, Planmanmedia, worked directly with Vijay at Planman Media,
New Delhi, India

"I know Mr. Vijay since last few months. I have seen him as a very professional person. He has
every quality which a prson should have in professional life. He is a very intellectual and sincere
person i have ever found. As a political correspondent i must say he has very vast knowledge of
this field. I just wish him all the very best for his life."
— Rishali Yadav, Writer and Reporter, Delhi Press, worked with Vijay at Delhi Press, New Delhi,
India

"Vijay and I worked together at The Indian Express, and I can say without any hesitation that he
has been among the best journalists I know. As a political correspondent, he broke several stories
helping The Indian Express stay ahead of the competition. He has an easy and eminently-readable
style of writing. He was great to work with. I wish him all the very best."
— B S Nagaraj Bharadwaj, Special Correspondent, The Indian Express, worked directly with Vijay
at The Indian Express, New Delhi, India

"I know Vijay Simha for the last 6 months and it is a pleasure working with him. I always find him to
be extremely knowledgeable regarding national and international politics and domains he
specializes, very jovial and always professional. Vijay is working on all editorial aspects of the
development of Caravan, a socio-political fortnightly magazine from Delhi Press dedicated to
serious, long-form journalism on politics, arts and literature. I would gladly recommend him as an
expert in his field to anyone who required the services of a hardcore professional. Both in his work,
and outside the work environment, I find him with full of energy and enthusiasm. I enjoy working
with Vijay."
— Uma Narayanan, Associate Editor, Delhi Press, worked with Vijay at Delhi Press, New Delhi,
India

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Contact Vijay on LinkedIn

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