Romesh Thapar

Romesh Thapar (1922–1987) was an Indian journalist and political commentator. Affiliated with the Communist Party of India (Marxist), Thapar was the founder-editor of the monthly journal Seminar, published from New Delhi, India.

Early life and background Thapar was born in Lahore (now in Pakistan) to a Punjabi trading family of the Khatri caste. His father Daya Ram Thapar CIE, OBE (1894–1965) was an Indian Army medical officer. He was the brother of Romila Thapar, the historian. General Pran Nath Thapar, sometime Chief of Army Staff, was his paternal uncle (father's brother), and the journalist Karan Thapar is his paternal first cousin. Thapar was also related distantly to the family of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Nehru's niece, the writer Nayantara Sahgal, was married to Gautam Sahgal, brother of Bimla Thapar, wife of Pran Nath Thapar.

Thapar's family acquired wealth by making their fortune in trade during World War I, as commission agents for the colonial British Indian Army. Thapar was therefore sent to England for his education. After a couple of years, Thapar used some of his family wealth to start an English language magazine of his own, named Cross Roads.

Seminar On 1 September 1959, Thapar started Seminar as a monthly journal, with a fund of Rs 11,000. This time, he sought to establish a stable revenue model through subscribers and advertisers.

Seminar continues to be published from Malhotra building in Connaught Place, Delhi. The publication is brought out by Thapar's daughter Malvika Singh and her husband Tejbir Singh, who is the editor. In 2009, the publication celebrated its 50th anniversary.

Other party activities During his years in Bombay, Thapar was associated with IPTA, the theatre wing of the CPM. Before the advent of television, he also did the commentary in the monthly news-reels produced by Films Division, which were shown in cinema halls prior to the screening of films.

Personal life In 1945, Thapar married Raj Malhotra (1925–87), who also hailed from a Punjabi Khatri family of Lahore. The couple lived in a flat in Mafatlal Park, in the upmarket Breach Candy neighbourhood of Mumbai, and were notable mainly for being well-connected socialites. Malavika and Tejbir have a son, Jaisal Singh, who runs as many as five wildlife resorts (the "Sujan" chain of boutique properties) in Rajasthan. He is married to Anjali Anand, only child and heiress of Deep C. Anand, founder of the Anand group of companies which had a turnover of Rs. 61 billion in 2014–15. Anjali is being groomed to take over the business empire built by her father; she has also been instrumental in the meteoric expansion of her husband's wildlife resort venture. Jaisal and Anjali are the parents of twin boys born in 2012.