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Anjana Om Kashyap is an Indian journalist and anchor. She is the executive editor of the Indian news channel ‘Aaj Tak’ and is known for her shows “Halla Bol” and “Special Report.” She is known popularly for her fierce and aggressive stances on social issues.
Wiki/Biography
Anjana Om Kashyap was born on 12 June 1975 (age 48 years; as of 2023) in Ranchi, the capital city of Jharkhand, India. Her family has its roots in Arrah city of Bihar. Her Zodiac sign is Gemini. She did her schooling from Loreto Convent School, Ranchi. She aspired to be a doctor and after completing her schooling, she appeared for a number of Pre-Medical Admission Tests. However, she could not crack any of them. Anjana, then, got enrolled herself in Daulat Ram College, Delhi University to pursue honours in Botany. She did her masters in social works from the Delhi School of Social Works. Thereafter, she prepared for UPSC exams but again failed to clear them. Eventually, she did a diploma course in Journalism from Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. After completing her Journalism course, she appeared for various interviews and got selected as a news anchor at Doordarshan.
Physical Appearance
Height: 5′ 4″
Weight: 60 kg
Eye Colour: Black
Hair Colour: Black
Family, Caste & Husband
Anjana belongs to a Bhumihar Brahmin Family. She is the daughter of the Ex-Defence Officer, Late Dr. Om Prakash Tiwari. Her mother is from Bihar Sharif. She has one brother.
Anjana is married to Mangesh Kashyap, an IPS officer and has one son and one daughter. She met Mangesh in her college days and they grew close to each other.
Mangesh Kashyap
Anjana Om Kashyap with her daughter
Career
Anjana started her career as a journalist in 2003 with the show “Ankhon Dekhi” on Doordarshan. In the same year, she resigned from her position in Doordarshan and joined Zee News. She worked there as the desk job holder for about five years and then joined News 24 as an anchor in 2007. In News 24, she hosted the debate show “Do Tuk” and gained wide popularity for her neutral and unbiased attitude towards everyone. Thereafter, she joined ABP News for a while before moving to Aaj Tak where she hosts debate shows like “Rajtilak” and “Dilli Ke Dil Mein Kya Hai.”
Controversies
- Anjana Kashyap attracted controversy for giving illogical reasoning over the descendants of Rani Padmavati. It was during a heated discussion with Rohit Sardana over Padmavati that Kashyap passed the statement that- “the present day female descendants of Rani Padmavati themselves speak in English, have modern lifestyles, so they hardly have any moral right to give suggestions on the right portrayal of Rani Padmavati in the film,” which was later criticised on the social media.
- Aaj Tak faced a backlash when their anchor Ashok Singhal asked an inappropriate question to the HRD Minister Smriti Irani while she was addressing a speech at the Delhi University. Singhal asked Irani the reason for her being appointed as the HRD minister by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi despite being of a young age and having issues over her degree. The question angered the minister and even the audience started protesting. The show was being co-anchored by Anjana who also came under the controversy for being a mute spectator to the comment.
- After her marriage, her husband, Mangesh Kashyap, was appointed as the CVO of South Delhi Municipal Corporation. It was alleged that he has achieved that position not because of his talent and seniority but because of the influence of Anjana.
Awards
- Best Reporter of the year in National Television Awards
- Best Anchor by ITA (2014)
- Best Anchor by ENBA Awards (2015)
- Best Anchor by IMWA Awards (2015)
- India Today Chairman’s Excellence Award
- Awarded For Excellence in Journalism by PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Favourite Things
- Food: North Indian Cuisine
Facts
- Her hobbies include reading, travelling, watching movies, and cooking.
- She is often referred to as AOK.
- Anjana has also made an acting stint in the Bollywood films “Sultan” and “Tiger Zinda Hai.”
- Kashyap is connected to various NGO’s and has worked for resettlement colonies and child rape victims.
- Anjana was of a rebellious nature since her childhood. She always believed in keeping her viewpoint forward on even the minute matters.
- Anjana has covered news on various major national issues like Nirbhaya Rape case and the story of the Prince of Kurukshetra who remained in the borewell for 48 hours.
- Anjana was trolled on Twitter for exhibiting a faux pas during the opening of her flagship show “Halla Bol” on Aaj Tak. It happened that she almost suffixed ‘Modi’ to her name instead of Kashyap after which there was a chain of Twitteratis trolling her on the social media.
- Anjana appeared for the UPSC exams many times but could not crack the exam despite being qualified for the interview twice.
- She earns a salary of around INR 1 crore per year.
- In 2012, she faced eve-teasing when she was reporting on the Delhi gangrape case.
- In January 2019, Zee Hindustan announced going anchor-less through a commercial saying “Arnab Ki Debate Koun Sunega?, Anjana Ki Jarurat Thi Sirf Kal Tak!, and India Mein Ab Rajat Ki Adalat Band.” Kashyap got so infuriated with the advertisement that she shared the advertisement through her Twitter handle mentioning “Naam Jara Adab Se Lijiye.”
Anjana’s Tweet