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Sushant Sareen is an Indian journalist, editor, analyst of Pakistani affairs, and author. He is a Senior Fellow at the Observer Research. He has written several works and monographs which include Balochistan: Forgotten War, Forsaken People (Monograph, 2017), Corridor Calculus: China-Pakistan Economic Corridor & China’s Comprador Model of Investment in Pakistan (Monograph, 2016), Zarb-e-Azab: An evaluation of Pakistan Army’s anti-Taliban operations in North Waziristan (Monograph, 2015), and The Jihad Factory – Pakistan’s Islamic Revolution in the Making (2005).
Wiki/Biography
Sushant Sareen attained his bachelor’s in Economics from the Hindu College, University of Delhi. He did his master’s in Economics from the Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi. He is a member of the SAFMA India Executive. He has written extensively on Pakistan and has appeared on several panels discussing terrorism, geo-political challenges, and strategic affairs.
Family
Parents & Siblings
There is not much information about his parents and siblings.
Wife & Children
There is not much information about his wife. Sushant Sareen has two daughters. One of his daughter’s names is Jayati Sareen.
Religion
Sushant Sareen follows Hinduism.
Career
In 1993, Sushant Sareen joined the Indian Railway Traffic Service. In 1994, he resigned from his post and joined a news agency, Public Opinion Trends, where he closely observed the India-Pakistan relationship and the political situation in South Asia. From 2002 and 2004, he served the Pakistan Centre at the Observer Research Foundation as the Honorary Director. From 2010 to 2017, Sushant Sareen served as a Senior Fellow at the Vivekananda International Foundation, New Delhi. He was a Consultant, on the Pakistan Project of the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), New Delhi. He worked as an Associate Editor at a South Asian news portal, South Asian Media, which was run by the South Asian Free Media Association. He was also a founder member of the South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA). Later, he became the General Secretary of the South Asian Free Media Association. He has written several works like Balochistan: Forgotten War, Forsaken People (Monograph, 2017), Corridor Calculus: China-Pakistan Economic Corridor & China’s Comprador Model of Investment in Pakistan (Monograph, 2016), Zarb-e-Azab: An Evaluation of Pakistan Army’s anti-Taliban operations in North Waziristan (Monograph, 2015), and The Jihad Factory – Pakistan’s Islamic Revolution in the Making (2005).
Controversy
ORF think tank issued an advisory against Sushant Sareen
In February 2019, Sushant Sareen used abusive language on Twitter while responding to a tweet on the Pulwama terror attack by an activist Gurmehar Kaur.
Because she has an opinion ( One can disagree with it ) and believes the cycle of Violence should stop and there should be Political Solution – Apparently Sex Slavery in Jihadi camp is her Fantasy pic.twitter.com/nKdaFWPto8
— Joy (@Joydas) February 16, 2019
The ORF think tank issued an advisory against Sushant Sareen, demanding an apology for the objectionable comment he made. He deleted the tweet and apologised. The tweet read,
The offending tweet has been deleted. I regret my choice of words and should have been more careful in responding/reacting. Although I did not personally target anyone & made a generic comment on a phenomenon, it was apt to be misinterpreted, which I regret. @raji143 @samirsaran https://t.co/P3YkgXW0QX
— sushant sareen (@sushantsareen) February 16, 2019
Facts/Trivia
- Sushant Sareen has contributed individual chapters for several edited volumes which were published by the Jammu University, and Jamia Milia Islamia University, New Delhi.
- Sushant Sareen featured on many TV debates, and podcasts like NDTV India, Aaj Tak, ABP News, Times Now, CNN-IBN, Headlines Today, NewsX, IBN7, ANI, Radio Pakistan, PTV, Lok Sabha TV, and DD News.
- Sushant Sareen has written several papers on the relations between India and Pakistan for many journals like World Focus, AGNI, and Dialogue.
- On 6 September 2023, Sushant Sareen in an article titled Pakistan on a knife’s edge, wrote
Pakistan is in a death spiral. It is like a terminally ill patient whose hopes rise fleetingly when some health parameter shows a tiny improvement, only to be dashed by the reality that the body is heading for a multi-organ, or in Pakistan’s case, a multi-institutional, failure. Everything that can go wrong, is going wrong. The state is floundering and those running the affairs of the state appear clueless, even helpless, on how to put Humpty Dumpty back together. The thinking in the top echelons of government and the military establishment is that if they can manage perceptions, everything will work out just fine.”
- Sushant Sareen is fluent in three languages, Hindi, English, and Urdu.
- Sushant Sareen was once interviewed by Sanjay Dixit online through his channel, The Jaipur Dialogues, on the topic of India’s relations with China.
- Sushant Sareen has delivered lectures at various institutions like the National Defence College, Defence Services Staff College, Army War College, Naval War College, College of Defence Management, Foreign Service Academy and the National Police Academy.
- Sushant Sareen often tweets about terrorism, India-Pakistan relations, geo-political challenges, and strategic affairs.
The Paks don’t want to see Modi return to power. His unpredictability & risk taking scares them. But if they think a non Modi alternative will make any compromise on India’s territorial integrity, they are living in cuckoo land…my take in @mail_today pic.twitter.com/99YMAn4eLx
— sushant sareen (@sushantsareen) May 13, 2019
- Sushant Sareen has written columns for several Indian newspapers like The Tribune, New Indian Express, Sakaal Times, Tehelka, The Pioneer, India Abroad, Ajit, and Deccan Herald.
- On 13 May 2023, Sushant Sareen delivered a lecture on the ‘Situation in Kashmir’ as part of the ‘Leadership Development Series’ conducted by Gentlemen Cadets of the Indian Military Academy.
- In an interview, when asked if he really wanted Imran Khan as prime minister again, Sushant Sareen said,
Who does he damage? He doesn’t damage us. He damages Pakistan. Pakistan is not a friendly country. It is a hostile country. What I am talking about is the Arab states, the UAE, Oman, you look at Saudi Arabia. Pakistan had a run of the place. Now, Imran alienated all of them…. I want somebody who divides the Pakistanis like Imran has done. I want somebody who destroys their economy like Imran has done.”
- Sushant Sareen questions the Indian education system and the future of youth in his tweet, which read
This is the sort of trash that we teach our kids. Makes you fear for the future of this country, but also explains the brainless and voodoo economics that is so internalised across the political spectrum pic.twitter.com/Wqh84OHBC2
— sushant sareen (@sushantsareen) January 13, 2019
How can #vasantvalley allow this textbook? Wonder what other schools are teaching? May as well leave Kids illiterate pic.twitter.com/IhIcYbcfW1
— sushant sareen (@sushantsareen) September 20, 2015