Shorts

Is the ‘obedient’ Jay Shah no longer ‘sanskaari’?

On October 9, The Quint published a story titled: “Jay, Amit Shah’s ‘Obedient’ Son Who Understands the Value of Money” describing the 27-year-old as a “typical Amdavadi” who is high on “sanskaar”.

The article that resembled much like a PR plug stated that Shah’s “entrepreneurial ambitions” and “independent nature” were reasons for his venturing into “business in his early 20s”. Nevertheless, he was able to adhere to his “family’s traditions”, the article stated. While none of these praises were attributed to a source in the original article, the updated article attributes it to an anonymous “source close to his family”. However, it seems Shah no longer adheres to his family traditions, for this bit cannot be found in the updated article. 

Apart from the above, the original article also called Shah a “doting father”, a “health freak” and a “typical Amdavadi”, whose ambition is to make money. (Do all ‘typical’ Amdavadis want to make money?)

Curiously, it seems that the son who “brings his parents khakra and mangoes every now and then” is no longer “sanskaari”, as these bits have been edited out in the piece that was updated about 4 hours ago (from the time of publication).

High on “Sanskaar”

Jay is a “conscious man” who has been brought up with “sanskaar” (values); he would think “100 times” before violating any rules, the source said.

“He’s never splurged on big brands… He understand the value of money which he gets from his father and grandfather.”

Jay’s grandfather, Anil Chandra Shah, owned a PVC pipe business.

His ambition is to make money like a “typical Amdavadi”

While the above extract has been removed completely, the last line has been edited. Incidentally, that is not all that has been edited. Apart from the new headline: “Amit Shah’s “Obedient” Son Makes Big Bucks, Courtesy Ambition?“, the original first two graphs have been replaced with two new paragraphs, which now include details about senior Shah being given a “clean chit” in an earlier “Sohrabbudin fake encounter case”.

You can find the archival snapshot here.


These additions and editing were done without putting out a note informing the reader that The Quint had made changes to the original piece.