‘My column has not been discontinued, will be writing soon,’ says Pratap Bhanu Mehta

On July 8, the Mumbai Mirror carried a brief titled “Missing in Action”. The piece was about Indian academic Pratap Bhanu Mehta’s column in The Indian Express which last appeared on May 24, a day after the 2019 election results were announced. The article stated that dedicated readers of Mehta’s column have been wondering why one of India’s sharpest public intellectuals has “fallen silent”. The brief also added that Mehta, who had been sharply critical of the UPA and more recently, of the NDA, had told his friends and admirers that “he’s taking a break from the column for some time”.

In concluding lines, the brief pointed out that Mehta would be delivering a talk on “The End of Liberalism” in Delhi. It added: “We hope that won’t be true as far as his column is concerned”. This led to speculations on Twitter. 

Newslaundry reached to Mehta to inquire about the status of his column. He clarified that his column hadn’t been discontinued, and that he’ll be writing again soon. “My column has not been discontinued. (The Indian) Express has been exemplary in its support.  I have taken a short, voluntary break for a few weeks….the first in 13 years! Not sure that is a newsworthy event. Will be writing soon.” 

Newslaundry also attended his lecture, “The End of Liberalism”, that was mentioned in the Mumbai Mirror article. You can read about it here.