columnist, TV commentator
Born in Pune, India, in May 1944, Dileep Padgaonkar matriculated from St. Vincent’s High School and graduated from Fergusson College, two leading educational institutions in the city. After acquiring a B.A. degree in Political Science and German as his main subjects in 1964, he proceeded to Paris where he first obtained a diploma from the French Institute of Higher Cinematographic Studies and later a doctorate in human sciences from the University of Paris – Sorbonne.
Three months later, in October 1968, he was appointed Paris correspondent of The Times of India. In 1973 he returned to India and served as an assistant editor of TOI in Mumbai and Delhi.
In 1978 he joined Unesco as its Asia-Pacific Information Officer in Bangkok. Two years later he was promoted as Deputy Director of Unesco’s Office of Public Information at its headquarters in Paris and still later as its Director.
Mr. Padgaonkar rejoined The Times of India in 1986 as its Executive Editor. In 1988 he was appointed the paper’s Editor. He served in the latter position for six years.
In 1994 he set up his own multi-media company – Asia-Pacific Communications Associates – and was its Chairman until 2009. In between he had a brief stint as Editor of the Gulf Today daily newspaper in Sharjah, UAE, before coming back to the Times Group as TOI’s Executive Managing Editor.
He has been a member of the National Commission for Minorities and the Chairman of the Group of Interlocutors for Jammu & Kashmir appointed by the Union government.
In November 2012 he relocated to Pune where he is the R.K. Laxman Chair Professor at the Symbiosis International University and the Chairman of the Programmes Committee of the Pune International Centre. He continues his association with the Times of India as a Consulting Editor and is a member of the editorial board of The WorldPost – an on-line publication jointly partnered by the Huffington Post and the Berrgruen Institute for Governance.
A prolific columnist and TV commentator, Mr. Padgaonkar has edited and authored several publications, including one on the Italian film director Roberto Rossellini that received much critical acclaim in India and abroad.
He is the recipient of the Legion d’honneur, France’s highest civilian award, for his contribution to journalism and India-France understanding.