Born 1953, Shastri Ramachandaran is a journalist and writer contributing to the media -- print, radio and television -- for over 29 years. He has written and commented on a range of national, regional and international subjects from politics, human rights and ethnicity to social and cultural development, democracy and media. A keen observer of events and developments in South Asia, his areas of special interest in the region are Nepal and Sri Lanka.
Until 2004, he was Senior Assistant Editor with The Times of India in New Delhi. Earlier he was Editor of The Sunday Mail and also worked in leading English dailies such as in India such as Indian Express and Deccan Herald.
From 2004 he is associate editor of The Tribune in Chandigarh.
He is a current affairs commentator and scriptwriter for Indian and foreign newspapers, radio and television. His TV programmes include an eight-part serial on looking at 50 years of Indian politics through cartoons and cartoonists.
Associated with journalism education in India and Europe, he was Head, Times Centre for Media studies, and is a frequent participant and lecturer at international workshops and seminars on media and media-related themes.
Among the papers and publications to his credit (as co-author) are a monograph on Civil and Human Rights of Agricultural Labourers in Tamil Nadu and Media, Conflict and Peace. His most recent publication in 2002 is the book State of Nepal which he has co-edited.