Ghazanfar Ali Khan is a journalist, media consultant, geo-strategist, and social worker. Khan's illustrious career in journalism spans three decades. He has written and published about 20,000 news reports, interviews, features, and commentaries. Khan has interviewed about 500 prominent men and women, including heads of state, ministers, religious leaders, top-notch film actors, scientists, and social activists.
Early Life and Education edit
Born in a village named Darauli in the Siwan district of Bihar, India, Khan was raised and brought up in a progressive and forward-looking family environment. Born in Bihar (India), Khan was raised in a family of nine siblings. His father, late Abdul Hamid Khan, was a police officer whose services won high commendations from the British rule in pre-partitioned India. His mother, Koraisha Khatoon, belonged to an eminent family of eastern India. Koraisha's father Raj Mohammed Khan (Ghazanfar Ali Khan's maternal grand father) was a military commander who had the opportunity to lead an elite army in the World War II. Late Raj Mohammed Khan, whose World War II exploits are still remembered as folklore in eastern India and especially in his native Indian district of Siwan, was awarded about 60 acres of land, 5000 trees, and high-tech weapons by the British colonial masters for his bravery in the war.
Khan lost his mother, Koraisha, in 2013, who was staying in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia). His wife, Rizwana Khan, served as a senior language teacher at the Riyadh-based International Indian School (IISR). He has three children—an ever-smiling daughter Zaina Hamid Khan, an actor son Osama Hamid Khan and another charming daughter Lubna Hamid Khan. Khan's grandfather Ali Hussain Khan was a small landlord who was extensively involved in farming in the village called Darauli in the north Indian province of Bihar. Late Ali Hussain will be remembered by future generations for his contributions to agriculture sector in olden days and that too in a tiny village of India, which is now a full-fledged small town called Darauli.
Khan completed his senior secondary education (11th standard) from S. L. Jain High School, Darauli, in 1977 and joined Pre-University Course at Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh (AMU) the same year. Khan received his B. A. Degree with honors in English and then an M.A. Degree in English from India's Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) in 1984. He then studied journalism and received a Postgraduate Diploma in Journalism from the Management Promotion Institute of New Delhi. While studying at AMU, he was president of the prestigious Raleigh Literary Society of AMU English Department, besides being the M.M. Hall Literary Society Secretary.
Professional Achievements edit
Ghazanfar Ali Khan, who has had the distinction to work in mainstream Indian and Saudi media, has won several awards and commendations for his professional achievements. Khan had a passion for writing since his university days. This passion led to his appointment as the chief editor of his hostel magazine called "The Mohsin". Khan also worked as a member of the editorial board of the AMU Central Magazine as well.
When he first became a journalist trainee with the largest Indian English daily, “The Times of India”, way back in 1986, his first major assignment was in the newsroom to correct news stories and rewrite them in news format. After completing his studies in AMU, a prestigious central university nicknamed Oxford of the East, Khan returned to Bihar and joined "The Times of India" and later "The Hindustan Times"—the two largest newspapers of India. He then joined a journal in Mumbai before shifting to Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) as an editor of Riyadh Daily, an English daily newspaper, way back in 1992. In 1993, he joined Arab News, the most prominent English daily in the Kingdom.
He has since then reported from the world's major hotspots, including Saudi Arabia, India, the UK, Italy, Greece, Belgium, the Netherlands, Nepal, Bahrain, Switzerland, Indonesia, South Korea, Singapore, Maldives, Turkey, Thailand, UAE, China, Somalia, and Germany. Khan has had the distinction to become the first foreign journalist working in Saudi Arabia to travel with late King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz to India in 2006 and then to Turkey in 2009. Khan has also interviewed most of the top world leaders over the past three decades, including US President Bill Clinton, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, South African President Nelson Mandela, Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed, Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Khan worked as the bureau chief of Arab News in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) from 1993 to 2019. As a specialist on international, political, and strategic issues, he has also lectured widely, and his articles have been published in some national and international publications. A prominent journalist well-known in the Middle East as well as in India, Khan has written and published about 20,000 reports, news stories, and features in different publications, including "Arab News", "The Diplomat" a political journal of the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and "Ahlan Wasahlan", an in-flight magazine of Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia). Many of his articles and stories were also published in the English daily "The Hindustan Times" and "The Nation and The World", a journal which ceased publication after the death of its publisher Sayyid Hamid, former vice-chancellor of AMU.
Khan was awarded Saudi Arabia's AN Best Reporter Award' in 1995 by Arab News and European Union Journalist Familiarization Certificate in 2009. Khan was also the consulting and contributing editor for “The Diplomat”, a magazine published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Saudi Arabia, and “The Chronicle of Higher Education”, another magazine published by the Ministry of Higher Education, Saudi Arabia. Khan has won several laurels and commendations for his outstanding achievements in journalism and social services. The list of awards, trophies, and accolades conferred on Khan is unending. He was also a member of the jury for several journalism awards, including the Samir Foundation Award in Lebanon in 2013. He has been involved in making some highly inspiring video films and documentaries on environment, conservation, water, education, and diplomacy.
Social and Philanthropic Works edit
Ghazanfar Ali Khan is a social worker. After growing up in a poor household in north India, he managed to overcome the many obstacles he faced and find major success. He founded the Hind Life and Education Trust (HLET), a non-governmental organization, to serve the poor segment of society in India, especially in north India. The Patna-based NGO today has been distributing food kits and medicines among the poor people during the lockdowns in India. This NGO, with several projects primarily in health, education, and media sectors, aims at the welfare of the most underprivileged section of our society.
The HLET has been trying to partner with donor agencies, communities, government bodies, the private sector, and other organizations worldwide to uplift and serve the weaker sections of society in India. The NGOs’ current initiatives include the distribution of one million food kits during the Corona pandemic, building a media and television academy and a premier multi-disciplinary hospital near Patna, the capital city of the north Indian state of Bihar.
Awards, Commendations, and Participation edit
• Won “Arab News Best Reporter Award in 1995.
• Received European Union Familiarization Certificate in 2009.
• Member of the jury of Samir Foundation Award in Lebanon (Selected by EU) in 2013.
• Panelist at an important session of Global Inter-Media Dialogue in Bali, Indonesia in 2006.
• Participated in the Global Media Summit in South Korea in 1995.
• Participated in Global Forum for Media Development in Athens, Greece, in 2008.
• Participated in the Global Media Forum in Bonn, Germany, in 2018.
• Participated in the Global Media Forum in Bonn, Germany, in 2019.
• Participated in Middle East Journalists’ Visit Program organized by Singapore Government in 2016.
• Received Commendation Certificate from Italian Embassy in 1995 • South African Embassy in Riyadh presented an appreciation letter to me in 2000.
• Sri Lankan Embassy in Riyadh presented a commendation certificate to me in 2001.
• German Embassy in Riyadh presented a commendation certificate to me in 2001.
• Appreciation letter from Mohammed Fahad Al-Harthi, Editor in Chief of Arab News in 2015.
• Appreciation letter from German Ambassador Mr. Haller Dieter in 2017.
• Letter of Appreciation from Austrian Ambassador Gregor W. Koessler in 2017.
• Letter of Appreciation from Brazil Ambassador Mr. Sergio Luiz Canaes in 2009.
• Appreciation Letter from Indian Ambassador Mr. Hamid Ali Rao in 2015.
• Commendation
Ghazanfar Ali Khan |
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Certificate from South Korean Ambassador Kwon Pyung-oh in 2017
• Appreciation Letter from Mr. Khaled Almaeena, Editor in Chief of Arab News in 2008.
• Appreciation Letter from Dr. Abdul Qader Tash, Editor in Chief of Arab News in 1998.
• Presented a research paper on Indo-Saudi Cultural Relations at the Center for Asian Studies at Prince Saud Al Faisal Institute for Diplomatic Studies, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Saudi Arabia.
• Member of Saudi Journalists’ Association, Riyadh 2019
• Chairman of Hind Life and Education Trust, Patna (a registered Indian NGO), since 2018.