M. J. Akbar Age, Wife, Family, Children, Biography, Facts & More

Bio
Full Name	Mobashar Jawed "M.J." Akbar
Profession	Politician, Writer
Political Party	Bharatiya Janata Party
Political Journey	• 1989-1991: Elected as Congress MP from Kishanganj in Bihar • March 2014: Joined BJP as national spokesperson • 5 July 2016: Sworn in as Minister of State for External Affairs
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)	in centimeters- 171 cm in meters- 1.71 m in feet inches- 5’ 7”
Weight (approx.)	in kilograms- 70 kg in pounds- 154 lbs
Eye Colour	Black
Hair Colour	Grey (Semi-Bald)
Personal Life
Date of Birth	11 January 1951
Age (as in 2018)	67 Years
Birth Place	Telinipara, West Bengal, India
Zodiac sign/Sun sign	Capricon
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	New Delhi, India
School	Calcutta Boys' School
College	Presidency College, Kolkata (1967–70)
Educational Qualification	BA (Hons.) in English from Presidency College, Calcutta
Family	Father- Sheikh Akbar Ali Mother- Imtiaz Akbar Brother- Not Known Sister- Gazala Akbar Sharma
Religion	Islam
Address	K-1553, Palam Vihar, Gurgaon, Haryana 122015
Controversies	• In October 2018, Akbar was accused by seven women of sexual harassment, a journalist named Priya Ramani alleged that she was harassed by him in a hotel room when he was editor of a newspaper, The Asian Age. In her allegation, she said that she was made to feel uncomfortable. • Another journalist Ghazala Wahab has made allegations of sexual assault against him. According to Ghazala Wahab, "He called me in his cabin. I knocked and entered. He was standing next to the door and before I could react, he shut the door, trapping me between his body and the door. I instinctively flinched and he held me and bent to kiss me. With my mouth clamped shut and I struggled to turn my face to one side." Following multiple sexual harassment allegations, he stepped down from the post of Union Minister of State for External Affairs.
Girls, Affairs and More
Marital Status	Married
Affairs/Girlfriends	Not Known
Wife/Spouse	Mallika Joseph Akbar (Former Journalist)
Marriage Year	1975
Children	Son- Prayaag Jawad Akbar Daughter- Mukulika Akbar
Money Factor
Net Worth (approx.)	₹36.5 crore (as in 2016)

Some Lesser Known Facts About M. J. Akbar

• Does M. J. Akbar smoke?: No

• Does M. J. Akbar drink alcohol?: Yes

• He was born in a Hindu family who later changed their religion to Islam.

• M.J. Akbar has done his BA (Hons) in English from Presidency College, Kolkata.

• Immediately after his graduation, he joined The Times of India as a trainee in 1971.

• With his emerging talent, he became the sub-editor of The Illustrated Weekly of India, which was India’s largest-selling magazine at that time.

• In 1975, Akbar got married to Mallika Joseph, his fellow mate at The Times of India. The couple is now blessed with a son- Prayaag, an alumnus of Dartmouth College, and daughter- Mukulika, a Law graduate from Jesus College, Cambridge.

• His journalism career rose to prominence when he joined the Ananda Bazar Patrika (ABP) Group as editor of popular political weekly- The Sunday.
  

  M J Akbar In 1980s

• In 1982, Akbar launched India’s first modern newspaper The Telegraph, which took newspaper journalism of India to new heights.
  

  M J Akbar At The Telegraph Office

• In 1990, he published his first book which was a biography of the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru entitled “Nehru: The Making of India”.
  

  M J Akbar’s First Book- Nehru The Making of India

• He has worked as an official spokesman for late Former Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi.

• In 1991, he worked as an adviser in the Ministry of Human Resources and was involved in various planning areas.

• Akbar resigned from this post and quit politics in December 1992 and made a come back in his writings and journalism career.

• After returning to journalism, he was of the vision to launch India’s first newspaper that would not only include an international focus within its editorial range but also be the first Indian daily with an international edition.

• In February 1994, “The Asian Age,” an English-language Indian daily newspaper, was launched with its initial editions published in Delhi, Bombay and international publication in London.
  

  M J Akbar At The Asian Age Office In New Delhi

• Akbar has also worked as an editor-in-chief of “The Deccan Chronicle” a Hyderabad based Newspaper.
  

  M J Akbar was editor-in-chief of The Deccan Chronicle Newspaper

• By 2008, the newspaper was spread globally, and according to some sources, Akbar was removed from The Asian Age and Deccan Chronicle due to some misunderstanding with the owners over editorial policy.

• Akbar has written many non-fictional books that won the heart of the public- Riot After Riot in 1991, Kashmir: Behind the Vale in 1991, India: The Siege within – Challenges to a Nation’s Unity in 1996, The Shade of Swords: Jihad, and the Conflict between Islam and Christianity in 2003.

• On 31 January 2010, he launched a new Sunday newspaper titled “The Sunday Guardian,” which was published from New Delhi and Chandigarh.
  

  M. J. Akbar launched The Sunday Guardian Newspaper

• In 2012, his book- “Tinderbox: The Past and Future of Pakistan” – A fine and detailed history of Indian Muslim anger and insecurity attracted many people worldwide.
  

  M J Akbar At The Launch of Tinderbox The Past and Future of Pakistan

• On 13 May 2008, he launched a political magazine entitled ‘Covert‘ with its website in Delhi, but two days later, the site was discontinued.
  

  Covert Magazine Launched By M J Akbar

• After serving as the Editorial Director of the leading weekly English news magazine- “India Today” and the English news channel- “Headlines Today,” in October 2012. he quit the journalism to join politics.

• In July 2015, he was elected to Rajya Sabha from Jharkhand.

• On 5 July 2016, Akbar took oath as Minister of State for External Affairs in Rashtrapati Bhavan.

• Akbar has also penned down hit fiction books named Blood Brothers-A Family Saga and Have Pen, Will Travel.
  

  M J Akbar’s Fictional Books