UpdateBot at 05:22, 28 June 2022

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{{short description|British-Indian journalist and writer (born 1980)}}
{{lead too short|date=June 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2013}}
{{Infobox writer
| name = Aatish Taseer
| birth_name = Aatish Ali Taseer
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1980|11|27|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[London]], England
| alma_mater = [[Amherst College]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|B.A.]], 2001)
| occupation = Writer, journalist
| spouse = {{marriage|Ryan Davis|2016}}
| image = Aatish Taseer bharat-s-tiwari-photography-IMG 5114 August 03, 2019.jpg
| parents = [[Salmaan Taseer]]<br />[[Tavleen Singh]]
| relatives = [[M. D. Taseer]] (paternal grandfather)
}}
'''Aatish Ali Taseer''' (born 27 November 1980) is a British-American writer and journalist.

==Early life==
Taseer was born in [[London]], England, to Pakistani businessman-cum-politician [[Salman Taseer]] and Indian journalist [[Tavleen Singh]]. His parents had a brief extramarital relationship and never married; he was raised by his mother and had no contact with his father until he was aged 21.<ref name="BBC081119">{{cite news|url=https://twitter.com/AatishTaseer/status/1309209682351923206|title=Aatish Taseer Twitter |access-date=25 September 2020}}</ref><ref name="Taseer081119">{{cite news|last=Taseer|first=Aatish|url=https://theprint.in/world/aatish-taseer-becomes-us-citizen-months-after-modi-govt-revoked-his-oci-card/469610/|title=Aatish Taseer becomes US citizen, months after Modi govt revoked his OCI card|work=The Print|date=28 July 2020|access-date=28 July 2020}}</ref> According to Taseer, his father met his mother during a book promotion trip to India in 1980 and the affair lasted "little more than a week."<ref>{{cite web|author=A Correspondent Date: 6 January 2011 Place: Mumbai |url=http://www.mid-day.com/news/2011/jan/060111-Aatish-Taseer-Salman-Taseer-Tavleen-Singh-relationship.htm |title=A son in search of his father |publisher=Mid-day.com |date=6 January 2011|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160122134700/https://archive.mid-day.com/news/2011/jan/060111-Aatish-Taseer-Salman-Taseer-Tavleen-Singh-relationship.htm|archivedate=22 January 2016}}</ref> Taseer was raised in [[New Delhi]], before attending [[Kodaikanal International School]], a residential school in [[Kodaikanal]].<ref name=bs>[http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/lunchbs-aatish-taseer/354971/ Lunch with BS: Aatish Taseer: Passage through Islam] Kishore Singh/ New Delhi, [[Business Standard]], 14 April 2009.</ref> Taseer later studied at [[Amherst College]]<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-day-i-got-my-green-card-1467385905|title=The Day I Got My Green Card|last=Taseer|first=Aatish|date=2016-07-01|work=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=2019-05-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160712061838/https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-day-i-got-my-green-card-1467385905|archive-date=2016-07-12|url-status = live|language=en-US|issn=0099-9660}}</ref> in [[Massachusetts]], earning dual [[Bachelor of Arts]] degrees in French and [[Political Science]] in 2001.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.deccanherald.com/sunday-herald/sunday-herald-articulations/quick-take-aatish-taseer-704710.html|title=Quick Take: Aatish Taseer|last=Dinesh|first=Chethana|date=25 November 2018|website=Deccan Herald|access-date=14 May 2019}}</ref> In his first book ''Stranger to History'' (2009), which received many reviews in India, he wrote about his estrangement from his father who was a governor of the [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]] province in Pakistan.<ref name="Taseer081119" /><ref name="BBC081119" />

==Career==
Taseer has worked for ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'',<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110107074104/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101040119-574872,00.html "Say 'Cheese'!" by Aatish Taseer] Sunday, ''Time'', 11 January 2004.</ref> and as a freelance journalist also written for [[Prospect (magazine)|''Prospect'']],<ref>[http://www.prospect-magazine.co.uk/article_details.php?id=6992 Aatish Taseer article] [[Prospect (magazine)|''Prospect'']], July 2005.</ref> ''[[The Sunday Times]]'', ''[[The Sunday Telegraph]]'', ''[[Financial Times]]'', ''TAR'' magazine and ''Esquire''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://lareviewofbooks.org/author-page/aatish-taseer/#!|title=Aatish Taseer|website=Los Angeles Review of Books|access-date=14 May 2019}}</ref> Taseer's opinion pieces have garnered both attention and critical appreciation. [[David Goodhart]] drew attention to Taseer's piece on feudal Pakistan, ''Travels with the mango king''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/2009/04/travelswiththemangoking |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120909070312/http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/2009/04/travelswiththemangoking |url-status=dead |archive-date=9 September 2012 |title=Travels with the mango king |work=Prospect|date=26 April 2009|access-date=28 September 2011}}</ref> in his article "''Prospect''{{'}}s 10 Most Influential Articles".<ref>{{cite web|author =David Goodhart |url=http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/2010/11/prospects-10-most-influential-articles |title=Prospect's 10 most influential articles |work=Prospect|date=23 November 2010|access-date=28 September 2011}}</ref> In 2010, he wrote a piece on the controversy surrounding the possible construction of the "[[Ground Zero Mosque]]" in [[Manhattan]], ''Tolerance test for New York''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/2010/10/ground-zero-islamic-centre-new-york-tolerance/ |title=Tolerance test for New York |work=Prospect |date=20 October 2010|access-date=28 September 2011}}</ref>

Since his father's assassination on 6 January 2011, Taseer has written about the situation in Pakistan leading up to and following the incident. These pieces attempt to go far beyond the immediate events surrounding his father's murder. A piece for ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]''<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/8248162/The-killer-of-my-father-Salman-Taseer-was-showered-with-rose-petals-by-fanatics.-How-could-they-do-this.html | location=London | work=The Daily Telegraph | first=Aatish | last=Taseer | title=The killer of my father, Salman Taseer, was showered with rose petals by fanatics. How could they do this? | date=8 January 2011}}</ref> published just two days after, extended his view from the incident.

On 5 May 2011, a few days after the death of [[Osama bin Laden]], Taseer wrote a piece for the ''[[Financial Times]]'' titled "Pakistan’s Rogue Army Runs a Shattered State".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ft.com/content/ed7622b4-773e-11e0-aed6-00144feabdc0|title=Pakistan's rogue army runs a shattered state|date=5 May 2011|work=Financial Times|language=en-GB|url-access=subscription|access-date=10 May 2019}}</ref> It was one of the first pieces of journalism to point to the significance that Osama bin Laden had been killed in a Pakistani cantonment town, [[Abbottabad]]. In the article, Taseer stated that "he was found in this garrison town because he was the guest of the army."

On 16 July 2011, ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' published a piece its editors provocatively, and somewhat misleadingly, titled "Why My Father Hated India".<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304911104576445862242908294 | work=The Wall Street Journal | first=Aatish | last=Taseer | title=Why My Father Hated India | date=16 July 2011}}</ref> Although Taseer used his father's distaste for all things Indian as an example, or metaphor, the article attempted to explain a much bigger question – a question about Pakistan's apparent unhealthy obsession with India. It argued that "to understand the Pakistani obsession with India, to get a sense of its special edge – its hysteria – it is necessary to understand the rejection of India, its culture and past, that lies at the heart of the idea of Pakistan", He continued: "In the absence of a true national identity, Pakistan defined itself by its opposition to India." The article remained the most emailed and commented-on on ''The Wall Street Journal'' website<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.wsj.com/home-page|title=Wall Street Journal home page (search required)| work=The Wall Street Journal}}</ref> for days and at the end of July it was by far the most emailed of the month.

The controversy spread when, following an exchange on [[Twitter]] between Pakistani journalist, Ejaz Haider and Indian Member of Parliament and former Indian Union Minister and Under-secretary at the UN, [[Shashi Tharoor]]. Haider wrote a column in ''[[The Express Tribune]]'' titled "Aatish’s Personal Fire", Haider stated that Taseer himself seemed to suffer from an identity crisis<ref>Haider, Ejaz (18 July 2011). [http://tribune.com.pk/story/212319/aatishs-personal-fire/ Aatish’s personal fire]. ''The Express Tribune''. Retrieved 18 August 2013</ref> accusing Taseer of employing "everything except the kitchen sink in order to construct a supposedly linear reality". His central argument was that India – with its massive army arrayed along its border with Pakistan – left Pakistan with no choice but to be deeply concerned with its every move. Tharoor rose to Aatish Taseer's defense; writing in the ''[[Deccan Chronicle]]'', in a piece titled "Delusional liberals",<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.deccanchronicle.com/columnists/shashi-tharoor/delusional-liberals|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20111016005035/http://www.deccanchronicle.com/columnists/shashi-tharoor/delusional-liberals|url-status=dead|title=Deccan Chronicle|archivedate=16 October 2011}}</ref> he quoted Taseer's original piece extensively and said in general he "admired the young man’s writing", and felt he had made "his point in language that was both sharp [...] heartfelt and accurate". He said that in their vitriolic response to Taseer's piece Pakistan's liberals had exposed themselves and took on Haider point-for-point, saying "that there is not and cannot be an "Indian threat" to Pakistan, simply because there is absolutely nothing Pakistan possesses that India wants." Ejaz Haider subsequently responded strongly stating "Like every other state in the world, Pakistan is also a self-interested state and the rest of the world must live with this fact; three, we have no intention of defenestrating our military, even as we would continue to kick them to extract obedience; four, we don’t need advice from across the border, especially because the Indian pundits crawled on their bellies when Mrs Indira Gandhi slapped her two-year emergency rule. We have seen worse without giving up or giving in. Thank you!"<ref>Haider, Ejaz (16 July 2011). [http://tribune.com.pk/story/217721/its-not-just-mr-tharoor/ It’s not just Mr Tharoor!]. ''The Express Tribune''. Retrieved 18 August 2013</ref>

==Personal life==
Taseer divides his time between [[London]] and [[New York City|New York]].<ref name="Hurst">{{cite web |title=The Twice-Born |url=https://www.hurstpublishers.com/book/the-twice-born/ |website=Hurst |accessdate=21 August 2019 |quote=A contributor to The International New York Times, he lives in New Delhi and New York.}}</ref> In 2016, he married lawyer<ref>{{cite web |title=Royal who dumped Taseer to wed long-time love|author=Roy, Amit|url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/world/royal-who-dumped-aatish-to-marry-king-ston/cid/1669710|website=telegraphindia.com|accessdate=21 September 2018}}</ref> Ryan Davis in New York.<ref name="marriage">{{cite web |last1=Taseer |first1=Aatish |title=A Country Road Trip, From Nashville to Asheville |url=https://www.travelandleisure.com/trip-ideas/road-trips/tennessee-road-trip |website=Travel + Leisure |accessdate=21 August 2019 |date=9 October 2016 |quote=...Ryan—the tall white man from Tennessee I had married a few weeks earlier in New York...}}</ref> Previously, he was in a relationship with [[Lady Gabriella Windsor]], daughter of the [[Prince Michael of Kent|Prince]] and [[Princess Michael of Kent]],<ref>[http://www.dnaindia.com/world/report_aatish-taseer-lady-windsor-part-ways-report_1060807 Aatish Taseer, Lady Windsor part ways: Report] DNA India – 29 October 2006</ref> whom he had met when she was an undergraduate at [[Brown University]] in [[Providence, Rhode Island]], and he at [[Amherst College]] in [[Massachusetts]].<ref>{{cite web |title=People with Michelle Henery |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/people-with-michelle-henery-zh6n3c8dx6v |website=The Times |accessdate=21 August 2019 |date=8 December 2004}}{{paywall}}</ref> Taseer considers himself culturally and historically Hindu. He worships [[Shiva]] which makes him a practising Hindu.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ianslife.in/culture/conversation-aatish-taseer|title=In conversation with Aatish Taseer}}</ref>

=== Citizenship ===
On 8 November 2019, Taseer's [[Overseas Citizenship of India]] was revoked by the [[Ministry of Home Affairs (India)|Indian Ministry of Home Affairs]] claiming he attempted to "conceal information that his father was of Pakistani origin".<ref name="BBC081119" /> Taseer has said this is untrue, he never concealed the identity of his father with whom he had no contact and his mother was always the only legal guardian as a minor.<ref name="Ellis-Petersen">{{cite news|last=Ellis-Petersen|first=Hannah|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/nov/08/india-strips-citizenship-journalist-aatish-taseer-criticised-modi-regime|title=India strips overseas citizenship from journalist who criticised Modi regime|work=The Guardian|date=8 November 2019|access-date=13 November 2019}}</ref> Taseer alleged that the ministry didn't give him enough time and that it was an act of reprisal.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/hindi/india-50340387|title=आतिश तासीर ने OCI कार्ड रद्द होने पर क्या कहा?|date=2019-11-08|access-date=2019-11-09|language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/aatish-taseer-journalist-time-magazine-oic-status-new-article-1616980-2019-11-08|title=I am Indian, but my govt has exiled me: Aatish Taseer responds to revocation of OIC by Centre|newspaper=India Today|language=en|access-date=2019-11-09|agency=Ist}}</ref> In his May 2019 cover article for ''Time'' magazine, published during the Indian election entitled "India’s divider in chief" he was highly critical of the Indian prime minister, [[Narendra Modi]].<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://time.com/5586415/india-election-narendra-modi-2019/|title=Can the World's Largest Democracy Endure Another Five Years of a Modi Government?|magazine=Time}}</ref> He claimed to ''The Guardian'' that his citizenship issue had not caused him any problems before the ''Time'' article was published.<ref name="Ellis-Petersen" /> The Home ministry had rejected the claim that the ''Time'' article had any connection to the rejection of Taseer's citizenship.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/writer-aatish-taseer-stands-to-lose-oci-card-119110701824_1.html|title=Writer Aatish Taseer conceals father's Pakistani origin, to lose OCI card|agency=Press Trust of India|date=7 November 2019|work=Business Standard India|access-date=13 November 2019}}</ref>

Taseer became a US citizen on 27 July 2020.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|date=28 July 2020|title=Aatish Taseer becomes US citizen, months after Modi govt revoked his OCI card|url=https://theprint.in/world/aatish-taseer-becomes-us-citizen-months-after-modi-govt-revoked-his-oci-card/469610/|access-date=2020-07-28|website=Twitter|language=en}}</ref>

==Works==
Taseer's first book ''Stranger to History: A Son's Journey Through Islamic Lands'' (2009), His part memoir-part travelogue, has been translated into more than 14 languages and hailed as a "must-read" for anyone attempting to understand the Muslim world.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/mar/14/stranger-to-history-aatish-taseer Book Review] [[The guardian]], Saturday, 14 March 2009.</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090422080019/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/stranger-to-history-by-aatish-taseer-1669477.html Book Review] [[The Independent]], Friday, 17 April 2009.</ref> Taseer's well received translation of [[Saadat Hasan Manto]]'s short stories from the original Urdu, ''Manto: Selected Stories'', was published in 2008.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/A-question-of-identity/article16651395.ece|title=A question of identity|last=Kumar|first=Divya|date=31 March 2010|work=The Hindu|access-date=14 May 2019}}</ref>

==Bibliography==
* ''Manto Selected Stories''. Random House. {{ISBN|81-8400-049-9}}.
* ''Stranger to History: A Son's Journey Through Islamic Lands'', McClelland & Stewart. 2009. {{ISBN|0-7710-8425-0}}.
* Translated from the English: ''Terra Islamica. Auf der Suche nach der Welt meines Vaters'', translated by Rita Seuß, Verlag C.H. Beck, München 2009
* ''The Temple-Goers'', Viking. 2010. {{ISBN|978-0-670-91850-8}}.
* ''Noon'', Faber & Faber in the US; by Picador in India and the UK. 2011. {{ISBN|978-0-86547-858-9}}.
* ''The Way Things Were'', Pan Macmillan in UK and India 2014, {{ISBN|9789382616337}}.
* ''The Twice-Born: Life and Death on the Ganges'' (2019)

==Awards==
* "2010 Costa First Novel Award shortlist" for ''The Temple-Goers''.<ref>[http://www.costabookawards.co.uk/awards/thisyearshortlist2008.aspx Costa Book Awards] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101003133038/http://www.costabookawards.co.uk/awards/thisyearshortlist2008.aspx |date=3 October 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Brown|first=Mark|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2010/nov/16/costa-book-prize-shortlist-unfilled |title=Costa prize shortlist falls short on biographies|work=The Guardian |date=16 November 2010|access-date=12 May 2019 |location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Akbar|first=Arifa|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/costa-judge-laments-a-weak-year-for-fiction-2136069.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101119012442/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/costa-judge-laments-a-weak-year-for-fiction-2136069.html |archive-date=2010-11-19 |url-access=limited |url-status=live|title=Costa judge laments a weak year for fiction|work=The Independent|date=17 November 2010|access-date=28 September 2011|location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-11-18/india/28218925_1_books-meghnad-desai-shortlist|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104000702/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-11-18/india/28218925_1_books-meghnad-desai-shortlist|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 November 2012|title=Two books on India in UK literary award shortlist|date=18 November 2010|work=[[The Times of India]]|access-date=28 September 2011}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Official website}}
*"[http://www.openthemagazine.com/article/art-culture/a-historical-sense Studying Sanskrit]", an article by the author about his search for his roots.

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taseer, Aatish}}
[[Category:1980 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Punjabi people]]
[[Category:Taseer family|Aatish]]
[[Category:Amherst College alumni]]
[[Category:English Sikhs]]
[[Category:English people of Indian descent]]
[[Category:English people of Pakistani descent]]
[[Category:American writers of Indian descent]]
[[Category:American writers of Pakistani descent]]
[[Category:British writers of Pakistani descent]]
[[Category:British writers of Indian descent]]
[[Category:British gay writers]]
[[Category:LGBT journalists from the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Journalists from London]]
[[Category:English people of Kashmiri descent]]
[[Category:21st-century British journalists]]
[[Category:21st-century English male writers]]
[[Category:LGBT people from England]]
[[Category:21st-century LGBT people]]

Aatish Taseer - Revision history

UpdateBot at 05:22, 28 June 2022