Dr. Karan Thapar is a graduate with a degree in Economics and Political Philosophy from Pembroke College, Cambridge (UK). He subsequently obtained a doctorate in International Relations from St. Antony's College, Oxford (UK). Currently the President of Infotainment Television, Thapar is noted for his aggressive interviews with leading politicians and celebrities - his interviews with cricketer Kapil Dev, Narendra Modi, Manmohan Singh, General Pervez Musharraf, Benazir Bhutto, Arun Jaitley, Ram Jethmalani, U.S Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and The Dalai Lama are particularly well remembered. A few of his shows which have been much watched are ‘Eyewitness’, ‘Tonight at 10’, ‘In Focus with Karan’, ‘Line of Fire’ and ‘War of Words’. The shows with which he has been making headlines lately are: ‘Devil's Advocate’ and ‘The Last Word’ on CNN-IBN and India Tonight on CNBC TV 18.

Reporter> They say, “Philosophy is the art of the poetic; Science is the art of the provable; Politics is the art of the possible"; then Media is the art of?
Karan Thapar> In the style of the analogy you have given... the media, I presume, is the art of informing a large audience.

Reporter> Can mass media achieve what even the great kings, politicians and corporate could not? That is to dominate and rule the world?
Karan Thapar> In one sense mass media does dominate the world because everyone, at some point or the other, watches TV news or reads newspapers and is, in turn, substantially if not, sometimes, hugely influenced by what they see or read.

Reporter> Why are you proud of India? If you were to write a book on India’s future, what would be its title?
Karan Thapar> I am proud of India because it’s one of the few truly plural countries where a wide range of people of different religion, ethnicity, caste, speaking different languages, eating different cuisines, dressing in different styles, live together, most of the time in harmony, and with a fair degree of affection for each other.

If I were to write a book on the future of India and I want it to be clever I might call it either ‘Paradise Regained’ or ‘Prometheus Unbound’.

Reporter> Within India or Outside India, who is the most unforgettable person you've met? And Why?
Karan Thapar> I am not sure who is the most unforgettable person I have ever met. It’s almost impossible to identify a single human being. But there are several who are likely to stay in my memory for a long time. They do so for a variety of different reasons.

Reporter> In English Dictionary, which is your favorite word and why?
Karan Thapar> I suppose ‘Sorry’ because we all make mistakes, sometimes frequently, and the use of that word usually prompts forgiveness and even resolves the problem.

Reporter> Thank you for the answers.
Karan Thapar> Thank you.