Chandan Mitra, the friend whose knowledge always amazed Rajat Sharma

My first memories of Chandan Mitra is that of a college topper who would always be seen with his books. During our college days, he used to study every subject very deeply and his knowledge would often leave me amazed. Listening to him talk about these topics was always a pleasure.

Chandan had a unique way of studying. He would mostly sit in a corner of the coffee house above Delhi University, with a pile of books, a cup of black coffee and his cigarettes for company. I used to wonder how anyone could read in such a noisy place…But Chandan Mitra would do it.

He was always interested in politics. I too was into student politics because of my friendship with Arun Jaitley, who was then the president of the Delhi University Students Union (DUSU). Chandan was a student of St Stephen’s College, which was not affiliated to DUSU, but we would still meet and discuss politics. Those were the days when Jayaprakash Narayan was leading student movements and there was an anti-Congress sentiment across the country. Chandan was very vocal in his criticism of government’s dictatorship. Along with Chandan, we would also often meet his school friend Swapan Dasgupta. They were both experts in history, and to me, they were a storehouse of knowledge. Over the time, we developed a strong bond. But there is a very interesting story behind how our friendship started.

One of Chandan’s friend at St Stephen’s was in love with a girl from Miranda House. The girl was a Rajasthani Rajput and the boy a Bengali Brahmin. The girl’s brother, who was a student of Hindu college, was against the relationship and had warned the boy against seeing his sister. But when the boy did not pay a heed, the brother, along with his Rajput friends, came to his hostel one day, ransacked the room and threatened him to stay away from the girl. This enraged Chandan a lot. I assured him we would not take it lying down. The same evening, I along with several boys went to Hindu college, challenged those boys and warned them against threatening the boy ever again. This was the incident that actually started our friendship.

Another interest that brought us together was our love for Hindi film songs. Chandan was an encyclopedia of Hindi film songs! We would spend a lot of time together and our bond only strengthened. I would often tease him saying, ‘tum chandan mai paani’.

But then time changed and Emergency was declared in 1977. I and Arun Jaitley were sent to jail, and were cut off from rest of the world. When we came out, though there was an environment of fear, we still continued to be over active. Then elections were announced, and Chandan was very enthusiastic. He worked very hard for Janata Party. His passion was commendable. He would go door-to door appealing people to vote for Janata Party.

Chandan then went on to become a journalist, working for newspapers. But we would still meet often and talk about issues concerning the country. And he, as always, had a very deep understanding of all these subjects. Arun Jaitley was still a common friend. He was a renowned advocate by then but was also actively involved in politics now. Gradually Chandan too became more inclined towards politics than journalism. When BJP came to power under Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Arun Jaitely sent him to the Rajya Sabha. He was a member of the Upper House for 10 years, during which he bought The Pioneer and became quite a respectable name in journalism.

I, meanwhile, entered television journalism. We were both more occupied with our work now and could no more meet as often as earlier. But I would often ask about his well-being from Swapan.

Chandan was very upset when BJP did not nominate him for a third term at Rajya Sabha and so joined Trinamool Congress.

Two years ago, I learnt that he had not been keeping well. I wanted to meet him, but could not as Covid pandemic had restricted outings. I will always regret not being able to see him once when he was unwell. But we friends will always remember him in our conversations, the world of journalism will always miss him for his insights, and the void he has left behind in Indian politics will always be felt.

Chandan Mitra passed away on September 1

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