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HAROON SIDDIQUI | Few excel in their fields, fewer
still change their profession and only a handful change society.
It may be said that Haroon Siddiqui has done all three.
A native of Hyderabad, India, and now one
of Canada's most honoured journalists, he is columnist and senior
manager at The Toronto Star (Canada's largest daily). He has been
Editorial Page Editor, National Editor and Foreign Affairs Analyst
(1978-todate). Earlier, he was managing editor, city editor and
reporter at Brandon Sun in Manitoba (1968 to 1978).
Besides covering major national
and international issues, he has helped "mainstream the minorities,"
standing up against racism and discriminatory public policies.
To help change the media coverage of minorities, he pioneered
the concept of the "equality of citizenship in print and
on the airwaves" - all citizens and groups are entitled to
"equal dignity of portrayal, as free of clichés as
possible."
He has been awarded the Order
of Canada, Canada's highest civilian honour, for advocating "fairness
and equality of opportunity" at home, "a broader role
for Canada in the global village" and for crafting "a
broader definition of the Canadian identity," inclusive of
new Canadians.
York University conferred on
him an honorary doctorate, saying: "His writings reveal a
breath and depth of knowledge … and help in the creation
and sustaining of a contemporary Canada."
Siddiqui is the first Indo-Canadian,
first Asian, first Muslim and first non-white to reach the landmarks
he has.
Writing from nearly 40 countries,
he has covered such historic events as the Soviet invasion of
Afghanistan, the American hostage crisis in Iran, and the Iran-Iraq
war. He has covered all Canadian prime ministers since Pierre
Elliot Trudeau, nearly all prime ministers of India since Jawaharlal
Nehru, and also Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, Nelson Mandela, Bishop
Desmond Tutu, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and Ayatollah Khomeini.
His writings proved prescient
in opposing the Iraq war; emphasizing the protection of human
rights in the age of terrorism; and advocating international interventions
in Bosnia and Kosovo.
A longtime promoter of the importance
of India, he helped initiate The Star's coverage of South Asians,
including a special edition on the 50th anniversary of India's
independence.
His voluntary efforts include extensive work with the Canadian
Newspaper Association, Advertising Standard Canada, Canadian Civil
Liberties Association, Ontario Press Council and others. A former
president of PEN Canada, last year he became the first Canadian
elected director of International PEN, which fights for freedom
of expression through its 140 chapters in 101 countries.
His non-journalistic writings
include Being Muslim, (Groundwood Books, Toronto and Berkeley),
about post-9/11 politics. He has contributed to Uneasy Partners:
Multiculturalism and Rights in Canada (Wilfrid Laurier University
Press); Great Questions of Canada (Key Porter Books). He edited
An English Anthology of Modern Urdu Poetry; and assisted in Sir
Christopher Ondaatje's Sindh Revisited, tracing the footsteps
of Victorian explorer Sir Richard Burton in India and Pakistan.
Siddiqui, a graduate of Osmania
University who did his internship at The Hindu in Chennai and
started his career at Press Trust of India news agency in Mumbai,
goes to India "as frequently as I can."
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