Ramnath Goenka

"The evolution of the concept of a national news agency Press Trust of India] was the direct consequence of the spirit of independence that swept the country since the days of the Quit India Movement. The desire to shake off the imperial domination in the field of news supply was at the heart of this evolving thought."

"I have committed every crime in the Indian Penal Code, except murder."

"During the British rule the war was only at the political level. Now, the war descends to a personal level, that is the difference."

"There have been a couple of key-points, for example in 1942, we had to close down the papers at the behest of Mahatma Gandhi, and during the emergency when we had to face the full wrath of the government. On both the occasions, we carried our policy to its logical conclusion."

"Well, I believe in what might be called spiritualism, be it a Hindu, be it a Muslim, be it a Christian. It makes no difference what religion it is because all religions have only one objective. So, no question, of preferring one religion or the other. *All religions take one to the same God."

"I have some interest in spiritualism.I believe in Sai Baba. I believe in Mahesh Yogi. I believe in naked fakirs."

"You meet them, you see them, you understand them and you know what they stand for; and whether stand for some principles, like Ramana Maharishi, Swami Muktananda, and Sai Baba. You can’t have anything but admiration for such great men. You learn from them. For instance, Mahesh Yogi, he teaches you meditation and it’s great science and great yoga. So, as a person interested in yoga or spiritualism. I came to know them, and to be in their company."

"Ramnath Goenka was a Man of many parts, freedom fighter, Gandhian Worker, politician, merchant, industrialist and newspaper magnate. But more than anything else he was an indomitable warrior for the Freedom Of the Press, whose frontiers he fearlessly defended and pushed, Often at enormous cost to himself. His mission as a newspaper publisher was to empower the citizen, uphold his right to know, and to make all those in power and authority accountable To the people a mission that he carried out with unflagging, if sometimes excessive zeal."

"An astute Marwari businessman domiciled in Madras, he turned a media baron, assiduously accumulating credits by rendering political or monetary favours or putting in a word for someone who needed assistance, asking for nothing in return."

"He was an ardent nationalist and a self-appointed Congress quartermaster general during the 1942 movement, supplying explosives to the Quit India revolutionaries underground and printing subversive literature for dissemination at home and abroad."

"Whether loved or hated, admired or feared, Ramnath Goenka, or RNG, simply cannot be ignored. He was a good friend but a dangerous adversary."

"He had access to Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, C.Rajagopalachari and all the post-Independence greats, such as K. Kamaraj, Jayaprakash Narayan and Indira Gandhi, none of whom hesitated to exploit his grit and ingenuity."

"RNG could be magnanimous to a fault, he could also be mean. He had all the time for Gandhians, yet was full of stories on Gandhian humbug."

"RNG had all the contradictions of great men. He could be magnanimous to a fault (the way he indulged Mulgaokar); he could, without any trace of guilt, also be mean—as he was with some of his low-paid stringers. One day he came rushing out of Hick's bungalow in Chennai screaming that the Kakinada correspondent should be sacked because he was "more expensive than Kissinger."

"For energy, drive, hard work, range of friends at the highest levels, incredible recall, commitment to causes, he was peerless."