Ramnath Goenka was the only newspaper baron who opposed Indira Gandhi during the Emergency period. During the Emergency, not only was Goenka’s Delhi office raided, all efforts were made to put an end to his empire. But Goenka thwarted these efforts with valour. The reigns of the government were in the hands of Indira Gandhi and she wielded a lot of power, but that did not deter him from opposing Indira’s government. This was the first time in the history of independent India that an individual had stood up to the government.
Most newspapers and media personalities adopted the middle path rather than invite the wrath of the government. But Goenka refused to bow down before the whims and fancies of the government. And he emerged a winner. When India went to the polls, Indira Gandhi was badly defeated and the Janata Party came to power.
The Janata Party lauded Goenka’s steadfastness. But Goenka never tried to take undue advantage of this proximity to the ruling party.
Along with the English edition of the Indian Express, he also brought out newspapers in Hindi and regional languages like Jansatta and Loksatta. He also published the film journal Screen. S. Mulgaonkar, S. Gurumurthy and Arun Shourie were some of the prominent journalists who worked for him.
Ramnath Goenka was born in a Marwari family in Darbhanga (Bihar) and was religious-minded. He went on pilgrimage to Tirupati frequently. Goenka started Indian Express in 1932, but he became more well known during the Emergency.