Teesta Setalvad Age, Biography, Husband, Children, Family & More

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Bio
Real Name	Teesta Setalvad
Profession(s)	Journalist, Civil Rights Activist
Physical Stats & More
Eye Colour	Black
Hair Colour	Salt and Pepper
Personal Life
Date of Birth	9 February 1962
Age (as in 2018)	56 Years
Birthplace	Mumbai, Maharashtra
Zodiac sign/Sun sign	Aquarius
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	Mumbai, Maharashtra
School	Not Known
University	Bombay University
Educational Qualification	Degree of Philosophy from Bombay University
Religion	Not Known
Awards/Honours	2000: Presented with The Prince Claus Award 2002: Won Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award given by the Congress party 2003: Honoured with the Nuremberg International Human Rights Award 2006: Goven the Nani A Palkhivala Award 2007: Awarded the Padma Shri award for Public Affairs in Maharashtra by the Government of India 2009: Received FIMA Excellence Award – given by Federation of Indian Muslim Associations in Kuwait
Controversies	• In 2013, she was accused of misusing the donation done in the name of Gujarat riots. At that time, around 12 residents of the Gulbarg Society were the victim of riots and according to them, Teesta had promised them to use all the national and international collections done by her in reconstructing their houses, but she failed to do so. Moreover, the victims also tried to ban her organisation Citizens for Justice and Peace. Later, an FIR was also filed against Teesta and her husband. • Teesta's organisation Sabrang Communications and Publishing has taken around $290,000 from the US-based Ford Foundation without the government approval; as it was not registered under FCRA (Foreign Contributions Regulation Act).
Boys, Affairs and More
Marital Status	Married
Affairs/Boyfriends	Not Known
Family
Husband/Spouse	Javed Anand (Journalist, Civil Rights Activist)
Children	Son- Jibran Daughter- Tamara
Parents	Father- Atul Setalvad (Lawyer) Mother- Sita Setalvad
Siblings	Not Known

Some Lesser Known Facts About Teesta Setalvad

• Does Teesta Setalvad smoke?: Not Known

• Does Teesta Setalvad drink alcohol?: Not Known

• She comes from a well-civilised background as her father, Atul Setalvad, was a Mumbai based lawyer and her paternal grandfather, M.C. Setalvad, was India’s first attorney general.

• Since her childhood, she is passionate towards bringing social and political justice in the society.

• She dropped out her law degree in between and gained a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from Bombay University in 1983.

• Teesta incepted her career as a journalist with The Daily (India) and wrote for the Mumbai editions in the newspaper.

• She has also worked with The Indian Express newspaper and Business India magazine, as a reporter.

• Her coverage of 1984 riots in Bhiwandi was her initial brush with communal violence.

• She then got married to famous journalist and civil rights activist, Javed Anand.

• Her journey as a famous journalist was short-lived as subsequent to her marriage, she, along with her husband, quit their jobs, to begin an advocacy magazine titled Communalism Combat.

• She has also started a project named Khoj: Education for A pluralistic India, which aims to remove anti-minority prejudices by providing partially re-written History and Social Studies textbooks.

• On 1 April 2002, she established an NGO (Non-governmental organization) named “Citizens for Justice and Peace,” along with her husband- Javed Anand, Anil Dharker (a journalist), Father Cedric Prakash (a Catholic priest), Javed Akhtar, Alyque Padamsee, Vijay Tendulkar, and Rahul Bose (actor). 

• She campaigns for rights and privileges of Dalits, Muslims, and women. 

• Teesta is the official spokesperson of Sabrang Communications organisation, which fights for human rights. The organisation is run by her husband.

• She has been attacked physically three times in Gujarat, but her courageous and daredevil attitude has never stopped her from fighting for the victims.

• She has been awarded various accolades for her extraordinary role as an activist and journalist, viz. PUCL Journalism for Human Rights Award and Chameli Devi Jain Award for outstanding Woman journalist in 1993, Maharana Mewar Foundation’s Hakim Khan Sur Award in 1999, Human Rights Award of the Dalit Liberation Education Trust in 2000, Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award in 2002, Nani A Palkhivala Award in 2006, The Padmashri in 2007, The Pax Christi international peace award, to name a few.

• She is famous as a vigorous feminist and founder of the Women in the Media Committee, which fundamentally focuses on women journalists to create awareness of gender-sensitivity in writing, and other job-related concerns and issues on women.

• She is the General Secretary of People’s Union for Human Rights and also the member of the Pakistan India People’s Forum for Peace and Democracy.

• Teesta has penned the chapter “When Guardians Betray: The Role of the Police” in the book titled “Gujarat: The making of a tragedy,” which is about the 2002 Gujarat riots. 

• In 2009, she was honoured with the FIMA Excellence Award presented by Federation of Indian Muslim Association in Kuwait.

• Here’s a video showcasing Teesta’s interview at BBC Hard Talk by Karan Thapar in which she has stated her entire journey as a journalist, activist, and some challenges she has faced so far: