The BBC University Challenge presenter hopes to take his children to India ‘frequently and ‘invite [them] to fall in love with the civilisation that’s in their blood’
Presenter Amol Rajan has questioned whether England is the best place for his children to grow up because of the “big problems” in the country. The University Challenge presenter, who was born in Calcutta and grew up in London, said he is “very worried” about the country as it is no longer making history.
Rajan, 42, called the country of his birth “exciting and energetic in a way that Britain doesn’t always feel”, and said he wants his children to visit India and “make up their own mind” about where they want to live.
Speaking to Gyles Brandreth on his Rosebud podcast, he said: “I can’t tell you how much I love my country, by which I mean England, and I mean a very particular thing, which is the idea of England. But I’m very worried about it.
“I’m very, very worried about the state of things in my country. I think we’ve got some big, big, big problems that really need addressing. One of the things that I worry about in that context is whether or not this is the best place for my four kids to grow up.”
The broadcaster added: “My worry is, I mean, this is a wonderful country. And I love this country. I’m not sure that it is still a place where, as was the case five or six decades ago, history is being made.”
Rajan continued: “In the 1960s and 70s, I think you could say that about England. The extraordinary cultural infusion, that demographic dividend of the baby boomer years, relative peace.”
After reflecting on different countries across the world that he has travelled to, he said: “India is definitely somewhere where history is being made. India is the young country, 1.4 million people, adds a million workers to the workforce every single month. It’s extraordinarily exciting and energetic in a way that Britain, at the moment, doesn’t always feel.”
When asked whether he wishes his children would end up in India, the former Independent editor said: “I’d like them to experience it and make up their own mind. My youngest is two… and when she’s a bit older and the long haul flights are a bit less perilous, I’d like to go to India frequently and invite my children to fall in love with the civilisation that’s in their blood.”
In January, Rajan announced that he would be leaving BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, after almost five years, to set up his own production company.
He started working for the corporation in 2016 as its first ever media editor, leading its coverage of global technology and media, and has also presented many documentaries for the BBC.
Before joining the broadcaster, Rajan was the editor of The Independent, where he was the youngest ever editor of a broadsheet title at the age of 29 and the first from an ethnic minority.
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