Anita Pratap Speaks about her meeting with LTTE Chief Pirabakaran in the 1980s at California University. [11/2003]

Background information about Anita Pratap:

Anita Pratap is one of India’s best journalists, was the South Asia Bureau Chief of CNN till January 1999. She covered all the major stories in the region including the nuclear tests, the ethnic war in Sri Lanka, the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, conflicts in India’s Kashmir and North East and reported extensively from the line of control between India and
Pakistan.

She was the first television journalist to report from the 22,000 ft Siachen Glacier, the highest battleground on earth, where Indian and Pakistani armies exchange fire almost daily. During her reportage, she has interviewed all the heads of nations in the region. Before joining CNN, she worked for eight years as a correspondent for TIME magazine, covering stories in the region. Before that, Anita was a reporter for leading Indian magazines and newspapers including “India Today”, “Sunday” and the “Indian Express”.

She is the author of Island of Blood: Frontline Reports From Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Other South
Asian Flashpoints. The book is a memoir that juxtaposes the war and suffering experiences Pratap has had as a journalist against the ordinariness of everyday life. Pratap provides insights into some of the major stories in South Asia including nuclear tests, the ethnic war in Sri Lanka, the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, conflicts in India’s Kashmir and North East, and border disputes between India and Pakistan.

Over the past 20 years, in addition to hardcore breaking news, Anita has consistently reported on issues such as population, education, health care, poverty, child, women, cultural and historical issues. Currently she is working as an independent documentary filmmaker, producing and directing films on these issues, as well as writing columns for magazines.