Haroon Siddiqui
|
Haroon Siddiqui with Order of Ontario medal |
Haroon Siddiqui,
C.M.,
O.Ont., (born
June 1,
1942) is an
Indo-Canadian newspaper
journalist,
columnist and a former
editor.
Born in
Hyderabad, India, the oldest of six children of a construction company proprietor and a homemaker, Siddiqui enjoyed what he characterizes as a secure and affectionate, "
middle- to
upper-class" childhood.
At
Osmania University in Hyderabad, he moved between several subjects before earning his first degree in science, then his second in journalism. In
1963, he joined the
Press Trust of India as a reporter and
copy editor. When his father fell ill, he left journalism to look after his family and the company, running it from his father's death in
1965 until it wound-down in
1967.
While still at the Press Trust, he had met
Roland Michener, then Canada's
High Commissioner to India, who had encouraged him to emigrate to Canada. By October
1967, also encouraged by friends who spoke well of the country, he had moved to
Toronto. After a brief stint selling menswear at
Simpson's, he took a job at the
Brandon Sun in
Brandon, Manitoba, reporting with special attention to municipal and provincial politics from
1968 to
1978.
In
1978, he joined the
Toronto Star, becoming foreign affairs analyst in
1979, news editor in
1982 and national editor in
1985. From
1990 to
1998, Siddiqui was the
Star's
editorial page editor, and on his departure from that position, he was given the special title of editorial page editor emeritus, a role consulting
Star publisher
Beland Honderich, and a twice-weekly column, which focuses on
national and international politics and cultural and religious diversity.
Siddiqui has served as president of
PEN Canada, on the boards of directors of the
Calmeadow Foundation (a
microcredit lender), the
Canadian Club of Toronto, and the advisory board of the
Ryerson University school of journalism, and has been active in the
Canadian Newspaper Association and
Advertising Standards Canada.
Siddiqui and his wife, Yasmeem, have two sons. Yasmmeem Siddiqui, a race relations consultant, was appointed to the Immigration and Refugee board in Toronto in the mid 1990's.
While widely respected, Siddiqui courts some controversy. Writing in
Toronto Life in June 2001,
Robert Fulford maintained that "Siddiqui makes the most strenuous effort to bathe
Third World countries in a soft light. No matter how outrageous its actions, a non-
Western government can usually count on him for a little understanding."
HonestReporting Canada, a
media watchdog concerned with what it considers bias against
Israel, accuses him of "one-sided criticism of Israel" in columns on the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict [
1].
In
2000, he became a member of the
Order of Ontario, and in
2001 a member of the
Order of Canada, for his journalism and his voluntary work. In
2001, Siddiqui was awarded an
honorary Doctor of Letters from
York University.
He shared a
1983 National Newspaper Award for spot news reporting, and was shortlisted in his own right for editorial writing in
1992 and column writing in
1998. Siddiqui received a Professional Man of the Year award from
Indo-Canadian Chamber of Commerce, and a media award from the
Canadian Islamic Congress.
*
Haroon and the Sea of Opinions (
Ryerson Review of Journalism, Spring 2002)
*
Haroon Siddiqui, 2000
Order of Ontario recipients' page
*
Haroon Siddiqui, 2001
Order of Canada citation
