Indian journalism is in anything but good shape. Big media’s unhesitating regurgitation of the Kool Aid dished out by the present regime has found its way into headlines, copies and tone and tenor of reporting. The reporting today is a far cry from how the same actors, especially Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah, were commented upon by big media in the early 2000s, especially 2002. It is a compartmentalisation which appears convenient now, but will haunt Indian media for a long time to come.This, in the twilight between how journalists reported in the past and how they feel compelled to do now, about the same people and ideas, is where people like Sankarshan Thakur shone like a bright light.No ‘Error 404’ for him‘Error 404 journalism’, coined by Vineet Kumar, refers to journalistic outfits reporting completely differently from what they would do 20 years ago, and their own ‘investigative journalism’ of yore, going missing now – often literally, from websites.Sankarshan Thakur was the exception who proved the rule.A sharp and no-holds barred reporter and analyst, he was the bearer of journalistic memory, a living reminder at the top of a big media network, that wrote and spoke with context which otherwise runs the risk of going missing. Unflinching about recording the 2002 violence in Gujarat, he did not push it away when speaking of political leaders shaped by that fire. His pinned tweet bears witness to his memory and note-taking, and sheer courage. Remember, he was Editor, The Telegraph.Vox-populi turned to goldDistress is a simmer, anger risen from it can stun you like a slap in the face. “Lagega jhatka, time aagaya vote ka tamacha lagane ka, bhaashan, bhaashan, bhaashan, yahan aadmi bina kaam, bina khaana mar raha hai (A jolt is coming, the time has come for the vote to be used like a slap. Speeches, speeches, speeches. And here people are dying without jobs and food.”The young man’s eyes were bloodshot with rage, he wouldn’t take names but he left nothing to the imagination about who he was referring to. He wouldn’t give his name either, nor be willing to be photographed. “Photo khichba tuu, aur pela jaai hum, kauno kaaj naikhe (You’ll take the picture and I will take the hammering, no need).” It took me back to what the kachauri-sabzi outlet owner near the Assi ghat in Varanasi had said just yesterday. “Benaras mein to Modiji ki jeet sunishchit hai, baaki hawa to kharab hai (There’s no threat for Modiji in Varanasi but elsewhere the situation is not the same).This is what Sankarshan Thakur wrote on May 30, 2024, when few, and certainly no Editor of big media, would have ventured to write. He headlined his piece, ‘New in Narendra Modi citadel: Anger hits a decibel’. In May 2024, this was not an easy piece to write – but it had to be done and so he did it.I still recall his phone call from Varanasi last year, in May 2024, when he was touring East UP (as I was but in a different district), to compare notes of what he had found speaking to people at random. The vox-populi, such a powerful journalistic weapon but more often misused than used, was crafted into strong fuel to convey an understanding by Sankarshan of what was unfolding. That UP is cracking and will not be going the BJP’s way in 2024 was not common wisdom then, especially in the PM’s backyard, the 12 seats around Varanasi. But Sankarshan could draw that out from ordinary conversations he would have and be able to tell the story. What he wrote then, as the bells were beginning to toll for the BJP in the Hindi heartland, now provide vital clues for those piecing up how the mighty election machine sputtered and slowed down in UP last year.‘Reporter-Editor’A term that can’t really be used for many in big media, Sankarshan kept the reporting going for all his heavy editorial responsibilities. Any place in the country, notably Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir and politics in Delhi, few had their finger on the pulse as Sankarshan did. His generosity with his time is something those he mentored often spoke about. A diligent journalist, he wrote many first drafts of history, but also with his erudition wrote books about his times. He was able to be that rare person – not just a reporter with notes to be turned into quick copy, but also tell a longer story and draw a longer arc of time.Steering the ship at a crucial newspaper, his stewardship and own pieces of journalism were valuable institutional memory kept alive that revolted against the effort to erase history and ‘entire political science’ of modern India.He will be remembered for being the honest and forthright witness of the past four decades of tumultuous Indian history, who held his own in big media. He will be remembered for being able to listen closely to the ground and craft vox-populi intelligently, but most of all, he was always clear-eyed, unhesitating to spell out what he was watching unfold, even if it went contrary to what he fervently wanted to happen.Those who saw the modest (and dapper) Sankarshan on the field will remember him for much – his classic flipped up collars, the owl brooch, his jacket with pockets full of all that journalists need and delightfully sharp repartee. But all that was just dressing, cloaking his immense contribution to Indian journalism.