Barkha Dutt is an Indian journalist, author and founder-editor of the digital news platform Mojo Story. She became a household name through her reporting of the 1999 Kargil conflict, including an interview with Captain Vikram Batra. This Barkha Dutt biography covers her age, family, education, two decades at NDTV, the controversies around her and what she is doing in 2026. Born on 18 December 1971 in New Delhi, she writes for The Washington Post and is a Padma Shri recipient.
Barkha Dutt Quick Facts
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Real Name | Barkha Dutt |
| Date of Birth | 18 December 1971 |
| Age | 54 (turns 55 on 18 December 2026) |
| Birthplace | New Delhi, India |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Religion | Describes herself as agnostic |
| Education | Modern School; St. Stephen’s College (BA); Jamia Millia Islamia (MA); Columbia University (MS) |
| Profession | Journalist, TV anchor, author, digital media founder |
| Known For | Kargil war reporting; NDTV’s We the People; founding Mojo Story |
| Parents | S.P. Dutt (Air India official), Prabha Dutt (journalist) |
| Sibling | Bahar Dutt (younger sister) |
| Spouse | |
| Social Handles | X: @BDUTT; Mojo Story X: @themojostory; |
Who Is Barkha Dutt?
Barkha Dutt is one of India’s best-known English-language broadcast journalists. She started at NDTV and later rose to head its English news wing. She spent about 21 years there before leaving in January 2017. She is also an opinion columnist with The Hindustan Times and The Washington Post, and her profiles describe her as India’s only Emmy-nominated journalist.
She matters to Pakistani readers because of her cross-border reporting. She has interviewed Pakistani newsmakers including Benazir Bhutto, Imran Khan, Fatima Bhutto and General Pervez Musharraf. Her public profile has also drawn sharp criticism from several directions, covered below.
Barkha Dutt Early Life & Family
Dutt was born in New Delhi to S.P. Dutt, an Air India official, and Prabha Dutt, a well-known Hindustan Times journalist. She credits her mother, a pioneer among Indian women journalists, for her own journalistic skills. In a quoted interview, she says her mother died when she was 13. She later spoke of losing her father to Covid.
Her younger sister, Bahar Dutt, is also a journalist. Wikipedia describes her as working with CNN-IBN, which may be outdated. Dutt describes herself as agnostic.
Date of birth note: most reliable sources, including Wikipedia, give 18 December 1971. One low-quality site lists 18 April 1971, so we use 18 December.
Barkha Dutt Education
She attended Modern School, New Delhi and graduated from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi (BA), Jamia Millia Islamia (MA) and Columbia University (MS). A speaker-bureau profile also says she won an Inlaks scholarship in 1997.
Barkha Dutt Career
Early Years at NDTV (1990s)
Dutt began her television career at NDTV. Sources disagree on the exact start. One says she joined straight after college, while the “21 years” figure for her 2017 exit points to the mid-1990.
Kargil 1999: The Breakthrough
Her frontline reporting on the 1999 Kargil conflict between India and Pakistan made her a household name. The coverage, including her interview with Captain Vikram Batra, defined her early reputation. Her work has also inspired film characters, including a Bollywood film, Lakshya.
Anchor and Group Editor (2000s–2015)
At NDTV she hosted the weekly talk show We the People and the daily show The Buck Stops Here. She hosted We the People for 16 years. She won several honours in this period, listed under Awards below. She later moved from group editor to consulting editor in February 2015.
Leaving NDTV and Founding Mojo Story (2017–2019)
She announced on 15 January 2017 that she was leaving NDTV after 21 years. She then launched Mojo Story. The brand later led to a public dispute with NDTV, when she objected to her former employer using “MoJo” for its own mobile-journalism format. From 26 January to 13 July 2019 she was anchor and consulting editor at Tiranga TV, where her show was called Democracy Live.
Covid Reporting and Books (2020–2022)
She reported on Covid across India for about 16 months, winning the Emergent Ventures India COVID Prize and eight awards at the 2021 News Broadcasters Association Awards. She later wrote To Hell and Back: Humans of Covid, which draws on a 30,000 km journey across India.
Columns and Security Commentary (2025–2026)
Her recent columns include pieces on India’s hard-power needs, the Saudi-Pakistan defence pact and terror networks after the Red Fort blast.
Barkha Dutt Awards & Recognition
- Padma Shri: India’s fourth-highest civilian honour, conferred in the 2008 cycle
- Chameli Devi Jain Award for Outstanding Women Mediapersons (2000)
- Commonwealth Broadcasting Association Journalist of the Year (2007)
- Indian News Television Awards 2007: Best TV News Anchor (English) for We the People
- Indian News Broadcasting Award 2008: Most Intelligent News Show Host
- Emergent Ventures India COVID Prize and eight NBA awards (2021)
Barkha Dutt Controversies
Dutt is a polarising figure. Admirers praise her ground reporting and independence. Critics, across the political spectrum, have questioned her conduct at various points.
Radia Tapes (2010)
Her conversations with lobbyist Niira Radia were among phone intercepts taped by the Income Tax Department in 2008–09 and later published by media outlets. Dutt became the face of the scandal and defended herself on an NDTV programme on 30 November 2010. Magazine editor Hartosh Singh Bal wrote that the episode pointed to institutional problems in media–corporate–political relationships rather than one person’s act. A commentator in Outlook defended her, arguing that only about 3% of roughly 5,800 intercepts had been made public.
26/11 Live Coverage Criticism (2008)
After the Mumbai attacks, Dutt and other journalists were accused of reporting live in ways that could reveal the positions of security forces.
2002 Gujarat Coverage
In a 2014 interview, Narendra Modi criticised NDTV’s 2002 riot coverage, including a Surat report by Dutt, as irresponsible.
Unnao FIR (2021)
In February 2021, Unnao police registered an FIR against eight Twitter handles, including Mojo Story’s, over coverage of the deaths of two Dalit girls. Reporters Without Borders called it judicial harassment, and DIGIPUB condemned it as an attempt at muzzling journalists. Dutt said Mojo Story reported both the families’ allegations and the police denial.
Clipped 1994 Video
A 23-second clip viral since 2015 was shared to claim she justified the Kashmiri Pandit exodus. Alt News found the clip was truncated and the original report was sympathetic to displaced Kashmiri Pandits.
Barkha Dutt Personal Life
Dutt keeps her personal life private. Online profiles claim two earlier marriages, to a “Mr Mir” and to Dr Haseeb Drabu, both ending in divorce. These come from fan-wiki sites, not from Dutt or a credible outlet, so treat them as unverified.
Net worth: no credible, verifiable figure exists. Sites publish widely varying estimates with no sourcing, so we do not repeat any.
Barkha Dutt in 2026
In October 2026 Dutt is active across Mojo Story, her X account and her columns. Highlights from my research:
- Election Commission and voter-roll coverage: Her X feed posted about a Supreme Court hearing on Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. It said the court had not approved a modified version of Form 6. On 12 October she began the day at Jantar Mantar, where an INDIA bloc protest was blocked by barricades, then hosted a panel on the CEC. A 16 October Mojo Story broadcast, titled “BJP Vs CJP”, covered the political fallout. These topics are contested, and her panels feature varied voices.
- Saif Ali Khan: As the knife-attack trial began in Mumbai, Gulf News noted that Khan had described that night in an interview with Dutt on Mojo Story.
- Aviation story: Her feed reported on Captain Smit Machhar, the pilot who saved a Fly Dubai flight, recovering from a skull fracture. x
Barkha Dutt Books & Shows
| Title | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| We the People | NDTV talk show | Hosted for about 16 years |
| The Buck Stops Here | NDTV prime-time show | Interviews with global figures |
| Democracy Live | Tiranga TV show | 26 Jan–13 Jul 2019 |
| Mojo Story | Digital news platform | Founded 2017 |
| This Unquiet Land: Stories from India’s Fault Lines | Book | 2015 |
| To Hell and Back: Humans of Covid | Book | Published 2022 |
Barkha Dutt FAQs
How old is Barkha Dutt?
She was born on 18 December 1971, so she is 54 as of October 2026.
Who is Barkha Dutt’s husband?
No marriage has been confirmed by Dutt or a credible outlet. Some websites list earlier marriages that ended in divorce, but these are unverified.
What is Barkha Dutt’s net worth?
There is no verified figure. Online estimates vary and are unsourced.
Where does Barkha Dutt work now?
She runs Mojo Story and writes columns for The Washington Post and The Hindustan Times.
Why did Barkha Dutt leave NDTV?
She announced her exit on 15 January 2017 after about 21 years. She has discussed differences with NDTV’s promoters in interviews, and she was later critical of NDTV’s use of the “MoJo” name.
What was the Radia tapes controversy?
It involved intercepted calls between lobbyist Niira Radia and journalists, politicians and executives. Dutt’s conversations became the most publicised, and she defended herself on air in November 2010.
Which Pakistani leaders has Barkha Dutt interviewed?
Her NDTV interviews included Benazir Bhutto, Imran Khan, Fatima Bhutto and Pervez Musharraf.
Last updated: October 2026
