✦ Celebrity stories, facts and career updates. Explore F4U now →

Home › Biography › Javed Anand (Teesta Setalvad’s

Javed Anand (Teesta Setalvad’s biographyFeatured Biography

Image source: StarsUnfolded

Celebrities

Javed Anand (Teesta Setalvad’s Husband)

F4U Editorial Desk • Updated September 29, 2026 • 6 min read

Quick Info

Age72 Years (as of 2022)

BirthplaceBombay (now Mumbai), Maharashtra, India

ProfessionJournalist and Social Activist

NationalityIndian

Marital statusMarried

SpouseTeesta Setalvad

FamilySon - Jibran Anand; Daughter - Tamara Anand (photographer)

Javed Anand (Teesta Setalvad’s Biography

Indian journalist and social activist known for his long partnership with civil rights campaigner Teesta Setalvad. Co-founder of Sabrang Communications and

Early life and background

Javed Anand was born in Bombay (now Mumbai), Maharashtra, and is identified as an Indian national from Mumbai. He studied at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay and completed a BTech in Metallurgy. During his student years in the late 1960s and early 1970s, he took part in peace and student movements, including protests against U.S. policy in Vietnam, and later described himself as aligning with progressive and secular values.

Career

After finishing his engineering degree in 1971, Javed joined a social action group formed by former IITians that aimed to address injustice experienced by disadvantaged communities. That same year he began working in journalism as a columnist for a Mumbai newspaper called The Daily.

Anand’s reporting gained wider attention when he and Teesta Setalvad covered the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. The pair went on to engage deeply with communal-violence reporting and advocacy. In 1992, amid the communal unrest following the Babri Masjid demolition, he and Teesta left staff journalism to publish their own news periodical, Communalism Combat.

In 1993 the couple co-founded Sabrang Communications, a media outlet that produced investigative reports and analysis on communalism and related issues. Sabrang’s work in the late 1990s included several notable publications: a report based on the Srikrishna Commission’s findings about the 1992–93 Mumbai riots and the 1993 bomb blasts; a report on alleged forcible conversions of Christians; and a series of articles addressing communal violence in Gujarat.

To sustain their independent publishing effort when finances became strained in the mid-1990s, Anand and Setalvad pursued various revenue avenues, including publishing electoral campaign advertisements in 1999. That decision prompted a complaint to the Election Commission, which ultimately rejected the petition against them.

In 2002 Anand and Teesta Setalvad established Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP), an NGO focused on protecting civil rights in India. CJP was formed with the participation of other public figures and activists and became an outlet for legal and fact-finding work related to communal violence.

Public profile

Anand is commonly described as a journalist and social activist and is widely known in public discourse for his long partnership—personal and professional—with Teesta Setalvad. The couple married in 1987 and have two children, a son named Jibran Anand and a daughter, Tamara Anand, who is a photographer.

Over the years Anand and the organizations he helped lead have been involved in controversies and legal scrutiny. Allegations reported in public records include claims that fact submissions by his NGO were exaggerated in some cases, disputes about fundraising and use of funds related to victims’ groups, questions concerning the acceptance of foreign grants without FCRA registration, and an FIR alleging that an NGO he was associated with mixed religion with politics. Government reviews and court proceedings related to these matters are part of the public record.

Personal life and assets

Anand is identified with the Islamic faith and has described himself in interviews as a Progressive-Secular Muslim. He and Teesta live in Mumbai; publicly available information indicates ownership of a bungalow named Nirant in Juhu, Mumbai. The couple married in 1987 and have been public collaborators on journalism and human-rights work for decades.

Latest updates

Javed Anand continues to be associated with the initiatives he and Teesta Setalvad founded, including Sabrang Communications and Citizens for Justice and Peace. Public records and media reporting over the years document ongoing legal and administrative scrutiny of those organizations, including government inspections and court appearances arising from allegations about funding and reporting. His professional identity remains rooted in journalism, research, and civil-rights activism.
◈

Recent Work

Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP)

Co-founder of an NGO established in 2002 focused on upholding civil rights and addressing communal violence in India.

2002
Sabrang Communications

Co-founded a media and research outlet producing investigative reports on communalism and related issues.

1993
Communalism Combat

Co-founded and published a periodical addressing communal violence and sectarian issues after leaving staff journalism in 1992.

1992
✦

Career Highlights

  1. Co-founded the news outlet Sabrang Communications (1993)
  2. Launched the periodical Communalism Combat (1992)
  3. Co-founded Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) in 2002
  4. Reported on major communal incidents including the 1984 anti-Sikh riots
?

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Javed Anand (Teesta Setalvad’s known for?

Journalist and Social Activist

What is Javed Anand (Teesta Setalvad’s’s marital status?

Married

Who is Javed Anand (Teesta Setalvad’s married to?

Teesta Setalvad