Sakal

History

Sakal originated during the pre-independence nationalist period. Its founder, Nanasaheb Parulekar, was influenced by American newspapers during his time at Columbia University. Although it was started as part of the nationalist cause, the Sakal newspaper transitioned, after Indian independence, into a commercially viable publication by focusing on local and rural issues around Pune. By the 1960s, Sakal had appointed full-time correspondents, each equipped with a phone, in every town in its coverage area. It organized training camps for journalists, promotions, and cultural events for readers, and published letters to the editor on its front page. Pawar converted the paper into a public limited company in 1989, becoming its managing director. As of 2025, Pawar is chairman of the group. * N. B. Parulekar – 1 January 1932 to 31 December 1943 * Ramchandra Balawant (also known as Babasaheb Ghorpade) – 1 January 1944 to 20 February 1951 * N. B. Parulekar – 21 February 1951 to 8 January 1973 * Shridhar (S. G. Mungekar)– 9 January 1973 to 9 February 1985 * V. D. Ranade – 10 February 1985 to 30 April 1987 * S. K. Kulkarni – 1 May 1987 to 31 July 1987 * Vijay Kuwalekar – 1 August 1987 to 7 August 2000 * Anant Dixit – 8 August 2000 to 15 July 2005 * Yamaji Malkar – 16 July 2005 to 9 May 2009 * Uttam Kamble – 10 May 2009 to 31 July 2012 (Editor in Chief) * Shriram Pawar – 1 August 2012 to 28 February 2018 (Editor in Chief) * Nand Kumar Sutar - 1 May 2013 to 16 June 2019 (Executive Editor) * Rahul Gadpale – 1 March 2018 – to date (Editor in Chief)