Yesterday, Indian-born American Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo and Michael Kremer won the Nobel Prize in Economics for their “experimental approach to alleviating global poverty”. Banerjee and Duflo are also husband and wife.

The Indian media came in for some flak yesterday when several publications used a PTI copy on the news which carried the headline: “Indian-American MIT Prof Abhijit Banerjee and wife wins Nobel in Economics”. However, the front page headlines with the news this morning did much better. Here’s a quick round-up.

The Times of India called it “an A+ for India in economics”. The story highlighted the fact that Banerjee is an alumnus from JNU, saying: “News of his Nobel win was a lightning rod for some partisan-needling in India within hours of the announcement.’Delighted to hear that Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Dufflo have won the Nobel Prize for Economics. Richly deserved. Abhijit is a proud graduate of that much-maligned university, JNU, and his work has inspired many younger Indian scholars,’ tweeted the historian Ramachandra Guha, a trenchant critic of the current dispensation.”

A smaller sub-head had a rather sweet quote from Banerjee’s brother who said Abhijit should “win MasterChef next”.

Hindustan Times kept its headline and story straightforward. It noted that Banerjee’s mother had told NDTV that her son was “very much an Indian” who was “reluctant to change his citizenship”.

The front page of The Indian Express led with Banerjee’s win too, noting that from “Modi to Rahul to Mamata, India applauds”. Mamata Banerjee had tweeted: “Another Bengali has done the nation proud. We are overjoyed.”

Telegraph devoted most of its front page to Kolkata’s local hero. It included quotes from Banerjee, who had told ABP Ananda news channel: “The condition of the Indian economy is not healthy…Whatever I’m seeing, I cannot feel reassured. Around 5-7 years ago, there were concerns like the environment, but at least there was growth in the economy. Now, that’s not the case.”

Coverage continued on Page 4. It included a story that said in 1983, Banerjee and about 360 other students from JNU had spent 12 days in Tihar Jail “on charges including an attempt to murder the vice-chancellor”. It quoted a classmate of his, Janaki Nair, who now teaches at JNU: “He [Banerjee] was left of Left…The Far Left then was a loose grouping of individuals.” The story says, “Although he bitterly criticised the mainstream Left, a student leader from that time said that he voted for the SFI.”

The Statesman‘s front page led with Banerjee’s win. A box item was headlined, “Indian economy on shaky ground, says Banerjee”. Statesman had interviewed Banerjee in February 2018 and carried excerpts from the interaction on the front page too, including his views on what’s wrong with democracy. Banerjee had said: “Some of the major sources for democratic failure are ethnocentrism, ignorance and disengagement of people or the voters. It had been observed time and again that caste plays a pivotal role in our elections. Voting is being based on ethnic identity…Elections are now being fought on the pretext of identity.”