Dear Esteemed Members of the Foreign Correspondents Club,

With deep respect, I acknowledge the farewell message from our outgoing President — a decade of service, memories, and milestones. And yes, we owe our gratitude to those who have carried this club through the last ten years.

But let’s take a pause and ask ourselves: What exactly are we inheriting?

Today, the FCC proudly claims 1333 members. A respectable number. And yet, only about 60 of us have voting rights. That’s not just an imbalance — it’s a democratic deficit. Is this the vibrant, representative community we boast of? Or a dwindling echo chamber?

We call ourselves the Foreign Correspondents Club of South Asia. Let’s be honest — there’s barely any “South Asia” left in it. And the most “foreign” thing about our club today? Ironically, it’s the foreign correspondents. The very community we were built to empower has been quietly edged out.

This is the legacy we're about to inherit at this ten-year milestone.

Now ask yourself — do we carry it forward blindly? Or do we course correct, unapologetically?

On the financial front, we’re told the club has “robust coffers” of ₹65 lakhs. That might sound good… until you do some basic math. At an average renewal fee of ₹5,000 (and remember, actual fees range from ₹13,500 to ₹27,500 plus non-refundable admission charges), that figure should be running into several crores. So where’s the gap? Where’s the vision? Where’s the plan?

This is our financial milestone. A missed opportunity in lakhs, if not crores.

And what about our soul — our purpose?

There are no journalist events, no panel discussions, no ground reports, no member recognition. Instead, we’ve become a wedding venue. A party hall. A shadow of what we once stood for.

We must ask — are we growing our footprint… or slowly erasing it?

Let’s not forget the legal baggage either. FIRs, lawsuits, unanswered notices. This isn’t just bad press — it’s existential drift. It’s a club adrift, anchored to nostalgia but unmanned for the future.

So here’s the hard truth: Our club — your mother club — is not dying. But it’s bleeding. Quietly, politely, and far too comfortably.

Now, we stand at a crossroads.

We can extend the same baton to the same tired team, rebranding old wine with new bottle labels. Or we can hand it over to a new panel — young, dynamic, fiercely committed to journalism, and laser-focused on transformation.

My promise?

- Revive our journalistic spirit. Regular, hard-hitting, meaningful journalism events with both legacy media and next-gen platforms.

- Expand membership with dignity and diversity. Foreign, regional, freelance, investigative — if they tell stories, they belong here.

- Rebuild financial transparency and prosperity. Audited clarity. Real growth. Welfare funds. Retirement security. Not just figures in a dusty ledger.

- Restore the reputation of the FCC as the heartbeat of global reporting in South Asia.

This election isn’t about loyalty to old names. It’s about whether we want relevance or rituals. And only you get to decide that.

Vote for courage. Vote for clarity. Vote for a club reborn.

Let’s take back the FCC — and make it legendary again.

Yours, not just in contest — but in commitment,


Ajay Kumar (Dr. Ajay Kummar Pandey)
Candidate for President, FCC (2025–27)
#ReclaimTheClub #JournalismFirst #FCCForward