Padma Rao Sundarji aka Padma Rao is an Indian author[1] and an international correspondent[2] based in New Delhi, India.[3]
Rao was the India correspondent for GEO magazine[4] on India in 1992–1993 and also co-authored a travel guide on South India for Meridien Super Travel[5] – Germany in 1994 ISBN 978-3774201132.[3]
Rao was the long-standing South Asian bureau chief of German news magazine Der Spiegel,[6] during which time, the Sri Lankan civil war was an intensive part of her beat.[7] She wrote the book Srilanka: The New Country (ISBN 978-93-5177-030-5)[1] HarperCollins India[8] covering the thirty year long civil war that ended in 2009[2][9]
During her stint at Der Spiegel,[10] she was chosen to interview heads of the government[11] and rebel leaders of the times[12] including the formerly underground Maoist leader Prachanda,[2] Vellupillai Prabhakaran of the LTTE.[2][13]
Rao writes in English and German[14] and her work has appeared in syndicate in The New York Times,[15] She worked as special correspondent[16] at Wion Television India[12] before moving on to Hindustan Times as national editor.[17]
Rajiv Gandhi Excellence Award 2015 for Best Literary Personality of the year (Pehchan, New Delhi)[18][19][dubious – discuss][citation needed]