In May 1985, I brought out the first issue of The DayAfter. The very first issue was a fighting issue, drawing the attention of readers to corruption, misgovernance and political failures. The cover     story was "Gujarat: Boiling Cauldron".

With great confidence I attained Day One. Although I did appoint an associate of mine as Editor, the top of the print-line column carried my name with designation of General Manager. It also carried the legend "A News Magazine of the Day and After, Volume 1, Number 1, Month of May, from 1 to 31, 1985".

Those who had helped me put together that first issue of the journal of our dreams included Ruchi Ratna, Lalita Shankar and Surinder Dhodi in the Advertisement Department, Ashok Nigam as Photographer, Daulat Ram Saini and Rupak Mitra for Art Visuals and Basant K. Sharma as the Layout Planner. The official address of the journal was one of my family’s old houses in Paschim Vihar. The print line read at the bottom "Editorial and Administrative Office, Flat No. 851-A, Pocket II, Paschim Vihar, Delhi-110 063. Printed and published on behalf of DayAfter by Seema Dayal; Printed at Vashima Printers, D. D. A. Shed No. 13, type ‘A’, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase II, New Delhi - 110 020". At that point we did not even have a telephone. We got an official telephone connection much later, courtesy a recommendation from Dr. Roshan Lal, then a leading personality in Delhi’s civic affairs, who was also a member of the Telephone Advisory Committee.

I feel a desire to name these people, some of whom have been lost in the crowd of life or have done very well in their chosen areas, because they were my original emotional strength when I launched my ‘dream’.

Believe it or not, that very first issue, which I had considered a challenge of my life and which we always call the "first informal issue" of The DayAfter, carried as many as 24 advertisements, big and small. They were the result of my personal efforts and those of my small band of dedicated boys and girls.

Of course, there were quite a few proof-reading and professional errors in that first issue, but it had the character which The DayAfter was to maintain for the next 18 years. The price at that time was Rs. 4. That of course had to be increased over the years.

When the magazine came out of the press, I showed it to my close friends and mentors and rushed to ‘Bali Ji’ to show him what I had done. He flipped through the pages, looked at the pictures, the headlines, the concept and the content, and said, "Sunil, you are impossible. I think you can do it. But one issue, anyone can take out. It is difficult to maintain regular publication and maintain the flow of resources. Where did you get the money for all this? Where would you get the money for your future issues. You have no editor worth the while...I suggest you take out one more real and ‘formal’ issue. Today my good wishes are with you. Then, with the real first issue, I shall pit whatever professional resources I have with you...." I told him the story of how I had started with my Rs. 500 from AIR.

He had posed a second challenge for me. But I was satisfied. He had accepted that I could do what I had declared I would do. I showed the issue to Rajiv Gandhi. He seemed more satisfied than ‘Bali Ji’. I managed to get from him the promise that he would release the first formal issue of The DayAfter which would be released in July 1985 at his residence, the Prime Minister’s House. Actually that would be the second issue.

I still vividly recall the events which the May 1985 issue had covered. They included stories like "Punjab, Cautious Calculations", "Longowal’s Diary in Delhi", "Momentous AICC Session", "Hundred Years of Congress" and "Extremism Strike". Our story which caught wide attention, was "Gujarat: Caught in Whirlpool" by V. Vashishtha. We had a penetrating investigative story about the major spy scandal, the Coomar Narain Case, the accused of which have been given sentences after more than 17 years of trial only this year. Some of them died during the long trial. We had another investigative story, sharply attacking "Railway Catering".

Our ‘Personality’ featurettes covering the rewarding of M. L. Fotedar, political advisor of Indira Gandhi with a seat in the Rajya Sabha; the rehabilitation of P. C. Alexander with his appointment as the Indian High Commissioner to the U. K., the squabble between K. C. Pant and Rajiv Gandhi, the setting up of a TV studio by the right-wing activist, Dr. J. K. Jain, set the tone for such "inside story telling", which was to be followed by many others with and without success in the years to come.

The last personality featurette in that issue, entitled "Shoulder-to-Shoulder, was to become a part of my personal life story too. It was about Indu Bansal, one of the first women camerapersons, entering the male domain with a TV camera on her shoulders. Indu was later to become my beloved wife, mother of my children, Geetika and Jay, and a strong, loyal and inspiring life partner.

The DayAfter began as a fighting young journal. It is still a fighting young journal. We fight issues, attitudes and social, economic, political evils, not persons or communities. We have raised issues, pointed at dangers to the nation, warned the people against corruption, misgovernance and petty-minded bureaucratic tyranny. We have suffered, we have learnt. But we are not frightened. We continue to fight for the people of India and humanity all over the world. We shall continue to fight. That is The DayAfter Principle, that is The DayAfter Resolve.