Chandramohan, S

S Chandra Mohan (1938-2010) was a pioneer in television broadcasting in Singapore and was called the “Father of Broadcast Journalism.” He was also one of the first producers of Tamil television programmes.

Born in Kilvelur, India, Chandra Mohan was moved to Singapore at the age of three in 1942. He was educated in Raffles Institution and then graduated with a BA Honours degree in History from the University of Singapore in 1962.

He began his broadcasting career when he joined the then Radio Television Singapura (RTS) in 1963. As one of the few Tamils in the television group, he was involved in some of the earliest Tamil television productions, but within a short time, he moved into English productions and remained there for most of his professional life. However, when he was appointed head of the Central Productions Unit (CPU), later called the Current Affairs Unit, he supervised radio and television programmes in all four official languages – English, Mandarin, Malay and Tamil. Later, he was promoted to Director of News and Current Affairs, the highest rank of his career.

Chandra Mohan is widely respected for the many innovations and intellectual standards he introduced to broadcast journalism. Under his leadership, many new programmes and formats were introduced, the most significant of which was the documentary format. Starting off as mere illustrated talks, many morphed into full-length documentary productions. While he adhered strictly to the mandate of the then public service broadcaster, which was to inform, educate and entertain, in that order, Chandra Mohan showed the way to convey dry, hard, factual information in accessible, engaging and stimulating ways. He was a stickler for high standards of performance and mentored many to reach those standards.

Under his leadership, several groundbreaking current affairs programmes emerged, including Diary of a Nation, Friday Background, and Feedback, which reached out to and enlarged the thinking public. He was also instrumental in the launch of Radio Singapore International (RSI), Singapore’s first overseas service, in 1994.

One of the most challenging aspects of running a current affairs unit in Singapore is meeting the demands of the political leaders. Chandra Mohan became the go-to professional for programmes involving the Prime Minister of the day and other cabinet ministers. The riskiest and most memorable decision he made was to let the camera run when Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew broke down during the press conference announcing the separation of Singapore from Malaysia in 1965. When Lee left it to the professionals to decide whether to show the recording to the public later, Chandra Mohan successfully argued for its broadcast, making that interview one of the most memorable and most widely seen in Singapore’s political and broadcasting history.

He served three Prime Ministers before retiring in 2007. Three years later, he passed away after a long illness, aged 71. In conveying their condolences, all three Prime Ministers expressed their appreciation for Chandra Mohan’s professional advice and support.  Lee Kuan Yew wrote, “The crew that covered my TV conference the day after we left Malaysia was directed by him. I had to stop halfway because I could not control my emotions. He decided to show part of it. From the feedback I got, he made the right decision.”

Lee’s successor, Goh Chok Tong, lauded him for not only being “a politically astute and highly respected media veteran” but also for being “a mentor to many of today’s broadcast journalists and producers.” Lee Hsien Loong, the last of the Prime Ministers Chandra Mohan served, commended him for launching the Today In Parliament series which, he said, was “a most demanding exercise” as it had to “distil a long and complex debate lasting hours into 45 minutes of watchable television to be broadcast the same night.”

Chandra Mohan shaped some of the most widely watched national flagship programmes such as the annual National Day Rally, the annual National Day Parade and the General Elections Programme.

In 2022, when the Singapore Media Industry Hall of Fame was inaugurated, Chandra Mohan was posthumously inducted into it for transforming broadcast journalism.



For more information
Tay, Philip. “Another Caldecott Hill Old Timer Dies - S. Rajaratnam.” Memories of Caldecott Hill, 28 August 2010. https://memoriesofcaldecotthill.blogspot.com/2010/08/another-caldecott-hill-old-timer-dies-s.html.
Goh Chok Tong and Lee Kuan Yew. “Condolence Letters from Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong and Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew to Mrs. Rajaratnam.” Prime Minister’s Office Singapore, 31 August 2010. https://www.pmo.gov.sg/Newsroom/condolence-letters-senior-minister-goh-chok-tong-and-minister-mentor-lee-kuan-yew-mrs.
“Lights, Camera, Action on Caldecott.” meWATCH. Accessed 1 August 2025. https://www.mewatch.sg/show/Lights-Camera-Action-On-Caldecott-413143.
Chandramohan, S. Oral history interview by Patricia Lee, 5 June 2004. Transcript and MP3 audio, 12:50:14. National Archives of Singapore (accession no. 002848)
Rajaratnam, S. “Politics, Diplomacy and Peace in Southeast Asia.” In S. Rajaratnam on Singapore: Thoughts of a Founder-Statesman, edited by Chong Guan Kwa and Tan Jin. Singapore: World Scientific Publishing, 2006. https://www.worldscientific.com/doi/pdf/10.1142/9789813141063_0007.

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The information in this article is valid as of August 2025 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. If you have any feedback on this article, please submit here.