Adrienne Farrell’s report filed on March 21, 1951, for Reuters is an eye-opener to what might have gone wrong with our tiger population. In the backdrop of Maharaja of Bundi organising a tiger-hunt, she talks about a misled Indian government enticing American hunters.The government then thought 500-1,000 big cats can be killed a year without upsetting their numbers Nearly two years later, her report has a different tone as amateur hunters caused a dip in their count.

Reports like these—by correspondents on South Asia beat—provide a peek into what and how the subcontinent’s history of the last five decades has taken shape. Nearly 70 reports along with 30 photographs have been compiled in Foreign Correspondent. This collection is published by Penguin India to mark the 50th anniversary of Foreign Correspondents’ Association of South Asia. It was renamed Foreign Correspondents’ Club in 1991.

In Mumbai for the book’s launch, its editors John Elliott, Bernard Imhasly and Simon Denyer say that journalism is “the first draft of history”. “Though momentary, it has the benefit of the journalist actually being on the spot,” says Imhasly.

In this volume, the reporters on the South Asian shores cover subjects as diverse as its geography. Though political stories are more in number, and for the obvious reason, reports like David Orr’s Wodehouse Mania, Olaf Ihlam’s Sai Baba: Miracles are part of my being are accounts of other happenings in India, which occupies a sizable chunk of the books.

The history of foreign correspondents dropping anchor in India and the increase in their numbers is in itself an interesting account. It started with Reuters posting 22-year-old Henry Collins in India in 1865. The presence of Indian stories in foreign newspaper grew after a telegraph line was established between India and Europe. But a reporter’s daily dispatches were limited to 77 words only. Still, it was better than waiting for three months for the handwritten news to reach Europe. “Now, the world can’t have enough news of South Asia,” says Denyer.

The book that starts with Goodbye India by Robert Stimson (March 10, 1949) comprises a number of celebrated writings like Peter Kann’s Pulitzer-winning account of the fall of Dhaka in 1971, Barbara Crossette’s eyewitness report of Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination. It also has two Wall Street Journal articles by Daniel Pearl, who was killed by militants in 2002. “All the articles and photos are by the present and past members of the club,” says Elliott.