Veteran journalist Kuldip Nayar passes away; Prez Kovind, PM Modi condole

He was 95.

Nayar is survived by his wife and two sons.

Born in Sialkot, Punjab of British India (now India), Nayar studied journalism from the Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University on a scholarship in 1952.

Nayar had started his journalism career as an Urdu press reporter. He was editor of the Delhi edition of the English newspaper, The Statesman.

He was also the General Manager and Editor of news agency United News of India (UNI) in its early days in the 1960s.

Nayar, who was a human rights and peace activists, was arrested during the emergency period (1975-1977).

He was also the High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom in 1990.

Nayar was  a member of India's delegation to the United Nations in 1996. He was nominated as the member of the Rajya Sabha (the upper house of the parliament) in Aug, 1997.

Being a free political commentator, Nayar had supported the movement of social activist Anna Hazare and also rebuked Pakistan for not apologising for the army atrocities in East Pakistan (which had later liberated itself to form Bangaldesh) in 1971.

As an author, Nayar penned several books and the first one was Beyond the lines, which was published in 1969.

Some of his other works are India- The Critical years, India After Nehru, Report on Afghanistan and Tragedy of Punjab: Operation Bluestar and After.

Expressing grief, President Ram Nath Kovind said in a tweet, "Sad to hear of the passing of Kuldip Nayar, veteran editor and writer, diplomat and parliamentarian, and a determined champion of democracy during the Emergency. His readers will miss him. Condolences to his family and associates"

Vice President Venkaiah Naidu tweeted, "Deeply saddened to learn about the passing away of senior Journalist Kuldeep Nayyar. In his death, the nation has lost a fearless journalist and a media veteran, who was a keen observer of Indian politics. My condolences to bereaved family members."

Condoling Nayar's death, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted,"Kuldip Nayar was an intellectual giant of our times. Frank and fearless in his views, his work spanned across many decades. His strong stand against the Emergency, public service and commitment to a better India will always be remembered. Saddened by his demise. My condolences."

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