Veteran Indian journalist Vinod Dua dies

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published 4 years ago

NEW DELHI—Veteran Indian journalist Vinod Dua has died at age 67 due to COVID-19, his daughter confirmed on social media.

“Our irreverent, fearless and extraordinary father, Vinod Dua, has passed away,” Mallika Dua, announced her father’s death in a post on Instagram.

“He lived an inimitable life, rising from the refugee colonies of Delhi to the peak of journalistic excellence for over 42 years, always, always speaking truth to power,” she stated, hinting migration of her ancestors from Pakistan at the time of partition in 1947.

Dua’s parents belonged to a Saraiki family residing in Dera Ismail Khan of present-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Vinod Dua was born in a refugee colony in New Delhi in 1954.

Dua, a pioneer in Hindi broadcast journalism, started his career with the state broadcaster Doordarshan in the 1980s. He later served other media houses, including NDTV. He was also famous for his political commentary for digital media platforms The Wire and HW News.

Dua won many awards throughout his career, including the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award in 1996. He was the first electronic media person to receive this award.

Mumbai Press Club honored him with the RedInk Award in 2017 for lifetime achievement in the field of journalism.

The government of India also awarded him with the Padma Shri for Journalism in 2008.