Kuldip Nayar

Some Lesser Known Facts About Kuldip Nayar

• He was born in Sialkot, Punjab (Pakistan) in 1924, and located to India on 14 August 1947 after India’s Partition.

• He began his career as a press reporter with an Urdu Press.

• Then, he worked as an editor for ‘The Statesman;’ its Delhi edition.

• He was one of the journalists who was put in jail during the Indian Emergency (1975-1977). Here is a video of his experience in the jail:

• In 1990, he was appointed as the High Commissioner to Great Britain.

• Kuldip Nayar was also a peace activist and a human right activist. In 1996, he became the part of India’s delegation to the United Nations.

• In August 1997, he was nominated as a Rajya Sabha member in the Indian Parliament.

• He wrote op-eds (opinion editorials) and columns for almost 80 newspapers such as Deccan Herald  (Bengaluru), The News, The Daily Star, The Statesman, Dawn (Pakistan), The Sunday Guardian, PrabhaSakshi, The Express Tribune (Pakistan), and others in almost 14 languages.

• During his long career, he also worked as a Press Information Officer to the former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri and the veteran Congress leader and the former Union Home Minister Govind Ballabh Pant.

• He has written 15 books in his career including Between the Lines, India after Nehru, Beyond the Lines, The Judgement, India- Pakistan Relationship, Distant Neighbours: A Tale of the Subcontinent, Scoop, Wall at Wagah, India House, and The Martyr.

• An award by his name ‘Kuldip Nayar Journalism Award’ has been set up. The award is to honour people who are serving in vernacular media or have played an outstanding role in the Journalism. Ravish Kumar from NDTV is the first journalist who was honoured with this award on 19 March 2017.

• Here is a conversation with Kuldip Nayar on his life journey: